tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340783146994562732024-03-13T00:48:15.632-04:00Bienvenidos a Mi UniversidadBThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-64259325616769973432014-06-11T13:53:00.001-04:002014-06-11T13:53:04.182-04:00La Familia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-2948725989269753562012-12-09T17:37:00.002-05:002012-12-09T17:40:04.825-05:00Reasons 'Home Alone' Couldn't Happen in 2012<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Tis the season for classic holiday movies, and if your household is anything like ours, you've already cued up such greats as <i>Elf</i>, <i>Christmas Vacation</i>, and <i>The Grinch Who Stole Christmas</i>. But this afternoon, we decided to pop in another favorite: the tale of Kevin McAllister and his heroic efforts to defend his family's home from two of the worst, most beloved, criminals of all time. John Hughes' yuletide slapstick zinger <i>Home Alone </i>(1990).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As we watched it in all it's early 90s goodness (the film was made when I was five), I noticed a few things that would make Kevin's situation improbable, if not altogether impossible. Consider, for a moment:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mobile phones - A major plot device for the movie is that the phone lines in the McAllister neighborhood are down. Thus, Kevin's parents are unable to call home from Paris to communicate with their son via landlines, the only phones available at that time. Also, Marv and Harry find out that the family is actually gone in Paris by overhearing an answering machine message left at another house they're burglaring. Throw a cell in the hands of any one of the characters and the plot would dramatically alter.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Burglar alarms - When Harry the thief comes by posing as a police officer to case the McAllisters' house, he finds out that they only have minimal security measures in place - as Kevin's dad says, "We have automatic timers for our lights, locks for our doors. That's about as well as anybody can do." There's no way a 21st century million-dollar home wouldn't be secured by at least a basic alarm system.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amber alerts - Since 1996, law enforcement officials have taken missing children reports much more seriously. This is, in part, due to the January 1996 abduction of Amber Hagerman in Arlington, Texas. Nowadays, a parent calling the police about an 8-year-old child home alone would receive a much more thorough and coordinated response from a number of law enforcement agencies.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">90s items - Kids these days would be less likely to have access to a number of items that Kevin uses to thwart our bumbling thieves: cardboard cutouts of Michael Jordan, B-B guns, old mobster movies on VHS, firecrackers (which are now illegal in Illinois), and tree houses to zip-line to (don't they just play Nintendo DS instead of going outside?). However, they would be more likely to have computers, smartphones, wi-fi, and hundreds of satellite channels, which I'm sure would make up for the lack of early 90s household items… somehow?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The McAllister house - 671 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, IL - is not owned by the McAllisters anymore (not that it technically ever was). The actual house used for the film <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CEIQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2012%2F03%2F08%2Fhome-alone-house-sold_n_1332886.html&ei=lPrEUPfzKYWe8gSGsIHgDw&usg=AFQjCNHyTl1kxO5Jwuvy7n2AMTayqr2CYw&sig2=g3crmHwHxdAIUbR_L26pZw">was sold this past spring for $1.6 Million</a>. Man, do I wish I could've put in a bid...</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Airport security - There are a few reasons our post-9/11 world would make the scenario in Home Alone at least less likely. For one thing, the McAllisters would have been sure to notice Kevin was not with them when checking in at the airline counter, or clearing security, or boarding their plane. In fact, with an international flight, it is highly unlikely the airline or TSA would not set off some sort of alert when one member of their party didn't check in or board the flight. Also, Kevin's mother would not have been allowed to stand at the gate to bargain with passengers in procuring a stand-by ticket home, nor would she have been permitted to alter the passenger name for a ticket so close to flight time (I believe TSA pre-screens international passengers). Of course, she also wouldn't have been able to hitch a ride with John Candy's polka band from Scranton to Chicago. RIP Candy.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, that's not to say there aren't still a number of things in this holiday classic that certainly could happen. The good folks at <a href="http://americasdumbestcriminals.com/">America's Dumbest Criminals</a> have been chronicling the follies of moronic crooks just like Marv and Harry for years. And kids these days are no less clever than Macaulay Culkin's portrayal of a child of the 90s. In fact, this <a href="http://news92fm.com/291868/real-life-home-alone-girl-escapes-burglary/">10-year old girl in Houston foiled the robbery of her home</a> just over a month ago. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, realistic or not, be sure to revisit the good ole' days with a viewing of Home Alone this Christmas. Remember: This is your house, you have to defend it.</span></div>
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BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-90971151288288970252012-11-27T14:04:00.001-05:002012-11-27T15:21:07.126-05:00Courage, Confession, & The Good Ol' Days<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Those who do learn from revisionist history will be doomed to not repeat it." </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">- The Fictional Version of Gen. David Petraus </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Invented In My Imagination, Nov. 2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gabe Lyons had a great post today over on the wonderful (my favorite) blog he co-founded, Q Ideas. I enjoyed it, and concurrently took issue with it as well, to the extent that I even chose to write a lengthy comment in response. This post is actually an adaptation of that comment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the brief article <a href="http://www.qideas.org/blog/courageous-petraeus.aspx">Lyons clearly and articulately made a case</a> that David Petraus did a brave thing: confess his sins publicly and own up to the consequences voluntarily. I loved the courage that Lyons himself showed by headlining the article: <i>Courageous Petraus.</i></span><br />
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If you consider the entirety of the Petraus scandal, his confession really was brave. I've been thinking the same thing ever since I read these words from his resignation letter, quoted in Lyons' article (emphasis his): </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18.666667938232422px;">Yesterday afternoon, I went to the White House and asked the President to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position as [Director, CIA]. After being married for over 37 years, </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18.666667938232422px;">I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours.</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18.666667938232422px;"> This afternoon, the President graciously accepted my resignation.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is rare to see someone genuinely confess like that in such a public way. Let me be clear that I admire his courage in that respect. I also admire the author's insight into calling our attention to it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, Lyons' last paragraph... </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #383838; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18.666667938232422px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That takes courage. Not only to acknowledge the affair, but to call it "unacceptable" and give it the gravitas as an act unbecoming of a public leader. It beckons me back to the old days—when right was right, wrong was wrong and when both sin and redemption were part of our common language. </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm trying to figure out which version of human history Lyons is reading. In which "old days" did human beings consistently think and behave in a manner where "right was right, wrong was wrong, and... both sin and redemption were part of our common language"? Was it when the children of wealthy slaveowners and their slave mistresses were shipped off to avoid the social revelation of their "unnatural" behavior? Was it when King David arranged for the assassination of one of his military leaders in order to cover up his own extramarital affair? Or perhaps in Eden, when our forebears set the standard for "both sin and redemption [as] part of our common language" by 1) hiding in the bushes, 2) blaming each other and a snake, 3) having children who would go on to compete with and lie to and kill each other, and 4) repeat the fig-leafing of our sins for generations and millennia? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Petraus' confession stands out, not because it is a shining example of good-old-fashioned values that are rare to the modern world, but because it actually subverts our most natural, ancient impulse: to call wrong "right" in hopes that we can cover up, slink off, cop out, run away, and get off easy. By all means, let's soberly celebrate a leader who has the wherewithal to confess his sins. Let's just not make the mistake of adopting a revisionist history that we might be doomed to not repeat.</span>BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-57942339137485014092012-09-16T21:54:00.002-04:002012-09-16T21:54:31.854-04:00This Just In: Top 28 Songs of 2008 Elected#BetterLateThanNever<br />
#HashtagsWerentReallyAThingIn2008<br />
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<b>2008</b> was a big year: I shared The Box with three men who would become some of my best friends. Obama was elected. I got my first Chacos. I started liking eggs. Big year.<br />
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It was also a pretty big year for music. Bon Iver emerged from a cabin in the woods and soothed our broken hearts (despite their poor French vocabulary). Coldplay finally released their much anticipated fourth studio album (and of course had their chops thoroughly, <a href="http://welcometomyuniversity.blogspot.com/2008/06/pitchforks-wine-and-battlefields-why.html">yet unfairly</a>, busted). A crop of newcomers gave us hope that Indie wasn't dead (Fleet Foxes, Gabe Dixon, MGMT), and some old reliables thinned our wallets with breakout mainstream releases (My Morning Jacket, The Killers, Ray LaMontagne). Of course, as any election year reminds us, there are always a few household names who end up with underwhelming efforts; and in 2008, some incumbents really did disappoint their most loyal supporters (Weezer, Ben Folds, Death Cab for Cutie).<br />
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So after an obsessive-compulsive number of re-counts, The Supreme Court of Music Greatness* has finally handed down its decision on the winners for songs of the year, with a majority opinion from its Chief Justice**. Congratulations, Top 28 Songs of 2008. Too bad your term was up almost four years ago...<br />
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<b>28. "New Shoes" by Paolo Nutini (These Streets)</b><br />
A fun one to kick off the list. This was a personal favorite for bike rides home to The Box. Nutini (despite being Scottish) brings us a fun and whimsical song about the confidence and worry-free mentality that come with having on a pair of new kicks. While I enjoy the tune, I can't say that I completely agree with its message: nothing makes me more paranoid than a spotless new pair of shoes and the inevitable puddle/mud/dog-crap.<br />
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<b>27. "Dying Is Fine" by Ra Ra Riot (The Rhumb Line)</b><br />
As foreshadowers to 2009's breakout stars, Phoenix, Ra Ra Riot bring an up-tempo, tech-savvy, Indie vibe to the mainstream. Despite an apparent lyrical nihilism, this song and its infectious melody has a profound ability to get stuck in my head AND not bum me out.<br />
