Crowds

"After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever Amen." Revelation 7:9-12

A couple weeks ago, Dr. Gary Ott, who is without a doubt the smartest, most accomplished person I know, was giving a report at church of his recent trip to east Russia. He had gone to visit Rod and Margi Powell and brought back a report of the work there. That region is particularly interesting because of the sheer number of people groups residing in a small area - most of them unreached. If you ever have an opportunity to hear Rod speak, you'll hear him talk about the prophecy in Revelation 7:9 that someone from every single people group on Earth will bow before Jesus. You will also hear of the large number of people groups which have never heard the Gospel. It is at this intersection where they serve so faithfully in an increasingly unstable part of the world.

I always love hearing Rod (and in this case Dr. Ott) talk about this because it's such an amazingly powerful promise. And it's always coupled with a story of someone he recently saw experience God and His Word for the first time - and being the first person ever of that ethnicity to do so. Such an awesome privilege! And while I don't want to diminish the importance of the prophecy that people from every people group will be present in Heaven, something else amazed me this time.

Read the first half of verse 9 again. "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues" It isn't just that we see representatives from every single people group before the throne, we see a "great multitude which no one could count." Stop. Think about that.

What's the largest crowd you can imagine? Personally, the largest crowd I've been in front of is about 25,000 at Creation. At one of the Luis Palau festivals, I've been in a crowd with 80,000 other people. My favorite concert DVD, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle features a crowd of 160,000 people. According to Guinness, the largest turnout I could find was the 10 million people who show up to watch the Tour de France over its three week run. That's a lot of people.

I did a quick Bible search looking for the largest crowd recorded. In the Old Testament, 1 Chronicles 21:5 gives us the 1.1 million men of Israel who were battle ready. In the New Testament, Revelation 9:16 speaks of the armies of the horsemen as being 200 million strong. Revelation 5:11 speaks of a throng of angles numbering "thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand." If you're keeping score, that's several hundred million. What do all those crowds have in common? They were all numbered. But back in Revelation 7:9, we're given a glimpse at a crowd so much larger than any of these that it can't even be counted. We're told in verse 14 that these are the souls who have come out of the Great Tribulation - not even all of those who are present in Heaven.

So what does this mean? Be encouraged. I know the feeling of spending time sharing with people, only to see very little response. It's frustrating and demotivating. Some people go an entire lifetime without ever seeing a single person come to Christ as a direct result of their ministry. That does not mean that God is not working. Quite the contrary. We have a very clear promise that God in His grace is saving people from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue. And if that wasn't enough, the crowd of our brothers and sisters in Heaven will be so great that they cannot even be numbered.

Intense

Puns are almost never funny, but sometimes they take on a life of their own. My friend Justin has developed a habit of responding to anyone claiming something to be "intense" with "just like camping." What started as a stupid pun about tents, became a normal part of vocabulary. The analogy grew to include other things in tents, such as the circus. It got to the point where instead of saying something was intense, I would describe it as being like camping. This, of course, was funny. My roommate Joe would regularly engage in these jokes. But I had no idea how funny the joke really was until today.

We were all at a Memorial Day BBQ enjoying a beautiful yard, wonderful food, and a fierce game of bocce ball. One particularly close toss elicited a "this round is intense" comment from the people watching. This, of course, required the now obligatory "like camping" response. Someone also threw out a follow-up "or the circus." Cory, roommate of Justin, added a new one of "those windshield repair places in the parking lot." This thoroughly confused Joe as to why something so stupid would be considered "intense." He disagreed with this statement, arguing that while he could see camping as an intense activity, and the circus was obviously intense, a windshield repair station clearly had nothing in common with those. At this point he asked, for future reference, how one could determine if something met the requirements of being intense enough to be mentioned. After a long pause and a stare I realized this wasn't a joke. He actually completely missed the running pun for the last three months and assumed it was just an inside joke. My rather cautious reply was "ummmm, it takes place in a tent." About a second later when this realization dawned on poor Joe, the look on his face was priceless. Unfortunately for him, the look on everyone else’s' face was pure hysteria. Thanks for the hardest laugh I've had in a while!

1 Thessalonians 5:25

"Brethren, pray for us." And by "us" I mean "me." Without getting into too much detail, I'm going through some personal hardship and have to make some very difficult decisions. Please pray for wisdom, strength and resolve to do what must be done. Thank you.

Couches

We now have couches! Actually, a couch and a loveseat. Our first pieces of furniture. And, of course, obtaining them was quite an adventure. They came from Dustin's old roommate who was moving and needing to get rid of them. We've been trying to pick them up for some time, but haven't been able to secure a truck at any of the right times. We needed to get them on Saturday, though, because they were needed as bedding (more on that later). Desperate, we called everyone we know with a truck, and finally found someone who was available to loan theirs out. William.

