be a dear and call the paramedics

new blog

2009-01-10T11:23:00.004-07:00

my new blog is:

www.beadearandcalltheparamedics.tumblr.com

so head there if you want to keep up with me.

perfection

2009-01-05T13:06:00.001-07:00

utes.

best books of 2008

2009-01-01T13:05:00.004-07:00

these didn't necessarily come out in 2008, i just read them in 2008.

fiction
1. the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay - michael chabon
2. extremely loud and incredibly close - jonathan safran foer
3. the road - cormac mccarthy
4. crossing to safety - wallace stegner
5. the kite runner - khalid housseini

honorable mentions:
outer dark - cormac mccarthy
the power of one - bryce courtenay

nonfiction
1. (tie) what is the what - dave eggers
1. (tie) a heartbreaking work of staggering genius - dave eggers
2. long road to freedom - nelson mandela
3. jesus for president - shane claiborne
4. the zanzibar chest - aidan hartley

honorable mentions:
the devil in white city - erik larson
inside the jihad - omar nasiri
the soloist - steve lopez
jesus wants to save christians - rob bell

technically what is the what is in the fiction section, but it is based on a true person and a true story so i've thrown it in with nonfiction. good year for me and dave eggers. definitely someone who should be on your bookshelf if you're a reader.

best shows of 2008

2009-01-01T13:01:00.001-07:00

1. broken social scene - gallivan center
2. explosions in the sky - in the venue
3. andrew bird - gallivan center
4. colour revolt - solid ground cafe
5. minus the bear - in the venue

just to clarify...

2008-12-20T19:30:00.003-07:00

okay i put it together and here's my top 9 (i couldn't come up with a 10th):

9. coldplay - viva la something
8. sigur ros - med sud ejakdslfds jfdksl;fjewrklewfjd
7. brendan canning - something for all of us
6. bon iver - for emma, forever ago
5. girl talk - feed the animals
4. fleet foxes - fleet foxes
3. santogold - santogold
2. the new frontiers - mending
1. colour revolt - plunder, beg and curse

honorable mentions:
margot & the nuclear so and so's - animal
denison witmer - carry the weight
underoath - lost in the sound of separation

if you don't own colour revolt, better go buy it. if a.a. bondy is considered a 2009 release then it would be number 3 on the list this year.

top cds of 2008

2008-12-19T14:02:00.004-07:00

the 2008 season of music is all but over and for me, it's all colour revolt and the new frontiers this year's. from there, the list isn't a whole lot to talk about. sadly, combined those two bands probably didn't even sell 40,000 records.

last year there were so many amazing cds that it's bled over into 2008. most of what i have listened to this year came out last year. this would also include the new frontiers cd - it pre-released about 6 months before it came out this february. 2007 cd's like bowerbirds, aa bondy, spoon and laura veirs would have worn out this year if i'd actually bought a cd. which raises an interesting point: sometimes it takes longer than a year for a good band to break out. the speed at which a band pings across the indie-scene point radar is not the end-all measure of a band. the slow ping has already killed the new frontiers, hopefully in 2009 colour revolt will start to come into their own.

for the rest of the list:

fleet foxes is in my top ten, blah, blah, blah: we don't need anyone else to write about how they've single handledly saved the universe a million times over for their stunning wonderfulness throughout the universe.

santogold is amazing and is easily in my top 10. i'm not huge on m.i.a. - santogold refines what m.i.a. does and has created a better complete project with less gaps and shortcomings. girltalk's feed the animals is so great and still makes me smile when i catch something in the mix that had previously gone unnoticed. bon iver's for emma, forever ago is in my top 10 also. aa bondy is a top 10 of this year even though that cd technically came out in 2007 and we released in 08.

margot and the nuclear so & so's new cd is really good, but i would put it in the honorable mention category, as is denison witmer's carry the weight.

so that's pretty incomplete, but it's been a sparse year. i liked ben folds' new cd too, but not enough to crack this almost top 10. sigur ros i would put in the top 10. also brendan canning and coldplay maybe.

for disappointments...

lovedrug & copeland: i'm combing these two cds beacuse they came out around the same time and both left me bummed. i had high expectations for the new lovedrug, but it was too much of the same powerfully delivered, scorching lyrics without a solid musical composition. i expected zero from copeland and it was actually pretty good so i guess it wasn't a disappointment.

cold war kids put out a decent album, but i expected more i think. i'll write about best concerts soon.

