I'm Famous!

But probably only for about 15 seconds. I've been attending a career networking group in my efforts to land a gig in the music industry for the past several months. A couple weeks ago some people from the Tennessean, the Nashville newspaper, came to interview some folks at this group. I was one of the lucky ones. The article appeared over the weekend, and I'm even the focus of the main picture. Funny, how even in today's culture of Facebook, Myspace & the like I still feel special having my picture in the newspaper.

the tower of...

maybe i get too emotionally attached to certain movies, but i just finished watching one that is causing some deep thoughts.

i just watched "Babel", staring brad pitt (amongst others). it's the story of loneliness, of connection, and of simply being human. there's one scene in particular that stands out for me. brad pitt's on-screen wife was shot by random gunfire while they are in calcutta. one of the locals extends his help as he assists them in taking them to his village to find a doctor & help in any way he can. it's a picture of what we americans would think of as destitute. dirt floors, ramshackle housing and the like. but for this culture it's normal & nothing to be ashamed of. as brad's wife, a little later, is about to be taken away via helicopter by the u.s. embassy, brad offers money in appreciation to his friend. he turns it down. not because he didn't need it, but because (i think) he didn't want to turn what he just did out of friendship into something as meaningless as a commodity. something that can simply be bought, sold or traded. this was far deeper than that.

and it struck me. this is what it means to be human. willingly extending your resources, no matter how limited, to to someone else without asking for something in return.

another part of the plot happens in japan. there is a daughter of a wealthy businessman who is struggling with loneliness, and simply trying to connect & find meaning in the wake of her mother's suicide. the movie ends with her embracing her dad on the balcony of their (at least) 30 story penthouse. as they hug, the camera pans away, revealing more and more of the city skyline. the blinking lights of immense skyscrapers, the hum of a major metropolitan city. it made me think of how easy it is it get lost in the whirling sea of humanity around us, and how it is so easy to feel alone in the middle of a crowd. which is exactly what happened to her earlier in the movie. it was interesting how that came to mind as the camera stopped focusing only on the father & daughter and moved out to more & more of the city.

it also makes me think, how do we find meaning & truth in our own lives in the midst of 300 billion+ people on this planet. my only answer is you need to focus on the community around you and be human to them.

this is a movie that wonderfully displays how connected our planet really is. it involved 4 different cultures. mexican, mideastern, american and asian. it doesn't take a whole lot of further thought to realize how they came up with the name for the movie, "Babel".

the times, they are a changin'

it's still a shock to me how quick time can go. it dawned upon me that it's been a bit since we posted anything here. so, i thought i could at least give an update on what's been going on in the life of Brian & Julie.

one of the biggest fun new developments is we now know where we're living next month. our lease on our current apartment ends August 30. we could have renewed our lease, but we decided we needed a place with more space. it looks like we've found that in a house not too far from where we are now. it's a rental...and in great shape. it has 1600 square feet of joy with a deck, a yard, & all the fixins'. yes, that was a bit a bit southern. but we're definitely excited about this place...especially since it's not too much more than what we're paying now for our 1000 square foot apartment.

right now, though, julie is in her home state of arizona enjoying some time with her family. they're renting a houseboat for a week and cruising along Lake Powell, which is near the border of arizona & utah. it's a much needed escape for her. she's had to deal with a lot of issues at work recently, and my only hope is that she comes back recharged & refreshed. why is brian not there, you may ask? simple. my employer would not grant me the time off to go.

so, as an antidote for missing my wife, i went on a bit of a shopping spree this weekend & purchased a bunch of wonderful new music. i love what i've heard of it so far.

1) R.L. Burnside - "Come On In"
2) The Avalanches - "Since I Left You"
3) Cadence Weapon - "Afterparty Babies"
4) She Wants Revenge - (self-titled)
5) The Appleseed Cast - "Two Conversations"
6) The Forms - "T.B.D."
7) Jimmy Smith - "Root Down (Live)"
8) Over the Rhine - "Ohio"

some of these purchases were steps in expanding my musical horizons. namely Jimmy Smith (jazz), R.L. Burnside (blues) and Over the Rhine (americana/bluegrass).

thanks for tuning in for another episode.

