"Born To Run" 30th anniversary edition

I bought the new 30th anniversary edition of Bruce Springsteen's classic "Born To Run" album the other night - I'm very pleased with it. The remastered CD sounds fabulous, the 'making-of' documentary is fascinating, and the bonus 1975 concert DVD nearly blew out my speakers. Definitely a "you shoulda been there!" concert - I would have been there, but I was only 18 months old at the time.

Added a bell and whistle...

I got to looking around at other blogs and became afflicted with Blog Envy, so I added some new stuff to the sidebar, as well as some obligatory legalese.

Day of Christmas Past...

Christmas day was a very good, happy, special day for me and the family, as it should be. It was a gloomy, cloudy, cold day, weather-wise but that was the only real bummer. I went to church with my folks at their church. They had a full-length worship service, surprisingly. The pastor hadn't preached in 3 weeks so he was raring to go and preached a humdinger of a sermon.

Santa left me a big ol' fat gift card from Home Depot, which I will use to buy 6-panel doors for my house - a very practical gift, indeed. I got money from the grandparents, which I plan to blow on 'fun' stuff. My late grandmother wouldn't have it any other way.

We had 11 people, myself included, for dinner this year. There were members of my mom and my dad's family present and we all got along great. We even had appearances from 2 cousins whom we hadn't seen at Christmas in a few years. It was great to catch up with them. My mom's cooking was excellent, as usual and I took great delight in partaking of it! Her signature banana pudding was delicious.

My bro and sis-in-law spent Christmas with her parents and family but they did call to say hello. We'll do Christmas with them and the grandparents on Friday night, my mom's birthday. My uncle in Florida called us, as he usually does on Christmas day. It's very rare that he and my aunt are able to join us but we know we can count on them calling in, so we don't mind.

Now it's that awkward day-after-Christmas day that always feels so weird. It's like the world spends the entire month of December rushing to build up speed toward Christmas day, stops dead in its tracks and holds its breath on the 25th, then exhales and the rush begins again for a few days on the 26th.

I hope your Christmas was all that you wanted it to be - I was satisified with mine!

*Official* Christmas Day Post

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is
Christ the Lord."
 -- Luke 2:11

*Official* Christmas Eve Post!

So here I am at work - it's just after 8 a.m. as I'm the guy who forgot to take today off ahead of time and whose work partner took it instead. Ah, well, at least it'll be quiet and I'm off at 4 p.m.

My Christmas shopping came to a successful conclusion last night. I called around to other Famous Barr stores in the area and found that the Galleria store had several Magic Bullets in stock. So after receiving early dismissal from work from my charitable boss I headed out into the sea of shoppers, for the love of Mom. I got it, and paid for them to wrap it up nice and pretty (rather than me doing it for free and it not be nice and pretty - I'm gift-wrapping deficient!) One last trip to the woodworkers store for a gift certificate for Dad and I was done. A little Burger King and a stress-relieving session at the Y topped off the day.

If you haven't had enough stale fruitcake this year, head on down to the Ed for today's tilt between the Rams and 49ers. 2 bad teams playing for nothing but pride, folks. The predictions in the paper read like "the Rams are bad but not as bad as the 49ers. " I remember when a Rams-49ers game was a really big deal because both teams were really good.

*Official* day-before-the-day-before Christmas post

Yes, I am wearing a Santa hat while doing my job today. Makes the people smile and keeps the mood happy.

So I did start my Christmas shopping last night. I got my bro/sis-in-law taken care of (easy - more stuff off their wedding registry). Mom and Dad weren't so lucky - stores were out of what I was looking for for them. I shall return tonight with Plan "B" for both of them. My mom asked for an Emson Magic Bullet blender - apparently something "As Seen on TV" which I have not seen on TV. It's a smokin' hot item because no store has any to sell this late in the season.

Some winter jokes for the third-grader in all of us:

Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
A: Frostbite.

Q: What do eskimos get from sitting on the ice too long:
A: Polaroids

so back to work I go.
.

So What's the Best Way to Ruin a Good Teeth-Cleaning?

Bandana's BBQ, that's how. Courtesy of our Composing Room Christmas luncheon. Sadly, they didn't provide cots for the naps that we all now need.

What Big Teeth You Have!....

So I was off to the dentist for my regular checkup first thing today - could have been a big pothole on my road to Christmas but fortunately all is well and I came through unscathed!

On a related note, I asked my dentist about the plethora of toothpastes on the market today and he said they're all basically the same! He says if it has flouride and you like the taste of it, it's OK. How about that?

Huh?

So how, exactly, does "My Favorite Things" (the 'Sound of Music' favorite) qualify as a Christmas song? LAUNCHcast Radio thinks it does, as they include John Coltrane's smokin' version of it in their "Jazz Holiday" rotation.