To say William's truck is old and beat up would be an understatement. It's an old Toyota from the 70s or 80s, we really don't know. Yellow with a rusted out bed. No power steering and a carburetor that just didn't want the poor thing to start. Brakes that howled at the very thought of you stopping. Hopefully you get the idea. Joe took the brave job of driving, and we eventually made it to the place. The couches were loaded in with minimal destruction to the house, and we threw a tarp over them because it was raining. But we didn't have any rope. The thought was to tuck the tarp under the couches and their weight would told the tarp on. This was a flawed assumption. A couple miles down the road, the tarp is flapping in the wind. We pull off and re-tuck it. Another mile and it's off again. This time as we're fixing it, someone pulls up behind us and asks if we have a tan couch under there. Yes, we do. "Oh, well your cushions are back on Walker." Joe runs off to retrieve our cushions about a 1/4 mile away in the middle of the road. Without fail, the entire way home, that blasted tarp came off every couple miles. We stopped almost 10 times driving across town to fix that thing. No matter what different technique we tried, it didn't make a difference. So if you're moving anything with a tarp, remember ropes!

A Few of My Favorite Things

The other day as I was walking through Lloyd Center on the east side, heading to the food court to try and justify my use of their parking lot, I saw one of my favorite ads in the window. A couple months ago, Lenscrafters, the glasses place, started airing these ads which promised a "30 day unconditional happiness guarantee." Nowhere in the ad were glasses mentioned. No conditions were stipulated. If you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't even know what the ad was for. All you would know is that if you go to Lenscrafters, you'll be guaranteed happiness for 30 days. Unconditionally. Amazing. They've since changed the ad to include references to glasses, but as I walked past their store, they had a giant banner in the window proclaiming the availability of 30 days of unconditional happiness. I really need to stop in there one of these times. Finally arriving at the food court, I overheard a larger gentleman at the bakery order a salad. "Good for you," I thought to myself. Salad is a good move. Then, much to my amazement, he proceeded to order six cookies. I wish I could describe the manner in which he ordered those cookies in a written medium. The closest I can get is to say that he was in a wild frenzy. I'm not so sure the salad is going to balance those out for you, buddy. Only in America.....

The One That Doesn't Make Sense

Hey everyone. Sorry for not updating in a while. I know you all are constantly checking for new posts, waiting with eager anticipation for the next window into my life. So here you go. Anyone watch Friends? I don't really, but I seem to have seen all the ones that people talk about. One of my old roommates had them on DVD, so every once in a while I'd see a couple they were watching. But anyway, there's this one where Phoebe's smoke detector won't stop going off. This is that story.

I came home late Thursday night and found Joe still awake. We started talking, and I was rather annoyed by a single beep emanating from somewhere every minute or so. He said it had been going off all night, and I was determined to make it stop. I started with the smoke detector in the hallway outside the kitchen. We're constantly having to press the quiet button on this one because the slightest little thing sets it off. Literally, you pre-heat the oven, and opening the door - with nothing in there - will set the thing off. It's nuts.

So I'm on a stool fiddling with that one, and I hear the beep, but not in my ear as it should be. It sounds like it's coming from down the hall. So I head to Jonny and Dustin's room where Dustin is sleeping, and am pressing the button as I hear the beep from somewhere else. At this point we don't know where it's coming from, so we spread out manning each smoke detector in the house. Turns out it was the one in Joe's room all along. Thing is, there's no reason for it to be beeping. It's hardwired in to the electrical system, so it doesn't have a battery to die. I remove it from the ceiling and find out that it does, in fact, have a battery for backup purposes. I remove it, assuming it's low and it's just letting us know. As it's sitting on my desk not plugged in and without a battery, it beeps again. This doesn't make sense. There is no power going into this smoke detector. There is nothing enabling it to beep. But it won't stop. Even when it's completely taken apart on my desk, it's still beeping. Just like that episode of Friends.

Cliffhangers 2

Not again! I started watching 24 about halfway through this season purely for the social interaction. Everyone I know gathers at someone's house each Monday evening to watch this show. So I started going. I'm not terribly thrilled with 24. It's full of technical impossibilities and a general ignorance with the way things really work. But then again, so is most all of TV. And 24 really hooks you in. Each episode ends in a total cliffhanger. If you're not familiar with 24, it's a "real time" show. Each one hour episode represents one hour in a day. Each season represents one 24 hour day. Each season stands alone - there's no connection between them (or so I've been told). And they're very careful to end each episode at the worst possible place to force you to watch next week's. But tonight was the 2 hour season finale, so all our unanswered questions were, well, answered. And there was a pretty good resolution. But then, with 2 minutes left in the show, they start a new plot line! All the nerve! You can't have major events go down with 2 minutes left in the season, then expect us to be happy until January when you pick it up again. Uncool!

Blogging the Bible

My homepage is MSN. I like the splattering of information on every topic imaginable. I'm usually only there for as long as it takes me to type in the address of the place I'm going, but every once in a while, something catches my eye. Today, under the ever-popular "Who was Mary Magdalene Really" banner, I saw a link named "Blogging the Bible." Basically, this Jewish writer for Slate realized he didn't know what was really in the Bible, and that he should read it. Obviously, he's approaching it with some degree of skepticism. But I still find it fascinating to read someone's thoughts as they encounter God's Word. I think it will be really interesting to see what happens when he gets into the New Testament. Anyway, if you're interested, his blog is here.

