Planet RMFO Blog

Okay, so I blew it on my last post, okay? Are you happy now?

I went on and on about how I had briefly misplaced my wedding ring, and a couple times referenced my empty right ring finger. I now understand that I wear my ring on my left hand. I could have tried to save face with an implausable explaination involving my following European customs, but I won’t do that. I blew it. I don’t know how I made such a dumb mistake, but I blew it.

Thanks to my wife and Roger for publicly embarassing me. Nothing like a piping hot scoop of scorn from the Crock Pot of Shame® to start my week off.

Now I’m in a sour mood. Everything was awesome until yesterday.

I think I’m racist now.

We pretty much had the perfect Christmas Day. It’s true. My family came up for a couple of days. (My brother, my sister and her hubby, and my mom) At 2:00 am on Christmas day, it was pouring rain, so imagine our surprise when we woke up to a winter wonderland. My mom and [...]

It seems like most people have some type of yearly reflection around this time.  People start throwing out “best of” and “worst of” lists like their opinions should have some kind of authority.  Ignoring subjectivity completely, readers immediately react to these lists with enough vitriol to float a boat.  My solution?  Make lists that I can say that I am the authority.  So, here you go.

The Worst of 2008 for Me:
10. Getting my complete lack of drumming ability exposed by Rock Band 2.
9. The extended “sick, but not really really sick” battle I waged in November.  Two weeks of congestion and exhaustion was pretty much a big crapper.
8. The Great Comcast Battle of 2008
7. The extended “remodeling” of the Red Lion that kept it closed all of 2008.
6. My catalytic converter getting stolen off of my Jeep.  That really sucked and continues to keep the Jeep in Sucktown.
5. The seats when we took Sarah’s parents to see Jersey Boys.  A bad view, uncomfortable angle, and they ripped my pants.
4. The complete unraveling of the Cleveland Indians and Browns.  Both ended up being such letdowns after 2007.
3. The incredibly long and unrelenting winter of 2008.  I don’t think we saw anything over 30 degrees until May.
2. Getting a parking boot.  Stupid on many levels, but man, finding my Jeep with a giant yellow parking boot after work was just about the worst feeling ever.
1. Sarah taking a softball to the knee.  It made life challenging for a while and kept her on the bench for the rest of the year.  Oh, and the pressing fear that she wouldn’t be able to walk normally for the rest of her life.

Honorable mention: Owing taxes, the new Indiana Jones movie, and paying $10 for lunch way too often.

And now… the Best of 2008 for Me:
10. Sarah allowing me get away with growing a beard for the last several weeks of the year.  I’m guessing her acceptance will be endless.  If not, Sarah making me shave my beard will be on my 2009 “worst of” list.
9. The Great Nebraska Trip of 08.  This trip has redefined the awesomeness of summer.
8. The Dark Knight in IMAX.  Mind = blown.
7. Getting a Costco membership.  I know that sounds lame, but trust me, it is.  Even so, it has turned out to be pretty dang awesome.
6. Pastor Daniel’s “sex series” and forum.  It’s been quite a while since a pastor has spoken words that hit me the way his series did a couple months ago.
5. The Wii… and Rock Band 2… and WiiFit… and taking my dad down in Wii Bowling.
4. Getting engaged.  From the ring to talking to Sarah’s dad to postponed proposals to finally getting the word to come out of my mouth, this was probably the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done.
3. The Weber 22.5″ One-Touch Gold kettle grill that was provided by the guys from my “bachelor weekend.”  This may continue to be on my 2009 “best of” list.
2. Brewing my first batch of beer ever with Jud.  Hopefully it leads to continued brewing and eventually some stellar beer.
1. Well, it’s not that hard to guess what my number 1 might be.  Obviously, it was discovering there was a Sonic in Ohio just off of I-70 near Dayton.

Honorable mention: Discovering the tv show Mad Men, Iron Man or Wall-E, Microsoft replacing my Xbox 360 quickly and for free.

Ok, for real, there were two pretty monumental occurences that will make 2008 incredibly memorable.  Enough so that they deserve their own list.

So, here it is… the Greatest of the Great in 2008:
2. Hearing Wolf Blitzer say, “We are ready to declare that Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States” while standing in Grant Park with my wife and some good friends.

and finally…
1. A month before election day, standing in front of a gazeebo somewhere in Michigan and wearing a nice suit, a beautiful woman for some reason agreed to spend the rest of her life with me.  That was pretty swell.

So that’s it.  2008 reduced to a couple of lists.  Disagree with any of it and I will have my friend Corey poke you in the eye.  He’s ready to do it too.

• Piper & Wright: which is “biblical”? Both claim…but start from diff. hermeneutic. That is key #
• Christ in the mundane: interview with N. T. Wright http://markdroberts.com/?p=711 #
• Start work this a.m. on next @wtsbooks newsletter #
• Reward at the end of this day: Scrubs season premier! #
• RT @problogger: New from TwiTip: 10 Traits of Highly Effective Twitter Users http://tinyurl.com/9rrxhw (Good tips!) #
• RT @CoachMatthew: Find the hidden secret in Google Mobile for iPhone http://budurl.com/brte #
• Friends don’t let Friends languish in older Firefox http://cli.gs/zBSbzp #
• RT @EricFriedman: I thought I went back in time there for a second; http://tinyurl.com/8rv2mm (Why auto headlining is often FAIL) #
• RT @Lifehacker: iTunes to Drop Most Copy Protection, Vary Prices http://tinyurl.com/8utu87 #
• Emergent blogger Tallskinnykiwi reviews Reforming or Confirming? This could get interesting! http://tinyurl.com/7s7kc6 #
• http://tinyurl.com/72z4mr should me read by anyone who cares about biblical interpretation (from blog of @prophezei) #
• I’m at 7121 Ogontz Ave - http://bkite.com/03vWP #
• I’m at 7121 Ogontz Ave - http://bkite.com/03vX3 #
• How Bloggers Should Inspire Retweets http://snipurl.com/9ii28 #
• RT @pandora_radio: A sexy new update of our iPhone app is coming out tonight, wee! (@trappermark is giddy!) #
• Details on Pandora 2.0 for iPhone due out tonight: http://tinyurl.com/77tal6 (HT: @Jordanbrown5) #
• Pandora 2.0 for iPhone just showed up in the app store! Downloading now. #
• Back into Moby Dick before bed. 300 pages in & I’m beginning to suspect the whale may be a key figure. Stay tuned! #
• I’ve now been to a suburban DMV & a hood DMV. Suburban: quiet, peeps in own space. City: constant chatter & laughter btwn complete strangers #

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• Getting pumped for wtsbooks.com’s biggest shipping day ever. #
• I’m at Westminster Bookstore (2960 Church Road, Glenside, PA) - http://bkite.com/03ue9 #
• RT @mediaphyter: More on previewing URL redirection - if you use FireFox get the PowerTwitter add-on = http://tinyurl.com/6qqvms #
• Actually great to be back at work w/ my @wtsbooks colleagues. Makes me think how much I’ll miss these guys. #
• RT @davidtwayne: (Jollyblogger) My cancer story so far - part 1: http://tinyurl.com/9qdec6 #
• Christians trying to bring love of Jesus in the world’s most fractured land: http://cli.gs/gTbqL2 (HT: @withinwithout on Twitter) #
• Is tinkering with the sidebar of his blog…challenging, but much easier than actually writing content #
• I’m spending an evening reviewing a book proposal for P&R Publishing. #
• I’m amused when people write about “the marks of a true church”…because it always looks like theirs! #
• Just got followed by a guy who blogs every meal he eats. Now how did I miss that million dollar idea? #
• New Macbook Wheel: “anything on your hard drive is just a few hundred clicks away!” http://cli.gs/j9RgVr #
• RT @problogger: Twitter Grader have put together a Tweet It Button - http://bit.ly/1bOFXS (Now - where to use this?) #
• Happiness is knowing that @traderjoes mango chicken sausages are snug in my freezer ready for me to pounce anytimg. #
• Follow @ntwrightnews for links to blog posts & online news re: N. T. Wright #
• Night tweeps! #

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When I come home from work these days, I never know exactly what will have gone on at my house while I was away. Randy is renovating our bathroom so that Alisa can move in and not have the yucky wallpaper situation going on. And also so she can have an environmental-friendly toilet. And a faucet that is not 40 years old. And more storage space. And an outlet. And a light fixture that doesn’t make her want to kill herself. We are doing these things because we like Alisa. And because we are using her as an excuse not to have a hideous bathroom. In sad news, I must report that I never actually took photos of the bathroom as it was. You will just have to trust me that it’s going to be way more awesome when he’s done. Our house is so crazy that I got really overwhelmed about taking “before” pictures. Because I thought that maybe people would feel sorry for us. Or wonder why, exactly, we bought the house. And I did not want people’s pity. Though it is possible that we deserved it. (Randy is probably the person who is most happy that we bought this house. Because of our insanity, he can provide for his family.) (Just kidding, his rates are very reasonable. If you are in the Greensboro area, you should hire him.)