wrap up

2008-12-17T00:10:00.002-07:00

it's almost the end of 2008 and i want to do all the lists. best movies, best books, best concerts and best cds...so i'm not quite sure what order and all that, but the book one is going to be hard. i've had the pleasure of reading so many incredible books in 2008. first lindsay introduces me to dave eggars and then jimmy drops cormac mccarthy into my life and just right there we have a top books list. also extremely loud and incredibly close and the kite runner. dang. this will be a tough list. i've also stumbled upon some impressive non-fiction as well. maybe i'll have to split the book list.

for movies, well it's gotta be that new hulk. easily the best movie ever made.

oh and the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay too. such good books.

things i'm sure you're wondering

2008-12-13T20:08:00.002-07:00

spent my weekend with sara and we celebrated our anniversary! sushi, a nice hotel and two indie-flicks. we saw slumdog millionaire which in my opinion should get a best picture nod in early january. we also saw this bizarre swedish vampire movie that was really good and really odd. then i spent all day today cooking and now i'm watching pulp fiction on tv. you're right: it doesn't work on tv at all ("you're a smart little sucker" over and over). samuel jackon is about to say: "this is a tasty burger...you mind if i have some of your tasty beverage to wash this down?" love it. maybe for my blog i'll just list all my favorite lines from movies.

"oh i'm sorry. did i break your concentration?"

i have a drinking problem

2008-11-24T09:19:00.002-07:00

i open my bible this morning...

i, paul, together here with silas and timothy, send greetings to the church at thessalonica...

pause to take a sip of coffee. somehow forget how to drink and as i pull the mug away from my mouth coffee spills all over myself and my bible. and you know how bible pages are so thin that they melt away! i lost most of I thessalonians today.

good start to the day. on the plus side: my coffee stain on my sweatshirt closely resembles the country of denmark. foreshadowing? i think so.

greatness

2008-11-13T22:10:00.004-07:00

"were you listening to the dudes story?...so you have no frame of reference donny..."

"also dude, chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature..."

"donny you're out of your element..."

"that rug really tied the room together..."

every decade or so something so amazing happens that i can't really even contain myself. that thing: my family bought me the this on dvd. i guess the really great thing is that such a movie with such characters was made in the first place. and really, that the coen brothers make movies - that's a great thing.

"over the line...i'm sorry smokey, you were over the line, that's a foul..."

"smokey this is not 'nam, this is bowling, there are rules..."

"you're entering a world of pain: you mark that frame an 8 and you're in a world of pain."

living

2008-11-02T23:01:00.002-07:00

you haven't lived until you've spent your daylight savings bonus hour holding your seizing dog while she vomits profusely down your side, thigh and underwear and then changing all the bed sheets. at 5 am.

hatespeech

2008-10-28T16:21:00.003-06:00

i'm tired of angry political rhetoric. i'm especially tired of christ-followers who use their God-given breath to engage in angry rhetoric. just because you heard rush limbaugh or bill o'reilly say it doesn't give you license to repeat it and talk like they do. just beacuse someone forwarded you something doesn't mean you have to send it on. as a christian do you really think you're leading people to the grace and truth that is Jesus by talking like that?

and lets stop pretending we're doing "God's work" by voicing vitriolic, divisive viewpoints. of course you should speak to your values and have a right and a responsibility to do so. we don't honor God though when our speech crosses over to ugliness and hatespeech.

if only there was some collection of the teachings of Jesus that we could all have as a referrence. something in our own language that had the power to remind us how to act and how to live as followers of Christ.

related to this: i'm sorry for the one million times i've voiced what an idiot i think bush is. cause i shouldn't speak like that.

"do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen..."

good weekend

2008-10-20T11:16:00.002-06:00

man i had a good weekend! my wife came home from fall break, b*u lost, utah won, real salt lake won and i spent every part of this weekend surrounded by the people i love the most. if i knew i was dying, i'd want this weekend to be the last weekend i had. except laundry. man i hate chores. i feel so blessed to have the friends and family that i have. now if only weekends were 4 days long!

rio tinto

2008-10-16T15:46:00.003-06:00

these are a little late, but here are a few pics from the first game at rio tinto. for people who don't know, rio tinto is the new soccer stadium. for people who don't know, soccer is a game by which teams attempt to put a ball into a net without using their hands. you'd probably hate it though, it's not as great as say, nascar.

the road

2008-10-14T23:34:00.002-06:00

i just finished reading the road by cormac mccarthy. wow. incredible book. incredible. thanks jimmy for caring enough to make quality book recommendations. i read it special so we can talk about it sunday night.

