Away With You

A conversation at work today revolved around my commonly asked question, "If you could un-invent one thing, what would it be?"

Given my experience on the interstate this morning,
that was my answer today. Usually, though, I answer "the assembly line." I don't have the time nor the inclination to espouse those thoughts/beliefs right now. Here are a few answers from today's round table-ing:

- GM
- 7:00 am on Mondays
- Gunpowder
- the Interstate System
- Politics
- Sewage
- Chemical Fertilizer
- Slaughterhouses
- Cheese

So, what are you un-inventing in your mind?

The Oscars and Jon McLaughlin

Tonight the 80th Annual Academy Awards will take place. And it will come with all the glitz and glam, the Red Carpet previews and Joan Rivers' commentary on all the fashionistas. Someone will comment about ending the war, someone will try to talk over the "you're done" music, and someone will cry upon receiving an award. But through all of this, the only part I really care about is the performance of one Jon McLaughlin.

Most folks in Muncie know of Jon through the Living Room and his local roots, being from Anderson and all. I know him because we went to school together, went to the same church, and performed in the same Youth Group worship band. And a the risk of being "that guy," I'll say, as I watch tonight, "I know that guy." And probably more than once.

Jon McLaughlin performed the song, "So Close" in the Disney movie Enchanted. That song was nominated for Best Original Song (one of three from that movie to be nominated). And so, Jon gets to perform said song at the Oscars. Last time I checked, two other guys in his band (guitar/drums), also went to school with us and was, like myself, in jazz and marching band.

And while not dwelling on it too much, or really playing up my role as "that guy," it's just very surreal for someone you once could have daily conversations with to achieve such notable success. It started with performing at Lolapalooza, then signing with Island Records. He toured shortly with Sister Hazel, and also had a stint with Kelly Clarkson. His song, "Only Human" was used on an episode of Scrubs. And he's had songs in no less than hree movies. And now he will be performing at The Oscars.

He is very talented, always has been. And I have no doubt that he will have continued success. His first album, while moderately successful, did not truly showcase his full potential. So be it with a first album on a major record label (Island Records).

So, all this to say, good luck to Jon and his performance. And maybe even it wins the Oscar (he did not write the song, however - so I don't think he gets one). And to really be "that guy," I'm wearing my Jon McLaughlin shirt today.

The New Five Dollar Bill

Came across some previews of the new Five Dollar Bill, set to be put in to circulation in later this month or next. The $5 is the latest bill to get a colorful makeover. Working down from the highest denominations, the $1 is the only one left, before a new round of redesigns begin again.





I've read before that, despite the technological improvements to US currency (you can see some of the tech-designs in the new bill here), it is still the most counterfeited money in the world. I wonder, what with the falling value of the dollar, if that won't change.

And still, European money is more secure than US - using holograms, perforations, and raised text. Yet another thing we'll surely steal from the Europeans.

Best Movies on a Movie Day

Today, a sick day, turned into a movie day in multiple ways.
I'm currently watching the visually stunning movie, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." I'm sure I'll share more later.

And then I spent time thinking/sorting through movies in a couple of ways. So, in this lengthy post you'll get two trailers and two lists.

First the trailers:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
It's hard to tell what the storyline is (this is the first trailer), but it still looks really good. And if it turns out well, this may be a validating movie for Shia LeBouf. And who knew: Cate Blanchett is in it. That'll be great.

King Corn
I came across the trailer through Jorge Garcia's blog. Suffice it to say this is the "Fast Food Nation" for farmers and corn. I've not seen it, but I definitely want to now. Has anyone else seen it?

