For my fans

For my Wife

Look at how happy she is.

Shows

Something Adam Baker told me about 4 years ago just began to make sense. He was giving me a bunch of music and I was lamenting that I would never get to see some of the bands because they aren't together anymore. I was saying something like "Man, if Sunny Day ever got back together, I'd be there, no matter where, I'd be there." Adam then told me that he'd rather just go out to dinner with his friends. At first I thought, man, I'm just a way bigger Sunny Day Real Estate fan than he is. But now, after the happenings of last week, I started to understand what he was saying. I had the opportunity to go see Jeremy Enigk on a Sunday night in Minneapolis. Nealey and I were going to be able to go. It was going to be amazing. Nealey & Jeremy Enigk, how could I go wrong? However, weather had prevented us from making it up to Minneapolis to see the show. We were bummed. But, he was playing in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. I could drive right after school and get there, watch the show, sleep in the car a little on the way back, and take a personal day for Wednesday. But, Nealey was not able to go. Somehow, driving to a show by myself wasn't what the even was supposed to be.

The show is supposed to be a shared experience. Not just me. It wouldn't be what it could have been if i had gone alone. If I go to Jeremy Enigk alone, without Nealey, without Mike, its not what it is supposed to be. When I was first getting into Enigk, that was with Mike, while I was dating Nealey. The show is meant to be shared with people. So, I'm ok with not driving alone to see Enigk.

Nealey and I went to see Starflyer 59 and David Bazan, it was great. A great shared experience.

The Claims of War: Render unto Caesar

from "Learning in War-Time" (The Weight of Glory)

The war will fail to absorb our whole attention because it is a finite object and, therefore, intrinsically unfitted to support the whole attention of a human soul. In order to avoid misunderstanding I must here make a few distinctions. I believe our cause to be, as human causes go, very righteous, and I therefore believe it to be a duty to participate in this war. And every duty is a religious duty, and our obligation to perform every duty is therefore absolute. Thus we may have a duty to rescue a drowning man, and, perhaps, if we live on a dangerous coast, to learn lifesaving so as to be ready for any drowning man when he turns up. It may be our duty to lose our own lives in saving him. But if anyone devoted himself to lifesaving in the sense of giving it his total attention- so that he thought and spoke of nothing else and demanded the cessation of all other human activities until everyone had learned to swim- he would be a monomaniac. The rescue of drowning men is, then, a duty worth dying for, but not worth living for. It seems to me that all political duties (among which I include military duties) are of this kind. A man may gave to die for our county, but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders himself without reservation to the temporal claims of a nation, or a party, or a class is rendering to Caesar that which, of all things, most emphatically belongs to God: himself.



Word.

Still no answer

Home-Owner

Here we are. It looks a little like we bought a sign or a hill that has a sign on it. Rest assured that there is a home that comes with the hill and sign. More pictures of that later.

Tapes, The

The Tapes have been quite enjoyable lately. I've been listening to it pretty much since I got it. Nothing has pulled me away from it. Yes, I have the new Notwist album and that will eventually take my attention. I have been supplementing my listening with some Sufjan lately. I think I have gone too long without listening to Mr. Stevens. But, back to the topic at hand.


I enjoy every song on this album. I would be really interested in a whole album that follows "A Silver Song" sound. I especially like "A Flickering Flame." The "You are the Light of the World" is a good reminder and charge to everyone. The album has taken a lot work and time to put together and the sound is very satisfying. Nice job guys!
Visit www.michaeledwardsmusic.com/ to pick up a copy.

Hey...Man

So I thought I was gonna post some of my favorite lyrics from mineral songs. Here goes. Disclaimer: I'm not down. I do miss my wife. Mayo keeps taking her away from me.


I only hope that you could be proud of me.

How blessed we are.

When I was a boy I saw things
That no one else could see
So why am I so blind at twenty-two
To the hope that is all around me
Filling up this room

Sometimes I read and reread
The birthday card you sent me

The humble and righteous and meek
Are teaching me who's will to seek

I wouldn't mind if you took me in my sleep tonight
I wouldn't even put up a fight
I wouldn't care if you took it all away today
I'm sure I wouldn't even miss the pain

How will I drink from that stream
How will my heart sing your praise
How will I lay down in green grass fields
When my soul is so afraid to
Rejoice.

I wanted to tell her how beautiful she was
But I just stared

With my arms out like a scarecrow

Hot Dog

This is the best thing about a 12 hour drive (other than the destinations).

I placed my stigmata on your hands

1 Year

Today, January 6, marks one year since Nealey and I had started a journey together. It has been an amazing year filled with new and exciting experiences. My love for Nealey has been confirmed over and over. We are truly a three ply cord. Lord, we ask for more amazing time together.

Kill your hope

Dead

This stuff

Rare? Is Safari rare? At least they aren't Nazi enough to say that I must immediately change my browser in order to view and edit my fantasy football team.


I thought Sportscenter was better than this. How can you put "SportsCenter Minute" and then have 2:10 listed as the time? This is like the old insult that kids used to use: "Your Mom is so dumb, it takes her 5 hours to watch 60 minutes". Yeah, SportsCenter, your Mom...

Evangelism Songs

I think there was a comment on the Pseudobook Review that mentioned "Fake Empire" being the evangelism song for The National. The song that converts the listener to being into the band. I just wanted to get some thoughts on other bands evangelism songs. I'll throw some bands out there but, feel free to mention bands that I don't.

Arcade Fire - ?

Belle & Sebastian - ?

Death Cab for Cutie - ?

The Decemberists - ?

The Fire Theft - ?

The Get Up Kids - ?

Gloria Record - ?

Mineral - ?

Sunny Day Real Estate - ?

The Notwist - ?

Pedro The Lion - ?

Radiohead - ?

Starflyer59 - ?

Sufjan Stevens - ?

Youth Group - ?

Let me know your thoughts. Answer any or all. I have my picks. I'll let you know if we are on the same page.

School Thus Far

School has been going really great so far. Classes are not overwhelming yet. Other faculty and staff have been an awesome blessing. I must say that I am truly blessed to be here at Schaeffer.

A typical day (not a typical day)

Enjoy

Turn signals

Have you ever sat in your car waiting for the left turn arrow to send you on your way? Have you ever, by chance, caught the view the turn signals of the cars behind or accross the intersection? The lights all blink at different rates! Okay, I can understand different makes of cars blinking at different rates, but I have seen the same make and model of car blinking at different rates! Madness!! Let me know what you think.

BTW, I am now faculty at Schaeffer Academy. A K-12 classical Christian school. I will be teaching Calculus, Geometry, Pre-Algebra and some other possibilities. Praise God.

Interview: June 29, 2007

Tonight I have my second interview with Schaeffer Academy. This one is with the whole board. There will be 6-8 people there. Schaeffer Academy is a K-12 Christian school that uses a Classical Education style. A lot of it is adapted from Dorthy Sayers. She wrote a "short" essay titled "The Lost Tools of Learning". In that essay, she discusses what this thing called the Trivium is. The Trivium is: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. All three of these areas are to be stressed in every subject. That's right, Math and Grammar.

So, I say this to ask you to pray. Not that I get the job, but that God would have what He wants to happen. Pray that it can be clear that if this is my position, that it would be obvious. Pray that it is 100% in His hands.

Apoc.

Here it was.

You can obviously see the world was about to end.

Nealey

This is my wife. She likes coke. (Not Cocaine)