safety glass

2008-10-12T21:47:00.002-06:00

like my friend tim and my friend jonathan, my car got broken into tonight. keep your eye out for a laptop with TONS of work on it. and who are these pawn shop owners that will take a laptop from a bloodshot eyed-skyline high senior-meth head?

free vacation

2008-10-09T14:03:00.003-06:00

hey i'm going to use my retirement fund to take all my friends and family on vacation! this means you! so that's the good news. the bad news is that i'm charging each of you $100 to cover our day trip to bountiful cause pretty much sara and i no longer have any retirement money. thank you to all the greedy, corporate types who have made unethical and unwise decisions and choices over the last decade to put us in this spot. anyone else see this?

idea

2008-10-08T00:15:00.002-06:00

i've had an idea today, i think it's a good one...

let texas become it's own country and make mexico a part of the u.s. no offense to texans, but if you hate the u.s. so much and want to be your own country, then let's try that. and mexico so obviously enjoys america so let's add them! win win win.

laugh because it hides our pain and nervousness

2008-10-03T16:54:00.003-06:00

my brother sent me this and it's hilarious.

i was there for it and it was pretty sweet

2008-10-03T00:13:00.002-06:00

the utes played horribly tonight against oregon state. with 2 minutes left we gave up a touchdown and were 8 points behind. long story short we scored 11 points in 2 minutes and won the game without even going to overtime.

yikes!

2008-09-30T11:20:00.004-06:00

so much for my retirement account. if you want to know what is in it start with x and then add 7 years worth of interest at 9%. then subtract all that interest and all of x as well. did you end up with zero? if you did, then you are good at math and also understand the us economy right now.

here's an illustration by the bbc that helped me understand the buy out deal that congress rejected over the weekend:

i can't really decide how i feel about all of this. my "invisible hand" and adam smith lessons from econ 201 are pretty rusty. i HATE the idea of rewarding greed and unethical banking practices especially to white men (predominantly) who make ungodly amounts of cash. conversely, i like being able to access my checking account and withdraw money. i agree that something has to be done. my biggest hope is that whatever we do, it'll teach us a lesson we don't soon forget. i am strongly convinced that the gas crunch and our economic struggle will force us to examine how we live as fat, unhealthy americans and that in the long run will be a good thing. i also think that it's God's way of correcting our country. the sooner we stop pretending that we somehow deserve to use the majority of the world's resources and are somehow more loved by God than other countries the better.

crusades anyone?

2008-09-18T11:07:00.002-06:00

i'm not the first to mention it (see shane claiborne's newest book, jesus for president), but does anyone else get creeped out by our politicians (namely prezbush) declaring that the war in iraq is God's plan? here's the direct prezbush quote: "and then God would tell me, George go and end the tyranny in Iraq,’ and I did.”

here's sarah palin making a similar declaration at a church. she says: "our leaders - our national leaders - are sending them out on a task that is from God."

here's what hitler said about his leadership and decisions during the holocaust: "i believe that i am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord."

i recognize that our actions in iraq are not a holocaust. but the disregard with which our leaders bring God into the discussion is what disturbs me. of course, one cannot ignore that according to the world health organization (who), the iraqi death toll was over 150,000 (back in january of 2008)...i'll leave that one alone or save it for another post.

i

2008-09-13T17:07:00.000-06:00

i suck at writing blogs.

on my list

2008-09-06T16:30:00.003-06:00

today:

i did the laundry.
i stained the back deck.
i cleaned the bathroom.
i paid sara's fall tuition.
i put new ink in the printer.
i watched football.

guess which one made me feel queasy?

part three

2008-08-30T11:33:00.002-06:00

part two

2008-08-27T22:37:00.002-06:00

adventures in video editing (without a mac)

2008-08-25T17:12:00.004-06:00

here's part 1 of the video i'm working on from kenya.

tonight

2008-08-22T00:23:00.001-06:00

broken social scene was too good for words. tonight was too good to words. i love summers at the gallivan center. it's what i always wished would happen back in high school, but never really materialized.

genius

2008-08-16T15:58:00.003-06:00

every decade or so, God infuses mankind with genius. i'm fortunate to have seen this in person in kenya this year...

unpacking from kenya, part 2

2008-08-13T22:34:00.008-06:00

i wish small things could make me happy. one thing i really loved about kenya was the kids. such simple things made them so happy.

to hold someone's hand.
to play with a balloon.
a warm plate of food and a school uniform.

america and western europe has lost its way and i'm the leader. i can't hardly wait for the internet to load while listening to music with the olympics muted in my peripheral.