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday-before-Christmas!

The rest of the weekend past Friday night was somewhat busy. I was a good son Saturday night and made a special trip down to my parents' church (my old church) for their Christmas program. My dad sang in the choir and since he's endured many of my concerts over the years, I like to give back! These past few years the church has gotten on board the train and mounted a mini-orchestra (of sorts) for their worship services. For this program, the music was good and the drama homegrown (we'll leave it at that.) I did manage to re-connect and catch up with some good old friends I hadn't seen in a while.

Sunday was church and lunch (homemade chicken soup! YAY!) with the folks and bro/sis-in-law. My dad built a fire at my request and it made for a quiet afternoon. In the evening I drove up to hear a concert of John Rutter's music at Manchester United Methodist Church. The director of the community chorus I sing in is also the Minister of Music at that (large) church. He's a big Rutter fan and it showed in the performances. He raised up a professional chamber orchestra and the church's Chancel Choir sang beautifully.

Tonight I think I'll bake some holiday cookies for the boys at work.

The Way of Lights

Tonight I visited The Way of Lights christmas lights display at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, IL. It's basically a driving tour of Christmas lights on the grounds of the Shrine. They also had a very cool Lego display with scenes constructed entirely of Lego bricks. Admission was a little steep at $3 a person but it was neat to see. For another $4 you could ride a couple of laps on a camel, which my friends J. and G. did, much to their amusement. Here is Bob the Builder, Lego-style.

This is where you can find Florida from now on...

Yeah, the hurricane season was a little rough this year.

Ameren created a new water park in the Ozarks!

Big news of the day here - AmerenUE (our local electricity conglomerate) is dealing with the unfortunate creation of a new water park in the Ozarks - hope you weren't planning a trip to Johnson's Shut-ins any time soon.

Lord willin' and the creek don't rise...

Guy of the Year Award

St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bill McClellan presents his St. Louis "Guy of the Year" award in today's paper. Highly amusing.

Guy of the Year award

BSF

I made a passing reference to "BSF" in last night's post, so here's a bit of explanation. "BSF" is an acronym for Bible Study Fellowship. Basically, they're an international organization based in Texas that exists to provide structured bible study classes. Their website explains their mission better than I can, so check it out if you're curious. They don't advertise much at all, relying on word of mouth to get their message out. I got involved when someone mentioned it to me in January of 2001. St. Louis is one of the few cities in the U.S. that has a young adults class for ages 18-35. It's been a real blessing to me since I've been attending, in that I've learned a lot about the Bible and have made many new friends.

New Linkage

I've updated my links, for your browsing pleasure.

So I'm not coughing up anything today...

So I think I'm not sick. No cough and I didn't have any problems running at the YMCA today. Apparently I just needed sleep.

that's good. but otherwise, it's cloudy and cold and generally blah in st. louis today.

Faith explored.

Interesting couple of weeks, sermon-wise, at church. As our new senior pastor has begun his pastorate at Christmas time, he's started in Luke's gospel, chapter 1. Basically he's explored the faith of Zechariah the priest (John the Baptist's father) and the faith of the virgin Mary. If you've read these accounts you know that Zechariah and Mary both got visits from Gabriel the archangel.

(rabbit trail: how cool would it have been to be Gabriel? He got to stand in the presence of God AND delivered birth announcements!)

Again, if you've read these accounts, the contrast in the faith of these 2 people is fairly obvious. Zechariah immediately doubted Gabriel's message, as he couldn't see how he could have a son in his old age.

(rabbit trail: I like Zechariah's phrasing: "I am old and my wife is well along in years." Even if he did doubt, he knew enough not to call his wife "OLD.")

So as a result, Zechariah the priest got the smack put down on him by Gabriel - his tongue was disabled until the baby was born.

Mary, on the other hand, took Gabriel's message to her with shocking calm. Her response was similar to Zechariah, but the difference was that her question was one of curiosity, "how will this be?" In essence, she was saying, "Ok, I believe you, but how is this going to work?" So Gabriel lets her in on it and she "pondered these things in her heart." She did run off to tell her relative Elizabeth and apparently stayed with her for 3 months, Luke says. Why she did that in the midst of her engagement to Joseph, I don't understand, but that's a minor detail anyway.

The moral of the story here, I think, is that our response to God's message should be one of belief and not doubt. This is not a new concept, as it is explored in different places throughout the Bible, but I guess these 2 accounts have driven the point home for me.

I want Mary's faith, not Zechariah's doubt. I'm not totally there yet, but as Mark Lowry says, "I'm not perfect but being perfected."

Weekend Update...

Just a short recap of the weekend, before I hit the sack...this was one of those rare weekends where I had something going on all 3 nights.