When I got home on Tuesday, Alisa (and Brian) had put the second coat of brown paint on her room. And Randy had put up the new light fixture and installed an outlet in the bathroom. (The bathroom didn’t have an outlet. Except for one in the light fixture. So now we have an outlet in the wall, where outlets are supposed to be. This means that Alisa’s bathroom is now more technologically advanced than mine. Because electricity = technology, don’t you know? I don’t have an outlet at all.) It is so exciting to come home and see the new things that have happened. It feels a little bit like playing house. Or setting up my Barbie Dream House. (I never had the Dream House. Isn’t it the one with the elevator? I had a different one. It was pink. With a spiral staircase.) I retaliated on Tuesday night by taking down the wallpaper in the bathroom for Randy to find when he gets to our house on Wednesday. I can change things up, too! Also, now our house is wallpaper-free!

To be honest, over the past two weeks, I have wondered what we were thinking when we bought this house. The turquoise room really made me question my sanity. I guess we were looking at the house’s potential, but I wonder what made us want to be so visionary. We are going to have to stay here a long time to make all of this worth it. Which is good, because that’s the plan. Speaking of my house, have I ever told you my house’s name? I think my house is a boy, and I think his name is Emerson. Mike doesn’t necessarily agree with me, but he doesn’t like to name things, so I am sticking with Emerson. Emerson is a work in progress (but having Alisa move in has progressed Emerson a little bit more than we expected right now, which is awesome).

Our house has taken a lot of work. I have been feeling lately as if my relationship with this house is a metaphor for my relationships in general: I have to put in the necessary time in order for them to be where I want them to be. I put forth time and energy because I want these relationships to be long-term. This metaphor only stretches so far, because it’s not as if I can pay Randy to spend time with Mike or my friends and family. I think it works, though, because we have done a lot by ourselves. We pulled up carpet! We painted! We took down wallpaper! We painted some more!

I want life to be about the arrival - the finished kitchen, the close friendships, the tight-knit marriage. I want to be able to present the polished product to the world: Look at my perfect house and my perfect life and my perfect job and my perfect relationships and my perfect marriage.

But life isn’t like that. Well, maybe yours is, but mine definitely isn’t.

So I am reminded to try to enjoy the journey. Having people over even when our bathroom has hideous wallpaper (NOT ANYMORE!). Even if their houses are much nicer than mine. Telling people about the things that make me sad, even when they are things I would rather not talk about. Painting and taking down wallpaper with Mike. Even when I would kind of rather be lounging around. Loving the students at school the very best I can, even when I feel like I am not getting through. I want to work at it now, because I don’t want to be the person who looks back and realized that I lived with things I could have changed, whether that is bitterness of heart or godawful wallpaper. My faith teaches me that is what this journey is about: my life, not just my house, is a work in progress.

Happy New Year internet. I was in a sour mood when I last left you wasnt I? What a great note to leave 2008. 2009 is still just as stressful, but thankfully today is my first night sleeping in my own bed in a while. Clean sheets never felt so nice. Ive been busying priming and painting in between the house sitting and packing, which is why this New Year post comes 6 days late.

The New Years Eve dance I mentioned went great. I was nervous about it for number of reasons, but its the natural nervousness that comes with every event I plan - I want things to go well for these kids who worked so hard to put this event on. Some have said its their favorite NYE dance ever, but Im pretty sure they say that every year. I had fun and danced my little heart out with some girls who showed me how to dance like no one was watching. The next morning I felt a bit hung-over and sore all over. Apparently I dont use the muscles that require to dance often.

A good friend of mine got married on Saturday and I got to take her wedding photos. Last of the weddings for me for quite a while. Some asked me why I dont want to shot weddings, and as much as the stress isnt worth it to me, I really dont need a third job! Maybe if I just did youth ministry, maybe. But I really just enjoy seconding shooting weddings so much more than being the lead photographer. The wedding was quick and cute. Editing those photos between a move shall be interesting.

Ive been listening to “Saturn Feild” by Sandra McCracken, which can be found on her newest album, Red Balloon. It feels like a New Years song to me. About things be rearranged and things we cant see and things to hope for. How is that not a New Year, shall we say, new season song? So heres to being newly being rearranged in 2009.

In the grocery store tonight I was waxing grateful for not having to go out and forage like my gruffer, more stalwart ancestors.

Then I realized that most of my time there was spent hunting for items…and that I have no idea where things are in a grocery store.

So, be proud my lineage. Your posterity is still as resourceful and capable as ever.

Now for my single serving of ice cream and fat free cool whip.

I forgot to put on my wedding ring today.

Such an oversight is completely unlike me. Typically, my morning routine is a rote, cheerless exercise completed with robotic precision within 4 minutes of awakening (20 seconds spent brushing teeth and styling hair, 3 minutes, 39 seconds spent cursing man’s fate to till the earth, 1 second spent putting my wedding ring on).

I don’t know exactly how this happened. Perhaps you have seen my wedding ring? It is pure gold, encrusted with jewels, weighs 19 pounds, and was originally fashioned as an anal scraper for a 16th century Sultain of Brunei. So basically, if you see anything resembling that description, give it to me.

I should also note that it’s a wierd feeling to not be wearing my ring today. My right ring finger feels all fleshy and exposed, like the supple underbelly of a fattened, socially awkward goat. What will protect the bones of my hand when the industrial vicegrips are applied to my right hand? Nothing, that’s what. I might as well chew off my own fingers and save my department supervisor the pleasure.

Oh. Wait a minute. I found my ring. Nevermind all this. Sorry to bother you.

Turns out it was in my mouth the whole time.

most of my friends read an insane amount of books. they can read more in one month than i read all of last year. i have no idea how they do it, but i am in awe. i used to be good about reading, i really did. i read LOTR in a month and a half. anyway, i got a bunch of books for Christmas again (i asked for them again) and started reading the book i got about the theory of Gen Patton being assassinated. it’s a pretty fascinating book, if only right now it’s all theory. there hasn’t been any concrete evidence shown, but the evidence is pretty convincing. i didn’t really learn all that much about Patton in school other than a high level view, but now i’m all about trying to rent the movie soon. i’ll let you know how the book ends up, but so far i’m enjoying it.

hopefully i’ll get to some of the other books i have and not have to be put on hold by the class i registered for this semester. i got what looks like the easiest class, which isn’t saying much. it doesn’t involve a project or working with other people, so it should be the least painful. we shall see though. i have high hopes. i’m still on the job hunt, but i couldn’t not take a class and still be considered in grad school. they only let you take two semesters of leave.

In Salt Lake City her dear friend Shannon Hale, the Newbery-award-winning young-adult author of Princess Academy, congratulated Meyer on The Host. ”I’m so proud of you! Because we’re not sure if J.K. Rowling is a one-hit wonder,” Hale gushed teasingly before the signing began. ”But you’re not!”

When The Host came out, I saw this interview in EW and I thought it was so, so tacky. I went to find it for this post, and I now find it somewhat less tacky. I might have overreacted the first time. Though I do still find it a little bit tacky. Possibly that is because I didn’t really like Shannon Hale’s book, either. And also because I hate comparisons of Stephenie Meyer and J.K. Rowling. When they create a whole new best seller list in order to kick you off the adult best seller list, why don’t you come and talk to me, Stephenie Meyer? Until then, you and your friends should probably avoid comparing your work to J.K. Rowling’s. Because that doesn’t exactly cover you in glory.

But, um, anyway. The Host. The concept is that aliens/parasites have taken over the Earth (all we see is America, which I felt was a real lost opportunity as far as the storytelling). They are, in a sense, “souls” who take over human bodies and have human experiences. Our story is told from the perspective of one soul, Wanderer, who inhabits the body of a human named Melanie. Normally humans are taken over as children, but Melanie was part of the resistance, so this is a special case. And Melanie isn’t through fighting back.