Relativity (or The Curse of Being Goal-Oriented)

Be ye forewarned, this is a long, late-night post. Coherency of thought not guaranteed.

I was thinking about relativity today. And don't worry, no physics discussion this time. More of how we perceive the passage of time. I was driving back from the beach yesterday with a car full of sleeping passengers, meaning I spent a lot of time looking out the window. And it reminded me of when I was a kid on road trips. I remember long drives to Colorado, particularly during the boring Wyoming stretch, looking at the Rocky Mountains in the distance stirred the boredom - it looked like we were barely moving. But looking at the tall strands of whatever was growing in those fields right next to the road made it look like we were really moving. Same thing yesterday. Looking into the distance at the mountains, we were crawling along. Looking at the trees lining the highway, we were cruising along at 75 mph. This is obviously not a new observation.

At the same time I was pondering where I was going in life. My plans, my dreams, and what was keeping me from getting there. Because I'm incredibly deep and thoughtful (or more likely some neuron misfired), these lines of thought intersected resulting in this analogy. I noticed a similarity between the way the scenery moves by and the way my life is passing. It's all in where you're looking. At the end of the day, I'm usually left feeling like when I'm looking at that first row of trees by the road: we're really moving. Weeks and months can feel like that sometimes too.

But I tend to be a big picture person, so I spend a lot of my time looking back at those mountain ranges. And sometimes I get frustrated because it doesn't seem like things are moving anywhere. I look down at my speedometer and am clearly going fast, but when I look at what things I'd like to have done/passed, I get a different story. I know the solution is to not spend so much time gazing out the windows and judging life that way. Instead I should be focusing on the stretch of road right in front of me and let the speedometer be the only true indication of the rate at which things are moving. (you know, a little Proverbs 4:25) I know I need to develop more patience and diligence in my life. Contentment with what I'm doing now and not obsession over where I would like to be.

Sooner or later you hit one of those mountains off in the distance. You're there, and you start your climb up. If you've ever climbed a mountain (or even a big hill), you've had this happen: it always looks more direct than it ends up being. It looks so simple - just straight up. But in reality there's dozens of ups and downs, twists and turns. What looked like a single mountain ended up being a bunch of foothills and a big mountain. But you finally get to the top of the pass and see that little green "summit" sign on the side of the road right before you start the downhill. That mountain is over. From this vantage point, you can clearly see the next mountain. It's as deceitful as the last one, riddled with switchbacks and illusions of an easy climb. But every once in a while you are greeted with an even worse sight. Sometimes you do see the road leading up the next mountain, or at least part of it. You see all the foothills you have to pass, you see the treacherous turns with no guard rails, and you see that as you move deeper into the mountain range, each subsequent mountain is quite a bit larger than the last.

This describes where I am now. That last mountain of getting a degree was a pain. It should have been a lot more straightforward than it was. It should have been done a year ago. But now it is. And from the top of this mountain, I clearly see the next, probably named something like Staff Mountain. I think a lot of people break down or are eaten by bears on their way up its slopes. At this point I only see the foothill named New Staff Training, but I'm sure there are plenty more. And the road named Support Raising looks to be the meanest stretch of road I've ever seen. I long to reach the top of that mountain, but I find myself wondering if I can make it. Actually, I know I can't. And honestly, that scares me a little. I know people travel this road all the time. I know when I reach that next mountain I'll look back on this one and laugh. But that's big picture me talking again. The same me who about this time decides to stop looking at the difficult road ahead and instead look off to the side again. Now it doesn't look like I'm going anywhere.....

I need to be looking somewhere else.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

Help, Please

Ok, so here's the deal. New Staff Training is going to end up costing almost $4,000. The vast majority of that will be charged to my account and paid for later once I start raising support (in August). The only part I have to come up with in advance is $500 for my plane ticket. The last time I tried this Internet donation thing (Katrina) it was hugely successful, so I thought I would give it another shot. If you're able, I would really appreciate your help. I'm not using the Crusade online donation thing, or running this money through them, so it's not tax deductible. The reason is that in the Crusade system, I buy the ticket up front and get reimbursed later. But I don't have the $500 in advance, so that's not going to work. Thanks in advance for your prayers and support!

Anyone, Anyone?

Bueller? Ok, so I need a picture of me. I don't have any. I'm always the one behind the camera. But I'm doing a lot of stuff now that's asking for a picture of me. So if anyone has any good ones they'd like to share, pass them along. Or if you know someone who might want to take one. Otherwise, my roommates and I will probably come up with something a little more....humorous....than these forms are intending.

Public Transportation 2

Just a quickie because someone scheduled a meeting very early tomorrow morning. So I rode the MAX again today because it's just so convenient! And so much more air conditioned than my car is currently! I had a seat this time, so I was able to avoid any unwanted bodily contact. What intrigued me on this particular occasion was a guy standing in the "joint" section of the train. He was standing there, rocking out to his boombox. Yeah. In the age of iPods, even a Discman, this guy was all about the old school. Cause what's the point of listening to music if everyone around you can't enjoy it too?

