2nd Best Christmas Album Ever!

It appears as if I'm developing an (unintentional) Christmas theme to my recent blog posts. But hey, 'tis the season. My friend Ben recently turned me on to the new Sufjan Stevens album 'Songs for Christmas.' I'm totally diggin this album. It's a great blend of re-made Christmas classics and fresh originals. Check out the samples in my music player to the right.

I'm not a huge Sufjan fan, and I have no idea what his faith beliefs and practices are. But at any rate, I always appreciate an album and an artist that can edify my Christian journey while not sacrificing originality and musical artistry. This album definitely fits the bill. Other artists I've found in the same vein are Brian Webb, Brad Yoder, and No Little Kindness. Check em out.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I say it's only the 2nd best Christmas Album ever - it's because this is numero uno.

I discovered a new web browser recently called Flock. Like Firefox (which is what I currently use) it's a free, open source program. Supposedly, Flock is the 'social' web browser because it integrates with sites like facebook, youtube, and various social bookmarking websites. I've downloaded it and have begun foolin' around a bit. It has an interesting blog editor feature which I'm trying out for the first time here. I haven't quite figured out if all its bells and whistels are truly needed features or actually enhance browsing efficiency, but we'll see.

Blogged with Flock

Something to Remember During Advent

Given the topic of my Nov. 13 post, I thought it would be fitting to link into a post on the Young Anabaptist Radicals blog. The post offers some thought-provoking modern interpretations of some of Jesus' parables related to consumption and excess. Enjoy!

Rrrradiocabeza

A few weeks ago I purchased the new Radiohead album In Rainbows. You can only buy the album online because Radiohead are skipping the middle man and selling it directly from their website. And the best part is you can choose whatever amount you want to pay. I paid 2 pounds which comes to about $2.50 which includes a small foreign transaction fee. If you're a Radiohead fan, you'll love this latest release. Feel free to check out the songs I've uploaded to the right.

Interesting little tid bit. Most women who listen to this album tend to like "Reckoner" the best. Must be something about Thom's high pitch falsetto.

(after listening through the playlist a few times, I realized that some of the song files were inaccurate. So I've now removed those and only have a sample of the songs on the new album posted on this blog)

Remind me againt what Christmas is about

For NFL fans and readers of espn.com, you may be familiar with a column called Tuesday Morning Quarterback where Gregg Easterbrook reviews everything from the latest week in NFL, college, and high school football to current events to society, politics, and culture. Anyway... he had a recent blurb about Starbucks which I've pasted below:

"In the Starbucks Warm, Mighty King -- Do You Hear What I Hear?" Reader Ben Rosenberg reports that his favorite Starbucks, in Brookline, Mass., switched to Christmas music and Christmas decorations on Nov. 8. This, he notes, means Starbucks will spend 13 percent of the calendar year promoting Christmas. Brookline jumping the gun? I went into my favorite Starbucks, in Bethesda, Md., on Nov. 10: Christmas coffee was on sale, Christmas cards were hanging in the window, excruciating Christmas music was playing. I was disgusted -- and I like Starbucks Christmas coffee! The Official Wife of TMQ picked up a 2007 Advent calendar on sale in the Starbucks and looked at the sell-by date -- it read, USE BY JULY 2008.

I found it interesting that Starbucks (and other national retailers - I'm not just picking on Starbucks) spend 13% of the year promoting Christmas. More and more I'm just alarmed at how commercial Christmas is becoming. But here's the rub: my parents own and opperate a local Ace Hardware store and have a major Christmas section this time of year. Every year people pour into their store to buy more stupid junk to put in their lawns and under their trees. And the store benefits from and even needs this Christmas department to succeed. So while I'm critical of this trend toward over-consumption and consumption being linked to civic duty (be sure to watch the video with this link), I understand the murky complexity of the issue.

So as Christians who want to protect the integrity of this season and also claim a higher identity beyond being mere consumers, what do we do? Well, we could opt for the traditional non-participation which is the strategy of Buy Nothing Day. My friend Jason and his community take that approach a step further with the more transformative, positive concept of Make Something Day. But I wonder if the Christian community needs to undergo a complete paradigm shift. One that proclaims and observes Easter as the prominent Christian holiday. My understanding is that that is the practice of Eastern Orthodoxy. While doing so may require that we give up our Rockwellian love affair with Christmas, and while it may forfeit Christmas to its ultimate secular peril, I still see that as a positive step the Church could make. At least it's one I feel I can make in my own faith journey with my family and my church.

Why Blog?

So I've started, neglected, and deleted more blogs than I can remember by now. It seems I like the idea of blogging more than blogging itself. Nevertheless, here goes another attempt, inspired mainly by my friend Dave who has recently become passionate about blogging as a means for students to practice writing, connect with others, and formulate new ideas, etc. He also showed me this video below which was thought-provoking for me. Can't say I agree totally with the video; I definitely see in it some disturbing trends which lead to the breaking down of community, intellect, and overall health. If you're curious about that statement check out this book from my friend Shane. Anyway... here's the video - and here's my latest (and likely doomed) attempt at blogging.