currently working on a critical review of "George W. Bush: Faith in the White House." I hope I can get it done long before Christmas. I'd feel a little guilty posting it right before then. There's just so much to say. . . .

I have this project in mind that I've been kicking around for years now regarding Alt. Country, Insurgent Country, Punktry, or whatever you want to call it that, and where it intersects with the gospel. How it sends these rogue letters to American faith. How some of it's protagonists grew up with the gospel and how their songwriting interact with it or with it's central themes. This project is an article, or is it a book, or just posts on this blog page? I don't know. I should just post the names of the artists I want to profile, or possible names. In no particular order. And some of the books involved.

Artists and Bands
Johnny Cash
Waylon Jennings
Steve Earle
Iris Dement
Michelle Shocked
(Rev.) Ralph Stanley
Buddy and Julie Miller
Mark Heard
Uncle Tupelo, eg. Son Volt, Wilco. . . . .

Books
Tex Sample, "White Soul: Country Music, the Church, and Working Americans"
"No Depression: An Introduction to Alternative Country Music. Whatever That Is."
by Grant Alden, Peter Blackstock
Barbara Ching, "Wrong's What I Do Best: Hard Country Music and Contemporary Culture"
Gene Edward Veith, Thomas L. Wilmeth "Honky-Tonk Gospel: The Story of Sin and Salvation in Country Music"

The music video for one the coolest men alive's song "Rich Man's War" can be viewed here.

this weekend is going to be especially hectic. my dad's coming up this afternoon from out of town, i'm leading worship with my wife at the homeless shelter, and the things that come out of my mouth are never interpreted as they are meant. in a world like this, dear God, please bring your Presence!

ever have one of those mornings when you just can't wake up? when you look in the mirror and are disgusted by what you see, when the kids are especially wild at 7am for no particular reason. lately the delightful squeal of children sounds like purposeful torture.

self pity is the most destructive form of pride

my new little nephew Justin Carl. he doesn't care about politics or money. That's the life. Congrats Fred & Crystal! 

and of course here's my favorite. this one says it all. once again God is forced to put up with the stupid decisions his people collectively make. "Give us a King!" They said to Samuel. George W. Bush is a Christian, yeh we want him. "Arrgh!!" God says. "Remind me again why I put up with these people?" 

this one's even more silly 

yes i ripped this off somewhere.  

i just keep hitting the "next blog" button in the top right part of the screen.

some observations....

if you use those little windows that pop up and ask me questions, i despise you!!!

if you use music--again-- you had .5 seconds and you blew it! That's how long it took me to get off your page!

if you use blogspot to sell insurance or anything else you are the lowest form of humanity (that's a blog-type exaggeration) but anyway you should be dragged in the street and shot! I like that one better.

otherwise, clicking "next blog" is more addictive than TV. I've looked into the souls of more people than I think I know in person at this point in my life. Thank you. The sea of humanity on blogspot is strange, sordid, at times interesting, and I'm grateful. If you didn't want me viewing your blog I'm sorry. I do feel a little guilty.

man are there ever a lot of old faces returning here to visit. is it the season? why do they all converge at once? I can still hear my neighbors upstairs cutting tile for their bathroom. that's got to be the most irritating grating sound i can think of currently. but i don't say that out loud. curses that i'm such an easy going guy. the only person i complain to is my wife. she complained last night bout my planned trip to Miami. Unfair she said. I've gotten to go to much cooler places than she in the last two years. this morning she said she was just grumpy. that spite is still too real though. guess i should be thankful im not the only one with it in my heart. father forgive us our trespasses as we forgive

i'm using this fancy wi-fi thing in the sideyard. welcome to the 00's. chris aaron peering over my shoulder wanting to play games. i'm now one of those people sitting outside in the sun still staring into a screen! that's sick.

i have been trying to post all day and this is the first time i've been able to get through. what's up? does everybody gotta get their three cents in? cut me a break! anyway, like many others i'm depressed about the results of the election. and bush is now asking for my trust because its the only decent thing to give. bring the nation together. well if the bush administration didn't isolate itself from the rest of the world maybe it could establish trust!!! does giving our trust mean offering up our brains?

guess i should say something about the cards getting swept in the world series. but i'd rather not talk about it. or think about it for that matter. they really let us all down. i keep saying i wish they had shown up at all. their playing was that bad. what's worse? losing in the playoffs or doing nothing in the series?

Top of the 7th. Calero's pitch'n now. Osmos strikes out! Yes!
Last time I enjoyed a Cards game this much was in 1982 as an eight year old. And then I don't think I even saw it first hand but only heard the stories from friends at school. Brewer's fans supposedly throwing stuff on the field. Ozzie Smith doing triple backflips. Did that really happen? Everyone in the Cards hitting lineup hitting home runs. Jack Clark's grand slam. Well all that was in the World Series. . . . I'll have to look that up.

I'm sitting here watching game seven of the Astros vs. Cards. Its 4 to 2 Cards and its a beautiful thing. My friend Mike is with me from St. Louis. I commented this morning to a friend that this may be the year for the underdog. Look at the Red Sox last night. Who'd of thunk it? Now if we can only win the inevitable legal battles against Enron/Halliburton on November 3rd. . .

