Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Top 10 Albums of 2008
10. David Crowder*Band - Remedy Club Tour (live)
9. Reign of Kindo - Rhythm, Chord & Melody
8. The Jealous Sound - Got Friends
7. Edison Glass - Time is Fiction
6. Straylight Run - Un Mas Dos
5. David Moore - Breaking You Down
4. Secret & Whisper - Great White Whale
3. Anberlin - New Surrender
2. Emery - While Broken Hearts Prevail
1. Search the City - A Fire So Big the Heavens Can See It
Details coming tomorrow.
9. Reign of Kindo - Rhythm, Chord & Melody
8. The Jealous Sound - Got Friends
7. Edison Glass - Time is Fiction
6. Straylight Run - Un Mas Dos
5. David Moore - Breaking You Down
4. Secret & Whisper - Great White Whale
3. Anberlin - New Surrender
2. Emery - While Broken Hearts Prevail
1. Search the City - A Fire So Big the Heavens Can See It
Details coming tomorrow.
My One Word?
I've decided to start keeping a journal this year, and here is the entry that I wrote today:
1/4/09
Ah, another year, and with it comes another word. Last year my word was "present" with the idea that I needed to enjoy the present and not worry so much about the future. Looking back, this may have been a pretty safe pick for me. I've never had all that much trouble enjoying the present. Sure I had some issues with work and with money, but not nearly to the level of many other people that I know personally. So this year I want to challenge myself a little more. At church today "self-control" popped into my head and basically stayed there for the length of the service. I'd like to come up with a few possibilities before I make my final decision, so here we got with number one:
Self-control: A lot of the things I'd like to change to become the person I envision start with self-control. I'd like to become slower to anger, especially in sports. I'd like to work harder at work and slack off less. I'd like to be more habitual with my gym routine and with limiting my portion sizes when eating to become healthier. Same with trying to floss regularly for my oral health. But most of all, self-control will help me with my spiritual health. I need to be more active in our small group activities and lessons. I need more time for journaling and quiet time. I need consistency in prayer and reflection. All these things can be accomplished if I show a little more self-control.
So when I got home I figured it'd be a good thing to see what the bible thinks. I said a quick prayer that God help guide me to a word that will cause positive change in my life and then opened my bible to the index and found:
SELF-CONTROL
shown by ability to hold your tongue . . . . . . . . . . . . Prv 13:3
** needed to grow spiritually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Pt 1:6
** Sort of my exact focus!
2 Peter 1:5-8
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perserverance; and to perserverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure; they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen!
(No idea what I'm taking about? Check out www.myoneword.org.)
1/4/09
Ah, another year, and with it comes another word. Last year my word was "present" with the idea that I needed to enjoy the present and not worry so much about the future. Looking back, this may have been a pretty safe pick for me. I've never had all that much trouble enjoying the present. Sure I had some issues with work and with money, but not nearly to the level of many other people that I know personally. So this year I want to challenge myself a little more. At church today "self-control" popped into my head and basically stayed there for the length of the service. I'd like to come up with a few possibilities before I make my final decision, so here we got with number one:
Self-control: A lot of the things I'd like to change to become the person I envision start with self-control. I'd like to become slower to anger, especially in sports. I'd like to work harder at work and slack off less. I'd like to be more habitual with my gym routine and with limiting my portion sizes when eating to become healthier. Same with trying to floss regularly for my oral health. But most of all, self-control will help me with my spiritual health. I need to be more active in our small group activities and lessons. I need more time for journaling and quiet time. I need consistency in prayer and reflection. All these things can be accomplished if I show a little more self-control.
So when I got home I figured it'd be a good thing to see what the bible thinks. I said a quick prayer that God help guide me to a word that will cause positive change in my life and then opened my bible to the index and found:
SELF-CONTROL
shown by ability to hold your tongue . . . . . . . . . . . . Prv 13:3
** needed to grow spiritually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Pt 1:6
** Sort of my exact focus!
2 Peter 1:5-8
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perserverance; and to perserverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure; they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen!
(No idea what I'm taking about? Check out www.myoneword.org.)
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
10 Things Keeping Me Sane This Month
This has been a stressful month for some reason. Money issues, family issues, work issues, not to mention it being so friggin cold! Rather than harp on the negative, here are the ten things keeping me sane this month:
10. Sweaters
Yeah, it's really cold and that really blows when I'm walking from the bed to the shower, but at least I can pull out the sweaters! I have way too many of them. I think every year I buy a bunch on sale at the end of winter and then forget about them until the next year. Then I realize how many I have. I do this ever single year.
9. Looking forward to Courtney's Flotilla party. Good food, good drinks, good people, and of course, sweaters! Really, I'll take any holiday party, except Verizon Wireless's "Winter Celebration."
8. Cinnamon. I'm obsessed at the moment with cinnamon anything. Cinnamon muffins. Cinnamon lattes. Cinnamon buns. I'm such a spice dude, and what spice is better in the winter than cinnamon?
7. Anberlin. I've been listening to their entire catalog pretty consistently this month. They get better ever time I listen to them. Their best song by far is Fin. It's amazing. We need more boys' choirs in rock.