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<b>26. "You Really Got a Hold on Me" by She & Him (Volume One)</b><br />
Originally composed and performed by Motown legend Smokey Robinson, and further made famous by a one-hit-wonder 60s band, this song is easily one of the all-time great pieces of popular music. So of course even Zooey Deschanel and her (in my opinion) spotlight-stealing collaboration with (the amazing) M. Ward can't screw it up too badly. This is easily the highlight of the album, respecting the original while performing a simple and poignant reinterpretation. Plus, it's the most you'll hear Ward's vocals in any other track. Go figure.<br />
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<b>25. "Baptize My Mind" by Jon Foreman (Spring)</b><br />
Foreman's <i>Seasons</i> solo projects have already been drooled over enough on this blog. So, suffice it to say that this is an incredibly solid and interestingly novel foray into pretty heavily layered instrumentation for the songwriter. Is that a xylophone/trumpet/accordion/cello/tenor-flute I hear? It's the quintessential song for an album about the season after winter, and it's also an opportunity for Foreman to rely on something other than his lyrics alone.<br />
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<b>24. "Dreamin'" by Weezer (Weezer or The Red Album)</b><br />
I hate everything that Weezer has done since 2005, except for this song. I will avoid the temptation to use this as a platform to talk about the astoundingly rapid decay of one of my favorite bands of the 90s and instead say that I love listening to this song with my brother. The bridge reminds us of the kind of melodic greatness that Rivers Cuomo is capable of. Too bad he's decided that writing absolute garbage is a more financially feasible approach to his calling. Too bad.<br />
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<b>23. "But For You Who Fear My Name" by The Welcome Wagon (Welcome to The Welcome Wagon)</b><br />
Do you feel welcome yet? A wonderful take on some biblical poetry from Malachi chapter 4, this song has been a favorite for mix CDs for the last few years. The inevitable question: "Oh, is this Sufjan?" No, it is not. Unless of course you mean that he produced the record, played banjo and sang on it, and released in on his Asthmatic Kitty label. If that's what you meant, then yes. But Welcome Wagon really is a Presbyterian minister and his wife and some of their musician friends. I'm excited for their upcoming 2012 release.<br />
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<b>22. "The Gardener" by The Tallest Man on Earth (Shallow Grave)</b><br />
He's the closest thing - besides Josh Ritter - we have to a modern Bob Dylan. And it's not just his nasally vocals and lo-fi acoustic guitar. Those lyrics! "I sense a spy up in the chimney / From all the evidence I've burned / I guess he'll read it in the smoke now / And soon to ashes I'll return." I can't help reflecting on the general revelation in this song: something is broken, and we are betrayed by our own attempts to compensate for and hide it. "So I could stay the tallest man in your eyes, babe..."<br />
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<b>21. "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon (Only by the Night)</b><br />
I wish I could say that I had been a Kings fan long before the breakout smash success of <i>Only by the Night</i>. But I can't. Lucky for me, I still get to be a fan of this song. So full of emotion, darkness, and jealous energy, it's everything a self-pitying rock song should be. "I hope it's gonna make you notice, someone like me..." Well, it certainly did. The song won <i>Record of the Year</i> at the 52nd Grammy Awards, and along with the ubiquitous "Sex on Fire," catapulted the album to multi-platinum status all around the world. And after one of the greatest SNL musical performances of all time, I truly don't mind hopping on the bandwagon.<br />
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<b>20. "Love Lockdown" by Kanye West (808s & Heartbreak)</b><br />
Speaking of SNL performances, Kanye's from the <i>808s</i> tour was one of the more ridiculous/atrocious ones I've ever seen. Nevertheless, this was my second favorite hip-hop release of the year. Less rap and more electronic dance track, it couples Kanye's propensity for vain self-loathing and his incredible abilities in beat-making. When the final chorus kicks into gear, with its stellar marching snares, you can almost hear high school band directors everywhere tripping over themselves to find an arrangement for the upcoming season.<br />
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<b>19. "Cath..." by Death Cab for Cutie (Narrow Stairs)</b><br />
It's really not fair to expect a band to appropriately follow up the 1-2 punch of <i>Transatlanticism </i>and <i>Plans</i>, and so when many Death Cab devotees cried foul over this particular release, I was willing to be a bit more gracious. Ask anyone who's spent any time with <i>Narrow Stairs</i> and they will inevitably tell you this is the standout track. With one of my favorite music videos of recent memory, "Cath..." nails the tragic-wedding-scene motif with bitingly vivid clarity. Plus, that guitar hook.<br />
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<b>18. "Cologne" by Ben Folds (Way To Normal)</b><br />
This album was definitely a disappointment. Though a single featuring a guest appearance from Regina Spektor ought to be a harbinger of an exciting new release, it was almost as disappointing itself as the whole disc. Clearly, "Cologne" stands out in its loyalty to the classic Folds formula: tragic characters, gorgeous piano, moving strings, cathartic lyrical honesty. "4, 3, 2, 1 / I'm letting you go..."<br />
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<b>17. "A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend (Vampire Weekend)</b><br />
And a warm welcome to the Cape-Cod-Ivy-League-Hipster-Chic-World-Music-Flavored newcomers Vampire Weekend. "A-Punk" is the quintessential track for their self-titled debut. The "first-world-problems" vibe painted on the canvas of a spicy rhythm section is as utterly addicting as it is clever; and frontman Ezra Koenig finds success channeling his inner Paul Simon - Julian Casablancas love-child. Have I evoked enough music review cliches yet? Laying it on thick, though, seems the only appropriate critical response to one of my favorite new bands in years.<br />
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<b>16. "Kids" by MGMT (Oracular Spectacular)</b><br />
The opening hook is one of the simplest and catchiest of all time. The lyrics are mysterious and vivid. The vibe is young, immature, and aloof. Yet, there is something earnest in MGMT's yearning, perhaps for a lost childhood, that resonates with my generation. Their big hit, "Time To Pretend" hits some of their main themes more squarely on the head, but "Kids" is the better overall song. I almost imagine these two tracks as necessary partners in that first, post-adolescent de-bunking of the American Dream. And I'm a sucker for that kind of questioning.<br />
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<b>15. "Lovers In Japan / Reign Of Love" by Coldplay (Viva La Vida)</b><br />
Yay for British arena pop-rock! I am shameless in my support for this album, as previously noted. Though there may be better stand-alone tracks on the album (i.e. "Cemeteries of London" or "Death and All His Friends"), I chose this track for the Top 28 because of how it embodies the feel of the album as a whole, and for its accessibility. Plus, they really nail it live - complete with a rainbow's array of paper butterflies. Possibly best of all is the echoey piano interlude "Reign of Love" as a lovely soft landing pad for the song.<br />
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<b>14. "What's Been Going On" by Amos Lee (Last Days at the Lodge)</b><br />
Amos Lee just kills it. If you're not sold in the first minute, you will be as he bursts out the line "While I'm out here on this raging sea / About to capsize." It is a textbook piece of pop nostalgia, as Lee asks the question in the song's title. Old flames, haunts, and hometowns: the sort of Springsteenian subject matter of American folk-pop music that you can come home to.<br />
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<b>13. "Mykonos" by Fleet Foxes (Sun Giant EP)</b><br />
You can almost picture the bold blue skies above the too-white Mediterranean architecture, the stuff of kitschy-yet-gorgeous calendar shopping mall pagodas. Perhaps an unfair association for a band so original and talented as Fleet Foxes. This track, an EP follow-up to their self-titled debut (stay tuned...), adds instruments in all the right places, filling in the (small) gaps between the Foxes' richly textured harmonies. My abandonment of rock in favor of folk is almost complete, and I blame these guys.<br />
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<b>12. "Human" by The Killers (Day & Age)</b><br />
The subject of great controversy in our household and beyond, Kerrie and I decided last night that the line really is "Are we human? / Or are we <u>dancer</u>?" Other suggestions include "are we denser" and "are we Dancer" (as in one of Santa's reindeer). All lyrical debates aside, the song beautifully marries ridiculously danceable sound with surprisingly poignant subject matter. Brandon Flowers has indicated the chorus-in-question as based on a Hunter S. Thompson quote, and he does seem to have done some deep contemplation in its composition. Still, lyrics aren't what keep me coming back to this particular one. Put in your earbuds, crank it up, and NOT dance. I defy you. There's your answer...<br />
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<b>11. "Paper Planes" by M. I. A.</b><br />
"Some - some - some I - some I murder / Some I - some I let go..." The line, like the singer, is alarming, violent, and brilliantly catchy. And though all she may want to do is "(gunshot, gunshot, gunshot) and a (cash register chime) and take your money," M. I. A. is better off sticking to crafting juicy hip-hop beats with machine-gun-blast rhymes. For that I will gladly hand my money over peacefully... no funny business.***<br />
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<b>10. "Rainy Day" by Coldplay</b><br />
Just when you thought Chris Martin wasn't going to crack the top ten, you remembered the one-song-per-album rule can easily be sidestepped by EPs! This song seems to have spent a little more time in the oven than many of its cousins from <i>Viva La Vida</i>, and for that I'm thankful. Between the soaring strings and meandering guitar licks, you can kind of tell that Jonny Buckland and company spent extra time in the production booth piecing this one together, along with the rest of <i>Prospekt's March</i>. I almost get creeped out by the usually-mellow Martin when he grunts out "So the deeper that the knife goes in / The more you win / You end up with less than when you begin." But the true draw to this track is the way that it nails the feel of raindrops hitting the roof, deep cellos cascading down as Chris croons on: "I love it when you come over to my house / I love it when you come to my house."<br />
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<b>9. "Furr" by Blitzen Trapper (Furr)</b><br />
The title track for Trapper's sophomore album, "Furr" is a beautifully composed coming-of-age ballad. With poetic poise, we are taken on an exploration of the wildness of a young man's soul, as he abandons himself to being (literally) raised by wolves, "howling endlessly and shrilly at the dawn." Yet, it's not long before the "girl dressed in the color of a pearl" tames the wild beast and settles down with him to start a family. The final verse leaves us pondering the age-old paradox of the domesticated-yet-wild human nature:<br />
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Now my fur has turned to skin</blockquote>
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And I've been quickly ushered in</blockquote>
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To a world that I confess I do not know</blockquote>
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But I still dream of running careless through the snow</blockquote>
... ultimately warning us, "You can wear your fur like a river on fire / But you better be sure when you're making God a liar."<br />
