Bolivar "The Liberator"

As I gradually mature, I find that I am more and more interested in history. Mainly history I have no idea about. For instance: the war of 1812. FASCINATING! Did you know that in 1812 the British retook Detroit? How wild is that? Also I enjoyed reading about this guy today. Simon Bolivar "The Liberator." He's worth reading about, although will most likely never come up in conversation unless we are sitting down together in an intimate setting talking about the liberation of Latin America from Spain, then you better believe we will be talking all about him!

It's articles like this that make me wonder...Did any teachers throughout college or highschool ever mention this guy? Was I too checked out to remember?

Also speaking of public education, I heard a guy on the radio say "If your kids like their teacher, they are suffering from stockholm symdrome. Needless to say he was against public education, and recommended some fancy book which, if read, would talk you out of sending your children there. I however work in public schools everyday, and I think they're aight.

update.

Here's an article by someone who is a much better writer about the album I just blogged about. 

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-passion-of-david-bazan/Content?oid=1169181

Curse Your Branches.

There are certain people in my life that I have never met that have very special places in my heart. One of men is David Bazan. My junior year in highschool I went to a little sleepover camp out at my friend Matt Graham’s house in Momeyer, NC. There are 2 things I remember very well about that night; 1.) Putting on a fireman’s suit and rolling through the bonfire, and 2.) Listening to “Winners Never Quit” by Pedro the Lion. To listen is to love. From that moment on I listened to everything I could by Pedro the Lion whose front man was David Bazan. In those early years he was on Jade Tree records (which in itself holds another very special part of my heart). David’s lyrics have always been brutally honest, and his music insanely simple. It was not about the simplicity of the music, but how perfect the music went with the way he sang it. Each song is beautifully written and his voice is one that can never be mistaken. David’s lyrics challenged me in my Christian walk more than any other band at the time. His honesty made me question so many things that I knew about the Lord. It seemed like he was having the same struggles as so many people, but unlike so many he was willing to talk about it. He would say things that surprised me for example:

“You were too busy steering the conversation toward the Lord, to hear the voice of the Spirit begging you to shut the F up, you thought it must be the Devil trying to make me go astray; besides it could not have been the Lord because you don’t believe He talks that way…”

But you could always tell he was really struggling with his faith.

“I can’t say it like I sing it, and I can’t sing it like I think it, and I can’t think it like I feel it, and I don’t feel a thing.”

And

“Who shall I blame for this sweet and heavy trouble, for every stupid struggle I don’t know, I could buy you a drink, I could tell you all about it. I could tell you why I doubt it, and why I still believe it, and why I need it, and what the Pharisees don’t see.”

You could always tell though that He was holding on. Today however, I heard his new album entitled “Curse Your Branches.” I heard this album while driving to the beach and it honestly broke my heart. I think David has finally walked away from the Lord. Throughout the whole album his blatantly bitter lyrics toward the Lord ring out with passion. He questions God as to whether he “”pushed man when man fell.” Claiming that since God knew what was going to happen, and he made us anyway didn’t he just create us to be fallen creatures? The whole album is just track after track of surprising lyrics until in my opinion the climax of the album. The last verse of the entire album ends with,

“I might as well admit it, like I even have a choice. The crewmen killed the Captain but they still can hear His voice. The shadow on the water, a whisper in the wind on long walks with my daughter who is lately full of questions about You. When Job asked You the question You responded with ‘who are you to challenge the creator’ well if that one part is true, it makes you sound defensive like you had not thought it through enough to have an answer or you might have bitten off more than you could chew.”

I feel so down about this whole thing. I love sad songs, (and waltzes) but when they are about love and love lost it is a completely different feeling. To hear David, someone I care about, speak of walking away from the Lord, someOne I REALLY care about, it is the saddest thing that I have felt in a while. Hopefully He is just going through a time in his life when he’s down and out. The good news is that “He who began a good work in us will carry it out until the day of redemption.” I just hope that season for David comes soon, and that he writes and album about it. I hope one song talks about how new life can spring from dry brittle branches. Any thoughts?

Ps. If you love simple musical composure you should still check the album out, just be prepared to be sad when it’s said and done.

A Few AM Thoughts

Ok, so I was wrong about the Michael thing. I guess I will never see him perform, but at least I had the next best thing a few times. There is a band around the area called "Who's' Bad" they are a Michael Jackson Tribute band and they are AWESOME. Everything is performed lived, no tracks and their Michael dresses like Mike throughout the years and man has he got a voice; he can even do butterflies! Whew! Check them out here.

