My Kind of Town (and Trip)

We’re off to the big city of Chicago today (though a little later than planned). Last week, we were country mice; this week, we’re more of the town persuasion (click here if you have no idea what I’m talking about).
While Megan has all kinds of plans and places lined up to visit, the impetus for [...]

Fish

My sophomore year (1990) at Mizzou was quite a “friend year” for me. In addition to someone at the University randomly assigning Doug Serven (he of TwentySomeone fame) as my roommate, he or she also put us on the first floor of Wolpers Hall, two doors down from one John Gillman (pictured with me above). [...]

Where’s Mellencamp When You Need Him?

What I’ve done on summer vacation the past couple of days:

got sunburned at Six Flags
drove to the farm in Illinois
finished the final draft of my magazine article
finished The Chosen by Chaim Potok
helped my sister move into her new classroom at the elementary school
watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
visited with my high school friend, Lori, who runs [...]

Esteem Builder

Just in case anybody needs a little pick-me-up today, I would offer these alternatives for some helpful perspective on your particular situation (whatever it may be) in life:

Drew Carey to be new Price is Right host
Ben Affleck in “corny” environmental ad
Time’s annual list of least influential people

Now there, don’t you feel better?

Rockin’ the Casbah

I played piano and sang during the offertory in church yesterday – the first time in our two years at Memorial, and the first in a very long time of singing my own song anywhere. The grand piano felt and sounded great, and my performance was as good as I could have hoped for considering [...]

Harry, I Hardly Knew Ye

For those who might be worried, don’t be: there are no spoilers in this post. Plot-spoiling is hard without knowing the plot, and knowing the plot is hard when you’ve only read the first two-and-a-half books.
That’s right. I’ve not kept up on my Harry Potter reading over the past ten years. In fact, I probably [...]

Bulimic Productivity

I’ve spent way too much time in a staring contest with my computer this week, but at least it’s been productive. Today I’ll submit the first draft of my article for byFaith and maybe check email a couple of times, but that’s about it. All work and no play makes Craig a very dull boy.
I [...]

Stick a Fork in Us

We’re done.

Collective Movie Review: Rescue Dawn

Saw Rescue Dawn last night with Ed Eubanks, Nick Gleason, Clay Johnson, Mark Peach, and Travis Scott. I asked the guys if they’d contribute a thought or two to a collective movie review here today, so check the comments for their thoughts as they post them.
In the meantime, here’s a brief summary along with a [...]

Flick Tonight?

Sorry for the late notice, but I’ve got six complimentary tickets left for a special screening of Rescue Dawn tonight. If you’re in the St. Louis area and would like to go, you’ll need to meet me outside the movie theater at 6:45 p.m. (the show starts at 7:30, but has been overbooked to ensure [...]

I’m Not Making This Up

This afternoon I laid down on the couch to do some reading and take a Sunday afternoon nap. As I dozed off, I remembered hearing Megan begin preparations in the kitchen to fix sloppy joes for our summer Bible study group this evening. Thankfully, the smell eventually woke me up from the very vivid dream [...]

Links That Make You Go “Hmmm”

Went to see Hello, Dolly! at The Muny with Megan and the girls last night. Didn’t care much for the story as a whole (no characters to really root for), but the production was top-notch and the sound was amazing. We had a beautiful 75-degree evening for it as well, so that made it nice.
Thought [...]

Yes, I Can Hear You Now

Studying here at Kaldi’s in Kirkwood, I find myself sitting next to funny man Eugene Levy (or at least a guy who sure looks and sounds exactly like him). How do I know he sounds like him? Because he’s been talking loudly on his cell phone for the past half hour and driving me crazy.
Rude [...]

Email Not Good for Procrastinators

From the article, “Procrastination: Ten Things to Know,” newly reviewed in Psychology Today:
“Procrastinators actively look for distractions, particularly ones that don’t take a lot of commitment on their part. Checking e-mail is almost perfect for this purpose. They distract themselves as a way of regulating their emotions such as fear of failure.”
I’ll go out on [...]

On Barry Bonds and Baseball History

It’s been a while since I’ve talked a little baseball, so with the All-Star Break upon us and the season being half over, I thought now might be a good time. My Cardinals have been playing better, but I was hoping they’d have made it back to .500 by now. According to the PECOTA version [...]

Geek or Chic?

I just got new glasses. It was a good 10-year run with my last set of lenses and my prescription had barely changed; however, with the last Harry Potter book coming out July 21st, I figure it’s time to give up the rounded specs for some rectangular ones. I am such a slave to fashion.
My [...]

The Last Hurrah

Last night I dreamt that Barack Obama was one of my professors at Covenant. Needless to say, it’s probably time to bring our political discussions to a close. However, before I do, I’ve got a few last questions to which I’d appreciate your responses (think personally and practically here):

Apart from voting (or not), what else [...]

Good Questions (Mostly Yours)

I’d like to pick up on a few of the questions posed within several of your comments earlier in the week. What’s your response to any of these?

Why do American Christians seem to think that a democratic republic is the best system of government? Are there other alternatives (theonomy, for instance) we should consider this [...]

Red, White & Boom

It’s been surreal reading your many thoughts on American government and politics during this Fourth of July week (happy Independence Day, by the way). I’d like to say I purposely coordinated the overlap, but that wouldn’t be true. I will say that processing your observations has been particularly pointed as a result of the fortunate [...]

Got Time for a Story?

We had a great start yesterday to our political “interview” (that’s how I’m thinking of it, anyway). Thanks to each of you who responded, as well as to all of you who gave some link love. The comments are still open, so feel free to continue any discussion you like.
I’d like to make a few [...]