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<b>8. "White As Snow" by Jon Foreman (Winter) and "The House of God Forever" by Jon Foreman (Summer)</b><br />
You can't go wrong lyrically when you use the most tragically beautiful song in the entirety of Scripture. But where Foreman really excels, of course, is in his ability to perfectly pair lyrics so deeply full of truth with equally honest musical composition. Thus, the result here is concurrently haunting and hopeful; in short, an almost perfect adaptation of the Psalm of King David's mournful repentance.<br />
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And because near-flawless adaptation apparently comes in pairs, the <i>other </i>8th best song of the year is the same artist's take on Psalm 23. The same rule applies to the most hopeful and comforting song in the entirety of Scripture. There's not much to add about this track other than to say that it is absolutely brilliant, and that Sarah Masen's vocals on the second verse are too.<br />
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<b>7. "Hymn #101" by Joe Pug (Nation of Heat EP)</b><br />
A friend of mine gave his English students an assignment: to listen to this song, ponder what it meant to them, and to write a letter to the songwriter about their interpretation. After a rousing discussion and a series of excellent student compositions, my friend decided he should contact Pug's agent and try to send the letters his way. Long story short, Pug read them and wrote a response. Disappointingly, he dismissed the young interpreters' readings, saying that he really meant very little in his lyrics, only using words that appeared to have depth. In short, the songwriter confessed that the song was a facade for little more than emotional manipulation of the listener.<br />
At first I was devastated at hearing this story. So deeply had I connected with this dark song, laden with religious imagery, that I assumed young Pug had that rare insight into life, and truth, and the world that so few poets do. It really is disappointing to hear otherwise.<br />
But then, the more I thought, it occurred to me that this is exactly the sort of artist-as-medium-for-inspired-revelation stuff that I really believe in. In spite of our dullness, we point toward the fascinating. In spite of our pettiness, we stumble upon the profound. In spite of our ugliness, we reflect the sublime. And in spite of our dishonesty, we convey truth. Maybe <i>because </i>of our fallen-ness, we hint at the Divine.<br />
Now I like this song even more, in spite of Joe Pug being kind of an ass.<br />
<br />
<b>6. "All Will Be Well" by The Gabe Dixon Band (The Gabe Dixon Band)</b><br />
Man, what a consistently good album. This is the most accessible and best all-around track from it, though I could have selected at least four other songs. Dixon is a singularly talented individual who has clearly spent the last few years with some incredible tunes bouncing around in his head. In this piece, we get one of his best traits as a songwriter: the ability to craft an excellent basic melody, and to keep it meandering beyond where you expect it to go, keeping your ears fully engaged and interested. Its slightly cheesy lyrical theme, encouraging the listener that "all will be well," doesn't overly detract from the way the song resonates with the deep human need to find reassurance and persevere through hardship. Gabe Dixon is an good songwriter, and an even better piano player; which really, in my book, is enough to cover a multitude of sins.<br />
<br />
<b>5. "I'm Amazed" by My Morning Jacket (Evil Urges)</b><br />
Prediction: We will look back on the first part of the 21st century and struggle to find a better straight-up rock song than this, the single from MMJ's most accessible release to date. Between politically-charged cultural critique, anthemic choruses, and a piping hot guitar solo, everything is there for the makings of a fist-pumping crowd favorite. I certainly have done my fair share of air-guitaring in the privacy of my own home; that's for sure. While tried and true fans may have been slightly put off by the direction that Kentucky's most famous band took here, they should be thankful that James and posse of rock evangelists are reaching the masses with work like this.<br />
<br />
<b>4. "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver (For Emma, Forever Ago)</b><br />
Call me predictable, but how can I not include this song in my top five? I'll spare myself the re-telling of what should by now be common knowledge and simply assume that everyone already knows <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Emma,_Forever_Ago">the story behind this album.</a> Though the original self-released version came out in 2007, I'm including it in 2008's list for two reasons: 1) This was the year that Bon Iver achieved Indie-god status, and 2) This was the year that I got to see them open for Wilco. Also, it's technically when the final studio version was released. Anyway, "Skinny Love" gets on the list because it is a quintessential <i>For Emma </i>track: haunting, rustic, and emotionally devastating. For me, this particular recording hits with a pathos that goes far beyond its basic instrumentation; how can one man with a guitar in a cabin generate enough sound to punch you in the gut the way that Justin Vernon does? It's this characteristic ability to draw the listener in, evoking so much with so little, that has so universally hooked Indie music fans everywhere.<br />
<br />
<b>3. "You Are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne (Gossip in the Grain)</b><br />
Besides being the song that my wife and I danced our first dance on our wedding day, this song has the unique distinction of being one of my favorite recordings to heavily employ the use of horns. It's a straightforward, romantic, blue-collar sort of song. And that is Ray LaMontagne to a T. Unassuming, richly textured, strikingly unforgettable. I can still remember the first time I heard his voice live. Kerrie and I turned to look at each other, the unspoken words of our eyes saying it all, "Wow. Just, wow." Ray will always have a way with words, less because of his lyrical agility, and almost completely due to his delivery. Actions, after all, speak louder than words. And so when he sings, "You are the best thing / Ever happened to me," it's easy for me to believe him, to take the words even more seriously than their face value. I hope that in the same way, my wife and I will find our love at its most honest expression not in the content of its words, but in its sincere, concrete delivery.<br />
<br />
<b>2. "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" by Fleet Foxes (Fleet Foxes)</b><br />
We'll have to go with this track, from Fleet Foxes self-titled debut, because we have to pick one. Really the whole album ought to be included. But "Tiger Mountain" gives us a sampling of all the things that bring me back to this recording again and again: haunting reverb-y vocals, renaissance-era melodies, earthy, rustic lyrics. One often gets the bleak feeling they are alone in the woods in the winter at dusk, Robin Pecknold's chant reverberating through the bare trees.<br />
And the subject matter tends to match the medium: our faire plebeian troubadour sings of cold, graves, and premonitions of death. A bubonic dirge, perhaps, but a gripping and enchanting piece of music to be sure. The thing that Fleet Foxes execute so well is setting a scene that is mystical and ethereal, and at the same time vivid and realistic. They embody the sort of dialectic through which humanity copes with its mortality: welcoming death, and fighting it; mystifying death, and experiencing its raw simplicity.<br />
Fleet Foxes take us to these places that we want not go, yet must, ultimately and unavoidably. And it is a beautiful, terrible trip.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>1. "You Got Growing Up to Do" by Joshua Radin & Patty Griffin (Simple Times)</b><br />
My top selection for the year is marked with a very real cognitive dissonance.<br />
<br />
On one hand, Joshua Radin and Patty Griffin just sound lovely. Their voices blend well, and are featured above a simple strumming guitar. They have chosen unique harmonies that engage the ear, surprising it and pleasing it with each chord. It really is just a pleasant, lovely song...<br />
<br />
... That is, except that it is a sad, love-cynical tragedy about the disappointment and catharsis of the moment where lovers realize that the timing simply isn't right, and that:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The best thing I can give to you</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Is for me to go, leave you alone</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
You got growing up to do</blockquote>
These are the awful moments of life that so many of us can recall in far more vivid detail than most of our fond memories. When we recognize that a love characterized by immaturity, pride, and selfishness is one better cast aside, and that there comes a time where we can't "think of what else to try." A corduroy coat isn't really good for the rain, and so it goes.<br />
<br />
When I listen to Josh and Patty sing this song, it makes my heart soar and ache all at once, and these are the two principal reasons I love music. It is both comedy and tragedy; the hero riding off into the sunset and the star-crossed lovers needlessly killing themselves; a wedding and a funeral. And this song executes that perfectly for me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>And so</b>, that's all for 2008. It's not quite four years late, and at least in time for the 2012 election. I hope to swear in some more soon. But no promises...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
* a.k.a. iTunes play counts<br />
** Me, and my arbitrary authority on popular music<br />
*** This one's for you Travis. You know why.BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-32198492399059615242011-01-10T11:57:00.003-05:002011-01-10T11:59:23.345-05:00A Prophetic Vision for America<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/TSs6ZORfJ-I/AAAAAAAAAIE/AwpU6oC6OOU/s1600/amos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/TSs6ZORfJ-I/AAAAAAAAAIE/AwpU6oC6OOU/s320/amos.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Dear America (myself included),</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Seek good</b>, not evil,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> that you may live.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Then </b>the LORD <b>God </b>Almighty <b>will be with you</b>,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> just <b>as you say he is.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hate evil, love good;</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> maintain justice in the courts.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Perhaps </b>the LORD God Almighty will have mercy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> on the remnant of Joseph.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sincerely,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Amos 5:14-15</span>BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-31247807826763759372011-01-06T14:21:00.008-05:002011-01-07T14:56:40.895-05:00Andrew Bird and the Imago Dei<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/TSYauh10cgI/AAAAAAAAAH0/aLt7xndg470/s1600/andrew_bird.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559160176695865858" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/TSYauh10cgI/AAAAAAAAAH0/aLt7xndg470/s320/andrew_bird.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 251px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">If you know me, you know this:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I love Andrew Bird.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I've said it before and I'll say it again - He is, in my humble opinion, the best musician alive right now.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Not only that, but he can write music. I've seen <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Van_Halen">talented instrumentalists</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mercury">well-trained vocalists</a>, even <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_dylan">stellar songwriters</a>. But it is a rare package to include all three.