You know when you find a spider or bug or something in your house and you start to think...oh man that thing is HUGE! Where did it come from!? How many more are there!? Do they crawl on me in my sleep? Well yesterday I had those tho

ughts upon encountering a large spider in my bathub. Arachnaphobia all over again! Don't worry though he's totally dead now! Here's a picture of how big he was!

I have also been watching a lot of Band of Brothers. I love this series and always try to wait a long time in between watching it. It always really moves me to a point where I am so thankful for what others have sacrificed for our country. Seeing those men in the Battle of the Bulge, at D. Day etc... As a boy I grew up with G.I. Joes and with playing war in the backyard; I was alway the hero of course. I begin to wonder though as I watch these men risk their lives in valiant efforts if I would be that brave when the situation arose? Would I be that guy in Saving Private Ryan who was too scared to even go save his friend? I hope not!

Lastly, I have started working out. Kristi and I are getting married on October 18th and I need to start losing some serious poundage, or turning this "extra" into muscle. I have worked out two days in a row now and honestly I could barely get out of bed this morning. I am so achey! Is this a getting old thing or a really out of shape thing? I think both! I will continue to stick with it and hope things get better! Pain means progress I guess. Someone used to tell me that pain was weakness leaving the body. I can't remember for the life of me who that was but apparently it stuck with me!

Until next time

David

Relaxation Station

Last Wednesday I left work a little early and drove to the beach to be with my family. It was such a beautiful extra long weekend mid 90's and sunny and the water was the perfect temperature! I love when it's 95 outside and you come out of the water and you still feel cold. Here are some pictures from the weekend. There aren't many because we were really busy with not doing anything so not many photos were taken!

Theory

Ok I was REALLY going to try to avoid writing a quick post about The King of Pop, but I did just want to get these thoughts down somewhere so that if this happens I can say "called it" and refer people back here.

HOW COOL would it be if Michael Jackson didn't die. What if this was just some sort of HUGE cover up. Lets not put it past Michael to do something of this caliber. Now this is what could happen. Michael Jackson is "dead." All of his 50 sold out concerts are "cancelled." What if the 02 theatre in London offered a refund but you had to show up to get it. Then they wanted to make a "public announcement" about his death. The people go in and sit down and then you hear it. Heavy Breathing. Then the bass comes in....smokey stage...and people are like..."What?!" "What is going on?!" And then you hear that laughter from Thriller! The smoke clears and there's Michael dressed up as a zombie "BACK FROM THE DEAD!" Then the show goes on according to plan. OH MY GOODNESS! That would be the best thing that has ever happened on stage. Anyway, just wanted "Told you so" rights so I thought I'd post.

David

Wam Bam Thank You Ma'am

Huge things have been going on over here in the life of David Mize. The biggest of which I would like to spend a few minutes talking about. Last weekend I bought the love of my life a plane ticket down to visit me! We had such a wonderful weekend and by the end of it we were engaged! I will let a few pictures tell the story!

A fun reminisce

Today I have been reminiscing a lot, and I thought it might be fun to get out my old external harddrive that I used in college. NOTE: College does NOT equal NTBI by any sense of the word. On this hard drive I laughed out loud SO much because I found things that I had not thought about in years, and honestly some things that even now that I'm looking at it I have no recollection of. Funny the things we remember. 2 Particular things that I found that really made me crack up were the musical Spanish Projects I did. I guess this was Spanish 101 or 201 or something pretty basic, but here are two songs that I made for Spanish class. The first song is called "Uno Mas" and it is me playing guitar and singing, the second song is a freestyle rap song (in Spanish) featuring me and Chad Sanders and I made a make-shift rap beat using a the chords and progression from a Beck song, the rap is called "Dios es bueno." ** note the shout out to our teacher Dr. Osvaldo Parilla I hope you enjoy it tell me what you think .







If you LOVED Uno Mas as much as I do, you will be thrilled to know that there is SOMEWHERE a video for this amazing movie. Stay tuned and hopefully I can find it!

I like songs about drifters books about the same.

It is said, by those who travel, that riding the rails is the last great American Adventure. So I thought I would take a quick moment to talk about songs and books about drifters, and travelers.

