Jayhawk basketball is a religion. You think I’m overstating things? You’re wrong. Let me show you.
The most holy city in Jayhawk basketball is Lawrence, Kansas. Tens of thousands make an annual pilgrimage to the city to witness and worship. On April 12th of this year, over 100,000 descended on the city in a single day to give the Jayhawks a “triumphal entry” through the city. Instead of riding on a borrowed donkey the team came in on borrowed Mustangs. Instead of waving palms the masses waved pom-poms and crimson and blue flags.
While laying on the couch late on this Monday night, I find myself in a reflective mood.
Looking in hindsight over my life, I realize the regrets I have are not decisions I've made, nor things I've done (or haven't done), but rather, the relationships and friendships I've lost.
This is part 11 of a 11 part series of posts. Read all 11.
#1) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
At some point in every galaxy, the stars align just so, the dust from a dying comet falls into the atmosphere, and out of the depths of the sea emerges a beast that can either save or destroy the world with one breath from its lungs. In this case, that sea is Montreal, the beast is Arcade Fire, and its fiery-breath is their latest album, Neon Bible. Biblical metaphors aside, Neon Bible is good stuff, REAL GOOD.
My extended family has a group email address in which we can mail to contact everybody. It goes out to about 30 family members, and we use it to plan family gatherings and to update each other on family news. Lately, we've been using it to discuss the Democratic and Republican primary elections. In one such email, a relative stated they had never previously put a bumper sticker on their car, but they now sport one for a certain candidate. I know I'm overly cynical and jaded in my views of politics, and I've made a conscious decision to keep this blog relatively politics-free, but I thought I would share with you my reply...
The Arcade Fire has released a new interactive video for the opening track "Black Mirror" on their 2007 release Neon Bible. If you missed The Arcade Fire's last video, the interactive masterpiece for the title track, "Neon Bible," be sure to check it out.
The Arcade Fire is breaking new ground with these videos. Instead of being a one-sided visual performance, these videos become a multi-sensory experience. In the video for "Neon Bible", you will never see the same video twice, as what you see is dependent on how you interact with it.
This latest offering from The Arcade Fire features artwork from Tracy Maurice, who designed the illustration above. It was directed by Olivier Groulx.
Check it out for yourself.
A blog I frequent, ChurchRelevance.com, recently posted an article about the recent decrease of abortions occurring in America.
The Guttmacher Institute has published findings from a study that discovered that the U.S. abortion rate is at its lowest level since 1974. In fact, the 1.2 million abortions of 2005 were 25% fewer than the all-time high of 1.6 million abortions in 1990. Unfortunately, despite the decrease, roughly 1 in 5 pregnancies still ended in abortion in 2005.
This is part 10 of a 11 part series of posts. Read all 11.
Editors note:
I've been a bad blogger. I took some time off after the New Year and never got back to it. Time to kick start the old blogging engine.
#2) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - IS IS - EP
Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are incredible. In this latest EP, measuring in at a mere 17 minutes in length, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs submit you to a musical kick to the face with this rockin’ bombardment. With its ultra-post-punk sound and the crazy guitars riffs, IS IS easily carries the weight of #2 on my Best of 2007 list.
This album is raw, the sound is dirty and sweaty, and band leader Karen O will have your head swimming with the amount of blood and passion she puts into her singing.
This is part 9 of a 11 part series of posts. Read all 11.
#3) Tegan and Sara - The Con
Probably one of the hardest things an artist ever has to do is following up the album that made you famous. Twin sister duo Tegan & Sara set the bar so high in 2004 with the release of So Jealous, that it would be easy to forgive them for trying to emulate the same power-pop/punk sound on this years The Con. Instead, Tegan & Sara have released an album with a much darker hue, subtle lyrics, and emotional urgency.
This is part 8 of a 11 part series of posts. Read all 11.
#4) A Fine Frenzy - One Cell In The Sea
This past August, my wife and I had the joy of meeting Alison Sudol, the gorgeous voice who hides behind the name A Fine Frenzy, when she opened for Neko Case & Rufus Wainwright at the Voodoo Lounge in Kansas City. We were walking into the show blind. Like 99.9% of America, we had never heard of A Fine Frenzy. At show time, this petite red-haired pixie appeared on stage, took a seat behind a piano, and suddenly we were lost. When Alison begins to sing, her voice captures the entire room. For the next 45 minutes, we were completely overwhelmed by this girl. As soon as her set was finished, we ran back to the merchandise table, bought her CD, and had her autograph it for us. We talked with Alison for 7 or 8 minutes, and she is as likeable in person as she was on stage.
Her debut record, One Cell In The Sea, is outstanding and amazing. I have been listening to it almost nonstop since we discovered her this summer.
It is Christmas morning, Nichole and I are getting ready to enjoy our first Christmas as parents. I started off the day as I always do, by reading the new posts on the blogs that I subscribe to. Here are a few quotes pertaining to the incarnation, that I found on those blogs.
"That man should be made in God's image is a wonder,
but that God should be made in man's image is a greater wonder.
That the Ancient of Days would be born.
That He who thunders in the heavens should cry in the cradle?"
~Thomas Watson
