Photo of the Day - April 18, 2007 - Corduroy Sleeping in the Sun

This is a picture of our five year old male cat Corduroy. I took it on one of those very cold early April days. He found a place by the glass back door to sleep in the sun. I had to get down to floor level and right up close for this. Oddly, the sound of the camera didn't even cause him to stir, even as close as I was. We're pretty tight, surrounded as we are....

Please feel free to explore my Flickr photostream here.

Joel

Photo of the Day - April, 19, 2007 - Trail in Fisher Park, Greensboro

Fisher Park is right next door to downtown Greensboro. Indeed, way back in the early 1800's, when it was decided to relocate the county courthouse to the geographical center of the county, that geographical center was in a low lying boggy area just a little north of present downtown. It was in the area which is now Fisher Park, about two blocks from my office!

I missed posting Tuesday because a big tree in the area went down and knocked out power and phone service.

Please come and visit my pictures here. First thing you'll see is my cat!

My Top Ten Opening Guitar Riffs

1. A Hard Days Night – The Beatles

Well, it’s just a chord, not a riff, but what a chord! Is it not the best beginning of any song in rock music history! Sometimes I play it over and over and over – "Twang”…..rewind….”Twang”….rewind…..”Twang.” Amazing!

2. Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix

It’s hard not to list Jimi Hendrix for song after song if you’re talking about guitar, but I love the opening to Purple Haze in particular - rock guitar in its essence. There is such an unusual and creative dissonance in the riff - I don’t know if Hendrix made these notes/chords up from scratch or what.

3. Statesboro Blues – The Allman Brothers

The Allman Brothers Live at Fillmore East is my favorite live album of all time (sorry Peter Frampton). They were so tight, so together, at the pinnacle of their game. I love the energy that begins this song. The entire song highlights Duane Allman’s brilliance on electric slide guitar.

4. Paranoid – Black Sabbath

Some folks give the nod for best Black Sabbath opening riff to Iron Man, which is quite memorable indeed. Plus the mid-song lead on Paranoid is one of the great ones. But there is so much energy in this opening riff to Paranoid that it gets into my head, and into my top ten. For people who want to razz me for liking Black Sabbath, well, they actually had something interesting to say, if you listen, and what a unique sound.

5. Heartbreaker – Led Zeppelin

I almost put the longer mid song riff in my list of top ten best lead guitar solos, but decided I’d go with Stairway to Heaven there, and put Heartbreaker here in best opening riffs. Jimmy page could play guitar just about every which-a-way. If this opening riff won’t wake you up I don’t know what will!

6. Angels of the Silences – Counting Crows

Like A Hard Days Night this song starts with a very unusual chord, but then breaks into a super energized frenetic song, one of my very favorite Counting Crows songs. I am not sure which of their guitarists plays primary on this intro – but I like it!

7. Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple

This may be one of the most fun and recognizable song openings in the history of rock music, as each instrument comes in, each in turn. But the opening few bars laid down by Ritchie Blackmore stand out as perhaps the most famous opening guitar riff ever. I mean, what is not to love?

8. Tell Mama – Savoy Brown

Savoy Brown was maybe my favorite band for a couple of years in high school. OK, so that’s a little quirky. I just liked them, what can I say? Their singers came and went but Ken Simmonds was always there with his special brand of Brit Blues electric guitar. I am not sure which guitarist played the opening riff for Tell Mama, but it always makes me smile!

9. Pride and Joy – Stevie Ray Vaughan

OK, so I like blues, and Texas blues maybe the best. This is a great opening riff. My daughter said it made her think of some rich lady stepping out of a fancy car. Not sure where she got that. But is fitting that the song makes me think of one of my children, as I have tended as a father to “translate” these lyrics away from the romantic aspect to the joy of children (some lines ignored of course)…”Well you’ve heard about love givin sight to the blind, my baby’s love cause the sun to shine, She’s my sweet little thang....she’s my pride and joy.”

10. Reeling in the Years – Steely Dan

Also a song with a great extended lead, the whole mood and feel of the song is set up in the opening riff by Denny Dias. He pretty much repeats the same themes in the longer solo. The song and the opening riff has a pop feel compared to some on this list. I loved this record when it came out and still do!

