everything that's on my mind

The unlikely disciple

Every now and then I start reading a book and simply don’t want to stop until I’m done. Kevin Roose’s The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University was one of those books. I’ve complained recently that I’ve had trouble finding time to read, but I managed to make time after the first few pages of this book and finished it in about a week, which is a fast read for me.

In 2006, Roose was a student at Brown University in Rhode Island. He was also working as an assistant for Esquire editor and author A.J. Jacobs. Upon a visit to Jerry Falwell’s …

Now playing: Sonic Boom

I can’t believe I’m posting about this album. I really can’t. I didn’t expect to hear it at all, much less be writing about it. I was planning to post about either the new Michael McDermott album from this past summer, or the newest from David Crowder Band. But instead, I felt compelled to write about Sonic Boom, the new album from KISS.

Some background: I was a rabid KISS fan when I was in fourth grade. Back in 1976, KISS was in their prime, and I loved them. I used to listen to my older brother’s 8-tracks of Alive! and Destroyer. That …

Now playing: Daisy

I was introduced to Brand New via eMusic a couple of years ago when I downloaded Deja Entendu. Shortly thereafter, I bought their newest at the time, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, which made an appearance in my top 10 list in 2007.

Their latest, Daisy, was released last month and has quickly become a favorite of mine. And, like it’s predecessor, it is destined for my top 10 list again this year.

It’s hard to nail down a genre to attach to these guys because every time they release a new album, it’s a “brand new” sound, so to speak. The band that recorded this …

Now playing: Flight 666 (DVD)

I’m going to reach back into the summer again this week. If you know me at all or used to read blog 1.0 very often, you already know of my love for the music of Iron Maiden. I became a Maiden fan during my junior year in high school, shortly after the release of their 1983 album Piece of Mind. They are still, 26 years later, my favorite band.

In early 2008, the band embarked on a world-wide tour labeled the “Somewhere Back In Time” tour, in which they played primarily classics from their 80’s music and used a set similar to the “World Slavery Tour” …

The clock strikes midnight

While everyone around here is still talking football (particularly Arkansas-Florida), Friday night was the significant event of the weekend for me. Midnight madness signaled the beginning of college basketball season, as teams all around the country officially began practicing for the upcoming season.

As we all try to erase from our memories the tragedy that was North Carolina winning the final game of the 2009 season, there’s much to look forward to in 2010.

As a Duke fan, I’m looking forward to seeing this year’s team. Though they lost a couple of significant players, they also added a couple, and so I’m pretty optimistic once again. …

Now playing: I and Love and You

I was a bit surprised upon hearing the new album from The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You. The “Beatles of bluegrass” seemed to be bit less bluegrass and a bit more pop than they been have before. The banjo, acoustic guitar and bass are all still there, but the piano provides the dominant sound on this new release. And the result is a bit different, but outstanding nonetheless.

I first heard The Avett Brothers a couple of years ago upon the release of their last full length album, the excellent Emotionalism. I’ve since downloaded a couple of EP’s (Gleam and The Second Gleam), which were also …

Recent reads: Idolatry, science, capitalism and justice

Just a few of the things I’ve been reading online this past week…

Jesus delivers the constitution?

I came across this painting online late last week. (Actually, I saw the version with humorous captions first.) I didn’t use the image in this post since it states on the site that it is copyrighted, so you’ll have to click the link to view it. It’s a ridiculous conflation of Christianity and American nationalism which is offensive in many ways. I considered commenting on it then but didn’t have time. Instead, I will direct you to a post by Greg Boyd, who pretty much nails it (and said it better than …

Now playing: Backspacer & Black Gives Way To Blue

This week’s now playing features the new releases from grunge heavyweights Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains. I decided to comment on both albums in one post since I have some common things to say by way of introducing them.

Considering they were both born into the grunge music era in the early 1990’s, I didn’t hear much from Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains due to the fact that I was largely absent from the popular music scene of any kind during that time (see my review of DMB last week, where I made mention of this as well.) Even now I’m not certain I can name a …

The off-duty God

I’ve been struggling to get any reading done in the last week or so. I put Spong’s book on hold to quickly knock out Donald Miller’s new book, and then came back to Spong. However, I’ve only managed one chapter in the last week. If you know much about John Shelby Spong’s work and about my own church background, you know there are some significant differences in the things he says and what I’ve heard most of my life.

In that chapter, in which he examines the relationship between ecology and theology, Spong discusses the elements of the theistic definition of God – that “God is a divine …