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Still more rare is an opportunity to take a glimpse into the creative process of such a musician. Apparently I've been living under a rock because I missed the <i>fantastic</i> blog from the NY Times called <a href="http://measureformeasure.blogs.nytimes.com/">Measure For Measure</a>. It is a series of articles from songwriters offering insight into the delicate art of songcraft.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Anyway, Andrew Bird has written a number of articles there that you can read. But my whole reason for posting comes from this quote he wrote at the <a href="http://measureformeasure.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/encores/#Bird">conclusion</a> of his series...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span></div><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Ultimately, I think that writing about music is a deliberate act and has nothing to do with creating music. The latter is mostly an involuntary response to being alive. I wouldn’t go so far as to say songwriters are seer-poets wired to receive transmissions from the ether, but I think we’ve all got a well that can be tapped and there follows the sort of sequencing or curating of one’s own ideas. It’s the content of that well I can’t claim responsibility for. Well I could but the only remedy would be to cease to exist.</span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">"An involuntary response to being alive"</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I will most certainly have to use this article in my upcoming course this spring where we discuss the creative nature of human beings as an imprint of the Creator (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_of_God">Imago Dei</a>). Bird here seems to suggest the work of an artist as a channeler of the divine nature, a <i>discoverer</i> of truth/beauty (as opposed to a <i>fabricator</i>). Not only this, but he further asserts that perhaps this creative drive is not a specialized, esoteric gift, but rather a logical conclusion of simply recognizing that one is alive. "Involuntary" is the word he uses. I love his humility; perhaps it is one of the keys to his musical gift.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Regardless of all that, make sure you go and listen to this guy. Seriously. Maybe start <a href="http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/episode/2255-andrew-bird">here?</a> Then go <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnXCzFnkxtY">here?</a> Then perhaps finish here:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZBoZ0sUT3k</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />
</span></span></div>BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-44887066569594234532011-01-05T22:44:00.016-05:002011-01-06T02:33:38.463-05:00M & M's : 2010 in ReviewSo I'll just dive right in...<div><br /></div><div>Since it's been over a year (next Monday it'll have been exactly a year and a half) since I posted last, I figured I should update my avid blog followers on the goings-on of my life these past 18 months. You can now release your bated breath and devour this post as you've been so anxiously yearning to do since July of 2009. And so, I give you: The M's of MMX</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/TSVqxLjsljI/AAAAAAAAAHM/SWhzQ-eHfio/s200/uhaul.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558966708207392306" /></div><div><b>Moving</b></div><div>Not long after the aforementioned July '09, I hauled my arse from one commonwealth to the next, out to the lovely village of Grantham, PA. The long, harrowing journey featured such star cast members as Philip Byers (who assisted me in moving tons of furniture out of the Box, and by tons I really just mean one really heavy - like unnecessarily heavy - couch) and my father Dr. Bob (my UHaul wingman). I was out to take on the world with nothin' but a song in my heart and a pocket full of dreams. It was only about 13 hours of trailers swayin' in the Appalachian breeze before I found myself at...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Messiah</b></div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/TSVrIkh2poI/AAAAAAAAAHU/ee7-K5-l9jg/s200/witmer2.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558967110047540866" /><div>Established in 1909, Messiah College is a Christian college of the liberal arts and applied sciences. The College is committed to an embracing evangelical spirit rooted in the Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan traditions of the Christian Church. Our mission</div><div>is to educate men and women toward maturity of intellect, character, and Christian faith in preparation for lives of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society. I typed that (mostly) from memory. When I'm not busy educating men and women for lives of leadership, etc., I'm typically hanging out with the residents of Witmer, making an idiot of myself (as displayed in this picture), and loving my job and my students. In particular, I've been blessed with stellar RA staffs two years in a row. Not only that, but I've also had a chance to really stretch my theological wings in a place that is a bit more ecumenical and intellectually stimulating. Good stuff...</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/TSVrSDDNiqI/AAAAAAAAAHc/CpDF2m8WCDA/s200/wedding.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 200px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558967272859339426" /></div><div><b>Marriage</b></div><div>On December 4th, 2009, I trudged my way (with the help of several close friends, namely Travis Yoder and Katie Rousopoulos) back across the midwest a mere 3 days after making the return to Messiah, to ask the most important question of my life.</div><div><br /></div><div>On July 3, 2010, it went down. Kerrie and I began our journey as a married couple in the presence of our closest friends and family and were absolutely humbled and blessed to celebrate God's love for us as displayed in the sacrament of marriage.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>'Moon</b></div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/TSVrk8UNMkI/AAAAAAAAAHk/kGIfWtYvM2k/s200/hmoon.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558967597469086274" /><div>Short for Honeymoon. We did so all across the south, hitting up Nashville, Atlanta, Savannah, and finally St. Simon's Island (off the coast of Georgia*). What a blast to begin the metaphorical roadtrip through life with a literal roadtrip alongside my best friend and life partner.</div><div>Also, we went to Coke.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Music</b></div><div>To say that the past year has been full of music is to say that the past day has been full of hours. There is no such thing for yours truly without a plentiful helping of music. A summary will suffice...<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Concerts</i></div><div><i></i>Iron & Wine, Andrew Bird, David Bazan, Derek Webb, Josh Ritter, The National, Ingrid Michaelson, Sufjan Stevens (Almost all were experienced along w/ Travis**).</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Top Artists on last.fm </i></div><div>Wilco (#16), David Bazan, Regina Spektor, Band of Horses, Coldplay, Ingrid Michaelson, Radiohead, Jon Foreman, Nick Drake, The National, Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird, Josh Ritter, Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Vampire Weekend (#1)</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Wrote a few myself</i>, particularly one about 16th century Anabaptist martyr named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirk_Willems">Dirk Willems</a> called <i>The Ballad of 1569</i>. I'm working on getting a good recording of it to share soon.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/TSVsd3QK2eI/AAAAAAAAAHs/eklqVoe6Fug/s200/zachwedding.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 112px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558968575362521570" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Mén</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">age</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">I know what you're thinking. No, I am not trying to make some weird sexual reference. Gross. </span><span class="Apple-style-span">This, for you unenlightened, is the French word for "members of a household" or simply, family.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">My family is really cool. Take my brother for instance, and the wherewithal he has displayed in selecting a fantastic wife to become my sister-in-law. Welcome to the family, Janelle. </span>Along with two weddings, my family has also managed to completely blow me away in the physical fitness realm (thanks P90X), clean up from a horrible basement flood, and come out to visit PA several times (much to our mutual culinary delight, thanks Pizza Grille). I'd say that for the Taylor's, 2010 was a challenging but growing year. We appear to be aging well.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Musings</b></div><div>While I have (obviously) done little blogging, this doesn't mean I haven't been thinking. Of particular note for me in the past year or so have been a lot of thinking/reading on epistemology <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sacredness-Questioning-Everything-David-Dark/dp/0310286182/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294295861&sr=8-1">(cf. Dark)</a>, utopian protestantism <a href="http://www.facebook.com/caleb.polivka">(e.g. Polivka)</a>, judgmentalism and the fall of man <a href="http://www.gregboyd.org/books/repenting-of-religion/">(a la Boyd)</a>, pacifism <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205:38-48&version=NIV">(see Jesus)</a>, transparency of government and media <a href="http://www.google.com/images?q=julian+assange&hl=en&prmd=ivnsul&source=lnms&tbs=isch:1&ei=mTolTffhPIH7lwfet7CUAg&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&ved=0CA8Q_AU&biw=1364&bih=740">(i.e. Assange)</a>, generational sin <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_of_Eden_(novel)">(Steinbeck, 1952)</a>, commodity fetishism <a href="http://www.socialtheory.info/commodity_fetishism.htm">(via Marx)</a>, and the plight of the 18-year old middle-class American <a href="http://www.messiah.edu/offices/residence_life/index.html">(read "my job")</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>In addition to these titans of intellect to stimulate my mind and my heart, I have the privilege of living close to a number of real people who have given me a chance to bounce ideas around, laugh at me when I'm utterly wrong, and just generally sharpen me. People - like my wife Kerrie, Travis Yoder, Dave Downey, Katie Rousopoulos, Cody Miller, Caleb Polivka, Amy VanDerWerf, Ashley & Lucas Sheaffer, all my RAs, Wendell & Teri Witter along with our entire small group, the students in my book chapels (RAs and SAB), and of course my mother and father (when I get to see them) - have all been a big part of where my heart, mind, and soul have been directed these past 18 months. I am thankful for such smart and challenging folks in my life.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Mystery</b></div><div>It's probably too predictable to end a "year in review" post with a thought on the future, enshrouded in mist, the great unknown. But in many ways I feel that as I emerge from a year or so full of new starts, the next major directions for my journey seem indeed mysterious. </div><div><br /></div><div>Will my teaching experience this spring go well and solidify my drive to further my <a href="http://divinity.duke.edu/">education</a>?</div><div>Will my wife's strange movie tastes <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1020938/">domesticate</a> me beyond recognition?</div><div>Will the Wildcats be able to win a <a href="http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=300860096">national title</a> with so many one-and-done players?</div><div>Will the <a href="http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14817-pinkerton-deluxe-edition-death-to-false-metal/">critical acclaim </a>of Weezer's re-issue of <i>Pinkerton</i> cause Rivers Cuomo to re-think his artistic <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQHPYelqr0E&feature=artist">direction</a> of the last decade?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>These are the questions that plague me. Lucky for you, I will probably explore them more on this blog, hopefully very soon.