Photo of the Day - April 16, 2007, Fisher Park, Greensboro

This picture was taken late in the afternoon on Friday April 13, 2007. Fisher Park is a great city park, my favorite, and to be so close to downtown Greensboro at that!

Please feel free to explore my photographs here.

Photo of the Day, April 15, 2007, Birch Catkins

I took this picture this Spring as the Birch trees in our backyard were "blooming" forth their catkins and young leaves. The storms this weekend have made a huge number of them drop and I guess we'll see what impact that that cold snap had. I love catkins!

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Photo of the Day, April 14, 2007, Badlands

I took this photo with a telephoto lens while hiking around the rim of the Badlands region of South Dakota. The telephoto creates somewhat of a flattened effect for the distant ridges, but I still like it. It makes for a good illustration of biblical prophetic foreshortening! I love pictures that are more about texture, and I love subtle coloration. I have been asked about the color. Well, I applied no color restoration to the scan of the slide. I remember it as pinkish, but this pink really stands out! This is what a 25 year old slide stored in the dark has to say about the color! I trust that better than my memory. It is amazing how well slides hold their color! I would love to go back someday and spend several days backpacking down in the canyons themselves!

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Photo of the Day, April 13, 2007, Rhine River

I find this picture peaceful. I took it on a very very cold morning in early April 1978. It is taken from along the river in a beautiful village called Bacharach, Germany. I had camped right by the shore of the Rhine, sleeping under the stars, and my sleeping bag was not quite enough for the cold. But awakening to this view was worth the trouble. I hope you enjoy it.

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Photo of the Day, April 12, 2007, Kimesville

Kimesville, NC, Dam - at the Guilford-Alamance County Border

I would imagine that most of us have never visited Kimesville, a tiny community in the southeast sector of our county, just inside Alamance County. There is much beauty yet around us if we can but wisely plan how we develop our rural areas. I would love to see pictures that you have of the beautiful spaces and places here at our doorstep.

Photo of the Day, April 11, 2007, Reflection

The Former JP Building, Reflected, Greensboro, NC, taken January 2007

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Photo of the Day - April 10, 2007, NC Mountain Dawn

There were nine of us camping on a saddle between two peaks, east of Asheville I think. Over night the wind whipped up so hard it blew over our tents. Our body weight kept the tents from blowing away. Since we were awake anyway, a friend Sherb and I got up before dawn and basically ran up one of the the peaks, about a mile away, to try to get there before the sun came up. We almost made it. Because we were racing against time I did not set up my tripod, and because it was so cold my hands were barely able to move. To top it off, it was so windy I could hardly stand still! The clouds were flying by and the light was changing almost like flipping a light switch on and off. I just clicked away and got a couple of decent shots. That's about it. A nineteen year old kid trying to grab a moment on film. I realize now the imperfections of the shot photographically speaking. But such a scene - and for North Carolina at that! I have always loved it, and it has a great memory attached. The other guy, well, he has become a REAL photographer - Sherb Naulty who lives in NJ. He has a web page, URL same as his name. He does awesome work. You should look him up!

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Photo of the Day, April 9, 2007, Redbud

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis L.) Greensboro NC

About this picture...well, it was early Spring here in NC, a couple of weeks ago, and many flowers were opening up, and I decided that after two years I would start to learn how to use my new fangled camera, so I went outside and started trying to capture some shots. I broke my telephoto lens a month ago, and was using the 28-80mm Nikon lens. The Redbud in our front yard was in full bloom, and the big bumble bees were everywhere. The aroma was amazing. I wish I could capture that - maybe that's the next invention! I tried to focus in on one clump of bud/flowers - but I am still learning the camera settings and haven't got the DOF figured out! (How I miss the manual SLR!). At least I can still focus! This particular Redbud took a direct lightning hit last summer. It took half the tree down, but the other half lived!

About Redbuds in general

Drive down any interstate highway in the piedmont of North Carolina in early March, and you will see splashes of light purple here and there along the tree line, giving the heart a sense of added hope that Spring is coming. This dash of purple is from one of our more humble native trees, the red bud. Why it’s not called the purple bud is a mystery. Not even the bud itself is red, but some see the color as reddish purple, and perhaps growing in different soils it looks more red than purple. But around here both bud and flower are light purple, or at best purplish pink.

