Vacancy

This is the second bug shell – intact except for the “exit hatch” out the back – that we’ve found around the house. The analogies are many, but I’ll save those for now; just thought it was cool.

Saying Thanks

As part of my Sabbath today, I wrote thank you notes all afternoon – to family who helped us buy and furnish our house; to friends who watched our kids and helped us move; to new neighbors who have been, well, pretty darn neighborly. In doing so, I realized I hadn’t really offered any thanks to you, [...]

Obama’s Rainbow Tour

Barack Obama, who, as a “citizen,” recently addressed 200,000 Germans (and the world) from the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, is the new (choose the best answer):
A) Ronald Reagan
B) Winston Churchill
C) John F. Kennedy
D) Eva Peron
I’m going with D. The buzz emanating from Obama’s trip reminds me of the chorus from “Rainbow Tour” (re-written here for effect) from the [...]

Review: The Dark Knight

As it’s rare for me to see a movie in the theater within a week of its opening, I thought I’d celebrate the occasion by posting some actual thoughts here on The Dark Knight. For the sake of not spoiling things, I’ll try to refrain from plot details and instead focus on some of the [...]

Things I Get/Don’t Get

The buzz over Batman, I get./The buzz over Mamma Mia, I don’t get.
That I’m getting older and feeling it more, I get./That I’ve felt “barely able to walk” bad at 37, I don’t get.
The Cardinals hoping to get Chris Carpenter back, I get./The Cardinals hoping (still) to get Mark Mulder back, I don’t get.
That temperatures [...]

Top Ten Ways to Frighten the New Neighbors

10. Introduce yourself…with psychoses.
9. Spread out all your crap stuff across the backyard and explain that, just for fun, you’re re-creating the plane crash set from LOST.
8. Recruit high school students to help you move so everyone thinks you have 17 teenagers.
7. Ask if you can borrow a roll of toilet paper, and then ask [...]

Beauties and a Beast

Here’s a shot from our short 24-hour stint at the farm this past weekend. Pictured above are the ladies with Bruce, a ten-year-old pureblood black lab whose owner thought Bruce needed more room to roam and some country air to breathe in these, the twilight of his years.
Slow and easy in the morning, crafts and [...]

Taking a Break from Boxes Linkage

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted some linkage, so in light of it being Friday, here you go:

We’re still in need of about $1,000 for our home closing (in four days), so if you’ve yet to take advantage of our $10 Gets You 15 Songs deal, now is the time.
In case you’re wondering, [...]

Over Halfway There: Update

As Megan and I are six days away from closing on our house, several of you have asked about the latest on the Remember Not to Forget project. An update would seem in order. Currently:

The download page for the songs has had 116 visits.
We have $1167.49 in hand.
We are aware of at least another $350-400 [...]

Some Thoughts on the Holy Spirit

When I was on staff with The Navigators, I used to joke that we in the organization thought of the Holy Spirit as being the member of the Trinity dressed in a three-piece suit sitting quietly in the corner of the boardroom. As a member of the PCA, I sometimes make the same joke (except [...]

In the Air Tonight

Brian Rutland, my first drummer (no, he didn’t die the death of a Spinal Tap drummer) is now a pastor in Littleton, CO, and sent me this clip. We used to “cover” Phil Collins’s “In the Air Tonight” using lyrics I rewrote from more of an eschatological perspective (“I can feel [...]

It’s Hard to Soar Like an Eagle When You’re a Turkey

In case you didn’t know, Founding Father (sounds like a band name) Ben Franklin thought the turkey should be our national bird instead of the eagle. (I first learned this when I was doing the show 1776 – I played Richard Henry Lee – back in 1990 at the Jacksonville Theatre Guild.)
Though Franklin argues his [...]

Remember Not to Forget: Update

On Monday, I told you about my idea to offer 15 of my songs for $10 to raise the $3,000 Megan and I need to close on our house this month. Here’s an update on how things are going:

Good news: So far, we’ve received $286.24, which is almost 10%. Several folks have given (all cheerfully, as far [...]

Letters to Malcolm by C.S. Lewis

Despite his stated belief in purgatory (albeit somewhat qualified) and some interesting linguistic gymnastics on the topic of bodily resurrection, C.S. Lewis’s last book (published post-humously), Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, offers insight and comfort regarding the duty (and sometimes drudgery) of prayer. Some favorite quotes:
“We have long since agreed that if our prayers are [...]

Sign of the Apocalypse?

It’s the end of the world as some know it (here’s the spin official press release from Starbucks).