The story was interesting, but my main problem, once again, was that Wanderer was entirely too passive and never stood up for herself. Also, she had no personality. At this point I feel like it might be okay to draw the conclusion that Stephenie Meyer believes that those are admirable traits in a woman. I . . . feel differently. I didn’t care about Wanderer or Melanie. They were both so one-dimensional and felt like pawns in the bigger game in which the boys were the ones calling the shots.

There were problems for me with the way the characters were written. Only one character stood out to me as having a distinct voice. Other than that, they all sounded the same, no matter their age or gender or background. They weren’t, as a whole, fleshed out. I did love one - Ian. Ian is awesome. Unfortunately, Ian is kind of . . . this book’s version of Jacob Black. At least Stephenie Meyer knows how to write the boys I like. And Team Jacob should read The Host, because Ian, in my opinion, gets a better ending than Jacob did.

The Host was too long - I really just wanted it to be over. And for Stephenie Meyer to have the story devolve, once again, into a love triangle (or maybe square? Because of Melanie/Wanderer being in the same body? How about a parallelogram?) showed, I thought, a lack of creativity. I will refrain from making a joke about how she might possibly be a one-hit wonder after all.

I don’t recommend The Host. But I am glad I have already reached one of my reading goals for the year!

RT @davidtwayne: (Jollyblogger) My cancer story so far - part 1: http://tinyurl.com/9qdec6

Actually great to be back at work w/ my @wtsbooks colleagues. Makes me think how much I’ll miss these guys.

RT @mediaphyter: More on previewing URL redirection - if you use FireFox get the PowerTwitter add-on = http://tinyurl.com/6qqvms

Hey folks, hope you’re enjoying your Monday morning.

Apparently it’s 2009 now. Update your minds.

I’m off to spend the day looking at priceless artifacts from the Vatican with disinterested 12 year-olds. Think about that and enjoy whatever it is you do today.

Getting pumped for wtsbooks.com’s biggest shipping day ever.

Trying out the Twitter Tools for WP. Converts my tweets to blog posts & vice versa.

I’m now in that part of Moby Dick where Melville describes every cotter pin on the Pequod. Where there no editors in the 19th century?

http://www.gracecentral.org/mediafiles/hope-1-peter-113-16.mp3

There it is: my first sermon, preached tonight.

Go easy.

The week had set up so well. We had just returned from visiting Adriene’s parents in Savannah and had a great Christmas with them. When we got home, I renewed one of my favorite post-Christmas traditions, the Atlanta Playstation Smackdown. I joined some of my Cornerstone friends to play Rock Band late into the night (pretty much the same as always, bass-hard, guitar-medium, vocals-medium, drums-easy. Holy cow, I stink at drums.) Once again I delivered my Micheal Stipe impersonation with “Orange Crush” and gave everyone nightmares with my version of “Epic” by Faith No More. After that, it was out to my parents’ house to drop the girls off with them for a couple of days so we could celebrate the Chick-fil-A Bowl in style.

The day itself even went so well. Even though it was cold and windy, Adriene and I enjoyed the parade with friends. We went to the FanFest and had a great time there. After a nice dinner, it was off to the Georgia Dome for the game. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, I guess it could go down like this.

When LSU drove the ball down the field on the first drive, I wasn’t too worried. Tech scored a field goal at the end of the first quarter and it looked like we were in for a good game. The second quarter ruined everything. At the start of the second quarter, LSU moved down the field again and scored another touchdown. LSU then caught Tech off guard with an onside kick and got the ball right back. Another touchdown made the score 21-3 and now it was time to get a little worried, but things really went downhill from here. I’ve been pretty pleased with Paul Johnson’s play-calling all season, but with the ball on their own 22 on 4th and 8, Johnson made an egregiously bad call to fake a punt. I guess that’s the gambler in Johnson, but he came up snake eyes here. I didn’t like the call at all and naturally it set up LSU with a short field which resulted in another touchdown. By the time LSU scored their fourth touchdown of a nightmare quarter, I was wishing this game was on my Nintendo so I could push the “reset” button. I was pretty much resigned at that point that we were going to lose and badly.

In the third quarter, I stood up and announced to everyone (perhaps with some profanity) that I had paid a lot of money for these tickets and I was going to have a good time no matter what. After all, Adriene and I only get something like one night a month away from the kids and I wasn’t going to let a football game ruin it. So for the rest of the night, we pretty much treated the whole event as a black comedy, taking particular humor in all the Tech fans that had given up on the game and developed more interest in throwing paper airplanes onto the field. That’s the last time the Chick-fil-A Bowl committee allows paper in their gift bags, I’ll bet. This is what happens when engineers get bored.

I didn’t even get mad in the second half until LSU’s Head Coach Les Miles decided that apparently a 35 point margin wasn’t enough and started to rub it in by keeping his starters in the game and continuing to throw the ball downfield. The fake punt that he called in the 4th quarter was bush league and embarrassing. I have no idea what he was trying to prove, but it sure torqued me.

Oh well, no matter. After all, there was New Year’s Eve to celebrate. Joined by some of my old friends, we closed out the year in a hotel downtown. It was good to see everyone as many of my friends I don’t get to see very much and we even got a surprise appearance from a friend overseas. Of course there was champagne and inevitably, board games. Even though I just watched my favorite football team get their pants pulled down on national television, I couldn’t complain too much when I was closing out the year with good friends. Here’s to 2009.

Pictures of all the fun on Flickr!

I know, I’m the last person on earth who hasn’t seen Lost. Or I was, until tonight. Congratulations JJ Abrams, you have assimilated us all.

I knew I’d like it from what I’ve been hearing for years, but kept putting it off because I knew that would be time I would have to spend in front of the TV. And I was right, after two episode I have to know what’s happening.

But, unlike the rest of the masses, I don’t have commercials or waits in between seasons.

I win.

Our Sunday School class has been going through Philip Yancey’s Soul Survivor, and this week was Annie Dillard. I am quite a fan of Annie Dillard, and have quoted before this favorite passage of hers:

“On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return.” -Annie Dillard in Teaching a Stone to Talk

I read The Maytrees and I kind of thought it was a book teaching me How to Live. I think her writing is beautiful, even if the nature stuff honestly doesn’t do much for me. In Sunday School someone asked me why I like her so much, then, and part of my answer had to do with the fact that she is an unabashed intellectual. I have seen in modern-day evangelicalism a real anti-intellectualism, and when I was in college, there were some people around me who said things that indicated that what was really important about being in college was not going to class, but being a soldier for the Lord. Thankfully, it was also about this time that I discovered Annie Dillard, and her writing helped answer that question for me. I wouldn’t call myself an intellectual, but she helped me feel as if it would be okay to prioritize learning and education - not above God, but as part of our lives here on earth.

What I didn’t say in Sunday School because I was fleshing it out was that I was probably also drawn to Annie Dillard because she is so comfortable in her own skin, because she seems able to say what she thinks without qualifying or explaining. I suffer so much from wanting to be understood, but much of what Annie Dillard says is obtuse, and she does not apologize for that.

We had a wonderful restful Christmas vacation, and I am so grateful to have the kind of job where I can have two weeks off. It was a difficult Christmas in some ways - the loss of our friend, some unexpected family drama. Things that are difficult to explain, things that leave me feeling misunderstood. Those things combined to make me a little bit melancholy the week after Christmas, dwelling too much on the things that we do not have. My default in those situations is to be jealous and angry of the things that others have that I do not. I took some runs over the week and cried and raged my way through the neighborhood. I ran as I listened to songs asking God to, “Come with your light and fill up my heart.”

I don’t even know what that means sometimes, because all I see is the darkness.

So, of course, on Sunday, we sang “We Three Kings” for Epiphany. I love that song, but I was faced once again with this idea of God’s light shining in the darkness. I saw it on Christmas Eve as my family spoke about the things we are thankful for, as we sang “Silent Night” by candlelight, as we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas with our friends. I saw it on New Year’s as we spent time with friends who love and care for us. I saw it over and over this Christmas season: concerts and lunches and coffee and people stopping by to see us. Our family and people who are family for us (because they know we are a little short on family in some quarters). They have been like the Christmas star for me as they guided me to Jesus’ light.

“God does not demand that we give up our personal dignity, that we throw in our lot with random people, that we lose ourselves and turn from all that is not him. God needs nothing, asks nothing, and demands nothing, like the stars. It is a life with God which demands these things.