Cliffhangers

My favorite TV show has let me down. Last night the one hour season finale of Scrubs ended with a "to be continued...." NOOOOOO! You should not be allowed to do that! Making people wait 3-4 months for the conclusion is just mean.

Happy Mothers' Day?

Hopefully the fact that it's Mothers' Day doesn't surprise anyone. So this one goes out to Mom. I know you don't read this. I know you really don't use the Internet. I know this is because your computer isn't exactly working right now - your computer that you hate to use. And I know this is because I haven't fixed it yet. BUT, I do love you and wish you a very happy Mother's Day. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I know nothing about your life has been easy, especially raising two kids. You made a lot of sacrifices for us that I'm grateful for, even if I don't always show it. I really do admire and respect you.

After lunch today, my mom and I stopped by her mom's to visit. I hadn't been to see her since she took a turn in her health. She's not able to live in the same place as before because they're not equipped to deal with her declining health. So she had to be moved to a much more depressing care facility. It saddened me just walking into the room and seeing her on the bed with various tubes plugged in her. When she saw me she got just about the saddest face I've ever seen. See, my grandmother is a very strong, proud woman. She's accomplished a lot in the last 88 years. Besides weathering all the twists and turns of history (war, depression, etc.) she raised 6 kids and has outlived her husband by over 10 years now. She's beaten cancer and other diseases on multiple occasions. There have been several times I've thought she was on her last leg, but every time she comes out swinging. The woman is crazy resilient.

And she's proud of it, which can make things difficult. She went to college at a time when women didn't really do that sort of thing - and earned her master's in psychology, nonetheless. I remember as a kid and during the couple years we lived with her, "fun" was me playing the word games in Reader's Digest with her. Or playing Scrabble. And, yes, we'd need a dictionary handy. Later on we'd watch Jeopardy and yell out the answers. She always had copies of Newsweek and Popular Science lying around. And if she ever heard you say that you didn't know what something was, she'd order you to consult her unabridged collegiate dictionary and report back. I learned to love that 6" thick monstrosity which now lives on one of my shelves. She was the type of person always learning, never content.

But all this learning and experience made her a difficult person sometimes. She was always right (which must be where I get it from). There was no other way than her's. This really became problematic as her health required that people start doing things for her - things which could never be done "right." There would be a lot of arguments - the kind no one wins. I know the Bible says that before God everyone will be silenced. I used to joke that if there would be anyone in the world who would still try to argue with the Almighty, she would be the only one brazen enough to do it.

But going back to when we saw each other, her face fell. I think it was because she was thinking over the exact same things I was. All these memories of her being strong and proud. And now she's on a bed with machines to help her live. A man comes in every couple hours to check her vitals and diaper. It was one thing to have her kids in there visiting with her. But I think that my seeing her was humiliation she would have rather done without. Don't worry, Grandma, I won't remember you like this.

Public Transportation

There's a lot of things I should be doing right now. I should be in bed. I could also be replying to emails, doing more research for work, or even blogging about things that have happened here over the last couple of days. But I'm not going to. No, I'm going to blog about something totally inconsequential. Spending a large portion of my time in the downtown area of Portland, I'm faced with a huge transportation headache. It only takes me 20-30 minutes to get wherever it is I'm going, but parking ranges anywhere from 15 minutes to $8.

To combat the expense and hassle of downtown parking, I've been experimenting with various modes of public transportation. Today I rode the MAX (above ground subway). I've been driving to Portland, but parking a little ways away from where I want to be - somewhere free to park and inside the "Fare-less Square" for public transportation - then riding the MAX in. You get an interesting group when you don't charge anything. It was packed. Not normal for it to be this full on a normal day. All the seats were taken and the aisles were full of people standing. I managed to slide in and lean against a wall near the door. In front of me was a dirty guy with his (I'm assuming) girlfriend. They were engaged in an activity somewhere between making out and foreplay. Not a problem if he wasn't so loud. At every stop, even though the train was clearly full, he'd yell at people on the platform to "squeeze on in!" - much to the dismay of those of us already on the train. I was left with a stocky gentleman standing immediately in front of me (remember, back to a wall). Whenever the train would change in speed, he would slam up against me - not that there was anywhere for either of us to move to. Bam. And because of his size he couldn't exactly return to a self-supporting stance quickly. Whump. As he rested on my chest I wanted so badly to take a breath (after the impact knocked the wind out of me), but was unable to inflate my lungs under the pressure.

Then there was the time I rode the bus. This was my first real experience with the bus here. I've ridden the MAX tons of times, but never needed the bus. There's a stop right by my apartment that goes right where I need to be. So I gave it a shot. Armed with my giant Sennheiser headphones to cancel out noise and serve as a "do not disturb" sign (friends who frequent the bus have warned me to avoiding conversation), I was ready for the hour-long ride downtown. What I wasn't ready for was what happened at the Tigard transit center. As the driver closed the doors to move out, a guy was running towards us. So he waited and opened the doors again. The guy gets on and shows a transfer slip, but the driver informs him that it's expired. This displeases the guy. They start to argue about it. A lot. The driver orders the guy off the bus. The guy doesn't want to leave. More yelling. At this point the 5 men on the bus are on "high alert" not knowing what this guy is going to do next. Then he assaults the driver.

