rain.

unless i'm driving on a freeway, where i'd rather be at work, it's too nice outside to be working.  i want to be outside, under an umbrella, coffee in hand, heading to the ocean.

grateful days.

i am thankful...

...for family.
...for friends.
...for church.
...for work.
...for health.
...to be here.

give thanks.

Psalm 150

1 Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,

4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,

5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.

robbers on the high street.

my parent's home was burglarized yesterday.  haven't gathered all my thoughts, but it was a surreal.

heard was a drone.

some facets of my job are at the mercy of the speed of my computer.  some process take awhile, so, from time to time, while waiting for the processes to run, i surf various sites.  on this particular day, i was on amazon.com, and on their homepage i was once again reminded how far i had come - in age.  displayed across the upper quarter of the page was u2's "joshua tree", this year being it's 20th anniversary.

twenty years?!  i have cousins who weren't even born when joshua tree was released.  they have no idea what a joshua tree is.  i began to wonder how my other favorite albums had aged, so i decided to look into some, and here's what i came up with.

note: all dates were taken from wikipedia, the oh-so-semi-authoritative wikipedia.

smashing pumpkins - gish (1991)
pavement - slanted and enchanted (1992)
rem - automatic for the people (1992)
smashing pumpkins - siamese dream (1993)
weezer - blue album (1994)
jeff buckley - grace (1994)
radiohead - the bends (1995)
radiohead - ok computer (1997)

wow.  thinking back, i could recall random memories, situations, and feelings attached to songs from these albums.  i was always bad at recalling the exact timing of such events, but i could remember the first time i heard jeff buckley's "grace", specifically his cover of "hallelujah".  i remember when i bought "ok computer" at the virgin megastore - import, no less.  i could recall tough times with "automatic for the people".  all of my memorable moments, emotions were tied to a particular song or album.  i could trace my growth via my record collection.

these days, i'm quite content, and (thankfully, i might add) my moments are tied to hymns, worship, and praise.  i just have to work on my worship/praise collection.

twitter along [the right].

does anybody use twitter?  it can a nice productivity tool, but it's mostly a time-waster.

i can see it being very useful when you have friends in close proximity, but for the other times?  i dunno.

device conflict.

[sigh]

a bit difficult to concentrate today.  just one of those days...

free time is death.

"Free time is death to the anxious, and thank goodness I don't have any of it right now."

.jon stewart

i'm up to running 3-4 miles a day, with the exception of sunday. i find it surprisingly soothing, calming. there is nothing better than to come home after a run tired and happy, with little to fret over. hopefully if the knees hold up, i'll be running the marathon next year.

you've been stuck.

lift.
-radiohead

This is the place
Sit down, you're safe now
You've been stuck in a lift
We've been trying to reach you, Thom
This is the place
It won't hurt, it will not end

The smell of recognition
A face you barely loved
Empty all your pockets
'Cause it's time to come home

This is the place
Remember me? I'm that face you always see
You've been stuck in a lift
In the belly of a whale at the bottom of the ocean

The smell of recognition
A face you barely loved
Empty all your pockets
'Cause it's time to come home

The smell of recognition
A face you barely loved

Let it go, let it go

Today is the first day
Of the rest of your days
So lighten up, squirt

let it fall.

How I Made My Millions.
-Radiohead

I was stronger
I was better
Picked you out
Now don't say a word
No don't yell out
Never mind
Let you out
Led you back
Stay on
Sit down
Let it fall
Let it fall
Let it fall
Let it fall

.and the complications when I see His face

below is a link to an excellent commentary on sufjan stevens' "casimir pulaski day". i don't agree with some of it, but it gives the mind something of substance to munch on. wrestling with God is good, asking God, speaking with God, is good. maturing in faith, dealing with topics where the answer may never seem clear, working out our salvation....all good things. in the end, God will be glorified.


"Rather than trying to reconcile his shallow world view, he has to reconcile something which seems much greater - his love for God conflicts with the reality of life and death."


Casimir Pulaski Day from Illinois
.by sufjan stevens

Goldenrod and the 4H stone,
the things I brought you,
when I found out you had cancer of the bone

Your father cried on the telephone,
and he drove his car into the navy yard,
just to prove that he was sorry

In the morning, through the window shade,
when the light pressed up against your shoulderblade,
I could see what you were reading.

All the glory that the Lord has made,
and the complications you could do without,
when I kissed you on the mouth.

Tuesday night at the Bible study,
we lift our hands and pray over your body,
but nothing ever happens.

I remember at Michael's house,
in the living room when you kissed my mouth,
and I almost touched your blouse.

In the morning at the top of the stairs,
when your father found out what we did that night,
and you told me you were scared.

All the glory when you ran outside,
with your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied,
and you told me not to follow you.

Sunday night when I cleaned the house,
I find the card where you wrote it out,
with the pictures of you mother.

On the floor at the great divide,
with my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied,
I am crying in the bathroom.

In the morning when you finally go,
and the nurse runs in with her head hung low,
and the cardinal hits the window.

In the morning in the winter shade,
on the 1st of March on the holiday,
I thought I saw you breathing.

All the glory that the Lord has made,
and the complications when I see His face,
in the morning in the window.

All the glory when He took our place,
but He took my shoulders and He shook my face,
and He takes and He takes and He takes

and in my best behavior

"We are ruthless creatures. I felt insurmountable empathy not with his behavior, but with his nature, and there was nothing I could do to get around confessing that, however horrifying it sounds."


John Wayne Gacy, Jr. from Illinois
.by sufjan stevens

His father was a drinker
And his mother cried in bed
Folding John Wayne's T-shirts
When the swingset hit his head
The neighbors they adored him
For his humor and his conversation
Look underneath the house there
Find the few living things
Rotting fast in their sleep of the dead
Twenty-seven people, even more
They were boys with their cars, summer jobs
Oh my God

Are you one of them?

He dressed up like a clown for them
With his face paint white and red
And on his best behavior
In a dark room on the bed he kissed them all
He'd kill ten thousand people
With a sleight of his hand
Running far, running fast to the dead
He took of all their clothes for them
He put a cloth on their lips
Quiet hands, quiet kiss
On the mouth

And in my best behavior
I am really just like him
Look beneath the floorboards
For the secrets I have hid

rounders [beneath the floorboards]

.interesting article about Christian/indie music

l(a...

e.e.cummings

l(a

le
af
fa
ll

s)
one
l

iness

Splendor of ended day...

e.e. cummings - love is a place...

love is a place
& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places

yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds

bad marketing.

i hate when movies are marketed badly...

danny deckchair.

the iron giant.

miss you nyc.

nice baby.

so says i. 

beware.