And then the lists:

My Top 50 Movies (Subject to Change if people remind me of great movies I left off, or if I look at the list again and decide differently, which I've already done a dozen times today)

1 - Good Will Hunting
2 - Braveheart
3 - Shawshank Redemption
4 - Life is Beautiful
5 - LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
6 - Dead Poets Society
7 - Saving Private Ryan
8 - Schindler's List
9 - Philadelphia
10 - Field of Dreams
11 - High Fidelity
12 - Cold Mountain
13 - American Beauty
14 - Batman Begins
15 - 300
16 - Magnolia
17 - Rocky IV
18 - The Village
19 - Forrest Gump
20 - The Rainmaker
21 - 12 Angry Men
22 - Toy Story
23 - About a Boy
24 - As Good as it Gets
25 - Hoosiers
26 - Contact
27 - Vertigo
28 - Unbreakable
29 - Robin Hood
30 - You've Got Mail
31 - A River Runs Through It
32 - Amelie
33 - Singing in the Rain
34 - The Talented Mr. Ripley
35 - Kung Fu Hustle
36 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
37 - When Harry Met Sally
38 - Love Actually
39 - Se7en
40 - Castaway
41 - A Few Good Men
42 - Psycho
43 - Grizzly Man
44 - X2
45 - To Kill a Mocking Bird
46 - Moulin Rouge
47 - Tombstone
48 - Almost Famous
49 - The Recruit
50 - Finding Nemo


Movies I'm Wanting to See

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Apocalypse Now, Dances with Wolves, The Last Samurai, The Road to Perdition, Bull Durham, Cool Hand Luke, Duck Soup, Bonnie and Clyde, V for Vendetta, King Corn, Annie Hall, Young Frankenstein, What Would Jesus Buy?, Once, Across the Universe, 3:10 to Yuma, No Country for Old Men, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Harvey, The Graduate

Boilermakers: I'll drink to that!

Big Ten Leader Purdue Knocks of #8 Michigan State

Before last season began, I decided to rededicate my fandom to Old Black and Gold. And I believed in them, in their ability to rebuild a program driven into the ground by faded Hall of Fame-r in Gene Keady (worst comb-over in history?) And alum Matt Painter stepped in and resurrected the Boilers. Last year's return to the Big Dance was the warning shot. This year, they've taken charge of the Big Ten.

Sure, there was an embarrassing loss to a no-name school (literally, I can't remember if the school had a name) in the early season. But since the Big Ten season has started, they have steamrolled their way through the competition. And it will all come to a head next week, when the youngest team in the Big Ten heads to Bloomington and face the pre-season favorites.

As for me, I think Player of the Week Robbie Hummel is holding his own against the presumed savior of IU basketball, Eric Gordon (the good angel to Sampson's bad angel? Or is it two bad angels - Gordon did pull a "Sike!" on Illinois, which they vocalized their disgust last week).

And, not to get ahead of ourselves, but this is just the first year for the Purdue young'ens. Where Eric Gordon will almost undoubtedly catapult into the NBA after a single year, Hummel is going nowhere. And neither are the other four freshman (two starters) or four sophomores. They'll only lose one senior. So, I'll blow my trumpet now and hope for the best this season, looking toward a possible championship and perhaps a Sweet Sixteen birth, but I can rest upon the fact that the same team will be back next year. Then, maybe then, we can restore the glory days of the Big Dawg, Glen Robinson, and return to the Final Four.

Grammy

The 50^th Grammy Awards were last night. And as most awards shows go, this one went the opposite direction of trite, vain, soapbox-y, and painfully long (well, maybe not that last one). Maybe they work from a distinct advantage against the Oscars and Emmys and every other show – music is infectious, celebratory, and transmittable in a multitude of settings, and so lends itself to great spectacle. You don’t see live performances of “Movie of the Year” nominees or stage versions of sitcoms; they wouldn’t work (perhaps The Tonys are the only thing that comes close – but no one watches those). The Grammys were a sincere showcase of all the ingenuity and creativity of a year past. And while someone giving a “State of the Music” address in America may be tempted to bathe in cynicism, rightfully basing their perspective off of such sources as the iTunes “Top Albums” and “Top Songs.” But the tour-de-force that was the 50^th Grammy’s has to be a sign of hope and vitality in what is the American musical landscape.