Legal Tangent: He did not hit the driver. He took a step in and pulled his fist
back in such a manner so as to punch the driver. Contrary to popular believe
assault is not the act of physically harming another person. It's the threat of
violence. Battery is the actual commission of a violent act. At least according
to Oregon law.

At this point the 5 of us are on our feet gently reminding him of what's going to happen if he messes with our driver (thus delaying our trip). It doesn't end with him getting a ride on the bus (unless it's a prison bus - oooooh, snap!). Anyway, I think I might just drive for a little while. It's so much more uneventful.

Where is my roommate? I don't want to wait up much longer! Told you I was writing about totally random things.

Can HE Be My Boss?

Ok, I've put this one off for a while. If you haven't already, go listen to Matt Mikalatos' audio post on evil laughs. There aren't really words to describe it. http://mikalatos.blogspot.com/2006/05/evil-laugh-tutorial.html Makes you wonder about the Mikalatos/Culbertson 2012 ticket. Not that I'm thinking of voting for someone else. Never.

Don't Drink the Water

Looks like I'm going to miss three weddings this summer - an improvement from last year's seven. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize in advance to each of the happy couples. If I had the money to fly back from NST, I would.

Jorma Nevler and Megan Rinearson, June 25th
Renjy Abraham and Katy Christensen, July 1st
Brian Bickle and Jolene Carver, July 29th

I love you guys and pray for God's blessing as you start your married life.

I'm Going to Disney World!

Ok, not really. Just Orlando. Well, not really that either. Winter Park, technically. It's a small town right outside Orlando. But north Orlando, so still like an hour from Disney World. But I'm not going there, remember? I mean, if I lived there for three months and didn't go, why would I go when I'm there for 5 weeks? Ahem. Anyway. Why you might ask? New Staff Training, of course!

My staff application was accepted this afternoon.

Thank you to everyone who supported me during this process. I'll get some more details out later.

Colbert Does Oregon

A lot of people know of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." In fact, in the 18-35 age group, more people get their news from this satirical "fake news" show than any of the "real" news shows. Longtime favorite correspondent Steven Colbert left the show several months back to start his own show, The Colbert Report, airing immediately after The Daily Show. While The Daily Show is a parody on the typical evening news show, The Colbert Report is more a parody of the pundit news show. And it's hilarious. Anyway, he has one segment called "Better Know a District" where he goes one by one through the 433 congressional districts in the US, profiles them, and interviews their representative. Two of them aired recently featuring Oregon's 3rd and 5th districts. Here, they are, courtesy YouTube, for your viewing pleasure. Oregon's 3rd Oregon's 5th

Pandora

This post goes out to Alexis. Hello. I don't actually know you. Well, I know what I've read on your and Taylor's blogs. So I guess that makes this something of a formal introduction.

Ummmmm, let's see. I don't have one of those little "About Me" boxes on my blog (oooh, mysterious), but according to yours, you like "Jesus, Mt. Rainier, Seattle, music, movies, books, friends, writing, traveling, my family, Frisbees, Apple computers, funny people, and art." With the exception of Apple computers, those are all wonderful things I would be inclined to post myself. Let's just go with that for now. Also, Taylor has suggested that we share an award for using equations in blog posts. I'm assuming this has to do with my piece on gravitational acceleration and your insights into Time-Dependent Failure and your brilliant interpretation of the Ideal Gas Law (which reminds me of the classic question on the thermal properties of Hell).
Then you left a comment on my blog, pretty much opening the door for a response.

As a gesture of goodwill, I would like to reveal ancient Chinese secret of having an endless variety of music to listen to, wherever you are. It saddened me to hear that someone with such interest in and knowledge of music (I mean, you got the Earthsuit - Mute Math connection!) should have to go without. So, here you go. Ready?

Pandora.

Pandora is the useful part of the Music Genome Project. The MGP set out to decode the fundamental "genes" of music. They analyzed "everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony" of individual songs from over 10,000 artists. Once they created this genetic map of songs and artists, Pandora was developed to make the information useful.
In essence, Pandora is a custom radio station. You put in a song or artist you like, and Pandora creates a custom station based off the genetics of that song/artist. With each song that plays, you tell Pandora if you like it or not. This process zooms in on the parts of the gene that you like, ignoring those you don't. You're left with an endless stream of songs, at CD quality, with no ads of any kind. The catch is that, just like radio, you can't go back or control what specific songs play. The whole site's purpose is introducing you to music you will like based off of what you do like.

The one area it doesn't do so well with is emerging artists. I tried putting in Mute Math today just to see what would come up. Because their album isn't currently available outside of the tour, the only song they had on file was one from a compilation. And it happened to be my least favorite of theirs. So I wasn't very happy with the station. But that's been my only negative experience so far.

Anyways, I hope that helps bring a little more music into your life. If there's anything in particular you're craving, let me know. I'm sure this Internet thing can deliver it to you.
Oh, and I talk a lot. Guess now we've "met."