unpacking from kenya, part 1

2008-08-12T22:11:00.013-06:00

it's hard to begin the process of unpacking all the emotional/ethical/spiritual elements of a trip spent in the slums of a third-world country. to avoid unpacking it though dishonors my friends in kenya who specifically sent us with the commission of telling america what things are like in africa...

one morning we popped in on a small school in the nearby slum. the classrooms were extremely small: imagine a backyard shed with 16-20 small children and a teacher. the smells that add up inside such a small space is so strong and so overpowering that it's hard to enter in any further than the doorway.

we spent the morning making balloon animals, painting faces and loving on the kids as best we could before they had their lunchtime. all of them were too young to communicate with us so we loved on them as best we could (balloon animal style).

later, when i was talking with another american who lives in nairobi he expressed how important our balloon animals were.

"some of those kids have never gotten a gift."

how do you explain the free gift of Jesus to someone who doesn't know what a gift is? to teach Jesus in the slums of nairobi you have to start with a balloon animal. you have to give a gift so that these small kids can discover for themselves what a gift is.

this reality breaks my heart. this reality is why i selfishly prefer to ignore my feelings about africa.

also

2008-08-11T19:22:00.001-06:00

ever heard of soccer? it's only the world's most watched sport. God forbid nbc saves a little of that for primetime.

synchro-sporting

2008-08-11T19:06:00.004-06:00

what in the sweet world is synchronized diving?

we have too much olympics i think. synchronized diving. so basically two guys missed the olympic diving team and were sitting around in the pool after hours and started drinking with some of the other guys who just barely missed the team. 11 years later we now have a synchronized swimming. and, the best part of it is that they have something referred to as a "synchro-coach." man i want a synchro-coach. i want to be a synchro-coach.

and i just heard the synchro-commentator say that they take showers after the dive because "well the water is cold so they take showers to warm up, stay loose and have fun." ah yeah. let's all go shower with our swimsuits on...for fun of course.

also she just said "they spear through the water." i need to keep my laptop handy while enjoying synchro-sporting.

jet lag

2008-08-10T14:12:00.001-06:00

who else was up at 5 am this morning? i love jet lag...

in heathrow

2008-08-08T03:45:00.002-06:00

dubai was amazing. i'm in heathrow airport now (london) awaiting the next leg of my trip home. whatever novelty air travel had, it certainly wore off years ago.

mzungus depart...

2008-08-05T03:27:00.002-06:00

mzungus is kiswahili for "white man." it's what we hear chanted at us by little kids everytime we enter a playground or school. i want to say clearly that there are no racial overtones, it's simply what people refer to us as: gringos would be a similar expression. we find it quite charming.

unfortunately though, we won't be hearing it much more...we leave tomorrow afternoon for dubai and eventually home. i'm excited to spend a bit of time in dubai (and connect with an old friend from oman), but i'm heartbroken over having to leave here. today is our last full day of outreach. we'll use up the last of our medical supplies, pass out all the candy, give out all the soccer balls, cleats and clothes. it's a fun day, but it's hard because we know it means we're leaving. we also got roped into playing the under-20 soccer team so that should be pathetic. my body is already dreading it. and they informed us today they want to use the full field, not a smaller one...

we got to go on a short safari yesterday and it was as magical as you would ever dream. this country has been blessed by God in many ways and the grasslands and savannahs are proof. i also got to connect with an old high school friend who i haven't seen in 10 years. i was so blessed to share a meal with him and discover that we're both very alike in our reading choices, passions and struggles.

this is my last post from kenya. when i get home i'll flood this thing with stories and photos as i process all i've seen and experienced.

2 august or: the coldest august of my life

2008-08-02T04:47:00.002-06:00

the weather here is cold. what kills me though is that i'm in pants, a hoodie and a rain coat and i'm still cold. the cold here is a humid, dank cold: if your shoes are wet, they stay wet for days. that's not what kills me thouh. what kills me is that the kids here are freezing too, but they're in threadbare t-shirts, skirts and shorts and no one has any shoes. they're out on the field running around barefoot. they all have nasty coughs brought on from the weather. i have a nice warm bed to go home to each night: they have small tin shacks for their whole family. it's very humbling.

the big match is in a few hours: world hope fc vs. mathare united. they expect about 5,000 people to come to the game. of course we're excited to see our friends take the field, but it's also an incredible experience to participate in such a spectacle. it's all anyone has talked about all week: the number one team coming to play.

