And people wonder why I question the sexual orientation of ukansas attendees…

Achieving one of life’s great accomplishments

currently watching: Seinfeld Season 8

currently listening to: Nirvana-Nevermind

everyone has a list of things they want to get done before they die.  some are high reaching, some are just for fun, some define and change lives.  then there is what I accomplished today at 12:15am whilst playing Super Mario Bros.  Those under 25 may not understand, but there is an unlimited lives trick that involves repeatedly stomping on a turtle shell as it goes down the final stairs on level 3-1.  it requires special timing and some luck to pull it off and i’ve never done it before.  But that all changed and i have the cell pics to prove it, along with Will Gordon as my witness. 

  

the 2nd pic i took later to show that i did indeed have over 125 lives.  This moment will truely go down as one of the greatest of my life, as it would anyone who accomplishes such a feat.  Your jealousy is understood.

Wedding/Job update

currently watching: Six Feet Under-Season 4

In case you didn’t know or hadn’t checked Abbie’s blog about our wedding, we locked in July 25th, 2009 as our wedding date.  I think thats easy enough to remember (for anniversary purposes).  It will be in the evening in Ft. Scott, KS which is almost halfway between where each of us grew up.  We found a great church and an excellent reception place.  We are both excited about it and now we can get down to the details of it all.

As it relates to me, I am now on the railroad’s auxillary work board.  I am available every Thursday and Friday for call, up to 8 days a month.  I keep my health ins. and my railroad retirement going.  For the rest of the days I am collecting railroad unemployment.  As it stands, it might be upwards of 6 months before i go back to work.  This is a little scary with all that is taking place this summer but I’m just trusting God with it.  I am not ready to look for any real permanent work as of yet, or any work for that matter.  My lease expires at the end of May where I’ll likely move home until Abbie and I find a place together.

Not much else going on, I’ve been kinda sick the past few days.  I generally stay busy with going to the gym and watching dvd’s (theres a lot of HBO shows I want to get from the library-including finishing the above listed show) and playing vid games and keeping up with sports i like and also friends.

No More Politics

currently reading: The Long War Against Godby Dr. Henry Morris

currently listening to: Mogwai-Young Team

For a couple of weeks at the end of October last year I laid it all out on the line my views on basically every political issue and why Obama would be awful for the country.  It did create some good discussion and also some strife.  I’ve decided that arguing politics doesn’t really get to the heart of the matter and therefore hardly ever goes anywhere. 

The heart of the matter, I believe, is one’s personal faith and belief (or unbelief)  in God.  If someone has a strong religious belief it shapes all of their thinking on basically everything.  This is where my focus will be.  I’m not going to get caught up in the role of government, or abortion, or gay marriage, or whatever else because its really just a red herring that distracts from the real issue.

The books I’m reading lately (in addition to studying the Bible more) deal with how evolution, under the guise of science, has been used as the #1 tool to remove God from the public square–and thus instill (atheistic) humanism as the unofficial religion in America and around the world.  I’m fascinated by this premise and plan on blogging about it over the next few months. 

A verse that caught my eye and reversed my thinking: Proverbs 18:2

“A fool has no delight in understanding but only in revealing his personal opinions and himself.”

I was a fool in October.  Politics is opinion based on personal philosophy shaped by religious beliefs.  Therefore my focus, when necessary, will be strictly on understanding religious beliefs and why people think how they do.

Best Albums of 2008

After what was a great year for music last year, i expected this year to be a letdown and it certainly was.  There wasn’t really even one album i would say was excellent from start to finish.  I only actually bought one record, and that was because i’m just a huge sigur ros fan.  for the most part the following albums had 2-3 great songs, 2-3 above avg songs, and the rest was just ok.  I’m extremely picky in my tastes i guess (generally indie pop with strong rhythm and catchy guitars).  

In NO PARTICULAR ORDER, here are what I thought were the best albums of 2008.

Sigur Ros-Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust  

Like I mentioned above, this is the only record i bought because I loved their previous 3 records and figured they were gonna make something worth buying even without d/l it first (I almost always d/l albums before buying now-a-days).  This album is solid through the first 7 tracks, then the last 4 are just boring and pointless.  If I were ranking Sigur Ros albums I’d put this 4th out of 4 but still, the worst sigur ros album is far better than most anyway.  I recommend this if you like Sigur Ros, it generally doesn’t disapoint.  songs are a little shorter and more poppy but still is all sigur ros.

Spiritualized-Songs in A&E

Easily Spiritualized’ best record since 2001’s Let It Come Down.  In fact, its generally a pretty similar record to Let It Come Down.  There’s 3-4 really great tracks and the rest is decent enough.  I guess I didn’t buy it cause I felt maybe it was too much like Let It Come Down, but either way its good enough to make this list.

Broken Social Scene Presents Brendan Canning-Something For All of Us

Odd Kevin’s Drew’s (superior) album last year coun’t crack my top 5 but this year Brendan Canning’s effort does just based solely on 2008 being so mediocre.  anyway more solid pop indie rock from broken social scene, not sure why they make it a “presents” album.  i heard the whole band play a lot of these songs on their recent tour so its pretty much a BSS record if you like their stuff.  4 or 5 great songs here, definitely worth a listen. 

The Walkmen-You & Me

I applaud the Walkmen for this album, its really excellent and is a good change of sound while still being the Walkmen.  I haven’t liked what they had done after 2004’s Bows + Arrows but this makes up for it.  2 or 3 amazing songs on here and the rest is pretty good.  I mean I really liked the speed and aggression on Bows + Arrows so this album isn’t necessarily exactly what I like to listen to so i didn’t buy it but its definitely one of the year’s best and worth your time.

Honorable Mention: Cut Copy-In Ghost Colours