Must Be Santa

There's just something about Bob Dylan...especially when he's singing a Christmas polka at a house party with a wig on...

New Avett Brothers album

Probably the most highly anticipated album of the decade. The Avetts with Mr. Rick Rubin himself. My first listen was a very fine experience. You can hear it here for $0.00...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112973444&sc=emaf

Rodney Smith's New(ish) Blog

http://rodneysmith.com/blog

I thought I'd point my half dozen readers to the blog that photographer Rodney Smith started last month. My knowledge of what makes a good photo is very limited...but, I like Rodney Smith because, to my tastes, he's a perfect blend of not-taking-yourself-to-seriously, while still helping you see the world a little differently.

The great thing about his blog is that his subtle glimpses of profundity (first use of the word profundity on this blog) come through in his writing as they do in his photography. You have a simple story about how a picture was taken or what he likes about the picture...and, inside of the story is a very thought provoking idea about creating art.

If nothing else, take a couple minutes to look at some of his photography...hopefully, you will be impressed.

http://www.rodneysmith.com/portfolio.php

15 Essential Johnny Cash Songs

Here's a good list of "essential" Johnny Cash songs:

http://www.the9513.com/the-best-of-johnny-cash-the-man-in-blacks-15-most-essential-songs

Trivial Art

I don't 100% agree with these two quotes. Actually, I think I probably only agree about 45-55% what they are saying. But, I think the sentiments are interesting. If we're properly involved in the world and staying appropriately busy in things that are important, will the need for the art house movies and certain types of more philosophical literature still be important? Or, will our breaks in ministering to those around us cause us to desire lighter fair? Does an acquired taste for higher quality art come from too much wasted time? ...I think there's some interesting thoughts floating around that neighborhood (and some unhelpful dichotomizing).

"Anyone who is currently constructing “a nine-hour exploration of ‘personality’”, it seems to me, has completely forgotten about his audience, or at least the conventional notion of an audience, full of people with jobs and worries and dependants, people who are tired after a hard working day or week. My suspicion is that the policeman and the teacher and the nurse who works in a hospice does not feel infantilised in the least by someone’s desire to keep them entertained and diverted; rather, they are grateful for it. The job of providing these diversions, however, can occasionally seem less than adult: writers sit around in jeans and old T-shirts for large parts of the average working day, eating biscuits and watching some of the funnier acts from ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ on YouTube, while their friends and contemporaries don suits, rush off to meetings, save lives, keep entire transport systems running. Perhaps inevitably, there is a desire to compensate for the lifestyle, produce plays and books and films that are no fun whatsoever in an attempt to convince the world outside our offices that a day in front of the word-processor is the equivalent of eight hours down a Siberian salt-mine."
- Nick Hornby

Doug Wilson on Fireproof:
"If I set myself to think of couples in marriages that I think would be greatly helped by watching this movie, I would run out of fingers inside of a minute. I can also think of Christians who would be offended by the schlock, but many of them would be those who know more about how a movie ought to be made than about how a woman ought to be treated. And they would rather watch a movie about a woman being abused so long as the movie was made right than to have the woman treated right in a movie that offended their refined sensibilities. So which is the altar and which is the sacrifice?"

Joe Pug - Hymn 101

Here's the coolest song of the week...

He's giving away his EP at: www.joepugmusic.com

and i've come to meet the legendary takers
i've only come to ask them for a lot
oh they say i come with less
than i should rightfully possess
i say the more i buy the more i'm bought
and the more i'm bought the less i cost

If I Only Had 4 Sentences to Describe Twilight (the movie)

Twilight is a 122 minute lusty sex scene without nudity so that no one realizes that they are actually watching an 122 minute epic on lust.  

I wasn't sure I'd be able to control my dry heaves after Belle spoke breathlessly for the 265th time. 

There's a 100 year old vampire in love with a teenager...it doesn't get much creepier than that.

Other than that it's gripping.

Things to Like About Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire…

      …contrasts the results of living for yourself vs. living for others.

      …honestly presents the evils of the world in a disturbing but discrete way.

      …shows that the qualities of your youth amplify themselves as you become an adult.

      …commends unconditional love.  If you’re feeling generous, it commends grace-filled love.

      …can easily be interpreted as alluding to a God who has ‘written’ history.