Experience has taught the race that if knowledge of God is the end, then these habits of life are not the means but the condition in which the means operates. You do not have to do these things; not at all. God does not, I regret to report, give a hoot. You do not have to do these things–unless you want to know God. They work on you, not on him.

You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary. But the stars neither require nor demand it.” -Annie Dillard in Teaching a Stone to Talk

Without the darkness, I would not be quite as grateful for the light.

Title quote by American poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

Internet, I need help. Because my house is crazy. Maybe you’ve heard.

We bought some fabric today for me to make some window treatments for our kitchen. That’s right, I am going to bust out the trusty Singer and sew some hems. Or possibly I will bust out the trusty Singer and then cry and make my mom come and sew them. She will be good at matching up the plaid. She made me a valance during the Super Bowl one year, and the plaid was lined up precisely. But I can do it! I am not as awesome at the sewing as she is, but I can do it! Maybe I will just get her to come and talk me through it. If I give her chocolate, I bet I can get her to agree to come and cheer me on.

Okay, so, here is where you come in.

I’m going to be making valances for these windows. As you can see, they are very close together. The only thing that we can think of is using those cheapo white rods and putting them really close together in the corner, since the valances will cover them up anyway (though I just admitted to using them on the internet, so it wouldn’t actually be a secret). Do I have any other options? Can I get an L-shaped rod? Is that a stupid question? Help me make my windows beautiful, internet. Help my crazy house.

Yes, I am ashamed.

A Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Andrew Peterson
100 Cupboards, N.D. Wilson
The Magician’s Nephew, C.S. Lewis
The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
Darkness Visible, William Styron

So, I have a resolution for 2009. Yes, I am joining the multitudes of people making promises I am bound to break. Bound. My written words tend to be plans for the future. I am goal oriented and thrive on lists that I write down so I can cross them off. If you look in my paper recycling bin right now (yes, I am also going to recycle the 650 pounds of paper I use this year) I guarantee you will find 1/4 of the papers have some sort of list on them and 1/2 of those lists are unfinished for one reason or another. That serves as the preface for this resolution and all resolutions I ever make.

This specific resolution also refers to the fact that this blog is dusty. No. Worse than just dusty - it is so sparsely used that it’s at the risk of foreclosure in a bottomed-out economy of unread blogs. It’s time for a cleaning, a polishing, and to keep with the house analogy - time for a blog flip…. oh yeah, I’m gonna sell it… to you!

My blog-refurb starts with a new goal for my writing. Instead of giving you all the details of my ever-exciting-post-student phase of life, I want to do some reviews and commentary on the media that is impacting my life and hopefully the lives of those who will be reading. The three big media types that impact my life and give me cause to interact with my culture are films, music, and TV programs. For each of these three categories, I partake using several venues including movie theaters, the local Library, Concert Venues, magazines, my fave television stations, iTunes, and of course the all-knowing, all-inclusive World Wide Web.

Instead of overwhelming myself with a daily post of quick info, I’m going to aim for a bit more in-depth research and then offer a weekly post. If I find myself with more time/words, I may up it twice a week…

For now, I’m going to follow the year-end trends and give you my top 10 in each category that I mentioned. If I had a billion years, I’d link each one to myspace or something… just use the ‘ole highlight, right-click “search for in google“…

Top 10 Songs I listened to in 2008
10. “Why Did You Let Me Stay Here?”- She & Him
9. “Why Can’t It Be Christmastime All Year” - Rosie Thomas
8. “Hologram” - Katie Herzig
7. “Lose You” - Sandra McCracken
6. “Good Night Girl” - Nadas
5. “Honey Will You Sing Me a Song” - Matt Hires
4. “Bleeding Love” - Leona Lewis
3. “When Water Comes to Life” - Cloud Cult
2. “Mercy”- Duffy
1. “Buildings & Mountains” - The Republic Tigers

Top 10 Artists I listened to in 2008 (with a little help from last.fm)
10. The Weepies
9. Anberlin
8. Andrew Bird
7. Sufjan Stevens
6. Jennifer Knapp
5. Hem
4. Over the Rhine
3. Sara Groves
2. Rosie Thomas
1. Sandra McCracken & Derek Webb (counting them as 1)

Top 10 Movies of 2008
10. High School Musical 3 (October)
9. Kung Fu Panda (June)
8. Be Kind, Rewind (February)
7. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (May)
6. Taxi to the Dark Side (January)
5. Synecdoche, NY (October)
4. Burn After Reading (September)
3. Man on Wire (July)
2. The Dark Knight (July)
1. Slumdog Millionaire (December)

Top Concerts/Live Performances of 2008
10. Shane & Shane with Bethany Dillon (St. Louis, MO)
9. Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken (St. Louis, MO)
8. Katie Myers (Lookout Mountain, GA)
7. Michael Rhodes (Lookout Mountain, GA)
6. Ingrid Michaelson (Alexandria, VA)
5. Over the Rhine & Garrison Star (Birmingham, AL)
4. Rosie Thomas (Vienna, VA)
3. So You Think You Can Dance (Norfolk, VA)
2. Iron & Wine (St. Louis, MO)
1. Art. Music. Justice. With Sara Groves, Brandon Heath, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, & Charlie Peacock (Messiah College, PA)

Top 10 TV Programs of 2008
10. L.A. Ink (TLC)
9. Soup (E!)
8. John & Kate + 8 (TLC)
7. What Not To Wear (TLC)
6. American Idol (FOX)
5. 30 Rock (NBC)
4. True Hollywood Story (E!)
3. So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
2. Pushing Daisies (ABC)
1. The Office (NBC)

Please feel free to comment on my top 10 lists! I am not holding myself to standards besides honesty about what I was able to “consume” this year. I admit I left out several movies that I should have seen/will see and several artists/songs that I should have listened to/will listen to in the coming year! Thanks for reading!

Peace_Sarah_

This morning came early, like most mornings do I suppose. But I was up before the sun had thawed my truck. If staying up late means you conquered the night, then I surely beat the snot out of this morning.

This was not without a price. I feel like a lead weight. Or any other thing that weighed however much a lead weight would weigh. In this case, it would weigh as heavy as I feel. Which is about 10-15 pounds more than I’d like to.

I’m not fat, but all my pants are now uncomfortably snug. But that’s okay, because I think I’m going to run a 1/2 marathon in May. That’s 13 miles. So there’s my Winter and Spring. Training for the marathon. I think I’ll take 16 weeks to get to that point, and it’ll help keep me focused on a goal.

I’m leading a class at church. Today while working I suddenly started feeling very inadequate in doing so. Exactly what qualifies me to do so? I like to think ideas stand or fall based on their merit and not necessarily who presents them. This is what I tell myself anyway.

After a few hours I was well into a funk of self-doubt, long after I had forgotten what caused it. Inertia…hooray!

At Barnes and Noble tonight I was perusing through Dedrick Bonhoeffer and Watchman Nee, which once again made me feel very inconsequential.

I did, however, get the complete Sherlock Holmes for cheap. And read a little of The Art of War. Just in case. (You never know which terrorist scenario will make these things come in handy.)

I came home and watched Dr. No, since Sarah spent some of her Christmas money to finish our collection of James Bond movies.

Such is the first Friday in 2009.

I’ve been busy and on the move over the last week, but not around the Internet a lot. So, I’ve got a lot to write about but before I cover all of that, I thought I’d take one last look at 2008 before cruising on into the new year. Every year, I do a review of the albums I bought in the previous year and name my favorites. They don’t necessarily have to have been released in 2008, just new to me in 2008. I got a couple things late in the year (like Copeland’s You Are My Sunshine) that I didn’t really have time to listen to so they aren’t on the list. I’m not much for ranking, so there’s not really an order to the list. With all that said, on to my favorites of 2008…

Matthew Perryman Jones - Swallow The Sea, Throwing Punches in the Dark
Swallow The Sea is probably my album of the year. I love it. MPJ kind of has a Pete Yorn sound with his slurring, relaxed vocals. The band behind him is top notch (I was totally unsurprised that one of my favorite guitarists, Paul Moak, was involved with the album) and he ranges from slow-dancing ballads like “Amelia” to a powerful anthemic drawn-out title song. It’s one of those albums that works no matter what kind of mood you’re in. I also really enjoyed his previous album, Throwing Punches in the Dark.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida, Prospekt’s March
I’ve got to admit that my expectations for a new Coldplay album were pretty low. I wasn’t too big on X&Y and I kinda felt like Coldplay was a little, no pun intended, played out. This album totally surprised me and I think Brian Eno’s influence is a big reason why I like this CD so much. It’s not drastically different for Coldplay, but it’s different enough to push themselves forward from their previous work. The EP Prospekt’s March that they released a little later in the year is even better with awesome syncopation in “Glass of Water” and augmented versions of “Life in Technicolor” and “Lovers in Japan” that are even better than the originals.

