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Y'all Treat Art Like It Was Some Sort of Religion
Alright, so the title is possibly the antithesis of this post. The beginning of May found the return of the Derek Webb podcast. If you listened to the old podcast episodes, though, you knew it was nothing to get excited about. A couple of them were just audio versions of interviews off the How To Kill and Be Killed DVD. But it seems that Derek finally sees what podcasting is all about.
The new podcasts are not part of the label's promotional machine. They're Derek just talking into his audio recorder. And he's not talking about how great his latest CD is, either. He's taking real questions from real listeners. If the subsequent episdoes are half as good as this first one of May, then it's going to be amazing. In "Derek Webb episode 4", Derek talks about what "Christian music" is (and isn't) and why it can be acceptable to listen to non-Christian music. He goes over why it's not about the money or the fame but about bringing the truth. It's great. I can't wait to listen to the next one. Subscribe to it via iTunes to check it out.
Fell In Love With The Game
Since this week is E3, I thought I'd have to shoot a bit of gaming info into this blog.
So what am I, a mostly non-gamer, looking forward to? Well, for a while I've had my eye on the Nintendo DS. Why? Because it's an advanced Game Boy. It has two screens, one of which is a touchscreen. It has a stylus, and people connected via the Wi-Fi connection can chat together as well as play DS games together. Plus, with the dual-screen and stylus, there's many more fun ways to create new gaming environments.
Coming out in a month, the DS Lite is cheaper and much smaller than the original DS. Plus, it comes in iPod White. It will be cool. Some people are excited about the Zelda game coming out for it.
The game that looks like a blast from the past but will still be tons of fun is the new Super Mario Bros. DS. It has all the gameplay of the classic Mario episodes, plus lots of new playability, small bonus round games, and much more. It looks like a blast and I can't wait. Hopefully I'll find some money to buy it.
I'm Just A Bus Driver, What Do I Know?
So tonight I went to a meeting of Transit for Livable Communities at the nice Goowill building just off University and Fairview. The meeting was mostly about the Central Corridor project, and since it's hard to get information on the web, I decided the best way to find out about developments is by going to the meeting.
As usual, there were a decent share of those passionate, "I hate government" and "Our bus system sucks" people. I always sympathize with those people (because they're right), but they seem to be incapable of figuring out that following the political process is the only way to get this to change. And yelling at the choir rarely does any of that.
It was definitely better than the last community-related Metro Transit meeting. Of course, that's because the meeting last year was to complain about proposed budget cuts. Unlike last year's meeting, though, it was nice to see the concerned citizens for public transportation working on it instead of just the disabled and poor who cannot afford a car.
So what happened at the meeting? Well, they went over the fact that they have an Environmental Impact Study results or something and are looking for the public's reaction to that. Oh wait, the study was about the Central Corridor project, which is a stretch between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul. The results seem to be that a Light Rail system down the streets of University Ave. (and hopefully a tunnel under the U of M) is the best option to improve transportation in the area.
After a couple of short presentations, we broke into small groups of 10 or so and talked through the issues we found. Of course, a main issue was the money. Where the money is not the problem, it was more the idea of what else we could do with that money. I brought up the idea that I find it hard to believe that they'd find room for light rail and keep the 4 lanes of traffic on the road, but it seemed pretty well known among the rest of the group that it's one of the widest roads in the area. That's probably true, but still, the current Light Rail line on Hiawatha is in much more spacious areas, for the most part.
Apprently the big news of the area is that public transportation is attached to a current tax bill in the state legislature. The Star Tribune has coverage of it, but apparently the word from the meeting is that this half-cent regional sales tax would bring in about $110 million per year for the next couple years, and after the stadiums get paid off, all $220 million would go to public transit. This is the money that mass transit in Minnesota needs, but everyone at TLC was realistically not expecting the legislation to go through. (Plus, our insane governor will most certainly veto it.)
All in all, it was a great meeting to attend. Although I'm still a bit scared of all these political people who just sit around thinking about how to improve the city. They're just too social and weird.
Take A Look Again, I'm Running
Yesterday I was very glad to hear that a good friend of mine, Michael Z., is planning on going to the U of M (not Michigan, you sillies!). Oh wait, that is, if he doesn't join a Socialist friend in Uganda, apparently.
The reason I'm excited about it is because he will be living closer to my place of residence. Therefore, hopefully we can hang out and watch movies more often. He can come over for dinner more often too. That'll be awesome because I miss him. And he's had a hard year, so I'm glad he's feeling ready to go to college.
September is shaping up to be more and more exciting. Although I'm not looking forward to packing all my stuff up this summer in order to move 8 blocks....
When I'm Open Wide With Nothing Left To Cling To
This is killing me.
My iPod hasn't worked for the last two or three weeks and now my computer seems to be having problems now too.