the kenyans absolutely love soccer. there were 3-400 people out today watching the 14-year olds. yesterday we played a pick up game and by the end several hundred people were cheering us on. of course we felt ridiculous!

i like it here. i am going to miss this place.

so cold i could see my breath

2008-07-31T05:53:00.002-06:00

nairobi is a cold, rainy city today. we helped with a basketball camp and played in a semi-indoor facility and could see our breath. this would have been great info to know before we left so that we could, oh i don't know, bring pants or maybe a jacket...

we're happy and well though (sara's team is as well - got to visit with her on the phone for a few minutes today).

this afternoon some of the kids have games and are excited for us to watch them and then we'll head to our guest house for some amazing pb & j sandwiches and then probably get in bed (because it's SO cold!).

i'm learning alot here about things - particularly the unrest that happened over december and january. the people here have so little: the things i've seen will take me months to process.

cold and wet in africa

2008-07-30T05:15:00.003-06:00

this country is freezing! and then two minutes later the sun will come out and it's a million degrees.

things here are great! we're working hard; just finished up lunch after helping out with little kids at a small school. it was really hard to see the squallor surrounding the school. and the classrooms were 8' by 8' tin shacks with 16-24 kids in each tin shack. their is such a desire to learn here, but it is stunted by a lack of funding.

our hosts are amazing people. they all play for world hope football club and are professional athletes. after practice each day they help work on the field and get it ready for matches. then they spend the afternoon coaching kids in their leagues and telling them about jesus. it's incredible to walk through the slums with them; they are celebrities among the people!

they have a friendly right now so i gotta go!

twende, twende!

2008-07-28T05:12:00.003-06:00

kenya is amazing. the countryside here and the people...wow.

here's a quick recap of the last few days:

saturday: landed and settled into our seriously amazing guest house.
sunday: went to church, went to a local football match and took a tour of the slums.
monday: started our actual work which consists of discipling and fellowshipping with the members of a pro soccer team here (one hope football club), maintaining their field, and then in the afternoons, working with all the children and teenagers and their teams.

it's hard to write on any of this because it deserves more time and effort than i have. just know that we're happy, humbled, blessed and excited to be here.

nairobots unite!

2008-07-25T04:13:00.002-06:00

i'm in london...barely. if you can call gatwick airport really part of london (it's way out in the country and all there is to do here is wander the duty free shops).

flight here was as smooth as expected. we almost had to do an emergency landing because a little boy was sick. we weren't rooting for illness, but a touch down in iceland would have been incredible.

changed some money so i could write this: our economy sucks. i gave the lady $10 and got back £3.11. i'm considering changing all my money to pounds since it's always doing better than the dollar!

we leave for dubai in a few hours; emirates airlines has booked us hotels in dubai since our layover is long. that's amazing. delta gave us pasta and a horrid movie called "21" in which kevin spacey pretends to be in oceans 11.

the nairobots are excited and ready to be there already!

atl

2008-07-22T13:14:00.001-06:00

i'm in atlanta today and for a few days...it's crazy how hot and humid the deep south is. things here are going well, we're about to get everyone together (as few are still making their way in from the airport). we'll be here until thursday afternoon. got to see a few photos of the people and area we'll be in nairobi and it will be amazing and heart breaking.

thanks for all your financial support, prayers and encouragement!

the first of many stories

2008-07-20T16:54:00.003-06:00

so we leave tomorrow for atl, our first step in a 10,000 mile journey. we have all tried to raise support all summer and have come up short. until today. someone from my church anonymously pledged a matching grant of $3,000 for anything that people donated today. the amazing people of my church shot past the $3,000 challenge grant and we ended up raising $8,000.

so i haven't even left yet and God has blown my mind. guess i should pack now and get ready to leave.

dork fest

2008-07-19T00:43:00.003-06:00

the dark knight is an amazing movie. as bleak as it should be. heath ledger should get nominated for his acting, not just his untimely death. it does suck that he's dead though because his treatment of the joker is arguably the best movie villainy of the silver screen and now we'll have to watch someone else try to take his place.

new music

2008-07-18T10:33:00.004-06:00

andrew bird and josh ritter played last night for free in downtown salt lake. i really love my town - they do free shows every thursday during the summer (broken social scene, clap your hands say yeah, neko case, the cool kids, de la soul to name a few).

here's what i've been listening to this week:

john mayer - where the light is
the roots - rising down
tapes 'n tapes - the loon
coldplay - viva la vida (still can't believe what a return to form this album is)
sigur ros - med sud... (a little more upbeat - "rhythmic" is how paul described it)
the maine - can't stop, won't stop (i admit it...sorry)
bo diddley - greatest hits
charlie hall - flying into daybreak

i leave for atl on monday..."that town is whack..."