What truly set this out as a night worth noting were the live performances. I’m generally skeptical of any awards show having actual live performances, rather than lip syncing, but last night, save one instance (Beyonce), I was genuinely convinced of the authenticity of every performance. Other than a few average performances (and artists who don’t deserve the size of the stage, did bad remixes/versions of their songs, or are well past prime [in order, Rihanna, Carrie Underwood, Tina Turner]), I was consistently blown away again and again. The diversity of great music should also be noted. And while some of you might disagree on what I call “great music,” go to YouTube and watch the performances – the conveying of emotion and conviction, that is just a big a part of what makes a song as the lyrics or the notes. Those performances include:

Kanya West – His acceptance speech aside (awkward refusal to leave when the music came up), his performance was fierce and convincing. You may not like rap or his not liking G.W., but he is damned good at what he does. We should all be so lucky to have the talent and dedication to excellence he has.

Fiest – A wonderful acoustic version of “1234” (a great song for an iPod commercial – oh, wait). She gently strummed an electric guitar whilst a smoky septet of brass and woodwinds punctuated the mood. Simple, elegant, and beautiful.

Alicia Keys – She too, like Kanye, conveys the conviction of her music. The texture to her voice coupled with her mad ivory-based skills make for a wonder-woman of R&B. And then she brought out the ugliest, but great, guitar player in John Mayer. The Grammy’s have a great way of making odd pairings work (think Elton John and Eminem a few years back).

Cirque de Soleil - What was setup as a two-part tribute to the Beatles, the live performance of the Cirque de Soleil show “All You Need is Love” was wonderful as usual. And while they themselves don’t sing, it’s all tracks, there movement tells a story better, without words, than a fair amount of books and song lyrics. I still crave to see a live performance of theirs.

Across the Universe – I keep hearing rave reviews for this movie, so I’ll see it. The performance of “Let It Be” could have been campy and overdone (it usually is), but great move, Grams, playing clips of the movie, war, and peace (not to be confused with “the movie, War and Peace”), behind them.

Fergie w/ John Legend – I discovered tonight that, yes, in fact, the Fergilicious one has a set of pipes that can hold their own. Which makes me wonder, why does she have to strut her stuff as she does? Why does she have to be a sex symbol? The answer, I’m sure most would give, understanding our culture, is that sex sells. At the risk of sounding like a conservative prude, she’s worth so much more than she is portraying. She sang an amazing version of one of her songs (I think) over the musical stylings of John Legend (an amazing performer in his own right).

Rhapsody in Blue w/ Herbie and Lang – I’m still not sure where this comes from, but I will never pass the opportunity to hear a live version of this song. And that it was done with dueling piano solos performed by Herbie Hancock and Chinese prodigy, Lang Lang. Again, what (musical) diversity they’ve displayed tonight.

They also honored a number of Lifetime Achievement winners: Burt Bacharach, Cab Calloway, Doris Day, Itzhak Perlman, Max Roach, and Earl Scruggs. All giants of our musical history.

The funniest moment of the night came when receiving an award and looking to deflate the overly-confident Kanye West (who, when accepting one award, complained that his album should undoubtedly receive best of the year honors), Vince Gill received his Grammy from George Harrison and then stated: “Wow. Getting an award from a Beatle. Hey, Kanye…Have you received an award from a Beatle yet?”

So, again, music is amazing. I’m reminded of the 2003 Grammy’s, where Coldplay performed their song, “Politick,” with a full Orchestra. That was a very fundamental part of my musical awakening.

And I’m very glad I stayed up (way too) late to watch the spectacle again this year.

Website Recommendations

I recently had a conversation about the routine of checking "regular websites." Most of us probably have a routine we go through - checking email, facebook, blogs, certain websites. I thought I'd share a list of websites I check pretty regularly.


Goodreads
A great website for sharing what you are reading, what you've read, and what you want to read. Great for seeing what others are in to, as well as for reviews and recommendations.

Paperbackswap
I know I've raved about this site for a while, but it never gets old. You post books you are willing to get rid of. You get credits. You request books that other people have requested. Books are mailed, and that's all you ever pay - the shipping. I've gotten 20 or so books, at a fraction of the price. There's no excuse not to do it.