The Redbud is actually a member of the bean family. As early spring flower turns to fruit, and as the summer progresses, thick dark bean pods about 3 inches long hang heavily from the red bud limbs, and providing another source of food for a few birds such as bobwhites and cardinals, and some mammals such as deer and squirrels, though the red bud fruit is generally not a food favorite. Bees however love the nectar of the flowers. The bean pods persist often well into winter hanging and rattling in the winter wind well after the leaves have fallen.

In our early forests, Redbuds, along with Dogwoods and Ironwoods and Sourwoods, would have found their place under the great canopy trees of oak and chestnut and hickory and tulip poplar, taking what sun they could get, and offering another level of habitat for animals and visual beauty for human visitors.

The Redbud makes for an excellent garden tree. It’s leaf is sort of a rounded heart shape, about as wide as tall, three to five inches across. The tree tends toward a bushy appearance with multiple branches, though it can be pruned to one or two primary trunks. It’s a bit of a gangly tree, no two looking just alike, thus lending character to the suburban yard. It grows fairly slowly and reaches a maximum height of 20-30 feet at most.

In the fall the large Redbud leaves turn yellow and tend to fall from the tree all at once, making for easy care.

You are cordinally invited to explore my photostream here.

Global Warming

A friend of mine recently sent to me an article about the television documentary in Great Britain that challenged conventional wisdom on global warming. He asked me for my take.

I have long written publicly that I am a skeptic about global warming - about how much there actually is, about what the causes of it are, and, if CO2 is a cause, how much of the increase of CO2 is due to human activity. I've read over the course of time too much research that contradicts the mandatory opinion. And too many actual climatologists are unconvinced about it for me to be convinced about it.

My view is that if we 1) take serious extra measures to clean up our air (for ten other good reasons than global warming), and 2) radically reduce our use of hydrocarbon fuels, then we will have done that which is both environmentally and geopolitically sound, and will have reduced greenhouse gases as a result. I am also an advocate of building more nuclear power plants, now that that technology is so much safer and cleaner. Taking this view of course makes me anathema to some fellow environmentalists. So be it.

I think that over the next six months the tide will swing; more and more scientists will feel emboldened to buck the system and say what they really believe about global warming.

Which gets me to the hoopla about John Edward's and Al Gore's respective houses. I think buying carbon offsets is a wussy way to rationalize excessive lifestyles. We don't even know if that approach is effective for reducing CO2. And since we don't really even know that CO2 is the main culprit vis a vis global warming, it's silly at that level too. To make matters worse the energy plants used to provide power for these respective houses are not just spewing out CO2. They are also spewing out all sorts of other nasty pollutants that foul our air and impact the health of forests, animals, and people too. And all that power may well be using up nonrenewable resources such as coal or oil or natural gas.

People like to point to religious folk like me and cry "hypocrite." But there are few folks more hypocritical than globe trotting environmentalist celebrities.

Joel

Better Off Dead?

Animal rights activists are all in a lather over the prospect of a baby polar bear being raised by humans and living in a zoo. Read about it here.

The poor creature was abandoned by his mother and the mean ole zoo keepers decided not to let it die. How terrible. As put in the CNN article:

"Animal rights activists argue that he should be given a lethal injection rather than brought up suffering the humiliation of being treated as a domestic pet."

So, I want to know something. How do they know that the bear will suffer humiliation? Have the captive bears been sending bear notes to the the animal rights folks saying that they feel humiliated? do we really know what makes a bear happy? I mean, we ourselves are genetically wired to be hunter/gatherers, but most of us, if given a choice, would rather not spend our days out in the elements. So how do we really know the polar bear will be miserable? The evidence overall is that bears bond well with human surrogate parents. No reason to think this baby polar bear will be different.

On a trip once to the Toronto zoo one time two of the polar bears were involved in a non stop wrestle and play fight. They seemed to be having a good time to me. Plus they got three squares a day (or the bear equivalent). Do we know that bears would rather have to spend all day hunting (and ripping apart other animals) than being fed. It may make them a little too sedentary and over weight (hey, like me!), but miserable and humiliated?