Friday night - fellowship (read: party) with my bible study men's small group and a girl's small group (It's a BSF thing - I'll explain later) - it was OK, nothing spectacular with a rather tame white elephant gift exchange. I ended up with a pack of poker chips. Speaking of chips, remind me to tell you the story about the monks who ended up with some poker chips once - i'll let you figure out the punch line.

Saturday - worked 8-4, then home, whipped up a batch of caramelized brownies, then off to my friend K's annual Christmas party. She has a new townhome next door to my brother and sister-in-law. It was a great time of seeing friends old and new. Her house was beautiful and my brownies went over well, or went down well, I guess.

Sunday - church, then off to sing in a Christmas concert with my community chorus at St. Anthony of Padua church in south St. Louis. We're there every year on Palm Sunday and at Christmas time. Post-concert dinner with some choir-mates at Giuseppe's a few blocks away. I recommend their Fettucine Parmagiana! Rushed home to change clothes, then off to the Touhill to catch the Ambassadors of Harmony's final Christmas show of the weekend. The AOH is a world-class, former World Champion men's barbershop harmony chorus based in suburban St. Charles, MO. I can't begin to describe the show they put on. That's just how excellent it was. Suffice it to say that their shows are legendary and this one was no different.

Now off to bed - i seemed to have developed a bit of a cough - I hope I'm not getting sick.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful!

So score one for our fearless weathermen - the snow began around 8:15 a.m., about an hour and a half behind schedule. The commute was a tad slower than usual, but the snow was dry and powdery so nothing was really sticking. Here's a couple of images from my trusty camera phone:











Hmm..looks like I need to remove the leather case when I take pictures.

It's been colder than a well digger's . . .

Yeah, like, it's been, like really freaking cold for about 10 days now, and finally the payoff comes tomorrow in the form of some fresh white powder - a few inches if we're lucky. Timed perfectly to coincide with the morning rush, if the weathermen are correct in their assessment.

Like, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Ohhhh Canada...

So the Cardinals lost out on free agent pitcher A.J. Burnett, who has reportedly agreed to sign with Toronto. Toronto is in Canada. They signed him for $55 million Canadian dollars. I'm no expert on exchange rates, but I think that makes his contract worth about $3.50 American. Wonder if he knows this?

---EDIT---

Yes, I realize the contract was tendered in American dollars, but, see, that wouldn't have worked for the joke, and, well, never mind... : )

Manic Monday?

Mondays usually aren't so manic for this blogger. I work a tuesday-saturday week so my mondays aren't hectic like they can be for most workers. usually it works like this - sleep in, hit the gym, do chores, get groceries. September - May, monday evenings are usually spent at a young-adults bible study from 7-9 pm.

Hate to be a creature of habit, but if i can get groovin' in that schedule then all is well in my monday world.

So they put the Baghdad Butcher on trial and he behaves like a madman - who coulda seen that coming? Does anyone have Lance Ito's number handy? He's got experience dealing with ruthless killers, I hear. Too bad Johnnie Cochran's gone from us - it'd be amusing to see him try and defend Mr. Saddam.

"If the Scud didn't hit, you must acquit!"

So I forgot 2 CDs last night...

So I forgot to mention 2 Christmas CDs last night -

Mel Tormé - Christmas Songs
Recipe for Christmas bliss - Light the Yule Log, pour some Eggnog, and turn up The Velvet Fog.

First Call - An Evening in December (Dayspring)
First Call - An Evening in December, Volume 2 (Dayspring)
These 2 albums capture the acapella vocal trio at the height of their late 1980s popularity. The first CD is really the only necessity here - the second doesn't add much and the arrangements tend to be brassy and cheesy. Curiously, First Call didn't do any more acapella projects after these.

My Christmas CD collection

So I have a modest collection of Christmas music on CD - here it is, in no particular order. With a few exceptions, you can get these if you know your way around Amazon.com

Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas (Fantasy)
the original soundtrack CD - no comment needed!

Cyrus Chestnut and Friends - A Charlie Brown Christmas (Atlantic)
Jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut and his trio collaborate with some of their jazz friends for this take on the above-mentioned CD. I'm a jazz fan so I really, really love this CD.

Bruce Cockburn - Christmas (Columbia)
For the Canadian in all of us - i'm not familiar with Cockburn's other CDs but his acoustic versions of traditional and french-canadian carols are pretty darn good.

Travelin' Light - Christmas With Travelin' Light (Telarc)

Guitarist/banjoist Frank Vignola and Tuba-ist Sam Pilafian released this quirky, off-the-wall CD in the early '90s. Their version of "Jingle Bells" is worth the price of the CD, all by itself -Pilafian's tuba solo in the piece cracks me up every time I hear it. It's 1930s/1940s-Django Reinhardt swing jazz.