Of course the cult classic iconic book of:

"On the Road - Jack Kerouac"

Also a collection of his other "beat generation" books such as Big Sur, and Dharma Bums

Also for a more informative "guide" to train hopping and seeing the world through the eyes of industry check out:

"Hopping Freight Trains in America - by Duffy Littlejohn."

I can remember reading this book out loud to anyone who would listen all the way from Chapel Hill to Wilmington. Great Memories!

Also there are the writings of the most famous Hobo of all time A-No. 1. His writings include "Hobo Campfire Tales" and "the Life and Adventures of A-no 1."

There was also a movie about his called "Emperor of the North Pole"

Songs about Hobos include:

Gonna Ride a Train - J.B. Beverly & The wayward Drifters

Hobo Song - John Prine

Ramblin' Man - Hank Williams

I Ain't Got No Home - Woody Guthrie

Can't You See - The Marshall Tucker Band

Last night I did an interview for church about the up and coming third space group young adult ministry St. Mark's is showing. I began to think ( and hope ) that the camera "put on 10 pounds." I was thinking that would be a GREAT thing, because since I'm watching what I eat and excercising if I saw myself 10 pounds heavier then I would instantly feel good about myself! Twisted logic huh?

Tonight I am hosting "The Busy World" at my house. They are a band that is awesome and I have the pleasure of playing accordion for them. We are going to be listening to our new album and working on some final mixing! Woo Hoo! and it's a potluck! that means free fooooood.

Also something that is awesome - Tamara Mathew has the same birthday as Tupac. ( and GERONIMO!) how cool is that!?

I'm a loner dottie..a rebel

My car has been acting up so yesterday I went to take it to get an oil change and to see if they could just tell me what's wrong. The place where I get my oiled changed is about a mile from my house. On the way there I noticed about halfway there that I didn't have my seatbelt on! I instantly reached behind me to grab it and securely strap myself in when I thought...naaa; it's "cool" not to have a seatbelt. So I continued to travel to get my oil changed with no seat belt and windows down. That's right...rebel. Then I started thinking to myself, "Self, if THAT'S what you call rebellious then you got another thing coming." How typical "Bible School" of me to think that I was somehow "sticking it to the man" without my seatbelt?

Oh well, I'm going to do it again when I go to the beach, this time with no shirt, no shoes and no safety belt. THAT will really show them.

ps. Heard on the news today that several schools in our district have H1N1. Better known as Swine Flu. It would have been nice to know this say......YESTERDAY when I was at those exact schools! uh oh, my throat is a little sore...Crap the A-pork-alypse is imminent!

It's All Crazy! It's All False! it's All A Dream It's Alright!

Scene 1: Curtain up.

It was December 2004 and Joby and I were on our way to Lynchburg to visit my then girlfriend Anna. We stopped off at Ace's Basement, a little venue in the basement of a hotel, to see a then small band play: Mewithoutyou. Joby and I were both huge fans of the band then early on in their "Catch for us the Foxes" tour. To see them is to love them. They are raw, energetic, and frankly just don't care about anything that touches materialism with a 10 foot pole. The album was beautiful, it was new, it was full of Spiritual themes. Aaron's unprecedented honesty shone through in each verse as he poetically related his deepest secrets and struggles of life through song. Their next album was "Brother Sister." This album progressed musically away from the post-hardcore of Foxes to some in between stage of folk and rock. Brother Sister was just as beautiful, honest and raw as Foxes, and previously A B Life. Their Spiritual highlights in this album came to a stunning climax in "In a Sweater Poorly Knit" as Aaron's heart shines through in a prayer to the Lord to increase to such a point in his life that Aaron would no longer exist, but only He would exist. I have been encouraged, challenged and pleased with every listen of these fine albums. In 2009 Mewithoutyou's newest, and possibly final, album came out. "It's all Crazy! It's all False! It's all a Dream It's Alright!." Musically this album completes the transition from post hardcore to folk. It begins with an odd sort of Mates of State beat before bringing in signature sounding riffs. The trouble I have with this album is the lyrical content. It is, to say the least beautiful. So many lines are so well written that often times I have to pause the song and just think about them. However many of their songs talk about Sufi fables. "The Fox, The Crow, and the Cookie is one of these. All throughout this album Sufism and the teachings of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen are seen. The other huge issue I have with this album is the last song entitled "Allah Allah Allah" In this song Aaron sings that in everyone we meet, in everything we see, in everything we do, Allah Allah Allah is in all those things. Now, I know that Aaron's father is Muslim and his mother Jewish (weird huh!) and based on his previous albums I would assume that he is simply using the word "allah" as the standard arabic word for "god," instead of the proper noun that denotes the "one and only god of the Muslim religion."