The 77’s - Holy Ghost Building
Great job by Mike Roe, Bruce Spencer, and Mark Harmon to go back and revisit old gospel spirituals and give them new life. Mike Roe does his best Dylan imitation, his best Jagger imitation, and his best Jimmy Page imitation on different songs for a rollicking good time. This is the best 77’s release in a long, long time.

Mike Farris - Salvation in Lights
Speaking of old gospel spirituals, Mike Farris was a new artist for me this year. It’s a fresh take on old Negro spirituals done with white boy soul, ala Taylor Hicks. The band behind him is top notch, but I’ve heard it’s even better live. I’m hoping I get a chance to see him someday in concert.

We Shot the Moon - Fear and Love
Nice piano based work with lots of teenaged angst and wistfulness. They have great vocals and nice harmonies. I took a flyer on this album not really having heard much, but recommended by a friend, and I’m glad I did.

Paper Route - Are We All Forgotten?
It’s a short EP, but I really hope Paper Route is on a trajectory towards becoming a big-name band. Their “folktronica” sound blends techno beats with heart-wrenching ballads and ponderous stories. They bring so many instruments to the table with xylophones, harmonicas, guitars, keys, drums, bells and more that each song is so dense musically.

Common Children - Delicate Fade
New to me, at least. It sounds a little dated now, but this album lacks the pretense of a similar sounding band like Collective Soul. It cranks up the intensity and emotion and also gives hints of Marc Byrd’s meandering ambient sound that he mostly produces now. This is another in a long line of bands that I am sad that I found after they broke up.

Andrew Osenga - Letters to the Editor, Vol. 2.
Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken - Ampersand
These are just short EP’s, but each has their own charm. Andrew Osenga releases his second set of fan-driven songs with all of the tracks inspired by letters, photos, and suggestions from listeners. “Staring Out A Window (My Confession)” might be my favorite song of the year and in many ways sums up where I am in life right now. Derek and Sandra combined their fantastic lyric-writing skills to put together a short album of essentially love songs. It’s not nearly as sappy as say, Sonny and Cher, but it does have a certain sweet romantic quality when they write songs to and for each other.

Back to the Future, BOLLYWOOD STYLE. Yay, Bollywood! (Also, if Aishwarya Rai is really going to be in it, that’s even more awesome. She’s so pretty.)

While I am kind of on the topic, I should mention that when I have finished reading Q&A, I am going to write up my thoughts about it and Slumdog Millionaire. Which I loved. But first I have to finish The Host. Which I do not love. Sigh.

I know you’ve been waiting and hoping for this. You want to know what I did every month of 2008. And my friends, I am here to deliver. But please know. This review will be dripping with sarcasm. And exaggeration. And exagerasm. So strap on your boots and wade through 2008 with me!

January
In January I officially became a part of the Thomas family. Even though they are all from India, I’m pretty sure that I completely blend in. I’m Whitey Auntie. Or something like that. In January, I moved from being an occasional guest to an annoying visitor to another family member. Which means they can alternate between verbal abuse and ignoring me. And which also means I can pick my nose in front of them and fall asleep drooling on their couch. It’s a win-win relationship. Speaking of relationships…

February
I started dating in February. Naw, I’m just kidding. And my singleness was a constant source of confusion to my Sunday school class. They simply couldn’t understand why Miss Brandy didn’t have a husband or children. Some would pat my arm comfortingly when I told them I wasn’t married. Poor, single, old teacher. Others wanted to know why. My answer “men are repelled by me” only seemed to confuse them more. And the one who told me I needed to have children before it’s “too late” has since recovered from the concussion. Speaking of injuries…

March
My mom came to visit in March. And proceeded to fracture her ankle. And then I vomited until I saw a white light with St. Peter standing at the end holding Pepto Bismol and gingerale. Or maybe that wasn’t St. Peter? I don’t know, but whoever it was saved my life. After recovering, I started my training for a race. And there was much excitement as temperatures in hell plummeted to record lows. This race training taught me much about myself. Primarily, I do not have the body of a runner. I do, however, have the sturdy body of a pioneer woman who needs hips to birth babies. Unfortunately, I have electricity and a sadly empty womb. Just ask my Sunday school kids. Speaking of…not having a transition sentence…

April
April was the month of the infamous dog-sitting incident. I am not an animal person. But I am a money person. So I took a week-long pet-sitting job. For a needy, co-dependent poodle. Whose owner loves her oh so much, ushbubu sweet wittle puppy dog. I do not love her. And after I almost lost a hand during a late-night tooth brushing escapade (her teeth not mine) we kept our distance. Although I’m pretty sure while I was at work she probably licked my toothbrush as revenge. Speaking of revenge…

May
In May my mother got married. I’m just kidding, that has nothing to do with revenge. But my mom did get married. It was a beautiful wedding. It became even more beautiful when my cousin and I stole the champagne and snuck off to the basement. Because, as happy as I was about my mom finding love, if one more person asked me when I was going to get married, I was going to knock some heads. Don’t mess with me. I run races. I am strong. Just ask my Sunday school kids. Speaking of strength…

June
I went on my first camping trip of the summer in June. I have rules for camping. One of them is there must be a bathroom. It doesn’t have to have water, even, but I need something to sit on. I am not a good hoverer. It is ugly. And this campground met that requirement. But dear Lord in heaven, it was not a pleasant experience. But I discovered something ingenious. Some bathrooms like this one keep dryer sheets by the door. And you can place that dryer sheet over your face, and breathe in sweet Downy scents. If I had known about this ten years ago, it would have made sharing a bathroom with a teenage brother much more bearable. Speaking of…sharing bathrooms?

July
In July, my friend Krissy and I took a quick roadtrip for a one-night stay in Beaver Creek, Colorado. After an incredible fireworks show, we were making our way back to the hotel. In the pitch black. Alone. On a wooded path. Did I mention how dark it was? I probably expressed a dozen scenarios of our eminent death to Krissy. I have to believe that when she started jogging, it was to get away from the bears, not from me. At one point, I thought an older couple with a flash light were going to be our heroes. They actually ended up being evil incarnate and leaving us alone in the woods. I am still angry at them. Speaking of anger…

August
My workplace holds a big event every August, where each department decorates their area with some kind of theme, and there are costumes and craziness. And my department did Dr. Seuss. We had a grinch. A fox in sox. Heck, there was a wocket in a pocket. But we didn’t win the spirit award. We were robbed. And I’ve decided that next year, our theme should be the rapture. And we all stay at home that day. And pretend like we’re with Jesus. Take that. Speaking of Jesus…

September
In September my best friend Amanda came to visit. And um, I’m sure we talked about Jesus at some point. It was also my goal to expose Amanda to all of my favorite foods in Colorado Springs. We had barbecue and listened to bluegrass music, ate ice cream until it dripped down our arms, and at my favorite Greek restaurant I’m pretty sure I consumed half a lamb. Luckily we both like to eat. Double luckily I had some stretchy pants to wear at the end of the week. Speaking of stretchy pants…

October
In October, I traveled to Virginia for a quick weekend trip. And, um, I wore stretchy pants on the plane. The first part of the weekend I ran a race. But I don’t want to talk about it anymore. The main purpose of the trip was my 10-year reunion. Which was interesting. My favorite part of the evening was watching people bring in their own coolers, stocked with drinks. Really? Why didn’t I think of that? Actually, I would have probably brought food. And my stretchy pants. Speaking of food and stretchy pants…

November
I spent another Thanksgiving with my friend Kristin. And on Thanksgiving morning, I had all kinds of disasters. I ended up with an exploding pecan pie, a pumpkin pie with my thumb print placed squarely in the middle, and a corn casserole that spilled all over my back seat. Oh, and when we were relaxing after our meal, watching the Jonas Brothers perform during a half-time show, I decided to regale the group with all of my Jonas Brothers knowledge. Word to the wise. If you don’t have children, you should not have Jonas Brothers knowledge. It is embarrassing. Speaking of embarrassing…

December
Have you heard of the game Rock Band? I have discovered my new calling with that game. On New Year’s Eve, I played it for the second time at a party. And I got up the nerve to sing. And dogs barked and ears bled and children hid and Jesus cried. It was glorious. I am available for birthday parties and bar mitzvahs.