What's going on? Please pray that things start working here soon or God tells me what he's trying to say. My time to work on projects such as inReview.net is limited enough without spending all that time on fixing my iPod.
Well, hopefully if I take it back to the Apple Store they'll replace it or let me buy a new one or something. That would be cool. Especially since Dad says I need to have the iPod working in a couple weeks for our trip to Indiana for Laura's graduation. So I better get it working.
You Never Know What Ya Got 'Til It's Gone
Some may wonder why my blogroll (that column to the right with all my favorite links) includes links to RadioU and TVU. That's a good question. And since it's Unleash The Music time, it's time to know why I would support a radio station.
I mean, seriously, have you ever listened to Christian radio? Who listens to that crap? Obviously, nobody under 40. John Rivers is pretty darn boring. Most Christian music radio DJs can only be described as cute. And Christian music videos? Who seriously wants to watch more MercyMe?
That's why I support the one station in the world that's targeted to people of my demographic. DJs on this station are fun to listen to. They make fun of people who call in. They prove that you don't have to be over 40 to be a Christian. And they have the only morning show that's about nothing and is funny.
But what's my favorite part? Well, unlike most other Christian ministries, they know that sounding professional is important. They don't sound like they're broadcasting out of your neighbor's basement. It sounds just as good as Clear Channel stations.
So what music do they play? As much as I like him, they don't play Steven Curtis Chapman. They played Third Day before they went sour. Of course, they play the best in rock, alternative, hip-hop, and metal. All the Tooth & Nail bands, Mute Math, etc. They play the stuff that no other Christian station will play. Does any other station play Andy Hunter? Copeland? No. It's basically the best place to find Christian music that rocks. Well, that is, besides inReview.net (shameless plug).
So that's why I give my cash to support them. Plus, they make the lobby of the Rennaisance Hotel rock for a week every year. ;-)
Talkin' To Myself 'Bout The Greatness Coming
Holy Crap!
Avid fans of The Elms, such as myself, know that their new CD is coming out a week from tomorrow. But I'm not waiting to run to the store, I just went and got it online.
Why now? Well, they've been telling us that Best Buy is going to have a couple bonus tracks on it, which is reason enough. But why else? Because they're giving this all away at the fire-sale price of $7.99! That's right, you can't beat that price for checkin' out a rockin' new disc! (I know I didn't miss out.) Go online and pick up The Chess Hotel today.
Not sure if you want to spend your hard-earned cents? Check out their MySpace page for some rock 'n' roll tracks.
After All This Has Passed, I Still Will Remain
Here's a quick blog post.
My iPod wasn't working all week. I don't know what was the problem, but I think Windows decided not to play nice with Apple this week.
In less than an hour last night I launched a website: aNewWayToLive.org. I got to go out for drinks afterward too. (It looked cooler, but we had to scale the site back a bit this morning.)
This weekend I'm going on a People of Praise retreat. It should be great, and I hope it gives perspective on the lifetime committment I may be making this fall to be a part of it. It's exciting.
And We Were So Sure We Would Change The World
Robin Parrish of Infuze Magazine is so darn good that finding great articles and news that sometimes borders on being geeky. But I got no problem with that.
In this Illinois webzine article, writer Steve Arney takes a look at the side of Christian music that is subconciously blocked out for most. Some might think of it as "the dark side" of Christian music, but many, including myself, find the artists mentioned in this article to be "the real side" of Christian music.
Why? Because, even as a Christian, I have struggles in life. I deal with the temptation of lust. One of my favorite songs of all time, "The Best I Can", admits that both Andrew Osenga and I are not living in the middle of paradise. But we're working to make it that way.
This may be the Gospel that non-believers need to hear. We're not perfect. But that's not something you'll hear in a top-selling Avalon song. That's rarely something you'll hear on any Christian station. Heck, it's probably not even something you hear at your church very often. I bet that's why most people don't think Christianity is for them -- they see those who have it all figured out (or those who pretend they have it all figured out) and don't identify with that.
Let's continue to build the Kingdom of God. But let's not pretend we're in paradise yet, because we all know we're not.
Lets Find Out The Beauty of Seeing Things Through
I recently picked up the latest from Sara Groves, and one line really struck me:
Loving a person just the way they are
It's no small thing
It really made me think. I'm thankful that God has given me the gift of loving people just as they are, imperfections and all, and not judging them. Also, I'm thankful to be surrounded with people who do likewise, for although we joke about our shortcomings and call each other on, there's no judgement or thinking less of someone for it. The hardest part of living with people is if there's an unresolvable issue between two of us, and I'm happy to say that, even in this huge house of guys, there's nobody that holds a grudge.
Thanks, Sara, for a great song. And, according to Shaun, that's a cue that Mute Math should take.