6. Back to the gym. I'm finally going to the gym consistently again. It took way too long, but better late than never.
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Less than 50 days until opening weekend. I'm not one of those movie dudes who goes to a whole bunch of movies and get all excited for any crappy film, but I will be in a seat the weekend that it opens? Why? It was directed by David Fincher and that's all I need to know.
4. My small group. Really they help me get through plenty of months, but I feel like we're starting to make some serious progress and starting to look outside of our group to spread hope and good will. If you would have told me 18 months ago that I would be typing that sentence, I would have laughed in your face.
3. Pela - American Graffiti. Too bad it was released last year, or it'd be really high on my best of 2008 list. It's the best album I've heard in months, maybe even all year. Thanks Dave!
2. Winter holidays. I can't wait to spend Thanksgiving with just Kristen and I, shopping at ridiculous hours on Black Friday, and going home for Christmas. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.
1. Kristen's breakfast sandwiches. Really, it's just Kristen in general. She's the greatest wife in the world and the sandwiches are just one of the many, many things she does to prove her love for me every day. She gets me through every day. Don't get me wrong, the sandwiches are great, but she's even better!
10. Sweaters
Yeah, it's really cold and that really blows when I'm walking from the bed to the shower, but at least I can pull out the sweaters! I have way too many of them. I think every year I buy a bunch on sale at the end of winter and then forget about them until the next year. Then I realize how many I have. I do this ever single year.
9. Looking forward to Courtney's Flotilla party. Good food, good drinks, good people, and of course, sweaters! Really, I'll take any holiday party, except Verizon Wireless's "Winter Celebration."
8. Cinnamon. I'm obsessed at the moment with cinnamon anything. Cinnamon muffins. Cinnamon lattes. Cinnamon buns. I'm such a spice dude, and what spice is better in the winter than cinnamon?
7. Anberlin. I've been listening to their entire catalog pretty consistently this month. They get better ever time I listen to them. Their best song by far is Fin. It's amazing. We need more boys' choirs in rock.
6. Back to the gym. I'm finally going to the gym consistently again. It took way too long, but better late than never.
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Less than 50 days until opening weekend. I'm not one of those movie dudes who goes to a whole bunch of movies and get all excited for any crappy film, but I will be in a seat the weekend that it opens? Why? It was directed by David Fincher and that's all I need to know.
4. My small group. Really they help me get through plenty of months, but I feel like we're starting to make some serious progress and starting to look outside of our group to spread hope and good will. If you would have told me 18 months ago that I would be typing that sentence, I would have laughed in your face.
3. Pela - American Graffiti. Too bad it was released last year, or it'd be really high on my best of 2008 list. It's the best album I've heard in months, maybe even all year. Thanks Dave!
2. Winter holidays. I can't wait to spend Thanksgiving with just Kristen and I, shopping at ridiculous hours on Black Friday, and going home for Christmas. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.
1. Kristen's breakfast sandwiches. Really, it's just Kristen in general. She's the greatest wife in the world and the sandwiches are just one of the many, many things she does to prove her love for me every day. She gets me through every day. Don't get me wrong, the sandwiches are great, but she's even better!
Friday, November 7, 2008
No Strings Attached
This may be a bit of a shock to those who read this blog, but believe it or not, I'm pretty much into anything David Moore has touched, influenced, looked at, or thought about, and one of those things is The Chevy Downs Band. They're a bit of an Indiana mash-up band featuring Sonny Downs (Moore), Jesse P. Downs (Seth Greathouse - Bassist on Chamberlain's "Exit 263,") Beauregard T. Downs (Tim Jones - Vocalist of Old Pike, a band known best to me as being fortunate enough to share three-fifths of the only split album Chamberlain has ever released), and other Downs, whose backgrounds, I'll be honest, I'm not so sure about. Anyway, the album is not the easiest to fine, as I'm still unaware of a location offering downloads, but was easily worth the fifteen bucks and the wait of the postman delivering it to my door.
So you're probably wondering, "what's the deal with the No Strings Attached title?" After one of my late night Google sessions I actually hit the jackpot, a full Chevy Downs Band set offered FOR FREE online. I know, I could hardly believe it myself. I mean, let's be honest, I'd probably pay an insane figure for a full live set, so to be able to download it for free, that's almost too much to think about!
Now, if you're anything like me, you've learned to fear the "live download." Normally it sounds as if some person decided to record the set on one of those little tape transcription device thingys and then decided to sing along off-key during the entire set leaving you bashing your head into your keyboard while you painfully listen to your hopes and dreams be crushed within the opening notes of that first song. Disappointed, I know. I've been there. Multiple times.
This is not like that. This was recorded directly from the sound board (I'm assuming) and it rocks. It could be the best live album I've ever heard, and it's not even on an album. It's ridiculous really. No one should come across such a musical gold mine for free. There should be pain involved. And tears. And twenty dollar bills. At least some "holier than though" music snob you've gotta deal with in order to get him to send you a copy. I'm tempted to withhold the link from you, just to make you work for it...
...
...
...
Ah, I can't do that to you. I'm too nice a guy.
Oh, and you're already sold, I know, but as if it couldn't get any better, it includes versions of Chamberlain's "Hey Louise" and "The South Has Spoiled Me." Incredible.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Worst Thing Ever
Reading through your old blog posts and finding spelling and grammatical errors. Grrr. I should hire an editor. Or maybe an editer.
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