So that was my 2008. Wonder what 2009 will bring!

Ah, 2008. Come and gone, passed into the annals of history. Rung in no differently than any other, except my neighbor’s party guests (5 cars worth) are still there at 9 this morning. I can only envision all these people lying is various undignified positions throughout the house.

But enough about the new year, what did I manage to accomplish in the old? What was worthy of note? Did I do anything at all? Hmm…maybe I should sort that out.

Professionally
1. Started and Finished a graphic novel adaptation of Tom Sawyer.
2. Completed two sets of Marvel Cards.
3. Was able to assist on a couple more well known books.
4. Started and nearly completed the first 30-page installment of a new graphic novel.
5. Got a little better at drawing.
6. Had a few breakthroughs in inking.
7. Made a number of coffee drinks the exact count of which only God Himself knows.

Books
1)The Hobbit- J.R.R. Tolkien (re-read)
2)Pascal’s Pensee’s (a large chunk of it anyway)
3)What we can’t not know -J. Budziszewski(re-read)
4)John Adams -David McCollough(halfway done, past the revolution!)
5)Truth Decay - Doug Groothius(read about half before noticing vital pages were blank, need a new copy.)
6) Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis (Re-read)
7) The Two Towers - JRR Tolkien (Unabridged audio book, so it counts.)
8 ) The Fellowship of the Ring - JRR Tolkien (re-read)
9)The Call - Os Guiness
10)Farmer Giles of Ham - JRR Tolkien (well, I guess this was the year of Tolkien.)

I feel like I’m forgetting some books, but it wasn’t much more than that. As I said last year, I should read more. *sigh*

Personal
I got more involved in my new church, and was able to deepen some relationships. Relationships don’t translate well to lists.

Travel
I didn’t go anywhere new or terribly thrilling.
1)Orlando (twice)
2)Knoxville
3)Richmond

Writing
I seriously slacked off in writing. Part of the reason for having a blog is an exercise in being disciplined in slowing down to write. Way to fail, Brian.
Though I did keep a personal journal, filled with the minutia of my days and weeks. This was primarily because this year I realized how much of life I’m going to forget as more life is lived. As I get adapted to the schedule and norms of the moment, I tend to forget how transient life is.

Misc.
- I ran my first 5k
- I started learning a little Greek (but not enough to be dangerous)
- I learned to utilize watercolor a little

Well, there it is. All that comes to mind on this first day of 2009. Do you care? Possibly not. But like I said, the point here is to write and be disciplined. So here’s to a more productive 2009.

so here i am crafting a post to closeout the year with pictures from highlighted days when my sister calls me and says she found me some Kanye glasses. this is the same sister who on the ride to go see FF5 a couple of weeks ago told me she thinks Kanye is a genius. GENIUS! i told her then that if i could find glasses like this that i would get them. i also want a pair of Elton John glasses, but those are very hard to find. the closest i got was a pair i saw in the Newcastle, UK airport, but we were rushing to catch a plane and i didn’t think to buy them. anyway, so my sister comes by the house this afternoon to drop off the glasses. they are fabulous, and i’m surprised you can actually see pretty well out of them. i played Lego Star Wars with them on, and was able to free R2D2 and C-3PO from their hooded goblin bondage.

so here’s the picture. i am off to a NYE party where there will be fireworks and at least one potato gun. goodbye 2008!

Well, my list this year isn’t as long as 2007’s. But considering that I wrote and defended a 120-something-page thesis this year, I guess its still acceptable. I really enjoyed keeping track of my reading last year, and it helped keep me focused on finding good books. I wanted to read more non-fiction this year, and I don’t quite think I did, but I probably didn’t read less, at least. (We read more non-fiction for book club, so that helped) There’s a list of all the books with brief synopses here.

1. Just Imagine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
2. Love over Scotland by Alexander McCall Smith
3. The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith
4. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
5. The Summer of my Southern Discomfort by Stephanie Gayle
6. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
7. On Beauty by Zadie Smith
8. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith
9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
10. History of Love by Nicole Krauss
11. The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
12. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
13. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
14. Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear
15. The 5th Horseman by James Patterson
16. Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos
17. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
18. The Prestige by Christopher Priest
19. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
20. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
21. The 6th Target by James Patterson
22. The Know-it-all by AJ Jacobs
23. Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin
24. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson
25. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
26. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
27. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
28. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
29. The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
30. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
31. Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers
32. Have His Carcase by Dorothy Sayers
33. Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
34. Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers
35. Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides
36. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
37. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
38. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
39. The Shack by William Young
40. Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
41. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
42. Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner
43. Freakonomics by Steven Levitt
44. The Other Side of the Sun by Madeleine L’Engle
45. The Finishing School by Gail Godwin
46. When Madeline Was Young by Jane Hamilton
47. A Live Coal in the Sea by Madeleine L’Engle
48. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
49. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
50. The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith
51. The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith
52. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
53. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
54. The World According to Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith
55. The Comforts of a Muddy Sunday by Alexander McCall Smith
56. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
57. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling
58. Paper Towns by John Green
59. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
60. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

Best Fiction: Prayer for Owen Meany or The Book Thief (there are a couple more)
Best Non-fiction: The Glass Castle (only new-to-me non-fiction I liked, and it generated good discussion)
Best Comfort Reads: The Right Attitude to Rain or Love over Scotland (or any of AMS’s books, really)
Best YA Fiction: Paper Towns
Least Favorite Fiction: A Fine Balance (do.not.want.)

So what did you read this year? What are you looking forward to reading in the new year? Anything you’d recommend?

I’m not going to link to my reviews this year, because it takes a long time and I am feeling lazy. Maybe 2009 will be the year in which I am efficient about my book list and I keep a running list all year with the links to the reviews. But I wouldn’t count on it. I always kind of hate typing the list up. All the highlighting for the italicizing. But this entry is not about the creating of the list. It’s about the books. Here we go.

January
1. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson (f)
2. Runemarks by Joanne Harris (f)
3. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin (f)
4. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (f)
5. Slam by Nick Hornby (f)
6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (f) (reread)
7. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher (f) (reread)
8. Touchstone by Laurie R. King (f)

February
9. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (f)
10. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (f)
11. Lulu Atlantis and the Quest for True Blue Love by Patricia Martin (f)
12. White Teeth by Zadie Smith (f)
13. If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson (f)
14. Night Kites by M.E. Kerr (f)
15. The Pigman by Paul Zindel (f)
16. The Gospel According to the Beatles by Steve Turner (nf)
17. The Giver by Lois Lowry (f) (reread)
18. As If Being 12 3/4 Isn’t Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President by Donna Gephart (f)
19. 30 Days to Getting Over the Dork You Used to Call Your Boyfriend by Clea Hantman (nf)
20. The Opposite of Invisible by Liz Gallagher (f)
21. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen (nf) (bookclub)
22. Little Beauties by Kim Addonizio (f)
23. Monster by Walter Dean Myers (f)

March
24. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (f)
25. The Other Side of You by Salley Vickers (f)
26. Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler (f)
27. Christ the Lord: Road to Cana by Anne Rice (f)
28. Sweet Valley High: Double Love by Francine Paschal (f) (reread)
29. The Clique by Lisi Harrison (f)
30. Your Own, Sylvia by Stephanie Hemphill (poetry)
31. Troubling a Star by Madeleine L’Engle (f) (reread)
32. Sweet Valley High: Secrets by Francine Paschal (f) (reread)

April
33. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (f)
34. Ariel and Other Poems by Sylvia Plath (poetry)
35. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan (f)
36. The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum (f)
37. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn (f)
38. Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos (f)
39. I am the Cheese by Robert Cormier (f)
40. Wintering by Kate Moses (f)
41. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (f)
42. Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink (nf) (bookclub)
43. The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith (f)
44. The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer (f)
45. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (f)

May
46. The Joys of Love by Madeleine L’Engle (f)
47. Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble (f)
48. The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (f)
49. All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren (f) (bookclub)
50. One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke (f)