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>* Yes, Georgia has a coast. Much to the chagrin of Steve Conn, who hates both.</div><div>** You might even say that I "saw" a Coldplay show as well. Travis was texting me updates about every 12 seconds and increasing my pissed-ness that I wasn't there.***</div><div>*** I was stuck in a small, hot van full of people and luggage. </div><div><br /></div>BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-84227838842377748302009-07-10T13:41:00.009-04:002009-07-10T14:03:45.624-04:00So what's a blog for anyway?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SleCCncvHZI/AAAAAAAAAGk/hZhJ9GLNtFk/s1600-h/livejournallogo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 131px; height: 145px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SleCCncvHZI/AAAAAAAAAGk/hZhJ9GLNtFk/s320/livejournallogo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356893263241354642" border="0" /></a><br />I re-discovered my blog from college today! It's a livejournal (how angsty).<br /><a href="http://benno48.livejournal.com/">http://benno48.livejournal.com</a><br /><br />I read some of my old entries this morning. Many of them are all about what I was up to, chronicling the ups and downs of my life as a university student. I started it halfway through my freshman year and my last post was in the fall of my senior year (after that I lost the password to it and had to create a new one; perhaps it was best that those thoughts would be preserved in a wholly separate place). It is really fun to reflect, and luckily I really did document many of the goings-on of those years. There were things I had completely forgotten.*<br /><br />This got me thinking: Why blog? People have made fun of blogs a lot, and I've been mocked for doing things like blogging or Twitter or whatever. But you know what? I'm going to keep doing them. I've been mocked for things before and I never let that stop me. I realize that I could just keep a private journal (which I do, thank you very much), but I think this is good because it 1) forces me to think a bit more about how I'm articulating my thoughts (i.e. keeping an "audience" in mind) and 2) it's stored on the interweb so that I won't lose it.**<br /><br />One other thing I realized when reading my old blog: Some things change, others stay the same. So now, a few observations about how I'm different and how I'm still me...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Different<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span>- Thankfully, I've matured some in my faith, my thought processes, and my values.<br />- I don't use emoticons anymore.<br />- My musical tastes have refined somewhat.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Same<br /></span>- I have some favorite (go-to) words and phrases and literary techniques. For instance, the parenthetical statement; also the word "somewhat."<br />- I tend to pick the same topics, namely music.<br />- I love lists. I make lots and lots of lists.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>Well, there we have it. I'm resolving now to blog more frequently. Here's to nostalgia!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />* Kerrie is really good at remembering. This is a shortcoming of mine. Good thing I have a blog!<br />** Photobucket destroyed all the pictures I had originally posted on my LiveJournal. Not cool.BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-44360881451536936722009-05-21T00:48:00.003-04:002009-05-21T00:58:02.686-04:00When I am weak, then I am strong.<blockquote>Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.<br />– Plato (in Phaedrus)</blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><br />According to Plato, it’s all about perception, about the fact that appearances may only be a flawed reflection of the truth of a situation. Martin Luther once said, “That person does not deserve to be called a theologian who looks upon the invisible things of God as though they were clearly perceptible in those things which have actually happened” (Thesis 19, Heidelberg Disputation, 1518). He went on to say that one who claims to theologize based on surface appearances should be known as a “theologian of glory,” or to say it another way, what Paul described in 1 Corinthians 1:20 as the “philosopher of the age.” The apostle speaks here of those who do not comprehend the counterintuitive message of the Gospel: that God gave Himself up to the sufferings of the Cross for the sake of an undeserving and ungrateful people. It really is kind of counterintuitive…<br /><br /><blockquote>For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.<br />– 1 Corinthians 1:18</blockquote><br />Often, I find myself sliding all too comfortably into a theology of glory; I believe too easily that life is about glory, about blessings and success. But if there is one message Christ preached, it was not a sermon he spoke, nor was it even the life he lived. It was the death that he died: the Cross. It is the Cross to which the Christ-follower is called, not glory. It is the Cross from which the true theologians get their picture of God’s plan, not glory. It is the Cross by which we have been saved, not glory.<br /><br /><blockquote>But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.<br />– 2 Corinthians 12:9-10</blockquote><br />And this is more than simply learning to live in a world where there is suffering (although this is most certainly part of the Christian experience, simply because it is part of the human experience). Indeed, it even goes beyond just accepting that suffering is inevitable (even though it is). It approaches a strange, counterintuitive – dare I say foolish? – approach to life: that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). We are not called to glory in this life. We are called to suffer as Christ suffered, knowing our hope is for what is unseen. We are called to be “content” with weakness, because this is the way things really are. The way of strength, perfection, and glory may seem right, and it is so tempting to live wrapped up in these things. But things are not always what they seem: up is down and down is up; strength is weakness and weakness is strength. Oh that we could live in light of this truth… a theology of the Cross.BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-6158386829393717142009-05-02T17:23:00.004-04:002009-05-02T17:28:20.722-04:00A VerseTerrible.<br /><br />Unforgiving.<br /><br />That's how I saw God.<br /><br />Punishing us in this life,<br />committing us to Purgatory after death,<br />sentencing sinners to burn in hell for all eternity.<br /><br />But I was wrong.<br /><br />Those who see God as angry...<br />do not see Him rightly...<br />but look upon a curtain<br />as if a dark storm cloud has been drawn across His face.<br />If we truly believe that Christ is our Savior...<br />then we have a God of love,<br />and to see God in faith is to look upon His friendly heart.<br /><br />So when the devil throws your sins in your face<br />and declares that you deserve death and hell,<br />tell him this...<br />"I admit that I deserve death and hell.<br />What of it?<br />For I know One who suffered...<br />and made satisfaction in my behalf.<br />His name is Jesus Christ,<br />Son of God.<br />Where He is,<br />there I shall be also."<br /><br /><br />*Special prize to whoever can name the source without the aid of any form of technology. And I'm serious about a prize...BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-52731010350784989182009-04-17T10:30:00.000-04:002009-04-17T10:27:41.786-04:00Caveat<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SeiRh8pbNwI/AAAAAAAAAGc/jIDUj3s6obs/s1600-h/scrabble"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SeiRh8pbNwI/AAAAAAAAAGc/jIDUj3s6obs/s320/scrabble" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325666571767199490" border="0" /></a><br />Caveat.<br /><br /><br />So, do you know the actual definition of this word?<br /><br /><br />Quick, before you look it up, reply to this post, and without reading anyone else's reply, write your own definition of the word "caveat."<br /><br />Please do not be embarrassed to get this wrong. I want you to take a stab at it.<br /><br />To loosen things up, I'll start off with an incorrect definition just so you won't be alone...<br /><br />caveat - a French word meaning a small, hollow rock formation filled to the brim with fish eggs<br /><br />There, now give it a go... (but really try)<br /><br />...BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-3980061297851261362009-04-11T00:27:00.006-04:002009-04-11T01:02:39.783-04:00Acknowledgments<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SeAjWZZyfuI/AAAAAAAAAGU/SqQ5PoAl_zg/s1600-h/academia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 199px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SeAjWZZyfuI/AAAAAAAAAGU/SqQ5PoAl_zg/s200/academia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323293627235073762" border="0" /></a><br />It's done...<br />...my thesis, that is. I will defend it on Thursday. I'd love to say that this will mean I'm done with all academia for the rest of the year, but sadly, this is not so. More assignments due next week, with still more to come in the near future. Aren't I scholarly?<br /><br />However, I would be remiss to say that this does not mark a huge milestone in my academic career. The document into which many hours have been poured is nearing its final version. And what I hope with all this, is that the work I've done amounts to more than the sum of its pages (54 including appendices). I'd like to think that aside from the staggeringly immense contribution my work makes to the body of scholarly literature (i.e. sitting politely in the university archives), that it also represents hard work, sacrifice, and love on the part of so many of my friends, family, teachers, and colleagues. If anything, for me it serves a stark reminder of both God's bountiful blessings in my life and the privilege it truly is to receive what not all can: an education.<br /><br />...which is why I thought it might be nice to post the "Acknowledgments" page from my Master's Thesis here on my blog. It was my only shot at actually writing something in my own voice for this project, and I'd say I took my liberties with it. Anyway, some of you reading may have a part in this, and writing it really did make me realize how blessed I am (and how thankful I ought to be). I apologize if I neglected anyone who feels like they should have been mentioned, I'm sure you understand. Also, if you're wondering about that list of first names, it's my MAHE graduate cohort (a.k.a. my classmates). Finally, if this seems out of context, I'm sorry. It maybe makes a little more sense at the outset of a very long, somewhat technical document; like a breath of cool, clean air right before you head down into the murky, musty cellar to make some repair you've been putting off for weeks. Wow, that makes my thesis sound pretty awful; perhaps that metaphor [sic]* is a bit too strong...<br /><br />Enough disclaimers. I apologize for nothing!<br /><br />ACKNOWLEDGMENTS<br />There are a number of folks to whom I am irrevocably indebted. A special thanks goes to my family who instilled in me the love of learning, and more importantly a concrete definition of love through words and action; to my significant other, the lovely Kerrie Schene, for her patience in unconditionally tolerating a full-time graduate student who has probably seemed like only a part-time boyfriend all too often; to Tim Herrmann for honestly believing in me far more than is even appropriate; to Jenny Collins for making the past two years absolutely formational for me as a professional and a person; to the students who participated in my study and the faculty who let me completely hijack their classes to hand out surveys; to the men of the Box, whose integrity, grace, and love have been inversely proportional to the size of our humble accommodations (but we love it so); to Cindi Carder for what I consider an “above and beyond the call of duty” helpfulness; to Scott Moeschberger for being flat-out brilliant; and to Caleb, Matt, Miriam, Polly, Sara, Emily, Heidi, Kyle, Nathan, Brent, Tammi, Laura, Derek, Katie, Barry, Travis, and Kelly for leaving me with absolutely no words that could articulate what they have meant to me, how they have literally made me into a better man than I was, and who they will be for the field of higher education and for the Kingdom of God. There is no other way to explain the blessings that all these people represent except for the fact that Jesus Christ has saved my life and made it into something entirely different and entirely better than I ever could have achieved, let alone imagined, on my own. I think perhaps “thankful” does not nearly cut it…<br /><br /><br />*I know, I used a simile. I prefer the word metaphor, so there.BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-57714543964633876322009-04-05T14:56:00.005-04:002009-04-05T15:18:41.522-04:00Book Review: Outliers by Malcom Gladwell<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SdkC7I_JLTI/AAAAAAAAAGM/VL4ecodAWmU/s1600-h/outliers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SdkC7I_JLTI/AAAAAAAAAGM/VL4ecodAWmU/s320/outliers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321287649762815282" border="0" /></a><br />Here is a book review I wrote for my Leadership class. Obviously, since I wrote it for class it's not exactly written toward my blog audience (whatever that means). In light of that, I will also add some additional blog thoughts at its conclusion...