don't screw this up

2008-07-16T21:03:00.002-06:00

salt lake to nairobi: 10,820 miles by airplane. go ahead and cue that cheesy montage from indiana jones. except i'm 6'4" which isn't so great when you fly coach.

thank y'allweh

2008-07-15T22:31:00.012-06:00

camp finished off incredibly. these are my favorite photos from the week:

no one knows who the "crunk for jesus" guy/girl is, but i'll happily claim the kids in the other photos.

this week has been crazy. i got home from camp to find out that a couple in our church is leaving because of many reasons, one of them being that i'm too upbeat when i welcome people and they resent that i mention other issues during that time (of course they didn't actually talk to me about all this). ironic since they're some of the most critical people i've ever known. sad too though because they'll never be happy with these type of unreasonable, legalistic standards.

we leave on monday for atlanta and then from there to kenya. by the time it's all over, i'll have spent time in 8 airports. hopefully i'll get to post a few blogs while we're there.

at camp

2008-07-09T09:19:00.002-06:00

i'm at camp this week with our group of 62...overall there are 1090 junior high and high school students here, a sad majority from texas. it's gross what passes for the love of Christ these days. and that the Bible belt claims to the embodiment of Christ and his love is honestly disgusting. not to say that there aren't wonderful Christian people in the Bible belt (at least a 100), it's just really sad to see resources being wasted on lavish churches, luxury church buses and cabins at this camp that would make hollywood stars in sun valley blush.

i tire of southern Christians who treat my wife like a child because she's a woman.
i tire of southern Christians who call EVERYTHING gay and talk so openly about sending "fags to hell."
i tire of southern Christians who glare at me because i wear a deep v-neck tshirt. really?
i tire of southern Christians who think our students are stupid only because they're from salt lake city.
i tire of southern Christians who think we're dumb because we don't wear camo hats, and don't scream and shout at and about everything.

God please redeem this time and make it about more than observing and picking up bad habits from the Bible-belt, southern world.

62 is such a cricitcal number

2008-07-02T00:43:00.002-06:00

on sunday i leave to take 61 people to camp. we reserved 60 spots back in november of last year and managed to squeeze an extra student a few days ago. tonight i got an email from a student that wants to go (needs to go) to camp with us. 62 would really make my summer. i am hoping 62 can somehow happen in the next 48 hours. 62's not a real fancy bible number, but 62 would be a miracle for me.

good weekend

2008-06-30T00:19:00.002-06:00

i really suck at writing blogs. my friend tim, his blog is genius. i look forward to it. i on the other hand, can't come up with anything to write about.

i had a good weekend even though sara's out of town visiting family. on saturday i went to warped tour. i've never been before and after about 10 minutes i was too freaked out to possibly wander around and enjoy myself. it's a depressing thing watching 20,000 sun-burnt kids buy into a lifestyle that will only leave them wanting. another thing that bugged me at warped tour is that every band on tour gets a case of water everyday. but they bottle it in 16 ounce monster energy drinks so it looks like all these bands ONLY drink monster energy drinks. weak. what made it all worthwhile though was seeing this guy, who for some odd reason, really makes me happy.

and in general i spent a lot of time with good friends and that was the awesome. we all had free tickets to the utah arts festival (much more my speed i think). i didn't really poke around too much, we were too busy stopping and standing in everyone's way.

i'm also reading the memory keeper's daughter which is really a good book. i don't know any guys that have read it, but i like it and so far it's a seriously good book (especially if you love long, wordy descriptions of stupid scenic crap).

so yep. good weekend. i leave for africa in three weeks and i am so excited i would leave tonight if i could.

sometimes

2008-06-19T19:06:00.003-06:00

sometimes in life you just got to spend 36 hours with 24 junior highers.

you be the judge (don't judge me)

2008-06-14T00:26:00.004-06:00

so i was at the cafe tonight and i was cleaning up and there was a 3/4 full bag of cheetos. not the normal size bag, but a bag you'd buy at a gas station. it was over in the merch area sitting on a table.

i took the cheetos.
i walked past the trash.
i put the cheetos near my bag.
i took the cheetos home and ate them.

am i bad? i realize this isn't saving the environment (reuse i think is the fancy word for it), but i was heading home to finish a book and was hungry and broke and out of groceries.

you tell me, did i cross a line?

sermonalization...