June
51. The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver (f)
52. A Horse of Her Own by Annie Wedekind (f)
53. Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers (f) (reread)
54. The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg (f)
55. Hot Mess: Summer in the City by Julie Kraut and Shallon Lester (f)
56. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (f) (reread)
57. Golden Country by Jennifer Gilmore (f)
58. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (f) (reread)

July
59. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (f) (reread)
60. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (f) (reread)
61. Things Seen and Unseen by Nora Gallagher (nf)
62. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis (f) (reread)
63. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (f) (reread)
64. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (f) (reread)

August
65. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (f)
66. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (f) (reread)
67. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (f)
68. Saturday by Ian McEwan (f)
69. An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England by Brock Clarke (f)
70. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr (f)
71. A Home on the Field by Paul Cuadros (nf) (reread)
72. The Secret History by Donna Tartt (f)

September
73. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (f)
74. The Cure for Modern Life by Lisa Tucker (f)

October
75. Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth (f) (bookclub)
76. QBQ: The Question Behind the Question by John G. Miller (nf)
77. Prayer by Philip Yancey (nf) (reread)
78. The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by Alexander McCall Smith (f)
79. The Pleasure Was Mine by Tommy Hays (f) (bookclub)
80. Acedia and Me by Kathleen Norris (nf)

November
81. Paper Towns by John Green (f)
82. The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham (f)
83. The Yellow Leaves by Frederick Buechner (nf) (bookclub)
84. The World According to Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith (f)
85. Death’s Half-Acre by Margaret Maron (f)
86. Here if You Need Me by Kate Braestrup (nf)
87. Godric by Frederick Buechner (f)
88. My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park by Steve Kluger (f)
89. 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares (f)
90. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (f)

December
91. Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli (nf)
92. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling (f)
93. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (f)
94. The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush by Ann Gerhart (nf)
95. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (f)
96. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (f)
97. Unnamed Book by Unnamed Author (Listen, I am not going to list this one, and it’s not out of shame or medical reasons or anything. It’s just personal. I am generally pretty transparent on my book lists. You will have to respect my privacy on this one.)
98. The Glorious Impossible by Madeleine L’Engle (nf)
99. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (f)
100. The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett (f) (Battle of the Books)
101. Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa (f) (Battle of the Books)
102. Go With Me by Castle Freeman, Jr. (f)
103. The Cure for Grief by Nellie Hermann (f)
104. The Folded World by Amity Gaige (f)
105. Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse (f) (Battle of the Books)
106. Dovey Coe by Frances O’Roark Dowell (f) (Battle of the Books)

So, Kari? What happened in May and July? And WHAT HAPPENED in September?

Well, in May I was finishing up two spring classes and then my summer class started, and I just got kind of crazy busy. All the King’s Men took me a while, though I really liked it. And in July we were moving and painting and pulling down wallpaper and even though we were on vacation, I just didn’t get a lot read when we were at home.

And in September, well, I don’t know. I just was overwhelmed with life. Oscar Wao took me forever, and Sacred Hunger (which I finished in October) took me forever. I just couldn’t get through either of those. (I really disliked Oscar Wao, by the way.)

I read a lot of YA literature this year, both for classes and work. I also read a lot of articles that weren’t listed and some textbooks that I didn’t read completely, so they didn’t count. That accounts for some of September, actually, those articles and textbooks. Those three months, especially September, put me way off my normal mark. Here’s hoping for a more consistent 2009.

Here are my books of note for the year.

Best Fiction: Christ the Lord: Road to Cana by Anne Rice
Best Non-Fiction: Acedia and Me by Kathleen Norris
Best Book Featuring a Severed Ear: Go With Me by Castle Freeman, Jr. (black comedy, very short, very enjoyable)
Biggest Surprise, Good: Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
Worst Book (I considered calling it Biggest Surprise, Bad, but . . . it wasn’t really a surprise, just a disappointment): Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Best Violent Book Not Featuring a Severed Ear: No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
Best Reread, Fiction: Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers (although I did enjoy my Harry Potter reread quite a bit)
Best Reread, Nonfiction: Prayer by Philip Yancey (this one helped me get unstuck, I think)
Best YA Book: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (though I read a lot of great ones)

And here are some of the books I want to read in 2009:
-War and Peace (It’s on our shelf and people always ask if one of us has read it. I thought Mike had, but he hasn’t. So I am going to.)
-Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (I really wanted to read it in 2008, but this will be the year.)
-The Name of the Rose (Christmas gift)
-The Host by Stephenie Meyer (I am a sucker for punishment, I suppose.)

Did you post your book list? What are you planning to read in 2009?

2007 List. 2006 list. 2005 list.

Over winter break I’ve finally finished reading Amity Shlaes’ revelatory The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression.

Shlaes’ basic premise is that while FDR’s New Deal had its successes, its biggest impact was in prolonging and exacerbating the nation’s economic crisis. In her words, the New Deal helped make the Depression Great. For a novice in economics like myself, spells of the book were tough sledding, but the bulk of the book was gripping and clear-eyed. Its lessons are certainly noteworthy in the times we live in. (Shlaes has an op-ed piece in today’s Washington Post on this exact topic here)

A few interesting bits gleaned from the text:

-Shlaes again and again returns to the point that the depression was so prolonged because government tinkering and experimental new policies discouraged business growth. Wages were artificially inflated to protect workers, prices and rates were held artificially low to protect consumers, “fairness” regulations made operations unwieldy, and skyrocketing taxes on profit and income punished risk-takers. In his second inaugural address, Roosevelt addressed these policies with the in-no-way-frightening passage: “We are fashioning an instrument of unimagined power for the establishment of a morally better world.” The result? Profit margins narrowed, new jobs dried up, and entrepreneurs sat on their money rather than invest it in such uncertain times. Recovery would have to wait for World War II.

-Apparently everyone wore hats during the Great Depression.

-During long cabinet meetings, FDR liked to make sketches in his notepad. Those sketches later became the basis for Sonic the Hedgehog.

-In fall 1937, after four full years of New Deal policy, too much hope deferred led to another economic collapse, similar to 1929. The Dow hit a new low of 129, unemployment topped 18%, and many of the short-term public works jobs dried up. Many industrialized nations had seen production levels rise since the worldwide collapse of the early 30s, but not the U.S. Today’s New Deal apologists blame this collapse on misguided efforts to scale back spending and balance the budget – balanced budgets being so unreasonable, and all.

-There’s an old saying that provides some telling insight into this period, “the Depression wasn’t that bad if you had a job.” Well, that’s true, unless your job is to lick an elephant’s butthole clean.

-In a wrongheaded attempt to win public and judicial support for the New Deal’s National Recovery Administration (which set in place many misguided business codes intended to protect the public good), government prosecutors looked for a lawsuit that might show the merits of the NRA. When few examples showed up, they ended up going after the Schechter brothers, owners of a small Jewish poultry shop in Brooklyn. The sight of the assembled legal might of the presidency going after a 5-man kosher chicken operation would have been comical had it not been so unjust to the Schechters. The charges of selling unfit meat were dropped with the exception of the case of a single chicken, and even in that case, there was no evidence that the brothers sold it knowingly. Government prosecutors also accused the Schechters of ignoring the NRA’s price codes. Court transcripts show the Schechters trying in vain to justify the concept of market competition to lawyers pre-occupied with misguided notions fairness and price controls. The case eventually made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the NRA was ruled unconstitutional, a major defeat for the New Deal.

-18% unemployment isn’t really all that bad, if you think about it.

-During his tumultuous second term, a beleaguered FDR appointed the Rocketeer to be Secretary of the Treasury.

-One of Roosevelt’s many redeeming qualities was his frank perceptiveness regarding the growing problems of fascism and totalitarianism in the 1930s. Where the Republicans of the day were a decades-old skipping record of isolationist policy and anti-foreign sentiment, Roosevelt clearly understood the growing threat the Hitler, Mussolini, and to a lesser extent, Stalin posed. At the same time, he did not share the starry-eyed idealism for totalitarianism and communism that some members of his own cabinet espoused. Roosevelt was of his own mind on those matters, and history has vindicated him. He is a great and important president for his handling of world affairs, not necessarily for his economic policies.

-FDR enjoyed a solid rapport with Winston Churchill, and the two engaged in a best-of-three arm-wrestling competition for friends and family which Roosevelt won. Churchill, enraged, challenged FDR to a leg-wrestling match, and triumphed easily.

-I’m just going to come right out and say it: Eleanor Roosevelt was not an attractive woman. She was mule-ugly.