Katrina Redux

But I digress. It was a beautiful, clear day. The kind that didn't make me mind driving downtown, enjoying the sunroof and CD player. As I came off of 26, through the tunnel and up onto the bridge where I-5 and 405 split (going the 405 way), I was greeted with a spectacular view. Mt. Hood was perfectly clear to my right, downtown over the river to my left, and Mt. St. Helens completely visible in front of me. I tried to take a picture with my phone, but anyone who's tried to do that while driving knows how futile it is. So, instead, I shifted and took the curve down the bridge at 70. I think everyone can agree that is an equally satisfying thing to do with a view. Tonight has been equally as pleasant. It's that perfect summer weather where you just want to stay out and walk around. Not hot and annoying, not cold. But, since I need the exercise, Ultimate was the name of the game - also a good way to spend a mild Oregon evening. All that to say today was a beautiful day and I hope we have many more like it.

Hello, Summer

Today was the kind of day that makes you happy to live in Oregon. Waking up with the sun piercing through my blinds and the sounds of birds lofting on branches outside my window. Actually, that sound is the sound of the obsessive landscaping crew. They're outside my window every other day mowing or cutting or something loud and mechanical at 7am. Honestly, I don't know what they're doing out there. The grass can't possibly grow that fast.
But I digress. It was a beautiful, clear day. The kind that didn't make me mind driving downtown, enjoying the sunroof and CD player. As I came off of 26, through the tunnel and up onto the bridge where I-5 and 405 split (going the 405 way), I was greeted with a spectacular view. Mt. Hood was perfectly clear to my right, downtown over the river to my left, and Mt. St. Helens completely visible in front of me. I tried to take a picture with my phone, but anyone who's tried to do that while driving knows how futile it is. So, instead, I shifted and took the curve down the bridge at 70. I think everyone can agree that is an equally satisfying thing to do with a view. Tonight has been equally as pleasant. It's that perfect summer weather where you just want to stay out and walk around. Not hot and annoying, not cold. But, since I need the exercise, Ultimate was the name of the game - also a good way to spend a mild Oregon evening. All that to say today was a beautiful day and I hope we have many more like it.

Music You Should Be Listening To, Volume 1

Today's featured band hails from New Orleans, LA and calls themselves Mute Math. Their sound is very difficult to describe. I would classify them in the "math rock" sub-genre of rock. And, no, that's not for bands who write songs about math. That would terrify me. Math rock refers to the style of meters used in the songs, almost never the traditional 4/4. Read the linked Wikipedia article. It does a better job than I can at explaining it.

Their music has been described as a blend of rock guitar with dance/techno beats - except not done by a machine. If you ever get a chance to see the drummer in action, do it. Its nuts. The show starts with him duct taping his headphones to his head so they don't come off. He moves around. A lot. Some of the keyboard parts seem jazz-inspired and the vocals showcase a very strong New Orleans style. I know from my description they sound like a mess, but you really have to hear it to understand it.

Whatever you do, don't call them a Christian band (even though they've opened for David Crowder, Mae, and Switchfoot). Warner Brothers/Word Records made that mistake and got sued. Their lyrics have strong spiritual overtones, much in the same way as Switchfoot, Mae, and Jars of Clay. While they originally signed with Warner Brothers, the label was pushing their marketing through their Word Records subsidy, which infuriated the band. They did not want to be marketed that way and shoved into that box creatively, so they sued the label for breach of contract and went off on their own. They're still considered underground, but are rapidly gaining popularity. In fact, due to the aforementioned label dispute, their marketing has been solely word-of-mouth and Internet based. They keep a tight community of followers by blogging their way through each show and posting videos from the road.


Their first "real" album was released in January (the previous one was an EP), and will only be available at their shows until Fall 2006, though I think you can find them online. They've managed to achieve quite a lot without a label...something rare in the music scene. Check out their website at http://www.mutemath.com. It redirects to their MySpace page where there's some sample songs you can listen to. Oh, yeah, the lead singer plays a keytar!

"Chaos"
Complication is my claim to fame
I can’t believe there’s another,
Constantly just another
And I can’t avoid what I can’t control
I’m losing ground, still I can’t stand down
I Know, yeah I know yeah

I know you stay true when my world is false
Everything around’s breaking down to chaos
I always see you when my sight is lost
Everything around’s breaking down to chaos

It’s hard to trust anyone again
After all the let downs I’ve been through
Haunted by what I’ve been through.
Air’s still trapped
While I still can’t breathe
And I’m screaming out
Give me help somehow
I know, yeah I know yeah

I know you stay true when my world is false
Everything around’s breaking down to chaos
I always see you when my sight is lost
Everything around’s breaking down to chaos

Mmmmm, Clean(er)

Friday was a wonderful day. I finally got paid (the whole once a month thing really gets old), which meant I immediately spent half of it on bills, food, and other things I have been waiting to buy. Top of my list was a Brita water filter.
Now, I know the kind of job these things do cleaning water isn't exactly the best. But it beats tap water. See, I was raised on clean water. We had one of those fancy under-the-sink monsters (which I'm pretty sure flooded the hardwood floored kitchen once. FYI, there's a pressure regulation valve on those things you need to adjust. unless you want to to blow itself open in an impressive display of geyser-ness. or hire a plumber.) which produced some of the best-non-tasting water. People in Oregon say we have good water, and compared to a lot of other places, that's true. But I can still taste it! And while my shiny new Brita is a far cry from those fancy filtration systems, it's also a fraction of the price. And it makes the water good enough for me to drink - something I need more of. So the next time you come over (hint hint), I'll be pleased to offer you some of my water.