2008-06-12T14:31:00.002-06:00

i'm preaching at my home church (third time in seven years of being on staff) this sunday and next sunday (the 22nd) at the mount (second time in three months). my church is called southeast and it's at 1700 east on ft. union blvd. and the mount is at mt. olympus presbyterian just off i-215 on 3900 south (the east side of salt lake).

i'm preaching this sunday on father's day. you know, cause i have so much experience on the matter...

finally

2008-06-07T14:09:00.004-06:00

euro cup is finally here! every four years the best teams of europe get together for a world cup of europe. i could not be more excited! my favorite is obviously germany but as long as italy does poorly and ronaldo gets hacked a lot then i'll be happy. of course world cup in 2010 will be much better, but euro is amazing because all the teams (except austria) have a decent shot at upsetting the top teams.

why i love

2008-06-06T23:12:00.002-06:00

i love the sandy library. these are the cd's i got to listen to today:

architecture in helsinki - places like this
bright eyes - cassadaga
mos def - true magic
ladytron - witching hour
talib kweli - rawkus
sea wolf - get it to the river before it runs too low
lyric's born - every where at once
deerhoof - the runner's four
black mountain - in the future
t bone burnett - tooth of crime

my tax dollars hard at work. and someone sent me the new showbread cd. so that's a bonus.

uno mas

2008-06-06T01:37:00.001-06:00

i went to a graduation tonight along with an open house. the graduation was something you'd see in a woody allen movie. the family saved me a seat near them so i was obligated to sit and maintain decorum (i usually read). their oldest son sat next to me and between the two of us, over 12 feet and 400 pounds of dude packed into two tiny arena seats. our knees were tucked in as close to us as possible yet only an inch from the people's ears in the row in front of us. to make it as hilarious as possible, the name i was waiting for was about the 10th one called. so after settling in to the middle of the row, awkwardly bumping my way past everyone, i heard the name and cheered and then had to wait for the other 495 names to be called. as a general commencement expert, there's a knack to giving each graduate their moment while keeping the list moving. this ceremony didn't necessary mind spending over an hour reading names. i did though. so i left about 20 names from the end. i couldn't do it. the thought of burning another hour waiting in the parking lot was too much.

i do want to say that i am proud of the kids that graduate. as a youth pastor i think i have a better idea than most the junk you have to put up with in high school. that you can focus on school long enough to graduate is something worth celebrating. just remember in a year you won't care anymore. and that class ring you bought...well you'll find out.

let them have their beach balls

2008-06-03T22:11:00.002-06:00

i went to mass high school graduations today. four to be exact. it sucked.

don't get me wrong, graduating from high school should be celebrated and enjoyed. kids have worked hard (at least a few of them) and should get to enjoy the day.

what drives me crazy is this idea that they're at the pinnacle of their life and they've learned it all and experienced it all. they certainly speak that way in their speeches, which i would expect from teens. what really kills me is that the faculty and school supports this all the while probably feeling as pissed as i and the other 4,000 grown ups living in the real world are. but they sit there glibly, watching for beach balls being tossed around as if this is some danger to the festivities (?).

every year there's an emerson quote that pops up in at least one graduation, something to the effect of don't follow the trail, but blaze your own and leave a trail behind you. this quote is post modernism in a nutshell; a pretentious, arrogant nutshell (and letting 18 year olds pick the theme of their ceremony is awesome). yes graduates, you can't possibly learn from anyone anymore, you're too well equipped and smart thanks to your public school that yes, does happen to be better than all the others! in fact, don't even bother with college because books and professors will only force you onto their path. this quote blithely supports an egotistical teenage mindset in which their preferences, choices and habits are clearly right. and since being a grown up is all about getting your way, class of 2008, get ready to have fun all the time!

in a sick way though, i love the irony of high school commencement for two reasons:

1) a good third of them are already drunk and passed out as i write this and

2) all of them are about to face the smack down of their life as they enter the real world. so class of 2008, enjoy tonight because starting very soon you'll have to actually start being a grown up instead of just pretending. feel the pain and get used to it; life's a cruel mentor and you're her new cell mate.

and i know you think this sounds mean coming from a youth pastor, but this is the one day when i can finally sit back and begin watching you learn what i tried to tell you about life for the last six years!

genius

2008-05-28T10:32:00.002-06:00

man when shia labeouf's monkey army teaches him to swing through the trees...and then the monkey army attacks the russians! genius! i guess anyone can write and work in hollywood these days.

addictions

2008-05-19T22:12:00.002-06:00

my newest addiction is tiger woods golf on wii. i can barely type this because my wrists hurt so bad. which is, pathetic (don't worry, we agree on this).

so i'm obviously not too great at this...