Animals respond differently to living in captivity. Many, if not most higher mammals seem to find some comfort and ease with having relationships with human beings along with fellow "inmates." Some seem to downright enjoy it. How do we know this bear will be miserable? We don't.

I love animals almost more than I can put into words. I am not overly sentimental or neurotic about it. But the almost universal affection I have for my fellow creatures is a deep part of my being. I am devoted to saving habitats for animals to live in in the wild. Zoos play an important function in helping human beings feel the need to save and preserve animal species and their habitats. They often play a role in staving off extinction. Yes there are some terrible zoos. But they are getting better and better. And do we REALLY know that a bear would rather be our floating on an ice sheet somewhere looking for a nice seal to eat rather then living in a zoo? I don't know if we know that.

I have run into the "life not worth living" argument all too often as regards human beings that we do understand fairly well. It is a bad way of thinking there; it is a bad way of thinking about animals.

I am glad they rescued the little bear, and are feeding it, and will raise it in captivity. It might just live a fairly happy bear life as far as we know, and it might just help a lot of human beings love bears all the more and want to help preserve their "natural" way of life.

And it might just be me, but looking at the picture I get the sense that the little bear enjoys its bottle. But what do I know about what bears enjoy.

Top Ten Singer/Songwriters

So just what do I think makes someone a singer/songwriter?. Well, my criteria are that the person writes both the words and music to a song, sings the song, and plays an instrument in the process. These are four separate skills and they do not always come together in the same person.

1. Bob Dylan

As I sit here, with a push of a mouse, I can listen to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan from the early 60's, to Modern Times of 2006 (including "A Hard Rain’s A’Gonna Fall” to “Thunder on the Mountain”), both albums being excellent collections of songs from the master himself, separated by over forty years. And what a wealth and richness in between! What an amazing career! So many of his songs speak to and touch me, and are so musically and lyrically interesting, that it is hard to know where to even start taking about his music. I will say this though: as much as I already liked Bob Dylan, it was buying The Times They Are a Changin’ a couple of years back that made the ultimate connection and pushed him to number one on my list. Specifically I think it was the “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol” that sealed it. Odd, after so many years with Bob Dylan as part of my life, it was that song that pushed away all competitors in my heart to him having the number one position.

2. Jackson Browne

What can I say. When my brother Mike gave me Jackson Brown, better known as Saturate Before Using, for my 17th birthday, a musical love affair began that has never abated. I will admit that I favor the older stuff, but I’m learning to love some of the newer stuff too. I wish he would get David Lindley back with him on an album. But I want to say this – the guy can still sing, he can still play, and he still has that winsome humor that make his concerts so delightful. When he played here a couple of years ago and started with “Looking into You” I thought I would cry, that being my first or second favorite of his songs. It was a magical night. No musician has dogged the ups and downs of my life like JB. To him I say “thank you for filling my life with your songs." If you don’t know his music I might start with Late for the Sky.

3. Iris Dement

I first heard Iris Dement on Prairie Home Companion. I then illegally downloaded a bunch of her songs (which I don’t do anymore) and was hooked. I have all her CD’s now, so hey, I’m clean. Iris Dement sings with a high twangy voice that carries one over the other side of the other side of the hills, and yet, there is such a surreal beauty to her voice. Her songs are simple though clever, heartfelt though not indulgent, and so very real. she has struggled in her life. When I saw her at Cat’s Cradle there she was in all her, well, plainness, self deprecating, with that great slooooow drawl when she introduced her songs, almost the antithesis of charismatic, and yet the audience was absolutely transfixed. I can listen to Iris for weeks at a time without getting tired of her. For an intro to her music I might suggest My Life.

4. Bill Mallonee

Bill Mallonee is the best singer songwriter that no one has ever heard of. He used to front a band called The Vigilantes of Love, but even then he wrote all the songs, sang them, and played guitar. I have heard him with and without band. Hey, he is available for a house concert this month if anyone is interested. It would be one of the most memorable evenings of your life, I can promise you that. Bill Mallonee has written more good songs than most song writers could ever dream of writing. He speaks from a Christian worldview, but his songs are full of the realities of the fall, that is, the real world, and counts himself amongst those who need help from the outside. For a starter I might go with To the Roof of the Sky but they are all good.

