Well...

I'm not sure what to say. I'm totally envious of the success of Cage The Elephant. They're playing all the big festivals, they're signed to a major label, their video is on MTV's rotation, they're on the cover of AP magazine, and last night they played the Late Show with David Letterman.

Holy crap.

I'm super happy for them. I'm glad they've made it in the music industry. I grew up with Jared Champion, who plays drums, and went to school with the rest. I remember going to their first show, in someone's backyard, before their name was CTE. Its kinda surreal to watch this video clip.

I don't think last night's performance was their best, but it was good enough.



(PS-Is it just me, or does everyone who plays Letterman's show sound good? Unlike SNL, where most every musical guest has a bad performance.)

Stupid statistics.

I had an accident... within a couple of yards from my house. Stupid statistics say you're most likely to have an accident within so many minutes from your residence. I hate statistics.

I was on the scooter, as usual, this morning and someone in a truck pulled out in front of me. I couldn't stop in time or go around him, so I had to lay scooter down. I hit his back tire and spun around on the asphalt. I lost some skin on my legs and broke my left arm near my elbow--but its a small fracture. (Worst part about the arm is that I can't play guitar. I had two gigs this month and was playing with Louis at Broadway as well. I had to cancel them all this afternoon.) We spent a few hours at the hospital and now I'm back at home with my lovely and wonderful wife who is taking care of me--I'm lucky to have her.

Typing with one hand sucks.

And the scooter is in critical condition.

(PS-PhotoBooth on a Mac inverts the image, I did break my left arm, and not my right.)

GOD.

I've been thinking about the existence of God a lot recently.

Not whether or not God exists--that's certainly something worth pondering as well. And I've spent plenty of time thinking about that. But not this week. This week I've been thinking about what God's actual existence is like.

What is God?
What does God look like?
What is God composed of?
Where does God reside?
How does God reside in a location if he/she does?
If God isn't in a location, what does his/her physical form exist in?
Does God have a physical form?
How does God see things in our universe?
If God is omnipresent, how does his/her sense of perception work?
If there are other dimensions, does God exist in all of them simultaneously?
If God is physical and yet eternal, does God age?
Does God still create?
How do God's emotions/feelings work?
Is God constantly feeling some emotion?
Does God have a voice?
If so, what does that voice sound like?
Does that voice speak in the same way that we understand speech?
Does God crack jokes?
Does God think Creed is the worst band of all time, with Hinder in a close second?
Does God need to shave?
Is he/she one of us? (HT: Joan Osborne)

Stuff like that.

No answers. Just questions today.

Labor Pains...

Listen, I'm a conspiracy theorist. I won't get into detail, but I love a good conspiracy and the discussion that follows when its brought up.

But these "birthers" are idiots. Idiots.

I'm not a huge fan of Barack Obama. I don't dislike him, but he still hasn't won me over. (Don't get me wrong, I'm still thankful John McCain and Sarah Palin weren't elected.) But there's no doubt in my mind that the dude's a US citizen. He was born in Hawaii. I've seen a copy of his birth certificate online. Even the most skeptical hosts of TV news channels agree that Obama has a legal birth certificate and there's not a question in their minds whether or not he's a citizen.

But these birthers still carry on. And they are making the Right look ridiculous.

John Stewart discussed it the other night.

Steve Benen wrote a great article on it.

And Liz Cheney still won't shut her mouth.
Her and Rush Limbaugh need to be shipped off to a deserted island and left there...

In the words of John Stossel: give me a break.

I can turn my head again...

I messed my neck up yesterday. Don't ask me how. I don't know how. I just woke up Monday morning and couldn't get out of bed. I was also in an incredible amount of pain. Lots of ice packs and relaxing has helped. I go to see the chiropractor again tomorrow morning--I'm taking a holistic approach to this and trying to avoid meds. I'll let you know how it goes.

I just read this headline. It surprised me about as much as this story.

Sigh.

But I've decided to refrain from commenting on those stories. I'm also refraining from commenting on today being the anniversary of the "moon landing." (For lots of reasons.)

However, I have a post coming soon called "Gambling, Blasphemy and Tattoos." Until then...

Don't they think about these lines first?

LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton, "Thoughts in Solitude"

Things I've learned...

This is a jar of Peter Pan peanut butter. Its almost three years old--which is no big deal in terms of peanut butter. However, this is one of the tainted jars. If you'll remember, there was a huge recall on Peter Pan peanut butter several years ago. (This isn't connected to the recall that happened in the last year from PCA products.) Hmmmm.... salmonella and creamy peanut buttery goodness.

I've kept the jar all this time. I found it in the top, back shelf of the pantry. I need to throw it away. But its a reminder...

Brittany and I have been married a little over two years now. She always used to tell me that I should buy JIF and not Peter Pan--she said Peter Pan was "ghetto peanut butter." I told her she was crazy and Peter Pan was smoother. Then I got a jar of tainted peanut butter and that changed everything. We now buy JIF only. Peter Pan isn't even an option.

So I learned it a long time ago, but finding this in the cupboard tonight reminded me of something: my wife is normally right. (To be more specific: she's right more often than I am.)

We're halfway through the year...

and this is my favorite blog post I've read in a while.

Jonathan Brink hits a home run with this entry.

I cannot help but to echo his thoughts: there isn't a universally accepted theological point of view. There just isn't. There isn't a single human who has every aspect of theological thought figured out. There isn't a single Christian who can point to the Scriptures and say: "I understand everything about this compilation of books."

It just doesn't work like that. We are all going to be wrong at some point. We are all going to screw something up. And the sooner we get that figured out, the better.

I have lots of theological ideas that various people disagree with. I have lots of non-theological views that various people disagree with. But isn't that what makes us all human and makes this life beautiful? Humanity is a gorgeous mosaic--lots of bright (re:different) and broken colors that come together to form one amazing masterpiece.

It seems like I've had this discussion with several people lately--and they tend to be people who disagree with me. So let this be said: I'm totally fine with disagreement. I think we're kidding ourselves if we don't allow discussion and analyzing of our points of view. Contrasting opinions are important. Let's at least agree on that.

I'd rather be having conversations about how we can improve local housing issues or provide health care to everyone or provide clean water to every human... maybe I'm changing. Maybe some of the fight within me is gone. Maybe I'm tired of arguing. As Tim told me once, I'm good with the propaganda. I know how to push an issue out there. But maybe I'm looking for more than discussion and arguments finally. Maybe I'm looking for change. Maybe I wanna see it happen. Maybe I wanna change the world. Maybe I think that we could actually do that.

Rick, our senior pastor here at Broadway, told me once: "Its more important that the work be done than the critics be answered."

I wanna see it happen. I wanna change the world. Yeah, I think we can actually do that... together.