What is this saying? What is being implied or stretched here? I began to think, what if I were riding in the car with my pastor and that song came on, what would he think? But also isn't it easy to assume and confuse the "standard arabic name for god" and the "muslim name for the one and only God?" is it THAT far of a stretch to assume that the muslim Allah is simply the way Muslims worship the same God as christians worship? From there it's not that far of a skip to assume that if Muslims are worshipping the same God as we are, then anyone who worships whole heartedly is actually worshipping the same God as the Bible. This just is NOT the case. Over and over again the Bible proclaims that there is one way to God, through Jesus Christ.

The MOST frustrating thing about this to me is that I keep talking to my friends about it and I ask them specifically what they think of "Allah Allah Allah" and they love it. They're like oh such a cool concept, I like how it stretches traditional christians, and makes them think outside of the "box."

Who knows, maybe I'm just getting old, or maybe all my friends are just getting lazy, but I'd be willing to bet that it is the same old trick the our adversary has used since day 1, taking Biblical truth and subtracting or adding small parts in order to deceive.

Bottom Line, concept wise I am very disappointed with this album. I am also a little concerned with people who think this is perfectly cool. If i have it wrong PLEASE let me know because I'd LOVE to LOVE this album. But if you're going to tell me to step outside the traditional "Box" then I'd rather not hear it. I know what the traditional "box" is and I know that it's the only way to live and worship the One True God for eternity, and I'm just fine with staying there even if it's not the coolest thing to do.

What are your thoughts on this? Do I have it wrong? Do I have it right? Do you care?

Dog is my co-pilot

Today I saw a bumper sticker that said "Dog is my co-pilot" Now, I know what this is referencing, but the thought of those old ladies who let their dogs ride in their laps and look out the window while they're driving instantly came to mind. However after a few chuckles I got back to the seriousness of the issue. This is, of course, a direct play on the "God is my co-pilot" bumper sticker, which in itself is ridiculous. So despite the fact that that person is just an all out weirdo with an anti-religious sense of humor, they made a very good point in calling out the stupidity of having God as your "co-pilot." When I think of co-pilot I think of "Goose" from Top Gun. Despite being my favorite character in that movie, and tearing up everytime when that fateful scene comes up, I began to think about all the trouble Goose got into because of Maverick. Goose wasn't in control; Goose was a helper, a part of a 50-50 team. If you think that you and God are a team living the Christian life together and you both help each other, I would encourage you to get some facts and priorities straight. I think 1st Chronicles 13:9-10 sums things up. The background is this: David went out to reclaim the Ark of the Covenant that wasn't being used during the reign of Saul and bring it back to Jerusalem. They had made a "special cart" for it to be paraded around on instead of the way the LORD had instructed it to be carried (with poles). Verse 9 says this:

When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the Ark. So he died there before God.

Pretty intense huh? So here's what I have to say to that person with the bumper sticker. "If Dog is your co-pilot I hope to goodness you are in the backseat or tied up in the trunk because life ain't worth living unless God is the pilot."

And to myself, I find I pray everyday that He would become more, and I would become less. That I would allow Him to have complete control and be the "Perfect Pilot" after all He has been known from the oldest of times as: Jehovah Pilotrah : God is my pilot. (rough translation)

Post Script: Or that person could have just really loved her dog, that remains to be determined. I guess we'll never know.

With a name like Norman...

There are few songs on this planet that I know of that can instantly transport me to another place. On a very hot day with the windows rolled down there's nothing like a little Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the Sky. This song instantly takes me back to what I think it would be like to live in the 70's. Windows down in an old car, long hair, mustache, cruisin the open road at 55 mph.

The little joys of life.

ps. Tonight I might get a bicycle. While running yesterday I saw a bicycle that had 2 broken tires laying under a bridge. If it's still there that baby is mine :)! can't wait to cruise this town on a blue mountain bike!

