post MTV video goodness

here is a rare combination. in this post-MTV world, where the art form of video has been locked away in closets and banished to the low-quality fansites of youtube and myspace, it is truly rare to see a band spend the time and effort to build a creative, strong, and fluid music video that matches up to a song that is actually good.

i'm not saying that there aren't good videos out there [or short films in some cases] -- but in most cases anymore they are linked to really mediocre music that needs a gimmick [like a catchy, ironic, pithy viral video] to sell it.

NOT SO ANYMORE!

in a clear homage to Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues [and probably INXS...], one of my newfound favorite bands [the Matches] has built a great video for Salty Eyes.


tell me that's not stunning?

i love my wife.

tami is a trooper. the due date for baby #2 [within ONE year] is only four days away, and she is ready to burst at the seams. in perfect coordination with that, our super-calm, quiet, perfect baby #1 [talia sian] has decided to cut a few more teeth and generally begin to hate life.

so, while my incredible wife gets closer and closer towards delivery, and gets proportionally less mobile, talia is crying more and leaning onto the brink of walking.

in the midst of this chaos, tami is cool. she is calm. she is smiling. she is beautiful. glowingly beautiful.

i love my wife. i hope she survives this week. :)

eight days to go. or... who knows when?

june 08th is the due date for baby #2. that brings to mind a few remainders for the day:
1 // babies rock. especially the ones my wife makes. she's wicked good at it. so, we have another one coming, and we have been entrenched pretty deeply in a period of complete wonderment of how we got to be so blessed/lucky/crazy. the fun is really about to begin.
2 // baby names suck. we are in the midst of close deliberations about what the name for our next child will be. i'm sure that we merely need patience -- talia sian pretty much told us her name when she first met us last june, and i'm pretty sure this one will do the same. but it would be nice to feel prepared.
we have ruled out cedric, dwight, and anastasia beaverhausen.
3 // the new kate walsh album is pretty good. if you like to hide inside with a songwriter's thoughts and pore through her brain, this is the one for you.
4 // i haven't seen spiderman III yet. go ahead and kill my fun by telling me that it doesn't live up to #2, but you won't be able to disuade me. something tells me that i won't see it anytime soon. hrumph. anyway...
5 // i am lamenting the loss of the celebrity mustache. nobody did it like amgnum p.i., but could someone at least try? here's a place to work on it: http://www.celebritymustache.com/. what i actually would like is to see a good version of the "kenneth" show up on TV. Or, on kenneth.
6 // i need to plan a roadtrip, just to listen to this mix. i guess there's not much else to say about that.

i'll let you know when the next baby shows up.

things to do in berlin when you're dead tired

after a fantastically gruelling week, i'm back from berlin, rolling around in the normality of the states. the work has piled high, and i have a lot to prep for this week, but in spite of it all, my girls love me and have been smiley and wonderful.

the time in east berlin was stunning.
new friends and new ideas, all wrapped up nicely in good german beer and bad germano-mexican food.
anyway, the concept of having allies five thousand miles from home that live in a language that simply doesn't compute with the american south is a stimulating and humbling experience. i'm intrigued by what will happen next.

While i was in town, i got to track through one of the original churches pastored to by Dietrich Bonhoeffer - a potential new home for the Berlinprojekt, and a chilling place to sit and pray.

today in berlin...

today i am in berlin. have been since tuesday, actually.
spent the day in hamburg yesterday working with a small group that will be planting a new chruch there in 2008. fantastic group of people -- and a really stunning city. here's a pic or two:
while i was in town, there was a massive raid by the german police on all of these alternative bookshops and theaters and artist squats. they were looking to break up the planning for the demonstrations/riots before and during the upcoming G8 meeting here in Germany. it backfired and wound up inciting some pretty stiff riots in some really fun neighborhoods.
two of the most amazing new core group members for the HamburgProjekt are Nils and Tabitha [aka pitty]. here they are with daniel, the planter for HP.
I'm sure there's much more to come as this trip goes on.
I'll be here in Berlin until Monday, working with the music teams for BerlinProjekt and learning about how we can partner with them -- as well as how to begin to create our own network for extension.

the world according to Kurt V.

I'm not a complete fan of Kurt Vonnegut. Gish knows I disagree with a bunch of his politics and methods, but there are few that can argue with his incredible turn of phrase. His writing is so marked by incredible capture of conversational genius that I'm regularly intrigued by the fashion and grace with which he attacks graceless and fashionless questions.

If you wonder what I'm talking about, take a look at this article from the AVClub online. It's called 15 Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else Ever Has Or Will and it actually delivers on that title.

Let me be clear. I disagree with a lot of what he says, but that doesn't mean it's not valid or well said. One of my greatest complaints about both politics and the church nowadays is that the leading voices in both seem to have lost their grasp of how language [specifically english] works. The magic of well-used language -- and nuance -- is an incredibly powerful tool in the battle to win hearts and arguments.

Here's one of Kurt V's quotes:
"There are plenty of good reasons for fighting, but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too."

You don't have to agree with the antagonist who utters this in Mother Night, but you can easily grasp the nuance of his long position through this one turn of tongue. I'm no expert, but I am a fan of how language works.
And KV knows how language works.

Enjoy.

fintune // sweet, sweet tune lovin'

So at this point, I have a ton of friends that have jumped on the FineTune bandwagon and are posting a multitude of mack-daddy playlists. So as to not be left completely behind, here's my original one.



Mmmmm..., do I love some gooey hits from Colin Hay.