25 Perfect Songs

The last couple weeks I've been making a list of perfect songs. In my opinion, they don't make music any better than what is listed below...all these songs come pretty close to tie-ing for the number one spot.

Against my better judgement, I've also included YouTube links for all the songs. This is especially bad news if you haven't heard the song before because: A) Seeing the people singing these songs on your first listen can be distracting, and B) Some of the versions aren't as good as the album versions.

But, you have to give the people what they want...I'd I knew you'd be too lazy to do your own research for these songs. So, enjoy...argue with me...suggest other perfect songs...I love all of you...

Love in Vain - Robert Johnson

Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen

Tiny Dancer - Elton John

Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Stevie Wonder

Shame - The Avett Brothers

Return of the Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons

Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry

Can't Get Next to You - The Temptations

How Blue Can You Get - B. B. King

Pancho & Lefty - Townes Van Zandt

American Girl - Tom Petty

Piece of My Heart - Janis Joplin

Redemption Song - Bob Marley

Blow it Out - The Features

Stand By Me - Ben E. King

Ol' '55 - Tom Waits

Float On - Modest Mouse

I Want You Back - The Jackson Five

I'm A Rocker - The Raspberries

You Are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontague

Scenes From An Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel

Folson Prison Blues - Johnny Cash

Tangled Up in Blue - Bob Dylan

Caravan - Van Morrison

What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

"Two Smiles"

Nothing's better than two smiles from my daughter's lips...

...one giggle at bedtime might come close.

And, not to be picky, but smiles are better in close proximity to sleep...waking or falling...

...giggles are best on laps and changing tables.

And, if you're lucky, a kiss isn't bad...

but still...

...nothing's better than two smiles from my daughter's lips. 

Bella

I finally broke my bad-movie streak. It's hard to tell for sure, but I think I had seen about 104 PG-13 romantic comedies in a row...all of them required the brain power of a green pea to get the nice moral message that when you really love someone you should make out, take off the man's shirt and then fall into a bed that is off camera...I'm assuming not much happens after that.

...but, then Bella came along. And, it reminded me that movies can feel almost perfect at times. It submits it's pro-life message artistically without preaching at people or letting the message overpower the emotions of the movie, although I would argue that the entire movie is about life (and in some ways, it's sanctity). I'm not sure how Christians decide which movies they are going to turn into sleeper hits...but, in my perfect world, I wish Bella would have drawn the lucky straw...

So, if you haven't seen it already, give it a shot. It reminds me alot of life...everywhere you look, there's sadness...but, between the sad stories there's usually some optimism in the air and redemption waiting around the corner.

The 10 most "Christian" U2 Songs

U2.  How cool is it that one of the longest-lasting, stadium-shaking, bastions of rock-and-roll greatness happens to be Christian?  Or, at least religious…or, spiritual…or, something.  Their new album, No Line On the Horizon, is freshly upon us and ready to provide more doses of potentially Biblical lyrics.  There’s almost 30 years of U2 history floating around.  In this small mound of Bono lyrics, we find religious analogies piled up on top of each other.  What rises to the top?  Where does Bono shine through at his most Christian…at his most “I’m spiritual, but don’t organize me”?  Provided below are the ten best U2’s songs where Bono’s spiritual side comes charging through, both guns blazing, with songs that seem so heartfelt that everyone who “gets it” wholeheartedly believes that every song in the U2 catalog is about “it”.  These next 10 songs should offer a glimpse of what’s so special about U2. 

1. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (The Joshua Tree)
2. Grace (All You Can’t Leave Behind)
3. Yahweh (How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb)
4. The First Time (Zooropa)
5. The Wanderer (Zooropa)
6. 40 (War)
7. When Loves Comes to Town (Rattle & Hum)
8. North & South of the River (B-Sides; 80s-90s)
9. Until the End of the World (Achtung Baby)
10. Drowning Man (War)

Fame, Celebrity, and Accomplishment

Our church has hit the big time with a full-fledged blog post by Mr. Andy Naselli himself. I was quite flattered...and enjoyed seeing it in my Google Reader this morning.

http://andynaselli.com/theology/crossway-milwaukee

It's not Jason's first moment of being in the spotlight...here is our church's other moment of acclaim:

Young, Restless, Reformed

...I'll finish up here...my mildly cynical tone can only hide my unhealthy pride for so long...

www.crosswaymilwaukee.org

Fireproof

Fireproof is a bad movie. But, it has such good intentions that I can't say anything bad about it without feeling like a nasty step-father who couldn't find anything good to say about his 7th grader's school play.