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Book Review<br /><br />Gladwell, M. (2008). <span style="font-style: italic;">Outliers: The story of success</span>. New York: Little, Brown Co.<br /><br />Malcolm Gladwell is a very successful writer. He has authored two #1 international bestsellers and currently works as a staff writer for The New Yorker. He is a success story. I think this gives him a certain level of credibility as he embarks on an exploration of some of the world’s greatest success stories in his latest work, Outliers.<br /><br />We normally think about successful people as intelligent and ambitious, people who were willing to lead by innovation and persistence. We read about the keys to successful leadership, strategies for going from “good to great,” and studies on the best leaders and how they do what they do. But Gladwell’s voice in the conversation on leadership wants to say that maybe things, as complex as they may seem, are infinitely more complex than we could have ever imagined. Perhaps, not only is success a product of incredibly hard work and once-in-a-generation intelligence or gifting, but also a whole host of extenuating circumstances and extraordinary opportunities. His argument essentially states that those who exceed all others in success – outliers – are those who have been given incredibly rare <span style="font-weight: bold;">opportunity</span> and extremely unique <span style="font-weight: bold;">legacy</span>.<br /><br />Outliers tells the stories of some of the technology and software industry’s pioneers, of the most wildly successful attorneys of our time, of all-star Canadian hockey players, of airlines that have been saved from financial ruin overnight, and of multi-racial Jamaican immigrants who found a way to rise above their circumstances against all odds. He has found, in researching a vast array of exceedingly successful people and organizations, that the things most of these have in common is <span style="font-weight: bold;">opportunity</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">legacy</span>.<br /><br />The theory of opportunity deals with advantages gained due to demographics such as socio-economic class, place in history, even birth-date (Did you know that being born in January means you'll likely be a better hockey player than your friends born in April? ...at least if you're Canadian, that is..). Gladwell insists that perhaps even more important than intelligence or “natural” leadership ability, are the millions of variables surrounding a person’s life, including where they grew up, when they were born, or what their parents did for a living. All of these aspects contribute to unique opportunities for a person’s personality and skill-set to be formed for just the right moment in history. He also provides support for a theory that to truly become an expert at anything, one must have spent at least 10,000 hours in practicing that particular skill, further solidifying his place in the “Nurture” camp of the “Nature vs. Nurture” debate.<br /><br />To add to his theory on opportunity, Gladwell also explores the nuances of what he calls “legacy.” His focus with this concept is the set of advantages and disadvantages that are inherently passed down from a person’s parents and native culture, things such as communication style, entitlement, social skills, work ethic, and even dumb luck. Ultimately, Gladwell suggests that if we could understand better what kind of advantages we may be giving certain members of society, and withholding from others, more folks would have a shot at becoming the leaders, innovators, and thinkers that could take society beyond what we might even consider possible.<br /><br />This book has a great amount of application to a discussion on leadership. It would tend to suggest that leaders can be made, but that perhaps they could be born into circumstances that would make it more difficult to fully achieve their potential. This says a lot about how we should approach leadership development in students: creating opportunities and leaving a legacy are incredibly important if we want our students to display the same successful characteristics as the “outliers” of society, those who are uniquely equipped to lead change.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blog Thoughts:</span><br /><br />This book made me realize how important it is to give people an opportunity to realize their potential. It also made me realize how much of who I am is a product of who a whole lot of other people are (e.g. parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, teachers, classmates, teammates, co-workers, even strangers) and the events that happen to be occurring during my lifetime.<br /><br />For the Christian, <span style="font-style: italic;">Outliers</span> offers a study in the sovereignty of God over all the details of our lives. "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father." God is <span style="font-weight: bold;">all over</span> the details of my life. He is making me into who He would have me be <span style="font-weight: bold;">all the time</span>. Even more still, the Holy Spirit is refining me through the current sufferings and stumblings I happen to be encountering.<br /><br />And finally, I need to be aware of the impact I can have on another's life. Regardless of what I try to do, I have effects on people all the time without ever intending it. So the real question, since I have little control on whether I affect others, is how will I continue to submit myself to God's will that I love others and set an example in godliness and righteousness to them so that the impact I have will utimately glorify Him?<br /><br />Follow me as I follow Christ.BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-52162595408381525992009-04-01T16:32:00.010-04:002009-04-03T13:36:45.849-04:00Substance?Annie wanted something more substantial.<br /><br />Ask and ye shall receive...<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xp9Gm-aRe5A&hl=" width="320" height="265" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" fs="1&rel=" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed><br /><br />Bam b-b-b-b-bam!<br /><br />And for your Internet Explorer users...<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp9Gm-aRe5A">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp9Gm-aRe5A</a><br /><br />A special thanks to Justin Rutzen on this one.BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-34173049146301460622009-03-30T22:56:00.002-04:002009-03-30T22:58:28.069-04:00Employ Me!Back...<br /><br />Yep, I am. Hello again Blogosphere.<br /><br />I am almost done with my thesis. Almost.<br /><br />That said, I'm looking for a job. If you run a college, shoot me a quick email and I'll work for you.BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-45728564904040326022008-12-26T01:26:00.003-05:002008-12-26T01:28:25.002-05:00Merry Christmas, and a Good LinkCheck this out:<br /><br /><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?page=hotread17/kurtwarner&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1">Kurt Warner</a><br /><br />I don't really get all that "in" to football per se, but this is just great.BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-34743662987179281782008-11-10T11:39:00.002-05:002008-11-10T11:42:47.628-05:00A Letter About a Letter About a Country About an IdeaDemocracy.<br /><br />The following is an e-mail I sent to some friends and family recently regarding the elections. Check out the link in it....<br /><br />Friends and Family,<br /><br />All of you are people with whom I have had a conversation (at least in the past year) regarding our recent Presidential elections. A common topic of interest for Christians is the question of “how to respond” to the results, and I’ve seen a somewhat emotional response from believers on both the right and the left. This concerns me just a bit. While I love the enthusiasm with which our country engaged this year’s elections, I also see that it can easily lead to an emotional over-investment in a particular candidate, issue, ideology, or party.<br /><br />As you all know very well, our investment must first be to His Kingdom, not to the worldly, human, finite kingdoms of this Earth. I do not say this because I think you need a reminder, but because I see each of us (as members of the Kingdom) as having a unique opportunity to humbly point this out to those around us.<br /><br />Now the real reason I’m writing… I found the following link at a site called UrbanFaith (thanks Dee) and I think this letter written by a pastor to his congregation articulates well the kind of unity and reconciliation believers of either side of the aisle are called to have. If you have 5 free minutes, check it out: <a href="http://www.urbanfaith.com/2008/11/an-election-day-epistle.html">http://www.urbanfaith.com/2008/11/an-election-day-epistle.html</a>. We are to place our hope in our King, not in our President, our Congress, or our government.<br /><br />I hope you enjoy the brief article, and please know that each of you is a blessing, a challenge, and an encouragement for me to be more like Christ.<br /><br />Thanks for your time and have a blessed day,<br /><br />BenBThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-20077357631918817992008-11-08T12:39:00.005-05:002008-11-10T11:43:38.986-05:00EP<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SRXQC97FnBI/AAAAAAAAAGA/FzPcQnVJ8V8/s1600-h/album+cover+square.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 148px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SRXQC97FnBI/AAAAAAAAAGA/FzPcQnVJ8V8/s320/album+cover+square.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266344088680373266" border="0" /></a>I have made a recording of some of my music and have been selling it.<br /><br />Let me know if you'd like to acquire a copy of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Bailiwick EP</span>.<br /><br />That is all.BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-27982340807001750852008-09-27T18:19:00.000-04:002008-09-27T18:19:45.666-04:00I love music.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SN6xbiU7b2I/AAAAAAAAAF4/6U-q9n23EsU/s1600-h/itunes-logo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SN6xbiU7b2I/AAAAAAAAAF4/6U-q9n23EsU/s320/itunes-logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250829302189748066" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Mae - We're So Far Away<br />Coldplay - The Scientist<br />Journey - Lights<br />Glen Hansard - Say It To Me Now<br />Coldplay - Death and All His Friends<br />The Fray - All At Once<br />Sufjan Stevens - Come On! Feel the Illinoise!<br />Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke<br />The Killers - Read My Mind<br />The Format - The First Single (Cause a Scene)<br />Ben Folds - Landed<br />Miles Davis - Freddie Freeloader<br />Brand New - You Won't Know<br />Radiohead - Subterranean Homesick Alien<br />Train - Calling All Angels<br />Joshua Radin & Patty Griffin - You've Got Growing Up to Do<br />Herbie Hancock & John Mayer - Stitched Up<br /><br />...there, that should keep you busy for now. Back to the thesis...BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-50364021655325573542008-08-31T13:00:00.001-04:002008-08-31T13:03:17.561-04:00Still a Student<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SLrN7J-LpoI/AAAAAAAAAFo/X-LXcnQ4ipg/s1600-h/tm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 199px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SLrN7J-LpoI/AAAAAAAAAFo/X-LXcnQ4ipg/s320/tm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240727532571698818" border="0" /></a>Well, school is back in full swing, and instead of commenting on how long it's been since my last post (exactly one month) I will simply inform all you readers out there that I will be doing some musical recording today. I am interested to see how it goes.