Various Artists - Noel (Via)
Veteran Christian alt-rockers Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong of The Choir got together with some of their like-minded artist friends for this low-budget but high-quality CD. It's long out-of-print but worth the effort if you can track it down. Featured artists include Michael Pritzl (The Violet Burning), Kevin Smith (DC Talk), Carolyn Arends, and Buddy and Julie Miller.

Cambridge Singers - Christmas Day in the Morning (Collegium)
Robert Shaw Chamber Singers - Angels On High (Telarc)
To satisfy your classical music/traditional carols urges, I recommend these two CDs. Choral music aficianados should be familiar with the John Rutter and Robert Shaw canons.

Take 6 - He is Christmas (Reprise)
This was the first Christmas album that Take 6 did. The acapella cuts are excellent, their version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" with The Yellowjackets is especially scrumptious.

Phil Keaggy - Majesty and Wonder (Myrrh)
Virtuoso guitarist Phil Keaggy collaborates with the London Symphony Orchestra for this instrumental guitar album. Highly recommmended.

Broken Records - The Broken Christmas (Broken)
Another long out-of-print gem from this late-1980s Christian independent record label. If you were a fan of the west-coast Christian rock movement of the mid to late 1980s you'll appreciate this CD. I happened upon it in a used-CD shop a few years ago. Some of the music is sadly dated, but the cuts with Gene Eugene and Ojo Taylor are first-rate.

Eddie Higgins Trio - Christmas Songs (Sunnyside)
This is the CD that every jazz fan wanted but couldn't get last year. It was released only in Japan. Eddie Higgins is a veteran jazz pianist and this CD really swings. You don't have to be a jazz fan to get into this CD. Luckily, Sunnyside Records picked it up for this year and it's available everywhere. My copy is coming from Amazon.com in 3-5 days.

You iTunes people out there should seek out and buy the song "The Last Month of the Year" (as in 'when was Jesus born?') by The Fairfield Four - it's on their 1992 CD "Standing in the Safety Zone." It's old-fashioned acapella gospel sung by these old masters of their craft with help from The Nashville Bluegrass Band.

So there you have it

A (Sun)day in the life

So it's Sunday night 8 p.m. and all is well.

Sort of a typical Sunday in my life - synopsis:

started off early today. I serve on the tech team for my church service every other week. I'm part of a third worship service called "Quest." We're alternative/contemporary/not your momma's church service. In a nutshell, I run the Powerpoint show and operate the DVD player. Now there's much more involved in those operations but it's what I do, basically. so I was in for an 8 a.m. prep session with today's tech partner-in-crime, sound guy B. I've known him a good long while so we work well together.

then it was off to 9 a.m. worship service in 'big church.' i.e. the first main service in the main auditorium. my church recently called a new senior pastor after being senior-pastor-less for 18 months and today was his first day to preach. Our worship pastor thoughtfully put him and his wife in the spotlight's glare right away as he called them up to light the advent candle. Later on, the staff and elders held a sort of 'swearing-in' ceremony for the new pastor on stage after worship. Don't know exactly why that was necessary but at least he's official now, I guess. He did eventually preach a sermon, though I only caught the beginning and tail end of it while I went back and did more prep for Quest. My initial impressions of him are good and I think he'll do well. God really has been testing our church over the past 2 years and I hope this means we're on a smoother road now.

Quest went well today, no major glitches. Our service usually features a relevant movie clip or two and today it was "The Notebook." I've never seen it but B. said it's a chick flick. I don't remember how the movie clip applied to our message today but I do remember it featured James Garner's character being examined in a doctor's office. Watching a flabby old man in a tank-top t-shirt kinda puts you off your food a bit.

then it was off to the parents for lunch. they're in Festus, about 40 minutes from my church. When the Sunday feedbag locates in Festus, it's all good! plus I get some of the leftovers for monday night dinner. my brother and sister-in-law were off to the Rams game so they didn't join us today.

Speaking of the Rams, their season went further into the dumper with today's loss to the Redskins. The team's injury list is about 2 miles long, starting with the head coach and the starting QB. So they're beat up and playing too many reserves and 5th stringers. They're so beat up even the radio color analyst Jack Snow is suffering from a staph infection! (this is different from the coaching staff infection the team is suffering from! :)) Snow's absence meant that 900-year old ex-coach Jim Hanifan took his place in the booth. Not so easy on the ears is he, so I turned on my Cyrus Chestnut 'Charlie Brown Christmas' CD for the rest of the drive home.

now I'm home conversing with my cousin in my old hometown, via yahoo IM and writing this blog.

the weather is cold but my house is warm so I can't complain.

So here I am....

Everyone's doing it so why can't I? :) My cousin Kevin and his wife finally got their blog on from the great state of Kansas so I've decided to join the revolution. Probably will update this infrequently as I become more comfortable with journaling.