The Decemberists

A few posts ago, I went into detail about a new album that I have really fallen in love with. That album is The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love. If you read my earlier post you would know that it was an entire "folk-opera" complete with different voices for characters. Well last night I was able to go see the Decemberists live in Raleigh, NC. It was one of the early tour dates that they are doing in which they are performing their entire new cd in its entirety. If you think to yourself: "Self! This is amazing! I wish I could hear that amazing album live in its entirety for myself!" Well you can! This link was recorded from the soundboard and aired live over NPR. I cannot even tell you how unbelievable this show was. The Decemberists had all of the members for the various parts in costume and singing and somewhat acting their parts out. After they had played through all 17 tracks of their new cd, they took a break and came back out to play some older songs! Then they did something that I have always dreamed would happen to me. They pulled people from the audience and let them play their instruments! Ever since I was a little boy at Hardee's Walnut Creek with my dad and Phillip Neuhart watching Lynryd Synyrd I have wanted to be pulled on stage and allowed to play with the band. Some little 12 year old kid and highschool girl last night just had their lives MADE.

Here are some pictures that I took.

First I will say that I was fascinated by this light. I have always been a fan of light rays and these last night were beautiful! I wonder if there are visible light rays coming from the Lord in heaven? I hope so, it's one of the most beautiful things I know of.

On another note, the accordion player in the band last night was unbelievable! Wow.

All in all it was a fantastic night. I got to see an amazing band, put on an amazing show and I had amazing seats! I also got to see friends I haven't seen in years, and some that I see all the time. It is totally worth being tired today!

David

Tonight I became a coupon cutter. Never thought I'd see the day.

Summer Happenings

Summer means so many things to all of us. We look forward to so many different things. We look forward to getting out of school, going to the beach, flowers, summer lovin ( had me a blast ). I used to look forward to swim team, being in the woods all day making forts and having bamboo sword fights. Now I look forward to summer because of the hobos. I know it is summer time because in the last several days I have seen the travelers start to emerge. Saturday I saw 2 hitchikers, and today I saw a train hopper. I wrote this in my journal after I saw him, "Once you ride the rails the love for them will never go away; neither will the silent call of the tracks or the beckoning whistle of a passing engine go unnoticed."

That made me think of a much better quote said by the king of Hobos himself A-no 1: "When I started out the wanderlust was upon me and I enjoyed the zest of adventure. Later I travelled because it became a habit with me, and now, although I hate the life I travel because I cannot stop." A-no 1

Here's to the unforgettable experience of hitching and hopping across the

country with Mark, and a shout out to the people whom we met along the way who changed our lives.

(And to Funky who is not pictured here but is one of my best friends in the world)

I have always been a fan of sad songs, sad stories, especially sad love stories and increasingly more I am loving very emotional songs, and if they are about settling down and starting a family that is even better. (Since that is the point where I am at in my life) So here is a song that is about that and is very emotional. It's by Des Ark and I think it's beautiful.

Two Hearts Are Better Than One.

Enjoy!

David

ps. Also yesterday I got out of my car at the ending of a song. I was at my house for several hours and got back into my car at the beginning of the EXACT SAME SONG. Weird huh?

Sad Songs and Waltzes

I was doing my traditional Friday Cleaning, you know the swiff and mop cleaning when I began to think about sad songs about funerals. Kinda morbid and weird, but here's the list I came up with. Any one out there have more ideas?

Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles

The Ballad of Curtis Lowe - Lynryd Skynyrd

Casimir Pulowski Day - Sufjan Stevens

November Rain - Guns - n - Roses

Funeral For Friend - Elton John

At your Funeral - Saves the Day

Currently Listening to:

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love

Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything to Nothing

Currently Reading:

The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus - John Cross

Deception Point - Dan Brown

Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott

Some News

I woke up this morning thinking it was Friday. It lasted all morning until I was eatting breakfast(which in retrospect wasnt very long), but upon my first awake to the dozing laying in bed stage to the actually getting up stage to the shower stage to the dressing and then eatting sage it was friday. About halfway through my bowl of Frosted Flakes it hit me. My arms flung in the air as if in protest to Thursday knocking off my box of Frosted Flakes which fell on the floor spilling everywhere. A crude welcome to Thursday! Blah! For a moment looking at my Frosted Flakes I thought... recycle? Then decided against it and threw them away. 

In other news for those of you wanting a high maintenance, expensive, glow-in-the-dark pet for Christmas look your wait is over! Scientists in Japan have created "Pocket Monkeys" which glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet light. The best news...they are REAL monkeys. Here's what the news article said

Quite apart from their glow-in-the-dark capabilities, the transgenic marmosets are also handier and more portable than ordinary experimental monkeys. At around 20cm tall, they are easily transported in a lab-coat pocket. The palmtop primates are "less expensive to handle and house" than regular lab chimps and so forth, according to Science magazine.