<br /><br />I will also be spending an hour or so playing some of my music live, in front of whoever decides to show up, at a little place called The Living Room in Muncie, IN on October 31. A young whippersnapper named Joe Paulson will also be performing, so perhaps all you trick-or-treaters can make your way on down to Muncie to make yourselves sick on the candy you just "tricked" your neighbors out of, and listen to some original tunes while you do so.<br /><br />...and no, I will not be playing the song "Halloweenhead" by Ryan Adams.<br /><br />But seriously, this summer is over. I am reminded of the perks and downfalls of still being a student. I got to relax this summer, a lot. But now I return to a world where there are responsibilities, deadlines, assignments, readings, and a whole lot of time being consumed. And the funny thing is, I'm returning voluntarily. Anyone who's ever been in school (e.g. everyone) has at one point or another wondered, "Why? Why spend all this time and effort on jumping through the societal hoops known as 'degree requirements' or 'grade point averages' and the like? Why not go outside and play instead?" I often wonder such things, and I'm sure many of you do almost daily. But the answer to which we must return is that for one reason or another, spending so much time reading, writing, thinking, etc. actually (somewhere along the line) caused us to learn things. Not only that, but it also made us better people. We became educated, gaining informational wisdom, and formational experience.<br /><br />Maybe we didn't notice it until years later, though, when someone asked us a question and we knew the answer, or when a situation arose and we knew how to handle it. There was just something about spending all that time immersed in all that work that actually helped us, changed us, grew us, and when the time came, we were ready. We were educated.<br /><br />And as the summer comes to a close, I also find myself frustrated at my lack of musical productivity. I had planned to write a new song every other day. Actual results? I re-worked one or two of my old ones, played a coffee shop a few times, and that's it. I spent hours at the piano, on an almost daily basis, but I've nothing to show for it. Now summer is done, and I really don't have the time I once did, the time to write, to create.<br /><br />But the lesson I have to learn about education is also one (I think) I have to learn about artistic creation. Like so many good things, it too requires an investment, almost what we would call a sacrifice, to even start to bring about fruit.<br /><br />I must be a student of my craft.<br /><br />Maybe all those hours spent in the "music room" at my parents' home in Kentucky were in vain. Or maybe, somewhere along the line, I picked something up that will lie dormant for the next 6 years, until one day, inspiration strikes, and the seed planted during the summer of '08 will suddenly sprout from what looked like dry, dead ground. And I'll look down and realize that an entire network of roots have been laid in the ground, and that a truly great thing can now come to life because of what had been invested years before.<br /><br />I guess I'm not really thinking about songwriting anymore. I'm anxious to see the kind of forest that will be growing in the Kingdom of Heaven. I'm anxious to wake up one day and suddenly realize that, all around me, He has been planting, watering, growing, pruning, and preparing His people for the real show. The same anxiety that plagues me as someone who is "still a student" bothers me in my pursuit of the Kingdom as well as in the pursuit of my music. I would just rather be done with the learning, to be the expert that is ready to make it happen. This is why I need that reminder of the importance of learning. It really is one's <span style="font-style: italic;">experience</span> that makes one an <span style="font-style: italic;">expert</span>.<br /><br />But for now, I would be content to just write one really good song.BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-13955089504516016142008-07-31T16:55:00.001-04:002008-07-31T16:57:11.001-04:00A White Guy Walks Into a Bar...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SJImUm7WM8I/AAAAAAAAAD0/3zx3_0gws6U/s1600-h/stuff-white-ppl-like.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SJImUm7WM8I/AAAAAAAAAD0/3zx3_0gws6U/s200/stuff-white-ppl-like.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229284252819272642" border="0" /></a>Which is a more threatening element of Western culture: racism or consumerism?<br /><br />What is funnier: a joke at your own expense or one at another's?<br /><br />Which is the stronger cultural icon: iPods or Starbucks?<br /><br />If any of these three questions sparked your interest, I know a place you should visit. It is a land where satire meets cultural commentary meets racial stereotyping; where you may find yourself laughing at yourself laughing at yourself, or maybe you'll be completely offended by the fact that you found yourself completely offended.<br /><br />If you haven't heard of it, the website is called <a href="http://www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/">Stuff White People Like</a> <span style="font-style: italic;">(SWPL for short)</span>, and since its launch in January of this year, it has become the topic of discussion at places like <span style="font-style: italic;">The Chronicle of Higher Education</span>, NPR, and hosts of national newspapers, not to mention lots of blogs... It's a satirical blog that lists off the top 100+ things that "white people like." Sound moderately offensive? It is. Sound kind of funny? It is very.<br /><br />More than anything, <span style="font-style: italic;">SWPL</span> is less an overtly racial commentary and more an adept exploration of the sub-mainstream/young-hipster/college-student culture in this country (not to mention a website that made me laugh out loud a few times, and then wonder if I should have). But I think there are some racial elements boiling just beneath the surface as well, and it's worth taking some time to think and talk about them.<br /><br />I got sucked in and read almost everything on the site. Then I spent even more time reading what other people have to say about it. Now I want to know what my friends think.<br /><br />Check it out, take 10-20 minutes, read a few of the posts, and then come back here and share your initial thoughts. <a href="http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like/">(Click here for the full list)</a>BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-79080873080704484292008-07-17T11:27:00.000-04:002008-07-17T11:38:19.284-04:00Let Freedom Ring<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SH9nNKP0_ZI/AAAAAAAAADs/BldBng-GK2g/s1600-h/Clouds.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 137px;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SH9nNKP0_ZI/AAAAAAAAADs/BldBng-GK2g/s320/Clouds.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224007568559766930" border="0" /></a>What is freedom?<br /><br />Your answer to this simple question, please.<br /><br />(There are a few ways to think about it, so let your mind wander for a few minutes before answering...)<br /><br />(Also, this requires you to make a comment to respond with your answer, in case you hadn't realized, thanks)BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-7164833162315415072008-07-08T20:55:00.000-04:002008-07-08T21:06:21.270-04:00I Don't Hate This Guy<span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SHPiqKPuu0I/AAAAAAAAADk/GDW_JbtW6Ps/s1600-h/Dobson.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 164px; height: 214px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SHPiqKPuu0I/AAAAAAAAADk/GDW_JbtW6Ps/s320/Dobson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220765606985251650" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">...I'm just a little concerned that he's not thinking too clearly lately.<br /><br />It was a little over 2 years ago when Barack Obama appeared as the keynote speaker at a <span style="font-style: italic;">Call to Renewal</span> event in Washington, D.C. But it has not been until the past month that a number of his comments made at that Jim Wallis/Sojourner's get-together have come under attack by one of his chief political opponents.<br /><br />And I'm actually not talking about John McCain.<br /><br />Instead, Barack's 2-year-old comments are getting flak from a man who claims that he can't even vote for McCain in good conscience. He's a man who literally millions of Christians turn to for wisdom and guidance, who has gone from being a champion of preservation and redemption of the family to a political/social commentator on any issue he can get his hands on that so much as crosses the deep line drawn in the "conservative" sand, a man who actually believes that a nation can somehow be "Christian" (I believe only people can be Christians).<br /><br />Dr. James Dobson spent a good deal of time in a radio address that aired two weeks ago attacking remarks Obama made in that speech two years ago. He accused the likely Democratic Presidential nominee of "deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own world-view, his own confused theology."<br />I ended up listening to Dobson and his political cohort Tom Minnery go on in their criticism of Obama, in their words a commentary that is "of incredible importance in understanding his (Obama's) world-view." I won't go on with more quotes because I'll provide links below where you can either listen for yourself, or look at some excerpts. Anyway...<br /><br />The more I listened, the more angry I became. I wasn't angry because I necessarily disagreed with the principles for which Dobson stands: Biblical authority, understanding our politicians' world-views, the "religious" basis for morality (although I think he improperly labels this one; unless I'm mistaken, <span style="font-weight: bold;">God</span> is the basis for morality, not religion). I was mainly angry because I read that speech that Obama gave two years ago, and I loved it. It's one of the best speeches I've ever heard. Listening to it proved to me that Barack Obama is a thoughtful, informed, and devoted follower of Christ (that is, if he was truthful in all he said; I think he was). His understanding of the role faith plays in social and political matters is insightful and well-articulated. Moreover, it actually aligns fairly well with what people like James Dobson (on the right), Jim Wallis (on the left), and even Jerry Falwell (back when he was alive, he was so far to the right that he kept tipping over) have practiced for a long time: the insertion of issues of faith and morality into the political conversation.<br /><br />But the thing that made me angry about Dobson's diatribe was his complete misrepresentation of Obama's words. He took quotes out of context, made inferences that were clearly inaccurate to anyone who read the entirety of the speech, responded defensively to what was not even close to an attack (but simply a reference) even when Dobson claimed not to be responding defensively to the "offensive" words from Obama, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">COMPLETELY</span> missed the point of the Senator's speech.<br /><br />As I sat and pondered these things, already quite angry and fed-up with Focus on the Family (at least for the time being), I found a second wave of frustration as I considered the platform from which Dobson speaks, his influence, and therefore his responsibility to speak the truth (also to do so in love). There was so much in Obama's words which resonated as truth, and so little in Dobson's. I'm not accusing him of being intentionally deceptive, but rather warning him to take more care as one whose words travel so far to so many ears.<br /><br />Luckily, I found this website: <a href="http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/">James Dobson Doesn't Speak For Me.</a> Apparently I'm not alone as a Christian who is frustrated with Dobson's misuse of his platform as an Evangelical leader.