January 2012
9 posts
Top Hipster Runoff descriptors for Bon Iver
bestrooftalkever:
‘boring cool dad overgrounder music’
‘field-wave’
‘walden-wave’
‘meaningfulcore music’
‘cool dad-NPRwave’
‘rural wave’
‘snooze wave’
‘haunting soft-rock-wave’
‘unabomber-manifesto-wave’
‘lamestream dad’
‘sub-prime mortgage buzz loan vibes in ruralwave’
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (HCSB)
“Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my...
“A man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if...”
– Plato on not going into politics (Apology 32a)
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The Tempest Act IV, Scene 1
PROSPERO Then, as my gift and thine own acquisition Worthily purchased take my daughter: but If thou dost break her virgin-knot before All sanctimonious ceremonies may With full and holy rite be minister’d, No sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall To make this contract grow: but barren hate, Sour-eyed disdain and discord shall bestrew The...
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2011
Another big change I made in 2011: I started listening to country music. At first just because it felt like the “right” thing to have on the radio in a hot Arkansas summer after five months abroad. But country music is fun, and memorable, and predictable, and simple. I found I could enjoy it honestly and without effort, just sinking naturally into the plain world presented in the song....
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Making All Things New
2011: changes made, resolved or on accident
Four big books read: Bone, Les Miserables, The Lord of the Rings, The Hunger Games Trilogy
More cooking, thanks to being without a meal plan in Edinburgh. Learned recipes like coffee cake, pineapple teriyaki chicken, vegetarian fried rice, and pasta a-plenty.
Exercise innovations: barefoot running, kettlebell routines, eschewing exercise machines.
...
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“The great modern enemy of friendship has turned out to be love. By love, I don’t...”
– Andrew Sullivan (via wesleyhill)
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4 in 4
It’s been a good long while since I updated you on this year’s reading challenge (4 books of 1,000+ pages in 4 seasons). After a strong start—finishing Bone, Les Miserables, and The Lord of the Rings before the summer solstice—my schedule filled up and I didn’t have as much time for lengthy reads. Study abroad was perfect for 4 in 4; regular life isn’t.
But like so many...
December 2011
18 posts
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Honorable Mentions of 2011
2011 was a great year for music. We all know that. According to my last.fm charts, seven of the eight artists I listen to the most all released albums this year. In fact, of my ten most-listened to artists, the only one who didn’t release an album this year either released two last year (Sufjan Stevens), will release one next year (The Shins), or disbanded in 1970 (Simon & Garfunkel—and...
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Top 25 Tracks of 2011
The rankings of my top 25 tracks of the year are not very scientific. I admit that there are some great songs that aren’t on this list because I “wore them out” earlier in the year. It’s tough to say whether I really like “Never Quite Free” more than “Ulysses.” Frankly, there should probably be more Middle Brother on this list. But with those...
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Previous Top Tens
In preparation for the debut of my Top 11 Albums of 2011 list, I thought I’d give some perspective by re-posting my rankings from previous years.
Top 10 Albums of 2010
The Age of Adz by Sufjan Stevens
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
Contra by Vampire Weekend
High Violet by The National
Infinite Arms by Band of Horses
All Delighted People (EP) by Sufjan Stevens
Sigh No...
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BCP: For Quiet Confidence
“O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength; By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
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“They say of some temporal suffering, ‘No future bliss can make up for...”
– C.S. Lewis, quoted in Tim Keller’s The Reason for God
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November 2011
7 posts
BCP: For Trustfulness
O Most loving Father, who willest us to give thanks for all things, to dread nothing but the loss of thee, and to cast all our care on thee, who carest for us; Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which thou hast manifested unto us in thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Okkervil River posts free holiday mixtape →
Can’t get enough of the last track, “Dry Bones.”
CMA Awards Watch Party
Bacon. Apples. Chicken nuggets. The Band Perry’s triple crown. Sweet tea. Mason jars. Taylor Swift’s adorable innocent faces. Bananas. A homemade apple pie with apples from a tree in someone’s backyard. Coffee. Zac Brown Band and Greg Allman doing a soulful “Georgia on my Mind.”
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Wesley Hill: "Church without partitions" →
I used to not care at all about the decorations or catering or reception at my hypothetical future wedding, but Wesley Hill and Amy Laura Hall are giving me compelling theological reasons to do so.
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USA Today: How reconfigured NCAA football... →
This semester I’m discovering how much I enjoy reading the newspaper, which is convenient, because the TU campus is chock full of free Collegians, USA Todays, and New York Timeses. It’s harder, but possible, to find the Tulsa World too, my favorite for the sports section.
Enjoyed the linked article proposing seven new(ish) conferences to participate in a 16-team NCAA FB playoff. I...
October 2011
5 posts
“In fact, the clearest expression of the renewal of Job’s mind is not anything he...”
– Ellen Davis (via wesleyhill)
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Why I Left Politics for Football →
This is one of the best-received articles I’ve written for The Collegian, and it was easy and fun to write. Read away!
WatchSong of this Week: “Farther Along” by Josh Garrels
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September 2011
3 posts
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“Prison should be used for people the community is afraid of, not people we are...”
– Hendry F. Fradella, J.D., Ph.D, and Connie Ireland, Ph.D, “From the Legal Literature: Evidence-Based Practices in Sentencing, Corrections, and Parole: Policies and Practices to Reduce Recidivism,” Criminal Law Bulletin, Summer 2008, Volume 44, Issue 4 (via letterstomycountry)
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Breakfast Salad
Mom sent me this recipe for a delicious breakfast salad the other day, and after reading about a salad with bacon, eggs, cinnamon sugar croutons, and a maple syrup vinaigrette, I knew that I had to try it, pronto. Y’all, I love breakfast, and I love salad. How could this go wrong? It couldn’t. It didn’t. On Labor Day—the most beautiful day I’ve felt in Oklahoma in 2011—, I...
August 2011
3 posts
“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account...”
– Douglas Adams (via petrellica)
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June 2011
5 posts
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Father's Day Song for Dad →
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Look, y'all, I think this country and alt-country... →
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“The most wretched people in the world are those who tell you they like every...”
– Chuck Klosterman, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs (via thrumminginthemixture)
“He who cannot reveal himself cannot love, and he who cannot love is the most...”
– Kierkegaard, “Either/Or” (via sarahneff)
“There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to...”
– Homer, The Odyssey