2008-05-14T09:11:00.005-06:00

i knew i shouldn't have started this blog, i don't ever have anything to write! or at least i do, but i can't write it down here because it's too much information.

sure i could write a vague blog that would lead you to believe i was talking about something more sinister, but isn't that just what high schoolers do with their vague myspace bulletins to drum up sympathy and/or questions?

and who has time to write that anyway or read for that matter.

i will say this: being out of town for 10 days with my wife sara was great and we had a blast. mexico is indeed a great place and i'd totally live there or retire there. i loved that almost every employee who worked on our cruise was from outside the u.s. one disturbing thing was how i'd size each employee up based on their countries' soccer tradition (their name tags said what country they were from). in my mind i had a mini world cup going on every time there were two employees standing near each other. peruvian luis was no match for aleksander's croatian team and so on. neurotic i agree.

my weekend / week / weekend

2008-05-01T14:29:00.002-06:00

tonight: salt lake city
friday: las vegas house of blues for colour revolt show
satuday: beach house on newport beach
sunday: hop on a cruise boat
monday: cruise
tuesday: cabo san lucas
wednesday: mazatlan
thursday: puerto vallarta
friday: cruising
saturday: cruising
sunday: los angeles
monday: salt lake city

hold my calls...

why we suck (economically)

2008-04-21T18:27:00.000-06:00

i just read in a book that 11 percent of our world (north america, western europe and japan) possess and control 90% of the wealth of the world and consume more than half its' products! no wonder everyone hates us. i'd hate us too. i actually think i already do (thanks george w).

the shoot

2008-04-19T15:29:00.000-06:00

i just read the shack by william young. it seems (by the amount of hubbub i've heard about it lately) to be the next big thing in 2008 among Christian books. and as much as i long for the next pilgrim's progress, chronicles of narnia or lord of the rings, the shack just isn't it.

it's a great story. beautiful and heart wrenching. but it's like an amazing bacon cheeseburger wrapped in a diaper. is the burger still great? yes, but the wrapping is off-putting. the writing of the shack is abysmal, the chapter titles seem intentionally bad (long ago in a garden far, far away for example) and the quaint foreword and quaint writing style just comes off like a hallmark movie special. i realize that the mass of the Christian book reading audience won't even pick up on what i'm talking about, and they're the same crowd that will be shocked when they give the shack as gifts and are offended that people don't appreciate it.

but at the end of it, it's still an incredible allegory, one that will help millions of people as they aim to connect with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. i guess my expectation is that Christian authors would write with the same standard of excellence that you find at any large publishing house. i have this same objection to the christian music industry, but that's not changing either (getting worse really).

preachilizing...

2008-04-16T14:28:00.000-06:00

i'm preaching this sunday at a church called mt. olympus presbyterian. it starts at 6:45 pm and it's a really great service. really laid back.

i'm teaching on isaiah 5 where basically the writer compares the people of israel to a vineyard. God (the owner of the vineyard in this story) puts in all the work, and does everything the right way and ends up with stinky grapes (literally the word in hebrew is the same word that describes a pile of dead, rotting bodies) that can't possibly be made into wine (yes kiddos, everyone drank wine back then and it wasn't even grape juice - also: jesus isn't white).

this would be enough to teach on right here except that we are today still dealing with the same problem as the nation of israel. God tells us what to do and how to do it and we basically give him the finger and go our own way. not exactly the most fun thing to preach at someone else's church.

on clogged toilets...

2008-04-11T11:40:00.000-06:00

one of the worst parts of working at the cafe is dealing with the toilets. the girls toilet is one of those models where you have to giggle the handle on every flush.

the boys toilet works fine other than that it gets used by dudes.

so basically last night i had to plunge a toilet for so long that i have a bluster on my thumb now. i have a plunger blister. i might feel better about this if i had been the culprit in clogging the toilet, but i am simply the guy who gets stuck mopping crap off the floor and plunging the toilet when it clogs (usually about every 7 minutes).

here's my idea: we should put a jar in the boys room and every time someone clogs the toilet, stick a few bucks in there as a tip for whoever (me) ends up plunging it. it won't change how i feel about plunging your dump, but at least it'll take the edge off.

you know...

2008-04-10T14:43:00.000-06:00

you know how they say you can write anything on your blog and you can't be help responsible for the content? well i still don't feel that honest...