At the least, I'll cut and paste a relevant quote:

"Where films are concerned, if you set out to convey some special message or thesis you will become narrow and rigid..." -Akira Kurosawa

...something similar is going on with Fireproof.

Happy Valentines Day!

Super Bowl Journal

...don't miss Springsteen's "Super Bowl Journal"

http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/superbowljournal.html

The Emperor's New Clothes

I like these guys. The way they observe society/culture with a dab of cynicism reminds me a little of Jerry Seinfeld. A couple of my favorites:

Working on a Dream

Wow...it's perfect.

Click here to listen to it...
Working on a Dream: "
1. Outlaw Pete - Bruce Springsteen
2. My Lucky Day - Bruce Springsteen
3. Working On A Dream - Bruce Springsteen
4. Queen of the Supermarket - Bruce Springsteen
5. What Love Can Do - Bruce Springsteen
6. This Life - Bruce Springsteen
7. Good Eye - Bruce Springsteen
8. Tomorrow Never Knows - Bruce Springsteen
9. Life Itself - Bruce Springsteen
10. Kingdom Of Days - Bruce Springsteen
11. Suprise, Suprise - Bruce Springsteen
12. The Last Carnival - Bruce Springsteen
13. The Wrestler (Bonus Track) - Bruce Springsteen"

Teddy

I was going through some papers today and found these two quotes that I used to have taped to something...I think my computer. I did a search to see where they came from and found out that the first quote is one of the "three most requested quotes" from theodoreroosevelt.org. So, I guess I'm not unique in enjoying it...

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

- Theodore Roosevelt
"Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

---

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

- Theodore Roosevelt
"The Strenuous Life"

Christmas Without the Incarnation

"Nothing's changed...nothing is right..."



On the Incarnation

The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism

Here's a video that make me want to pack thing up, buy a bus, and head out on tour with all my friends...



Move Avett Brothers videos

theavettbrothers.com

Roger Ebert on our celebrity driven culture....

If you are interested in hearing Roger Ebert rant and rave about our celebrity culture, read this blog post, "Death to film critics! Hail to the CelebCult!". I enjoyed it. A couple exerpts:

"The CelebCult virus is eating our culture alive, and newspapers voluntarily expose themselves to it. It teaches shabby values to young people, festers unwholesome curiosity, violates privacy, and is indifferent to meaningful achievement. One of the TV celeb shows has announced it will cover the Obama family as "a Hollywood story." I want to smash something against a wall."

"The celebrity culture is infantilizing us. We are being trained not to think. It is not about the disappearance of film critics. We are the canaries. It is about the death of an intelligent and curious, readership, interested in significant things and able to think critically. It is about the failure of our educational system. It is not about dumbing-down. It is about snuffing out."

"Death to film critics! Hail to the CelebCult!"

Free Dr. Pepper - Today

Dr. Pepper...Guns-n-Roses...2008? ...it means a free Dr. Pepper.

http://www.drpepper.com/freeDrPepper

UPDATE:
I've tried about 5 times today to get my free Dr. Pepper with no luck...I guess there's lots of cheapos like me out there. Or, it's a strategic Dr. Pepper move so that they don't have to give out free drinks...conspiracy theorists, beware.

Also, you can download the new Springsteen song today for free. You can get it at iTunes or brucespringsteen.net

UPDATE II:
I'm officially registered for a free Dr. Pepper. Thank you Dr. Pepper and thank you Guns-n-Roses for releasing an album in 2008. 4 minutes and 23 seconds to spare.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

This is everything I love about music...and everything I hate about music videos. Press play and minimize your screen.



Same song...better video...



...which is a spoof/tribute of/to this Depeche Mode video.

The song (not Depeche Mode) has an interesting spiritual side to it. I like what it has to say about pride. ...I could be interpreting things too straight-forward-ly, though. There may be a touch of cynicism hiding out (Wikipedia, BBC, Q Daily).