5. Bruce Springsteen

With all due respect to the E-Street Band, which I think is fantastic, I still think of Bruce Springsteen as a simple singer/songwriter at heart. Again, we have a man who has had a long career, and who writes as well now as he ever did. I did not like Springsteen early on. He grated on me. That started to change with Tunnel of Love, then Nebraska, then The Ghost of Tom Joad, "Streets of Philadelphia,", and then, finally, The Rising. The Rising really got under my skin. Parts of it, like "You’re Missing," are almost too much to bear. I confess I am partial to the more mellow Springsteen, but either way, he writes as every man, and what man cannot connect to his lyrics.

6. Hank Williams

The very first LP I ever purchased was some sort of Best of Hank Williams, which I bought at a Roses store after I watched the George Hamilton movie Your Cheatin’ Heart about the life of Hank Williams on TV with my parents. Funny how he spoke to me as an older child. I have his whole collection now, and never cease to be amazed at the uncanny ability he had to put word and music together, and the pathos and humanity of his voice! "I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry" is maybe my favorite of his songs, but I’ll take him anyway I can get him! I love Norah Jones’ cover of "Cold Cold Heart."

7. Johnny Cash

From "Folsom Prison Blues" to "Like the 309" Johnny Cash is another artist who was creative and compelling over the course of decades. I am forever thankful to U2 and Rick Rubin for knowing that Johnny Cash had a lot left in him! On top of his incredible abilities as a songwriter, Johnny Cash could cover other people’s music in a way that brought new aspects of the song, not revealed in the original, and I am talking about many of the greatest songs ever written, such as "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," my vote for the most beautiful popular song ever written in our language. Johnny Cash’s "When the Man Comes Around" gives me goose bumps, well, maybe because I believe with him, and anticipate the same terror and wonder and beauty of that day.

8. Keith Green

When I was a teenager, around the time I was first exposed to the Christian faith, I had the blessing of seeing Keith Green in concert several times. He had an “in” with a Christian music station in Columbia and they promoted him heavily. The concerts I saw were just Keith Green and his piano. His songs were not finely produced and slicked up – there was a raw power in the piano playing that matched the power of the lyrics – to convict, to draw, to delight, to terrorize. And he only got better and better until that fateful day in August 1982 when his plane went down and he died an untimely death. Of all overtly Christian artists he remains the one that “gets to me” the most. I would suggest No Compromise as a starter, if you can find it.

9. John Mayer

I hadn’t given John Mayer much notice until this year. My daughter Heather gave me Continuum for Christmas, and it took a while for me to get into it, and then, BAM, he was all under my skin. I love his lyrics – they are both accessible and multi-dimensional - and I like his little lead guitar licks. I have no idea where he is coming from personally, but, for example, “Gravity” speaks to a reality that is very real to me as a Christian. I can hear and understand the song on many different levels. Since Continuum I’ve started listening to his earlier works, and it is a great great find for me. Since he is current, and compelling, I give him the nod over a couple of great artists in the “others receiving votes” section below.

10. Norah Jones

Norah Jones is a fabulous artist. I can’t wait to see her here on April 24 with Heather. What jazzy soulfulness, and, as was shown on The Little Willies, what a capacity just to have fun with music! When I first heard her first album I was drawn in quickly. She reminded me a little of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Roberta Flack – which means that despite being very current and contemporary she was accessible to an old guy like me! It’s nice to have current music I can enjoy with my children. I might suggest Feels Like Home as a starter – that makes me think of “Humble Me.” I mean a great song is a great song, and that is great song.

Others Receiving Votes

Carole King
Gordon Lightfoot
Van Morrison
Joni Mitchell
Glenn Campbell
John Prine
Lucinda Williams
Roberta Flack
Janice Ian
Sarah McLachlan
Neil Young

Next Top Ten - Top Ten Rock/Pop Groups

The Beatles
The Allman Brothers
U2
Led Zeppelin
Counting Crows
CCR
CSNY
Fleetwood Mac
Savoy Brown
The Dixie Chicks

Microsoft Code, Blogger, Iran, Gulliani, Islam, Roses, John Mayer

Last week I was asked by a reader for an opinion from the "other side" of the pulpit. I wrote out some thoughts in a text file and pasted them into Blogger. Despite pasting in from a text file, apparently there was still Microsoft code in the piece, which I think kept it from getting picked up by the aggregator. The 101 aggregator hates loose Microsoft code in Blogger. I've tried to get rid of it. If someone could tell me if they see this post it would help me.