VERY interesting! 

Also remember Cameron Frye's house in Ferris Bueller's Day Off? The one that was all glass and had the red ferrari? Remember how you always wanted to live there? (me either) Well now you can because it's for sale! 

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/05/ferris-bueller.html

That's all my news for today. 

David 

Foiled Again

Well yesterday I was very excited because I thought I had won a contest for a $250 Amazon gift card. Well I couldn't help but be so excited that I actually began looking at Amazon.com to find things that I wanted that I might buy. Well alas, I don't think I won, and now I know of several things I want from Amazon but with no winnings to buy them. Oh well.

There is an album I have been listening to the Decemberists album "The Hazards of Love." The whole album is one complete story complete with different voices! If you wanted to listen to it, you might be able to find the album in 2 parts at this site. I will now attempt to tell you the story of William and Margaret. (In chronological order for ease of understanding)

There was once a boy named William who when he was born put into a clay basket and sent down the Annan River. The Annan river is one serious river! It was super deep, and had raging waters! William was saved by the Evil Queen. In an attempt to make him her own, she made him to be a fawn during the day and a man during the night. Well one day our heroine Margaret goes for a ride and comes across the fawn (William). It was late evening and when she went to go check on it the fawn turned into William! Margaret and William instantly fell in love. Well the evening draws to an end and Margaret goes back home only to realize that she is pregnant. When she begins to show she goes back into the forest to find William. When she does they spend the night again and William goes to his mother (the queen) and asks for her permission to spend the rest of his nights with his one true love Margaret. The Queen then is VERY upset, and says something like: This is how I am repaid!? I saved you from the raging Annan Waters and you want to just ditch me? So William changes his tactics and asks the queen if he can just spend one more night with her. The Queen agrees to this, knowing that William is going to try to take off with Margaret. Enter the Rake. The Rake is a man who got married at the age of 21 and LOVED it until his wife started having tons of babies! On the 4th child however, the wife and the child died. In order to "regain" his old life the Rake decides to kill all of his other children in various ways. The Queen goes to the Rake and says that she can be his as long as they go across the Annan Waters and never return. The Rake of course agrees and the Queen carries the Rake and the captive Margaret across Annan Waters. William however realizing something is amiss begins to track the Rake and his true love. He gets to Annan Waters and realizes he can't cross. He then pleads with the waters asking them to allow him to cross to save his own true love. He says that if they calm they could have his bones on his return. As William is sailing across Annan Waters the Rake is about to have his way with Margaret when all of a sudden his children come back to life to taunt and haunt him! William arrives just in time to save Margaret and escape with her! They get back in the boat and halfway across they start to sink. William in one of his finest moments...the last moments of their lives says to his true love: "Let's be married here today, these rushing waves to bear our witness. And we will lie like river stones rolling only where it takes us. With this long last rush of air we'll speak our vows in starry whisper. And when the saves came crashing down he closed his eyes and softly kissed her.

The End.

Wow. Don't you want to listen to that now!? Seriously it's beautiful.

Who's the demon in Angels in Demons?

The answer to that question is: Ron Howard. I just got back from seeing Angels and Demons, which in my opinion is a phenomenal book, it is NOT however a phenomenal movie. I have not been as disappointed in a movie since I saw The Lost World. What are the rules with taking liberties with another artist's work? What does Dan Brown think about it? I mean there are HUGE fundamental building blocks of the story that are not even mentioned in the movie. I need to do some research on the worst film adaptations for great books. If I find something good I'll post it here. Has anyone out there seen it and read it? Let me know! Oh wait, no one reads this blog..nevermind

David

Change of thought

I find it very interesting how my thoughts have changed about things from when I was in Bibleschool. Particularly finances. Today I checked my finances and was concerned that I "only had a several hundred dollars," as opposed to when I was in Bible school it was a "Wow! I have several hundred dollars!" Also I have noticed a change in movie habits. Things that didnt' bother me now do. For better or for worse, I'm not sure that I can ever enjoy Pulp Fiction again, or I heart Huckabees etc...But alas, I am better for it and what a blessing it is to be able to see growth. BTW this is just growth in 2 small areas ok, I can see growth in my time at the BI in hundreds of ways! Just a little update I thought was interesting.

David

PS. Last night I was reading and was doing some thinking about Adam and had 2 interesting thoughts. 

1.) If Adam and Eve had children while in heaven, they would have been born without the sin nature. Once Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, would their children have been banned from Eden as well? I'm actually leaning toward the fact that they didn't have any children before the Fall. 

