5 Random Things I Love Right Now

1) Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago. I mean, just look at that brooding genius. I thought that nothing but bad things come from disgruntled men retreating to isolated cabins in the woods by themselves for long stretches of time (see: The Unabomber). This, however, is 33:52 of pure bliss. I liked it so much I went out and picked up his new EP Bloodbank as well. Good stuff there too.

2) The brief window of time between one's fantasy draft and the start of the season. Every year I feel invincible, like I've compiled the best fantasy team in the history of nerd-dom. Then the season starts and it all falls apart.

3) The Cool Kids' The Bake Sale. Critics are apparently calling it "hipster rap." I call it funny. These guys from Chicago rap about things that other rappers aren't willing to touch. Like how cool their bikes are. And having vintage Jordan V's. And buying a pager. In 2008, not 1992.

4) Frederick Buechner's The Sacred Journey. I've heard a lot of good things about Beuchner, but this memoir of his early years is fantastic (and it checks in at just over 100 pages). He writes prose like poetry.

5) Six Feet Under. Darcy and I are just about through the first season and I'm really liking this show. It's got all kinds of complex family dynamics going on, it's the best portrayal of a gay character that I've ever seen in the media anywhere, and it's rife with existential anxiety. Talk about compelling television. I'm glad we've got four more seasons to enjoy.

So I went and did a mosaic...

#1: My Name
#2: Favorite Food
#3: Hometown
#4: Favorite Color
#5: Favorite Movie
#6: Favorite Beverage
#7: Dream Vacation
#8: Favorite Dessert
#9: What word best describes me?
#10: How do I feel right now?
#11: What do I love most in the world?
#12: What do I want to be when I grow up?

Spare time is a beautiful thing.

Happy day!

Darcy began the day with good news - at 6:30 this morning we found out that she was placed at an internship site for next year - Switzer Learning Center in Torrance. For any readers who might not be familiar with this process for psychologists-in-training, it's quite competitive, protracted, time-consuming, and emotionally draining. It's not really designed with the psychological health of the applicants in mind.

Essentially, this means that she'll be able to graduate on time. It also means that, for the first time in her career, she'll get paid for the services she provides. Maybe not paid well, but paid something. Which is better than nothing.

The only real cloud in this silver lining is the commute to Torrance every day, but we know people who have done worse when it comes to freeways and traffic. She's really excited about the opportunity to work with children providing therapy and assessment services, and I'm excited to see her so excited.

We're heading out tonight for a little Claim Jumper BBQ chicken to celebrate.

Necessity is a mother

... of all kinds of cool things in my kitchen.

Example:

(PLUS)

(EQUALS)

"Raisin Branola"

All because we didn't have enough Rasin Bran for a full bowl this morning. Raisin Branola is good. You should try some today.

What I've been up to

Well, my life has been pretty boring these past few weeks so I haven't been blogging much. Seriously. It pretty much consists of work and school. And basketball on Saturdays. We lose a lot so I'd rather not talk about that. And then there's church on Sundays. Except last Sunday. We slept in.

With my classes (I've got 5 this quarter plus a lab and an integration group) I've been spending much of my "free" time reading. This does not make for especially riveting blog material. But then I thought "Hey, just because I am having suffer through the drudgery of my life it doesn't mean I can't report on it to anyone with the misfortune of stumbling onto this page." So without further ado, here are some thoughts on five books that I've read in the past few weeks...

The Shack by William Paul Young (3.5 stars out of 5). I read this book in a span of about 3 or 4 days as the winter quarter began. I bought it for Darcy for Christmas and she absolutely loved it and decided to pester me until I put down everything else I was doing and read it as well. I'm not sure anything could have lived up to the effusive praise I'd heard about it (which didn't solely come from Darcy, by the way) but this reading experience was not especially paradigm-shifting for me. I had a few stylistic and theological points of contention, but all in all it was an enjoyable experience and very well done given its earnest (bordering on overwrought) subject matter and presentation.