-Despite the slow rate of recovery, Roosevelt was a masterful politician who celebrated easy re-election victories because of his new Democratic coalition of farmers, labor unions, immigrants, and the poor (sound familiar?). Roosevelt re-calibrated an old phrase into a winning one, promising to help “the forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid”. Roosevelt’s forgotten man was, as Shlaes puts it, “the poor man, the old man, labor, or any other recipient of government help” (including all those new receiving checks from the new Social Security program). The perverse irony of Roosevelt fashioning victory on the votes of the “forgotten man” can be understood when the phrase is read in its original context from the late 19th century Yale philosopher William Graham Sumner:

“As soon as A observes something which seems to him to be from, from which X is suffering, A talks it over with B, and A and B then propose to get a law passed to remedy the evil and help X. Their law always proposes to determine…what A, B, and C shall do for X. But what about C? There was nothing wrong with A and B helping X. What was wrong was the law, and the indenturing of C to the cause. C was the forgotten man, the man who paid, the man who is never thought of.”

-On Christmas Eve, 1940, Roosevelt invented the snowman. He later had that same snowman melted down into a refreshing pitcher of raspberry lemonade. Then he drank the snowman and peed him into the White House toilet. The tormented soul of that snowman haunts the sewer systems of Washington D.C. to this very day. That snowman’s name? Mr. Plops.

It’s not people I don’t like, though you might hear me say so.

What I really mean is that I hate the dynamics that manifest when large groups of people gather in one location for the purpose of spending money. In these places, and for those hapless souls who find themselves trapped there, the rules for four way stops disintegrate. Aisles, typically following the rules of the road, become a mess of foot and cart traffic, as if suddenly England materialized into America in one moment. A moment where half the population think nothing of traveling on the left, the others on the right. Not to mention a few poor souls who simply are too confused by it all to move at all, and instead become medians, bisecting the mayhem.

What is the solution? I have none to offer. Except that if I could I would build everything I needed at home.

Well actually I dont feel really fine. I started to feel sick over the weekend but I really dont get sick often and when I do, I try to fight it by keeping doing things. Not rest like most people would. I took down wallpaper. Monday morning is when the worst of it hit. People say its been going around, thanks for whoever gave it to me. Of all the weeks, this was just not the week to get sick. Why? Well let see…

Im in the middle of planning a New Years Eve dance for about 100 high schoolers. Lots and lots to do the week of the dance and I handed a meeting over to my boss that I just simply couldnt attend. The stomach wouldnt allow me, hated that.

My old roommate is getting married this Saturday and she asked me to take the photos. Im happy to do that for her, and really hope to be 100% better by the wonderful day. Really hard for me to think quick when Im sick let alone creative!

Im working on my new room (hence the taking down of wallpaper) and trying to pack up my old one. I have so much packing to do but little energy to do it - or time for that matter! 17th is coming very quickly!

Im house sitting for my friends who I agreed to do so for ages before I knew I had to move. Thankfully their dog is behaving much better this time around than last time. I dont even want to think about having to pick up poop while feeling sick myself.

Oh and my car got a hit and run last week. Yeah. Right before Christmas. I was out caroling - you know, bringing Christmas cheers to others and someone backs up into my driver side door. So Gwen is out getting a new door. Thats costing a pretty penny in deducible. Thankfully, the friends who Im house sitting for are letting me use their car, saving me the rental car expense.

Im now short on hours at Starbucks for giving up my shift and not being able to pick any hours due to said NYE dance and wedding. I know it will work out. Trying not to stress about the fact I just may lose my benefits.

So, there is just a lot to be worrying out about. Im not for some reason. But I would like for things to stop coming all at once, you know? I mean, my gosh dont I have enough going on and being sick on top of that? Im ranting a bit much I know. I just trying to sort through some thoughts of all that is going on my life and trying not to go crazy with it.

Want a great way to end the year isnt it? I am looking forward to this dance, should be fun, even if we lack adult staff. The kids have worked hard to put it together. The wedding is one I have been looking forward to. So there is beauty in the madness, I just like to have more beauty than madness if you know what I mean.

About a week ago, I boarded a plane for home. Of course, it was the holidays, and traveling during the holidays is a terrible, awful, no good, very bad idea. After a delayed flight out of Colorado, I found myself standing in Cincinnati, watching my plane taxi down the runway–without me on it.

My physical response said it all. I stood hunched over at the ticket counter, staring at the ground while the Delta employee printed out my hotel voucher. I trudged away, dragging my bag behind me, feeling utterly dejected. I knew it wasn’t the end of the world. I knew I would see my family in another 12 hours or so. I knew there were people stranded in airports. I knew there were people much worse off than me. I knew. I knew. I knew.

But none of that mattered. I just felt tired and sad. Because those 12 hours I was going to miss with my family were precious to me. And being alone, in this town where I knew no one, staying alone at the hotel, none of that was in my plan. And as I boarded the shuttle with a dozen other weary travelers, I just felt misplaced.

Now, please understand me. I was not feeling spiritual. Not in the least bit. Many of the things I was thinking were as far from spiritual as you could get. But in that moment, a thought came to mind.

You’re not the only person who has felt misplaced at Christmas.

And at first, I was like, seriously? Seriously? You’re going to try to teach me a lesson about Christmas right now? When I am cranky and angry and sad? And a pretty cliche one at that. You’re going to go all “no room in the inn” on me?

See, I told you I wasn’t feeling spiritual. At all.

But the thought had already taken root. And suddenly, I couldn’t get the thought of Mary and Joseph out of my head. Of them as exhausted, dusty travelers. Wandering through a foreign city. Dazed and frightened. Did anybody help them? Offer Mary a cup of water. Give Joseph directions?

And when they finally got to the stable–did Mary have frustrated tears in her eyes? Was Joseph angry at the deviation from the plan?

I always wondered if Mary and Joseph told Jesus the story of his birth. If they described the exhausting journey and told him about his humble beginnings. Did they reflect on the smells and sights of their son’s birth each year? As the years passed, did they laugh about the irony of using a feeding trough for a cradle?

How misplaced they must have felt. But they weren’t misplaced. They were exactly where they were intended to be.

In the center of God’s plan.

In the city of David, a savior was born.

And they will find him, wrapped in cloths, laid in a manger.

And he will be called Immanuel.

I don’t know if there was a bigger reason for me missing my flight that night. Perhaps it was just to remind me that there is a plan for me. And that, while this is not my home, I am not misplaced. God knows exactly where I am. He is in control. Even when all else is chaos.

2008 was a banner year for music around the Welle household. Well, it was for me at least. I don’t know that my wife listened to any music this year. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since summer ended…

Setting that issue aside for the moment, here are my favorite albums of 2008:

The Hold Steady: Stay Positive

These ex-Minnesotan rockers now stationed out of Brooklyn just keep getting better and better. Like Bruce Springsteen crossed with American Movie’s Mark Borchardt, singer/songwriter Craig Finn pens lyrics that examine waning youth, Midwestern adolescence, and defiant Catholicism and chemical dependency. Despite the fact that none of those themes has any personal resonance for me, I find my ears straining to catch the next great line out of my favorite rock lyricist (my favorite from this album was the logical conundrum, “If one townie falls in the forest, does anyone notice?”) Meanwhile, the rest of the band rocks along like the greatest bar band in purgatory. This was my favorite album of 2008. Everybody should own at least one Hold Steady album, and I hope that Barack Obama will make this vision a reality.

Fleet Foxes: S/T

I don’t know much of the backstory of this group, but judging from the band’s sound and appearance, five Appalachian hill people wandered into a time-travel vortex in 1911 and were transported into a 2008 Seattle recording studio. The songs are rustic, melodic, and otherworldly – strikingly pretty and familiar while remaining unconventional. The four-part chamber harmonies don’t hurt either.

Coldplay: Viva La Vida

Whether it be the momentous hype that heralded the album’s arrival, the pedestrian first single, or just nine years of Coldplay fatigue, I heard a few friends express a resigned ambivalence about this album. Whether the album is what they wanted is one matter, but I think it’s a confident step in a new direction for this great band. Producer Brian Eno seems to have really stretched them to take some of the air out of the songs and go for smaller, less obvious pleasures. Whereas X&Y felt like A Rush of Blood to the Head, only with a longer runtime, Viva La Vida is elusive, and rewards repeated listens. Song fragments dip in and out, and structures are much more untraditional. The tit