Star Wars by John Williams

(FilmChat)

Politics & the Abortion Trump Card

I've always been frustrated that I've never been able to jump into the "fun" part of the political playing field. I feel like there's a fence around the field called abortion that keeps me from the more interesting discussions of big government vs. small government, tax cuts, etc. I know I fall into that stereotypical right-wing group that doesn't get it...that people are dying overseas, that we aren't taking care of our sick and our poor, that we don't care about our environment...wouldn't it be better to be part of a party that (arguably) handles these issues better?

I've flirted with this thought before...for a couple minutes I even thought Donald Miller had a pretty good argument in his post which said: "The continuation of rhetoric about being pro-life but not having a realistic plan has tired me of the Republican Party". The idea that the Democratic party (supporting a Pro-Choice ideal) will lower abortions by promoting safe-sex type of concepts makes sense and is interesting, but I don't buy it. For me it is just as "rhetorical" as what some may accuse the Republican party of in their attempts to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

In regards to this, I found Justin Taylor's blog post on the Freedom Of Choice Act helpful...he references this chart from the Guttmacher Institute that shows that the number of abortions in Maryland has increased since 1991 while the national numbers have gone down.

The significance of this is that Obama has stated that "the first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act"...which is disturbing because I think Maryland is representative of where we'd be if Obama were able to impliment his pro-choice policy. I say this because Maryland is a very Pro-Choice state. NARAL Pro-Choice America gives them a grade "A", which means the state is extremely Pro-Choice friendly. I think the rise of abortions in Maryland is due to the fact that they are quite liberal in their abortion views...which is where our country would head federally with something like the Freedom of Choice Act in place. (You can look at the chart above and this NY Times article and possibly draw some conclusions from the bill they passed in 1991.)

The above paragraph is only a brief example...and, perhaps too wordy for the simple point I'm making...but, with all that said...I really don't think we are going to lower the number of abortions while at the some time condoning abortion and making it easier to get abortions. I don't understand how we can tell people that abortion is not a big deal (in some ways easier than buying beer or a pack of cigarettes)...and, yet, you should be careful in your sex life because you don't want to get pregnant...? ...it doesn't make sense to me.

...so, my vote comes down to the fact that I believe abortions will increase under Obama.

Maybe I could be convinced that the Democratic party could answer some of the other problems of the world that are also offensive and moral. But, I firmly believe that there is no difference in killing a week old infant and a 40 week old "fetus" in the womb. Philosophically, if you are consistent, this is the only option. If we rewind the tape from there, I know of no term in the pregnancy where you can draw a line in the sand and state it's okay to end this life now. Simply stated...human life is on the line, the burden of proof is on the person who says life (human rights...personhood...whatever) does not begin at conception. I've never heard anything to convince me otherwise.

Woman's Rights throws an emotional difficulty into the equation, especially, when something like rape is involved. But, I still feel as though the killing a living being is of greater importance than the inconvenience of a pregnancy. I don't feel as though this emotional concept should be unfamiliar to a Pro-Choice advocate, because many of them would emotionally feel the reverse...i.e. it's a horrible thing to end the potential for life, but a woman should have these rights over her body. I think it can be a difficult (I can't quite bring myself to write "horrible") thing to carry a baby that you don't want, but the baby should have the right to live.

So, for what it's worth...I'm the guy who's tempted to consider some of Barack's promises to America...but, I just can't get past the abortion trump card. Abortion is different than slavery, anti-semitism, sexism, etc...I acknowledge that, but in my mind...in my conscience...it's of a similar caliber. No matter what a leader offers in their public policies, if slavery, anti-semitism, or sexism were part of their agenda, by conscience I would refuse to vote for them. For myself, it's the same thing when it comes to abortion.

_____

Also See:

Witherspoon Institute 1
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/viewarticle.php?selectedarticle=2008.10.14_George_Robert_Obama

Witherspoon Institute 2 (Infanticide)
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/viewarticle.php?selectedarticle=2008.10.16_George_Robert_Obama%20and%20Infanticide_.xml

One More From Witherspoon
http://thepublicdiscourse.com/viewarticle.php?selectedarticle=2008.10.24_New_Michael%20J._Pro-Life%20Politicians%20Have%20Made%20a%20Difference,%20Pro-Life%20Laws%20Work_.xml

Randy Alcorn on Donald Miller
http://randyalcorn.blogspot.com/2008/10/not-cool-obamas-pro-abortion-stance.html

Akira Kurosawa Interviews

I briefly read through the Akira Kurosawa Interviews tonight (edited by Bert Cardullo). Here were some of my favorite parts.