2.) Adam lived for 930 years. Lets think about this. If Adam died this year, that means he would have been born in 1079! He would have been alive through some Crusades, the dark ages, the discovery of the "new world" (now called: home) Colonization of America, the Renaissance, America's independence, the French and Indian war, the civil war, WWI, WWII, the invention of cars, the re-institution of Israel, the Civil rights movement, the invention of the computer, and lastly, the election of America's first bi-racial president. That seems like it could be a pretty full life. 

I know, I just posted some Married to the Sea yesterday, this is the last one I promise, just wanted to pass it along. 

5/13

Today was eventful. It was one of those days where you think you are waking up a little bit before your alarm goes off, only to look at the clock and realize you're ALREADY an hour late for work. Oh well. After an actually busy day of work, I went to Chapel Hill to pick up my new reciever! See attached photos. I came home and did some "other shopping" and was able to listen to some of my favorite songs in a warm crisp beautiful tone. Right now I'm listening to the Eagles. Their smooth voices are even smoother. In fact, this album covers songs that came out between 1971-1975, my new receiver was made in the mid 70's and my Marantz speakers are mid 70's as well. I'm just realizing that my entire audio setup is a flashback. Awesome.

Daily Listens:

The Busy World: Envelopes and other things that need addressing

The Eagles: Greatest Hits Volume 1

Yeah Yeah Yeah's: Show Your Bones

Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxrot.

Here's the Stereo:

Also I saw this Car today. wow. 1968 Triumph TR 250

They wanted 27,900 for it. Worth it? Not sure. Awesome? Definitely.

See you tomorrow Michigan. Holla at a Michigander.

Married to the Sea

Here are two fantastic reasons why I read "Married to the Sea" everyday before I can start working.

 

So if you have some spare time Go on over to Married to the Sea and check out some archives! 

5/12

Andy Busam and his friend came over tonight to hang out. I made some cookies from scratch that we enjoyed then listened to rough mixes of the album Andy and I recorded last weekend. We then started talking about technology and about how much it has changed over our lifetime. From 5.25 floppys to AIM Punters, to Xanga. Wow. I then found one of my first websites:

Click and Sniff!

we then found Andy's old Xanga. It's worth a read and a laugh.

Andy's Xanga

Here's what I listened to today:

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Brand New: Deja Entendu

Cap'n Jazz: Analphabetapolothology

The Busy World: Envelopes and other things that need addressing (Rough Mixes)

Pedro the Lion: It's hard to find a friend.

Also at goodwill today I found this record. Can't wait to get a new reciever so I can listen vinyl again!

Also Thursday I am going back to Michigan. I am SO excited to see Kristi and to see my best friends Josh and Tamara. Being so far away from my loved ones is wearing me thin :(

ZOMG lataz Gangstaz

David

Two Incredible Things

There were two incredible things that happened today. One of them was unbelievable, and the other one was embarrassingly unbelievable.  The first one is this: I had 1 dollar and 50 cents in my pocket today so that I could buy one of those "new" Mountain Dews with the natural sugars instead of the high fructose corn syrup. When I went in to buy one I found that I had lost my dollar bill. As you might understand that was very sad, but I sighed.."ahh well" and went on about my day. During my lunch break as I was walking to my apartment I looked over at the flowers that were planted there and saw my original dollar! It was crumpled up exactly like mine and had apparently fallen out this morning as I reached into my pocket to get my cell phone to call Kristi on our daily commutes! That is a first for me, finding the exact dollar I lost in a public place..Amazing. 

The second thing is this. I was in an elementary school lab and dropped my keys. As I bent down to pick them up I heard: RIIIPPPPP. Instantly I knew what this noise was. It was the noise that sends chills up everyone's spine. My pants, I knew..had ripped. I reached back to feel the damage and to my surprise there was a vertical "flap" that was about a foot long. I instantly sat down of course and tried to figure out my next plan. The Lab was toward the end school hall, so I quickly said my goodbyes and walked to the end of the hall...backwards! I pulled my shirt down in the back to cover as much as I could, and got to my car only to realize that I had left my keys in the lab. My heart sunk as I knew I would have to walk back through the front door into the lab to get my keys. I will let your imagination fill the rest in as I walked through an elementary school with the majority of my upper left thigh on display for all to see. 

What a day...What a day. 