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To

Today was the one day a year people write on my Facebook wall: my birthday. I am now 23. Thank you to all who sent me kind notes. Nothing really happened today, but I want to comment on the one thing I did do today. I managed to persuade Ian, Katie, and her friend Elise to go see United93 with me. If you don't know, it's the story of the fourth plane hijacked on September 11th - the one that didn't reach its target. It's the story of the passengers on United flight 93 who fought back, resulting in a crash in the middle of a field in Pennsylvania instead of the US Capitol.

There are some things about this film that are worth knowing. Many people are upset, claiming it's too early to have a movie about September 11th. I agree - it's too early for a movie, a Hollywood blockbuster, but it's not too early for a documentary. The film feels nothing like a movie. It shot entirely with handheld video cameras, complete with poor quality and lots of movement. It watches just like home video of the event. There are no "actors." A number of the actual air traffic controllers from that day came forward to reenact their jobs in this film. None of the passengers or flight crew are people you've seen anywhere before. They're not the beautiful Hollywood fare. Each of them looks exactly like a person I've sat next to on a plane. There is almost no script. The professionals who were on the job and now in the movie recreated their lines. The passengers on the plane engaged in the normal smalltalk you share with your "single serving friends." There were hardly any "foreground" conversations. Instead, this background talking filled the movie. The phone calls passengers made to their families were recreated off of the flight recordings and the families recounting the calls. In every way it felt like someone sitting on a plane with a video camera. A plane I have been on dozens of times. There was nothing different or special about this flight or any of the people on it. We know as much about each character as they do of each other. Some people complained that we didn't know the characters well enough. I disagree. We got to know them as much as they got to know each other. The point of this film was not to explain or dramatize the happenings about UAL93, but to take us there, to put us on the plane. No commentary, no message, no spin. Just the raw happenings.

And we all supported them. People banded together to help those affected. Love poured out of every corner of this land. It became ok to talk about God, even pray in public settings. Impressed with the fleeting nature of life, people fled to God. Whoever made the statement that September 11th is our generation's version of Pearl Harbor was exactly right. I think a lot of it has to do with the heroes. That day was filled with tragedy, and, in the midst of it all, powerful stories emerged of those who gladly gave their lives for the sake of others. The brave men of the NYFD and NYPD, climbing through the collapsing towers trying to save just one more person. Or the heroic actions of those passengers on UAL93. They each embodied the strength and character we should all have as Americans, yes, but even moreso as Christians (I'm not going to elaborate, but hopefully you can draw your own conclusions).

You should see this film. It will get to you the same way the real day did. I am not an overly emotional person. I have never cried in a movie until today. See it this weekend if you can. Universal is donating 10% of the proceeds from the opening weekend to the Flight 93 Memorial Fund. If nothing else, watch this trailer. It's not the one that's currently out there. This one is much better. I first saw this over 6 months ago and it gripped me. I think it's just about the best trailer I've ever seen, at least for a dramatic movie. It's simple and powerful, much like the film itself. If you've seen United 93, leave a comment below and let me know what you thought.

....And I'm Spent

Today was long. I was rudely awakened after a mere 4.5 hours of sleep, making it pretty hard to be excited, however hard I tried. I don't remember any part of the morning before getting into my car, short of waking roommate Jonny up. Apparently he also was tired, and decided to miss class. Problem is, he almost missed our gig downtown. I had about 15 minutes to make it to the PSU campus to be 'on time.' Doable, except they decided to do some construction on my route. So I was 20 minutes late. The good news was that others were already there setting up. "For what?" you might ask. Why, En Fuego Week, of course! For those of you who don't habla espanol, "En Fuego" means "on fire." It's the time of the year where all the "religious" groups on campus come together for a week of various activities. Today was the highpoint of the week, with a free all-campus BBQ happening in the park blocks (quad equivalent). Hamburgers with all the fixins, drinks, "gift bags" of some sort, and, of course, live music. Which is what brought me to campus. "The Guys," who are sometimes going by the name Eightsweek (if you're from OSU and went on the winter retreat, this is the band that was there), were asked to come downtown and play their music during the BBQ. That's right, worship music blaring across the entire campus while hundreds of people sat and ate their lunches. On the most liberal and anti-religion campus in the state. Bring it.

PSU does have a pretty nice little setup. There's a small stage in the center of the park blocks, with bench-type seating around it in a semicircle. People are always there, and several hundred of them. Bands play from time to time - most aren't very good, but it makes for a cool atmosphere. When you add free food to the equation, there was no telling how many people would be there. I didn't get an actual count, but please believe me: it was a lot. The line was consistently over 100 people long for an hour and a half. So we manage to get setup, do a rough sound check, and start the set. I think it went pretty well. There are some nice advantages to playing outside, namely there's no walls. Stage volume is the curse in any concert, and with no walls nearby, all that "bad" sound was just shot up into the sky. No echo, no sound bouncing around...total control. Rare.