My life is in a phase where I have to turn everything I do over to the Lord every moment. I really struggle with knowing that he loves me and that I have value apart from what I can accomplish. When I was young it was engrained into me that I had to be doing as much as I could all the time to make life worthwhile. Leisure was just not as important, in fact it was more often than not sinful. Those things were more often lived than spoken to me, but I adopted a lot of that into my world view and now I've got to work to really see reality for what it is. God uses whatever I give him, however I give it. He doesn't judge a man based on his eloquent speech, the ability to lead scores into conversion, deep thoughts and arguments on the divine. He just loves and gives and recieves whatever I offer in faith.

My friend Gary Booth 

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christ died for our sins 

you can't see it well but there's razor wire and satellite dishes on the buildings that are constant inspiration. For some reason when I'm thinking my eyes always go there. odd. 

The bit of green from my window. Not much but it reminds me that things grow in this concrete jungle. 

I am simply amazed by this statment by President Bush given to Air Force cadets in Colorado a couple weeks ago: "Some who call themselves realists question whether the spread of democracy in the Middle East should be any concern of ours. But the realists in this case have lost contact with a fundamental reality: America has always been less secure when freedom is in retreat; America is always more secure when freedom is on the march."
I am usually not disposed toward commenting on statements made by Bush. My thoughts concerning him don't reeally matter. I voted for him in 2000 because frankly I hated the alternative. Now I'm ashamed and I won't make that mistake again. I think of Bush as curmudgeon. A hapless victim of his surroundings. I don't think of him as a real leader. But when he mouths words such as these, whether he wrote them or not, he becomes a demagogue of a larger ideological evil. And statements such as these really scare me. I mean we're talking the big "F" word here. . . as in Fascist. And I don't say that lightly.
A week ago Bush was being interviewed on TV, and I'm embarrassed because I can't remember by who, oh yeh Tom Brokaw, anyway, I really liked Bush's replies. They comforted me. Questions that made him seem like he wanted to go to war were quickly answered with "War is always a last resort. I hate war." And it all sounded so good, so nice. Asked if he could see how people could worry about the end result he answered that yes, if he didn't believe the end result would be a better world then he too would be despondent.

So yes, he's got such a hopeful agenda. It seems that finally we're going to undo all the wrong in the world. We're going after the evildoers and we're going to free the Middle East for democracy and if we just trust Bush and his team the world will be fine, and yes we can be assured that God is on his side. But no, this isn't a radical Theocratic agenda its very simple 'cuz they attacked us not we them and we're just gonna finish the job now.

Trouble is I pay attention to the news in the Middle East. And while Bush has his wonderful end in mind based on a strong Military and the good intentions of newly freed governments, the same Israeli government continues confiscating Palestinian land for the good of democracy. And the US keeps slapping hands and saying "Oh behave won't you?" Wink wink nudge nudge. "Let's see what those new Apaches can do." Israel has been for years our democratic model in the Middle East. What hope does that offer for our brave new democratic order in the middle east?

 

I found this ad at Book Expo America this year and its just so God-awful I had to mark it up and post it. Some Christians will stoop to all manner of untruth to sell books. And it works! 

I watched "House of Sand and Fog" (Jennifer Conally/Ben Kingsley) last night on DVD. I've got to say its the most astounding movie I've seen since I can remember. I watch a lot of movies--one every night. But I can't ever remember seeing a movie that dealt with how our living spaces effect our lives overall. And in that way I see this movie as a parable of what's happening in Israel/Palestine right now. Basically the movie follows the lives of two very different people thrown together over ownership of a house. As it was said in the extra features on the disc, at so many points both parties have ample opportunity to end their struggle and keep things from spiraling out of control. In the midst of their desparation they keep confronting each other to give up. Kindnesses are shown repeatedly. Mainly by the Iranian family in control of the house for the young woman (Jennifer Conally) who claims rightful ownership. In my studies of Israeli--Palestinian relations there are so many parallels. There must be hundreds of organizations attempting to bring people together and humanize the struggle. If it bleeds it leads, its true. But the same issues do not go away. But this movie as parable demonstrates, what is the land truly worth? What is this sense of place worth in blood? Can cooler heads prevail? There's a wealth of nuance in this conversation. Are other's catching the power of this movie for that discussion? I hope so. I guess I'll go do a web search.

post darn it! 

King and Niebuhr. Heros at the Christianity Century. My heros too. Though Bonhoeffer and Barth should be hanging there too. Ooh Bonhoeffer hanging. Not funny. 

Just inside the door from the outside. After snapping this the lobby attendent informed me this photo was illegal. so i thought i'd post it. 

outside of 104 south michigan 

Christianity's doom

I believe that Christianity's strongest opponents are not angry critics who spend all their energies working to attack it's theology or methodology, but rather agnostics who consider it no threat at all and don't even waste their breaths with a reply to it, because in their hearts they don't care whether it is true or not. For them Christianity is not worth their time. If Christianity is just a myth it will fade in time without any effort at all. Similarly, if bad Christians, believing their theology to be the most true simply take all of its facts for granted and live by none of its principles they themselves become Christianity's detractors. Its Truths are of such noneffect as to negate itself of any good.

flowers! 

down the path 

yes she's chasing alathea 

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alathea 

another beauty 

My beautiful wife Martha in front of the Filipino national hero Jose Rizal monument in the park today. 

Chris Aaron with his favorite pose. We had to reshoot this three times because he couldn't hold this pose for more than a second at a time.