<br /><br />The Point: Barack Obama is actually a Christian. He believes that his faith needs to inform his politics, and not just on two or three issues approved by the Right. He believes that for some reason, God wants to be involved in all arenas of life, and that peoples' world-views cannot and should not be separated from the moral decisions and actions they take. I know, he sounds like a total idiot, doesn't he? Or does Dr. Dobson not believe these things as well? Faith and politics are an increasingly interesting area, not just to me, but to most Christians I know. I wonder how much longer people like Dobson can go on spouting partisan rhetoric before my fellow Christians start thinking for themselves.<br /><br />Sorry if I sound angry. I've cooled down a bit from when I began this post, but I am still frustrated. Does anyone relate here or am I way off-base?<br /><br /><br />Links<br /><a href="http://www.barackobama.com/2006/06/28/call_to_renewal_keynote_address.php">- Read Obama's Speech (Awesome)</a><br />You should really read this speech.<br /><br /><a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gnLulDbwWGYGLiXlDW5hPiNMGMRQD91GDOM00">- AP Story about Dobson vs. Obama</a><br />The basic story.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/">- James Dobson Doesn't Speak For Me</a><br />Provides quotations from both Obama and Dobson shown in comparison. Very helpful.<br /><br /><a href="https://mail2.taylor.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.barackobama.com/2006/06/28/call_to_renewal_keynote_address.php" target="_blank"><br /></a><a href="https://mail2.taylor.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com" target="_blank"></a></span>BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-3133432754512241212008-06-22T02:30:00.000-04:002008-06-22T00:50:20.123-04:00The Gorge Is Just... Awesome.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SF24apel-cI/AAAAAAAAAC8/Q0PObEuIn4E/s1600-h/Gorge+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SF24apel-cI/AAAAAAAAAC8/Q0PObEuIn4E/s400/Gorge+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214526711515183554" border="0" /></a>...and I know that word is overused. But if you've ever found yourself exiting the Mountain Parkway, plunging headlong into the blackness of the Nada Tunnel, only to emerge to a beautiful day filled with eastern Kentucky sandstone and sunshine, you understand what I'm talking about.<br /><br />If not, then you're like I was just three short days ago. Growing up, my family had spent plenty of time hiking around some of Kentucky's best trails, forests, and caves. But on Thursday, my old friend Zach and I ventured somewhere I had been near dozens of times, but had never really gotten to explore.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SF3VDz1dVzI/AAAAAAAAADM/apyvhEvGbWg/s1600-h/Gorge+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SF3VDz1dVzI/AAAAAAAAADM/apyvhEvGbWg/s200/Gorge+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214558204995655474" border="0" /></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_Gorge">The Red River Gorge</a> is known the world over, particularly by climbing enthusiasts, for its cliffs, arch formations, and climber-friendly atmosphere. Less than 100 miles from my home, it is a place I often wanted to fully experience, but had never actually visited (much like the interesting fact that despite living most of my life surrounded by horses, horse farms, pictures of horses on horse farms, and people who ride horses for a living, I've never actually had the chance to get on one and ride). Zach, on the other hand, has been to "The Gorge" (as it's called by n00bs, like me) approximately 200 times in the past 5 years (his count being only moderately suspect simply because he is a climber, and climbers obviously have questionable levels sanity somewhat below average). Suffice it to say, he knows the area quite well. We only hiked a modest distance (because of my stupid freaking ankle) and found ourselves atop a rock formation known as <span style="font-style: italic;">Cloud Splitter </span>(Latitude: 37.8375, Longitude -83.62056... in case you'd fancy a visit yourself) where we spent most of the day exploring a wicked-cool cave, praying, reading the Anglican daily liturgy (The Book of Common Prayer), talking about life, love, & other mysteries*, and generally enjoying the (literally) breathtaking spectacle before us. After building the fastest-lighting fire of all time (seriously, those chemically enhanced "fire-starter" logs have nothing on us) and a night beneath the stars (and airplanes, lots of airplanes) we awoke early, as campers are wont to do, dodged a spot or two of rain, and made it to Miguel's for omelets (we had already been there the day before for pizza... delicious) before heading home.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SF3VL2A4CyI/AAAAAAAAADU/QWMs6fg7S3E/s1600-h/Gorge+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SF3VL2A4CyI/AAAAAAAAADU/QWMs6fg7S3E/s200/Gorge+5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214558343019367202" border="0" /></a>I've heard it said that "a day in the mountains is worth a thousand in the city."** Now I'm no math major, but I'm not sure how that exchange rate really works out, what with crude oil at over $130 a barrel and the declining value of the dollar... Anyway, what I mean is: I still like spending days in the city, because people live there, and people are really interesting. But every now and then, people can kind of get you down, and what you really need is to get away from most of them and spend some time with your Father in the extraordinary playground He's set up for you.<br /><br />All of us, no matter where we live, can find ways to get outside, take in some sunshine and admire the creation around us - whether that's among the misty peaks of the Rockies, the town park a few blocks from your house, or just the trees and birds in your own backyard. It really is therapeutic... unless of course you hate good things, in which case you probably ought not to spend time outdoors, nor should you purchase the new Coldplay (review forthcoming).<br /><br />So I'm not sure how many days I saved up with my trip into "The Red" (as it's known by the elite, climbers and the like), but I do know this: I got a chance to connect with God, with a friend, and with the place where blue sky meets sandy stone. I would also like to return soon, so please let me know if you're interested. Plus, Miguel's Pizza is seriously some of the best I've ever tasted...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SF3VW3Q2W0I/AAAAAAAAADc/R93kfxlzp7A/s1600-h/Gorge+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SF3VW3Q2W0I/AAAAAAAAADc/R93kfxlzp7A/s320/Gorge+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214558532333361986" border="0" /></a><br /><br />* The 1996 release from contemporary Christian pop sensations <span style="font-style: italic;">Point of Grace</span>, which may or may not have been the first record I ever purchased (insert shame here).<br />** See <a href="http://frontierthis.blogspot.com/">here</a> for the blog post I'm referencing. It's the first one at the top. How can I say with assurance that it's the first one? Because it will literally <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> be updated ever again.***<br />*** I would like to preemptively apologize for the (extremely unlikely) possibility that Sara and Alli do in fact update their blog eventually.****<br />**** I would also like to state that these asterisk footnotes are a blatant rip from <a href="http://steveconn.blogspot.com/">Steve Conn's blog</a> (look at that link love)*****<br />***** But that's okay because he ripped it off that guy that used to write funny the funny column in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Echo</span> (and no, I'm not talking about Steve... the other guy... Joe somebody).<br />Annnnnd, I'm done.BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2834078314699456273.post-70851690548443007402008-06-17T19:30:00.000-04:002008-06-18T01:57:47.859-04:00Pitchforks, Wine, and Battlefields: Why Critics Suck (for the most part)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SFgfcM082LI/AAAAAAAAAC0/xwBzbeDRBH8/s1600-h/wine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1-fhdrnxxk/SFgfcM082LI/AAAAAAAAAC0/xwBzbeDRBH8/s200/wine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212951138021464242" border="0" /></a>I’ve never much liked critics. Corman and I were talking about them yesterday and he quoted some brilliant author who described (I’m paraphrasing) them as people who come onto a battlefield after the fighting has ended and shoot all the dead people. They’re mean little cusses, and what they do amounts to very little.<br /><br />So I heard about this study (and then went and looked it up and <a href="http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/january16/wine-011608.html">found it</a>) where they had some people (not connoisseurs, but people who like red wine) try five “different” wines and rate their taste. Additionally, they used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity and measure “experienced pleasantness” as they tasted each wine. Overwhelmingly, the subjects rated the most “expensive” wines as the best-tasting. Additionally, the fMRI data showed that the most expensive wines also registered higher experienced pleasantness. In other words, opinions matched brain stimulus.<br /><br />Here’s the kicker, though… There were only three different wines. One was a $5 bottle that got labeled twice, both as a $5 wine and a fictitious $45 wine; one was a $90 wine that got labeled twice, both as a $90 wine a fictitious $10 wine; the last was a control wine that was correctly labeled with its $35 price.<br /><br />The study suggests that more than just pretending to have better taste, wine snobs might actually be enjoying more expensive wine better than the cheap stuff; not because it’s inherently better, but because they think it is and unintentionally (but genuinely) enjoy it more.<br /><br />Is the human brain influenced not only by inherent value of an experience, but also the expectations, perceptions, and marketing surrounding that experience? Whether we like it or not, it seems so.<br /><br />I've read reviews where Coldplay takes flak for almost everything they do, partially because of Chris Martin's songwriting, but also partially (I think) because of the great level of popularity they have achieved (their new album, for instance, sold 300,000 copies in its first 3 days in the UK alone). Indie critic sites like Pitchfork* pretty much bemoan everything Coldplay does, often referencing a disconnect between the band's huge popularity and its "gag-inducing" songwriting/influences/production. I'm sure that most of the Indie-critics out there would say that popularity really has no weight over the greatness or quality of a piece of music; and yet so many of them use that factor as grounds for an even more intense lambasting of something that has widespread notoriety. The same song that might have been labeled "mediocre" as a no-name's debut single now becomes an absolute "atrocity" simply because the artist has achieved great popular (if not critical) fame.<br /><br />So I’ve come to a brilliant conclusion: critics are snobs. Big whoop. But I would actually like to defend critics a bit. The above study does help confirm some of the snobbery we have suspected for a long time, but it also tells us that we all are subject to marketing, media attention, and our own personal expectations. Because I love Coldplay, I will probably enjoy their new album more than if it had been released in identical form by some other band. Conversely, those Pitchfork critics hate it simply because it’s Coldplay, but it’s not completely their fault… it’s also the evil record company’s.<br /><br />So those are my groundbreaking thoughts: critics are lame and record companies suck.<br /><br />I’ll be doing my own post-battle shooting later this week with a review of Coldplay’s new album which I’m listening to right now.<br /><br /><br />* <a href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/">Pitchforkmedia.com</a> is a website that reviews music. They are the quintessential Indie-snob critic site. See TheOnion's hilarious parody where <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/pitchfork_gives_music_6_8">Pitchfork gives music as a whole a 6.8 out of 10.</a>BThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16652965629605526162noreply@blogger.com11