P.S> an imaginary gold star to the 1st person who comments with the name of the artist, album and year for the song referenced in the title. it shouldn't be too difficult.

Silence

Today I need silence.  I need space to think, to turn away distraction, to ponder and reflect.  I need silence to help me converse with God.  I need silence to LISTEN to God.  And it's kind of ironic because last night I heard the song by John Mayer titled "Say".  I have heard the song several times prior to hearing it last night but for some reason it seemed to speak to me in a different way, in a deeper way.  The song goes as such:

Take all of your wasted honor.

Every little past frustration.

Take all of your so called problems,

Better put 'em in quotations.

Say what you need to say (x8)

Walkin' like a one man army,

Fightin' with the shadows in your head.

Livin' up the same old moment

Knowin' you'd be better off instead.

If you could only... Say what you need to say (x8)

Have no fear for givin' in.

Have no fear for giving over.

You better know that in the end

It's better to say too much, than never to say what you need to say again.

Even if your hands are shaking,

And your faith is broken.

Even as the eyes are closin',

Do it with a heart wide open.

(Wide Heart)

Say what you need to say (x7)

Say what you need to, say what you need to...

Say what you need to say.

(lyrics found on http://www.completealbumlyrics.com)

So as I sit in the silence, my heart is compelled.  I must say what I need to say.

early morning thoughts

i'm getting into this habit of waking up an hour early 3 days out of the week to exercise. why? because i'm realizing (based mainly on some of our pics from Hawaii) that i really need to lose weight. so that's what i did this morning. i woke up bright & chipper (please include some tongue in cheek in that one) at 5:15 am and headed to the fitness center in our apartment complex.

while i'm on the treadmill, listening to tunes on my iPod, i'm also watching MTV2 (with the sound off). i watched some show that seemed to have a focus of premiering new music videos. this one was for a new song by LL Cool J. after the video was done, they went to 3 people who started commenting about something. presumably the video. i have no idea what they were talking about because, again, the sound was off. 1 of the 3 commentators was The Game. If you don't know who he is, he is a rapper known for his hits like "how we do" and "westside story". during this commentary, he was also wearing this shirt from the demockratees website.

seeing the shirt made me think. partially because the guy who started the demockratees site is a native american who is fighting against all that holds native americans back. that then made me start thinking about the many facets of racism and how it affects so many aspects of our lives.

i remembered my social studies teacher in 9th grade. he was african-american, and i wonder how he felt teaching from a book that was most likely edited & written by caucasians, which then only reflected their viewpoint of history. although maybe i should say "our" viewpoint since i am caucasian as well. i just don't agree with that viewpoint anymore. one example i thought of is the teaching of christopher columbus as a hero. in reality he's closer to jeffrey dahmer than a great discoverer. not only did he never actually touch north america, but when he was in central america he stole from, murdered & raped the indigenous people there for his own selfish gain. i don't think that's someone we should honor with a national holiday. at best, he should be forgotten.

Political Cartoon

I would like to talk a bit about this week's New Yorker.  The image here is obviously a jab at Barack and Michelle Obama.  But instead of sharing some of my thoughts, I'd like to point you in the direction of two former seminary colleagues of mine, Adam and Andy, who seem to have summed up my thoughts in their posts. I invite you to hear their arguments and share your thoughts as to the appropriateness of this cover.

Hawaii

... was GREAT! Brian and I had a fabulous time. Yes, we did some of the tourist-ey stuff but the best part was getting to know many tongan and samoan young adults. They live in a dualistic world; one of ipods and "normal" clothes and another of rich culture and heritage and a completely different language. One experience we had was that we had never been to a luau in a gym and we had never been to a luau where we knew most of the dancers. It was amazing! Such talent and gifts. Many of the young adults are so "on-fire" with God. The young adults in the Hawaii district will remain close to my heart.