WOW! There is so much to blog about. First of all it was really foggy the other day and I was able to take some pictures. Here is one of my favorites!

This is one of my favorite parts of my new town, and it was so awesome to see it looking so majestic against the fog.

Next, I would like to talk a little bit about basketball. Basketball you say...but David doesn't like basketball! Yes, you are correct, however I do enjoy watching sports when there are tournaments going on. So since the NCAA basketball tournament was going on, AND I live in North Carolina I logically was pulling for UNC to win. I went over to Mark's house and watched the game with Randy and Mark. Afterwards we went down to Franklin St. to see all the crowds of people. Here are a few pictures from that!

Next, I would like to tell all of you what an amazing weekend I had last (Easter) weekend. I was able to get off work a little early and go up to Michigan to visit Kristi, and a few other very special friends and heroes. However, on the way up to Michigan I hit, and killed a coyote in Ohio. It did a little damage to my car, however I think in the grand scheme of things I came out the victor. Here are some pics.

Broken Neck

This poor fella didn't stand a chance against my 70 mph death machine

It hangs its tongue out in defeat...

So that was a little bit of a hassle having to leave my car in Ohio to get a new radiator, however I wouldn't have changed a thing. Kristi and I had such a lovely time. We were able to eat dinner with the Gutweins, and the Mathews, and were able to hang out and talk with the Potters and really grow closer to one another! It's always good to have a really great weekend when you've been apart for so long! So this week it's back to work for me, but it will be a slow one since everyone else is on Spring Break! I'll try to write more soon!

Macs are sooo P.C.

So I was sitting at work today, in my "area" looking around and was overwhelmed (in a good way) all of the apple computers that surrounded me: working ones, broken ones, new ones, old ones. I realized then that Macs are soooo P.C. P.C. of course here meaning politically correct. I began to wonder how many people have apple computers because they love the operating system - how the unix based core handles memory allocation, how the iLife series of applications are seamlessly integrated, or how is handles and deals with files within the filesystem vs how many people love macs because of the really cool commercials, because it's cool, because they have an iPod.
I have decided that there are a few different catagories of mac users.
1.) Pre-OSX users
2.) OSX Switchers
3.) iPod Switchers
4.) Intel Switchers
5.) iPhone switchers

Which one do you fall in?

I then quickly repented (a change of mind) and began to think about the genius of currency amongst modern society. Think about it, our society needs maintenance: computer help, car help, librarians, insert your job here, but not very many people do their job because they LOVE it and want to do it everyday forever. However...if you give the workers incentive, they will have to work. That incentive is needing money in order to buy things, if you need money to buy things, then you need to somehow have money...Voila! pretty incredible huh? But then think...if we didn't have currency in our society and were either hunger gatherers, or barterers...would society still work or exist as we know it? These thoughts kept me busy most of the day!
This looks like it might answer or confirm some of the above thoughts.
Currency

You down with APT? Yeah you know me.

I have finally got a few things put up in the new apartment and wanted to share some pictures of the living room, kitchen and bathroom with you! I will start with the bathroom because that is the place that contains my favorite part of the apartment.

This is the ship mural. I think the middle one is the Dawn Treader.

A little bit of the kitchen now!

Nice big cabinets, a little bit of food.

Just the essentials: Couch, Record Player, iPod Touch, End Table, Quality Speakers.

To everything, Turn, Turn, Turn.

Transition.

Synonyms - alteration, changeover, conversion, development, evolution, flux, growth, metamorphosis. The context of this blog.

Over the past few months have been a time of transition for me. I have gone from being daily taught the Word of God, by (in my opinion) heroes of the faith, to living at home, to moving into a new apartment (Tomorrow).

Today is my last day of work here at Computer Connections, and tomorrow begins a new journey, one that completes this transition. I always get so sentimental when I leave one place and go to a new. Rex Gutwein, one of my greatest friends and mentors said this about transitions: "Life is a lot like a cup that you fill up with geographical comforts. Friends, experiences, etc... and when you leave that place it's almost as if you pour your cup out. Although this is a sentimental time, it's inevitable that you will fill that cup again with new friends, and new experiences, and eventually will be just as sad to leave the new place as you were to leave the last." Good words Rex. So tomorrow I am going to be filling up my cup again with new friends and experiences. I hope that I can fill it with Sangria.

If you're bored check this band out!

Grouper

Also: due to recent encouragement, I hope to be posting more regularly.

Last of all: here's an old picture that has recently been discovered.