I Will Teach You to Be Rich
(note: the goal is not necessarily to "get rich quick") A ridiculous title, but a great/informative read. This guy is a Stanford grad and has a great take on personal finance and whatnot. You should start by reading some of his most popular articles and I'm confident you'll be hooked. He has great things to say about money, mostly because he talks like he is one of us, not one of them [insiders].

Improv Everywhere
A great group based in NY: not a flash mob, but instead they "cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places," in a way that is seemingly random, but tend to be orchestrated and wonderful. Missions are carried out in publicly anonymous ways. Example: hundreds of people dressing in a blue polo and khaki pants, then standing in the aisle of Best Buy, waiting to be asked questions as if they were actually employees. Hysterical-ness ensues.

Stereo Subversion
A great, locally based, Rob Alan-designed website that covers music. It's a great way to get to know new bands, read reviews of albums new and old.

Burnside Writers Collective
I came to this particular site through Donald Miller. It's a less-than prolific repository for thoughtful, or at least thought provoking articles on anything from sports to social justice to communion bread. I think I like it because I [secretly] want to be a writer and the idea of a "writers' collective" is alluring.

Relevant Magazine
I usually only go here for the Daily Slices - current event bits and random news stories of interest. They also have a more prolific repository for thoughtful, or at least though provoking, articles on mostly faith related things.

Online Settlers of Katan
I hate this game in real life, but the online version (called "Explorers" here) is moderately-to-dangerously addictive. It's free - they have random boards and you don't have to play real people, but you can. It makes me a bit of a nerd, but oh well.

Stock.xchng
I love looking at photography and this a great place to find free stock photography, for whatever your needs might be. The picture at the top of this blog came from there. There are thousands of pictures, sortable by category. It's wonderful if you need it.

Exploding Dog
Not nearly as traumatic as it sounds, this website is based on a very simple premise: People email sayings, phrases, or just a word or two and this guy draws a picture based on only that. At times, they are pure genius. Other times, they are childish and neurotic. Other than the fact it is hard to navigate between each days pictures, this site can hold your anticipatory attention for hours if you'll just let it.

Books and Pictures

I wrote down a list of books from elementary and middle school - books that I really enjoyed then and books I wouldn't mind reading again. Here's the list (did I miss any?):

• Where the Wild Things Are
• Mercer Mayer books
• Miss Nelson is Missing!
  
• Indian in the Cupboard
• The Chocolate Touch
• Where the Red Fern Grows
• The Red Badge of Courage
• The Secret Garden
• Hatchet
• Island of the Blue Dolphins
• The Bunnicula series
• Charlotte's Web
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• How to Eat Fried Worms
• The House of Dies Drear
• Sarah Plain and Tall
• The Giver
• Shiloh

______________________

And I picked up my camera as I took the dog for a walk tonight. Here are a few that where on there from months ago and a few from todays flooding (I always love seeing flooded rivers...not that I like devastation and damage and loss of life, just to nature overcoming its normal boundries - I really enjoy nature, that's all)

That's Just Super

From the Super Bowl to Super Tuesday


Well, let me just add the the thousands of Indiana-based blogs lauding the loss of the once-unbeaten Patriots. 18-1. Last nights victory-in-defeat felt well neigh as good as last years Colts victory-in-victory. What an astonishing game: I truly enjoyed it.


And then moving on to tomorrow: Super Tuesday, a day where some 24 states (almost half of our nation) will go to speak their collective-yet-individual voices in support of Presidential candidates. I'm excited to watch the results role in (and if you live in a state that voting, you best be planning your lunch-break or early-rise for tomorrow).


And finally, you can mark off another accomplishment on my "List of Things To Do In My 25th Year" list. (Because I know oh so many of you are keeping track diligently)

Learn a New Necktie Style - DONE I learned the old "Full Windsor" (as compared to the traditional "Half Windsor" most men don). Thanks internet - you've once again been a part of establishing my manhood (My first venture into learning how to tie a tie, circa 1999, was through the interwebs as well).

A New Approach To Politics