People didn't seem to know what to think. The music sounded good, but the words were rather blatant. I'm actually kinda surprised no one protested, threw stuff, or picketed. Or knocked a speaker over. That would have been expensive. The event went remarkably well. It was a little bit of a strange feeling producing worship music in a non-worship setting. Not sure what I think about that, but if nothing else, it was a lot of fun. That counts, right? I'm trying to get some pictures, but since I don't have a digital camera, I'm waiting for others to send them to me. There's potentially some video too, but we'll see. I was really hoping to get a recording, but didn't have time to arrange the gear.

After that it was my one class, which I slept through. Didn't mean to, but I was exhausted at this point from both not sleeping and the load-in and load-out we just did. Oh, and I hadn't eaten anything yet today. In a brief moment of consciousness, I hear him end the class. That is, after our pop quiz. Doh!

Then it was 2 hours to kill. I got some food, talked with some friends, and did some email. You know, time killing stuff. Then it was time to set all the gear up again. Since we had gone through the trouble of bringing a complete system to campus anyway, the PSU Crusade group asked us to lead worship there. So the gear goes back up, another sound check, another set. Really liked this one because people seemed to appreciate it. They're used to just the acoustic stuff, and a full band can just be so much more powerful sometimes. Anyway, good time had by all. Bob Monaco spoke. Maybe more on that some other time. After the meeting, another tear-down, load-out and then time for a good old fashioned game of Ultimate. One cool thing about PSU is they have a really nice soccer-sized field for general use. Has the good fake turf that looks/feels like blades of grass. And lights. And just totally there for the using. So we got our game on. Always fun, but, ugh, I'm out of shape! And that pretty much brings me home and to this screen again. What did you do today?

Yeah, About That

I've been trying to get some form of the CruX video online, but it's killing my computer. See, I don't have my really nice laptop anymore, since it belonged to OSU and stayed behind when I left. I have some junky old desktop I was able to piece together. And it wanted 20 hours to render the 5 minute video. So I stopped it. The next time I go in to the Regional Office (you know, besides today), I'll load it up on their video Mac. Sorry about the delay. If you care, you could buy me a new computer.....

CruX

It's just about time for me to take off for this year's CruX games. If you're unfamiliar with CruX, there's some details over on their website. It's been fun to help these guys for the last couple of years, and we're hoping for another huge success. It's looking like there will be about 50 guys from all over Oregon making the trek about 30 minutes (Maupin) from the middle of nowhere (The Dalles). For those of you staying safe, warm, and dry, please pray for us. There haven't been any major injuries (or at least injuries we're willing to describe as 'major') yet, and we'd like to keep it that way. Pray for strength for the staff, as a couple of my comrades aren't feeling so well. If all goes well, I'll have some video to show you all when it's over.

In other news, how many of you played the game "bigger or better" as a kid? It's the one where you start out with something trivial like a paperclip or rubber band and ask strangers to trade you for something bigger in size or better in value. I remember a lot of great times with this game, scoring such prize items as couches, televisions, and washing machines. However good we all thought we were at this game as kids, the true master must be hailed. This guy started with the traditional paperclip and the goal of getting a house! How close is he? So far, after 10 trades, he has a year's rent in Phoenix. Mad props to you, sir. Rounding out the news this morning, oil is at $75/barrel, and Steven Spielberg has been asked be the Beijing Olympic committee to help design the 2008 ceremonies. Have a great weekend!

Hello World!

Hey Everyone- I'm finally back! It's been over two years since I regularly blogged about anything, and I think it's about time for me to get back into it. Not that there's a ton of interesting things going on in my life.....it's just a much more efficient means of imposing my views on a larger audience. Let's face it: it's a lot of work staying in touch with people, and I'm lazy. So welcome. And by means of introduction, here's what this site is about: God, life, work, music and pretty much anything else I find interesting and/or funny. Oh, and I'm sure there will be nerd stuff from time to time, so be forewarned.

You'll notice I have the question "how did I end up here?" posed at the top of the page. I that pretty much sums of most of my thoughts on life for the last couple of years. When I look back over where I've been - and where I was planning on going - I see God's hand time and time again steering me in directions I would have never imagined. I've learned that my plans for life, in reality, mean very little. Which is ok, because in retrospect, my plans would have been a lot less exciting and fulfilling. I'm not entirely sure how I've gotten to the place I'm at now, and I sure don't know where I'm going. But I've also learned to love the mystery and excitement of being open for....whatever. God's will reminds me of the now overused scene from C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe where Lucy and the beaver are talking of Aslan. Is it safe? No, but it's good.

So thanks for stopping by and taking an interest in my journey. Feel free to come back as often as you like (if you're really obsessive, there's some RSS available to the right) and see what's going on. Leave some comments and let me know you were here, what you dis/like, think, or if you just want to start a fight.