The Journey Back to Eden by Glen Scorgie (2.5 stars out of 5). While I could hardly agree more with Scorgie's thesis (egalitarian gender relations are ideal and appropriate for Christians) I did not find his book to be particularly interesting or persuasive.

The Family Friendly Church by Ben Freudenburg with Rick Lawrence (1 star out of 5). I consider this book to have been an immense waste of my time and money. I considered giving it a zero, but it scarcely avoided being utterly useless. I cannot figure out why this was required for Family Life Education.

Lament for a Son by Nicolas Wolterstorff (4 stars out of 5). Heartbreaking and tragic. This made me appreciate my loved ones more. Very much worth the time if you've got an afternoon or so to commit to it.

Unexpected Blessing by Cameron Lee (3 stars out of 5). I thought this was a good book, but not a great one. Cameron offers a unique and illuminative perspective on the Beatitudes, which are often over-spiritualized or outright neglected by Christians at their own peril, as a window into Jesus' understanding of the coming reign of God with all of its countercultural implications. It was rather compatible with my Anabaptist faith and I enjoyed it, but it did not ultimately lead me to any profound new insights.

Stay tuned. Hopefully in a week or two I'll be able to talk a little about Every Day Gets a Little Closer, Parenting From the Inside Out, and Blindness. Good stuff there. And maybe I'll work in a little something interesting from my life as well. Provided that there is something interesting to tell.

2008 wrap-up

I know I'm a couple of days late here, but I wanted to get a year-end blog post in about my favorite stuff of 2008...

Adam's album of the year: Fleet Foxes (by Fleet Foxes). Beautiful, fragile and haunting. It was released in June but I just found it recently thanks to an iTunes giftcard and a well-heeded endorsement in December's GQ magazine. I'm really infatuated with this record right now.
Runners up: Bon Iver's For Emma Forever Ago, Conor Oberst's self-titled solo effort, Coldplay's Viva la Vida, and 808's & Heartbreak from Kanye West (for its originality and depth of emotion, not necessarily for the quality of Kanye's singing).

Adam's movie of the year: The Visitor, a moving and profound meditation on multiculturalism, US immigration policy, the insular worlds that we construct for ourselves to prevent real contact with others (especially those who are different) and the power of music to break through these barriers. This film gets my strongest recommendation.
Runners up: Rachel Getting Married and Burn After Reading. I'm still looking forward to catching Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Feel free to share your own favorites from 2008 - I'll be glad to hear your recommendations. Have a happy and safe 2009!

Five bands, one strange man

So sometimes I kill time (or waste time, depending on whether there is something I'm actively neglecting at a given moment) by placing myself in ridiculous hypothetical scenarios. The latest: if I was to limited to the music of 5 artists / bands for the rest of my life, which 5 would I choose? This is an interesting one because it's not as simple as "Who are your 5 favorite bands of all time?" since bands with extensive offerings are obviously given preference. That and you need to take into account any potential future output. So many considerations ... well, here we go:

1) Radiohead. No doubter here. Favorite band since freshman year of college. And they keep offering albums that blow my mind.

2) Bob Dylan. Does anyone in the history of popular music have as deep or strong a catalogue? I think not.

3) The Beatles. When Darcy heard this one she rolled her eyes, groaned and said "Come on, that's something everyone would say." My response: "There's a reason for that, baby."

4) Iron and Wine. Best artist I've found in recent years.

5) The final spot is a bit of a problem. There are three dogs in this race: Ben Harper, Bright Eyes, and Josh Ritter. Any one might be my choice on a given day. I liken it to an election ... Bright Eyes is the well-known incumbent candidate (I've listened to them the longest) and Ben Harper is the strong challenger. Josh Ritter is the well-financed independent candidate who might just swoop in and steal it on election day. I'd say today my choice is Bright Eyes. Tomorrow it might be different.

Darcy's: Billy Joel, Over the Rhine, The Swell Season, Bright Eyes, and Rosie Thomas. Not bad, but some of these surprised me. Runners up: Sufjan Stevens, The Weepies, and The White Stripes.

Anyone else?