1963 - "Nothing could be more difficult for me than to define my own style. I simply make a picture as I wish it to be or as nearly as it is within my power to do so. I have never thought of defining my style. If I tried such a thing, I would be caught within my own trap." (25)

1966 - "There are so many things which portray violence and so many films show this. Somehow, I feel tired of it. It is easy to be happy. If it is necessary to show violence in a film, it is good to avoid ugliness...There are already too many films that show sex. I do not want my films to be another vehicle for it. Besides, I do not think it should be a purpose for entertainment. Children would not be able to understand it; it will only complicate their minds, and they will not be entertained." (32)

1975 - "Where films are concerned, if you set out to convey some special message or thesis you will become narrow and rigid. I think it is true for any other creative work as well." (58)

.

1980 - "...there's a tradition in Western films that deal with cavalry battles, whereby one almost invariably fires to hit the rider. In terms of real battle strategy, however, this is entirely unrealistic because the horse is a much bigger target and if you wanted to disable the whole cavalry, you'd get rid of the horses first. But nobody has ever made a film that way. The convention is to shoot the rider and see him fall off and the response to the film comes from that. I felt that this tradition has already worn out and wanted to try something different, more effective, for the sophisticated film audiences of today--to show the final effect of the battle rather than those shootings themselves. Besides, when you have a stuntman on a horse who knows he's going to be shot, this is apparent in his whole physical attitude. The audience also knows it's going to happen, so why show them what they already know?" (72-73)

1986 - "Ideally, a film should be spherical. This is physically impossible; however, it is possible to approach such a shape. A film should appeal to sophisticated, profound-thinking people, while at the same time entertaining simplistic people. Even if a small circle of people enjoy a film, it will not do. A film should satisfy a wide range of people, all the people." (141)

1986 - "CINEASTE: Once you said that the most important thing for young people aspiring to become directors was to read world classics. Do you still believe so?

.

KUROSAWA: Definitely. To read everything is almost impossible, so you must find writers that you like. Then, to find favorite works of these writers, and read them again and again. Therefore, your understanding of the characters in these works is deepened. One's level of understanding after reading a work once, and after reading it ten times, is naturally different." (143)

.

...if I ever complain about not having any free time, feel free to slap me.

Paul Newman

A couple good articles on Paul Newman...

Roger Ebert

Robert Redford

"Theirs is a mission impossible..."

(...from Justin Taylor's blog)

"I pity satirists who might be tempted to try to tweak these segments of the evangelical world.  Theirs is a mission impossible.  It can no longer be done.  No matter how indelicately they might exaggerate, no matter how much they might embellish to make a point, no matter how many descriptions they might offer of the tasteless things that are happening, it will most likely be met with only a yawn and a bored question: 'So...?'  Nothing seems improbable.  None of it, in fact, ever seems exaggerated and none of it seems improper.  It has now become impossible to insult some evangelicals."  (David Wells, The Courage to Be Protestant, p 24)

Bob Dylan Links

Don't miss the free download ("Dreamin' of You") at bobdylan.com

The video is freshly posted at amazon.com

Also, finally, here is my liberal friend John Mellencamp covering "The Times They are A-Changin'" (We are both native Hoosiers, you know.)

Ben's Brother, John Mayer, and videos that I can't embed

Here's a good video that I can't embed: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Ctt4fIo1w

...it's Ben's Brother singing Carry On. 

Also, here's John Mayer singing Free Fallin...also, I can't embed it...also, it's not funny like the Ben's Brother video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wJ-VPqFzy0

...it's the internet, isn't all this stuff supposed to be steal-able? 

Gossip in the Grain - Ray LaMontagne

The first two tracks off Ray LaMontagne's new album, Gossip in the Grain.
Release Date: October 14, 2008

http://www.raylamontagne.com/home.php

You Are The Best Thing


Let It Be Me


Tracklisting:
1. You Are The Best Thing
2. Let It Be Me
3. Sarah
4. I Still Care For You
5. Winter Birds
6. Meg White
7. Hey Me, Hey Mama
8. Henry Nearly Killed Me (It’s A Shame)
9. A Falling Through
10. Gossip In The Grain