My response to the invitation was as follows...

My pulpit opinions having to do with the kingdom of God don’t get much of an ear around here. And as a private citizen, I have no more voice or credibility or insight than anyone else. I am happy to tackle any thorny biblical/theological matter if asked, wearing my pastor hat. I am happy to opine on the state of things, with my pastor hat off.

I look forward to the Spring garden. I have lots of plans -- roses, new butterfly plants, lilies, maybe abelia. Of course the usual veggies.

I’ve spent a lot of spare time lately on my big genealogy and Flickr projects. That’s what has keep me quiet.

So, machine gun variety, some opinions:

We can’t just up and leave Iraq, no matter how or why we got there. The only reason to do so would be out of some perverse joy to see Muslim people slaughter each other. Well, maybe just being naive would be another reason.

If Iran won’t comply soon, someone will have to take her out – her weapons systems I mean. We simply cannot have Iran with the bomb. Under no circumstances can we let that happen. That would spark a nuclear race in the Middle East. That would threaten countless millions of people, and would ultimately kill thousands more Americans than would result in an attack soon and their retaliation.

We have to get unhooked on their oil. That needs to be a hugely serious effort. It has to include more than ethanol - but wind, solar, new types of batteries, new high tech hydraulics, and I think nuclear energy. Do Democrats and Republicans have the will to do this? I am not sure. Duh, we're funding the very people killing us!

I am so confused now about global warming I don't know what to believe anymore. But I do know that there are a hundred good reasons otherwise to clean up our air, and just doing that would take care of a lot of the warming problem right there (because it's not just about CO2) and solve other problems we're sure of in the process.

On immigration, particularly from Mexico, were I king, I would do two things. I would grant almost universal amnesty and fast track to citizenship to all illegal immigrants already here who are not criminals. I mean, are we going to kick them out? No. So why not just accept reality and embrace them. I would lock down the borders so tight, no matter how much money and manpower it took, that the flow would come to a trickle. I would criminalize the hiring of illegals. We cannot be Social Services for Mexico. Their leaders have squandered countless billions of dollars of oil revenues, they are corrupt, and they leave the poor people in squalor. They need to figure out their own mess.

On local stuff, I think the latest tape will prove hugely damaging to David Wray. I don’t care how nice he is. That was abuse of power.

On our local councils – what, are you kidding. They should make a comedy show out of us. Speaking of which, we have to do something about the real estate whores in our leadership so as to reduce sprawl, protect open spaces, single family neighborhoods, and everyday non affluent people.

We need to give students in terribly disfunctioning schools choice – vouchers.

Lee Street is a disgrace to the city. I hope we clean it up.

About taking to democracy to the Muslim world, I mean, is George Bush in idealistic la la land? Ok, maybe we can show that most Muslims want peace and stability and not suicide bombings. That's one thing. But a secular government is another. The very notion of a secular nation is contrary to Islam. Islam is fundamentally, at its core, theocratic. It would be like telling me I can only be a Christian on Sunday to tell a Muslim his government cannot be guided by Muslim law. It isn’t going to happen.

Turkey is an interesting experiment that may not last.

Secularization, and secular government are an affront to Islam. Nor does our secular materialistic sex drenched culture help matters. No wonder they hate us. Maybe if we hated us more things wouldn’t be so bad with us in the world! I mean by that hated our excesses, hated our gross materialism, hated the way we export so much smut. It’s no wonder...

And why do we wink at China’s oppression? Money. Money rules. It rules Democrats. It rules Republicans. But maybe we’re too far down that path to change it.

I am happy about the Honda plane deal.

On the upcoming elections. I think it will be Hillary against Rudy. It should be a dandy. If the Democrats keep looking the other way about Iran and the imminent danger she poses to Israel, us, and many others, I think Lieberman will jump to the Republican camp.

I’ve been groovin’ on John Mayer lately. I love “Continuum.” Oh, and my daughter and I are going to go see Norah Jones. I am so excited about that.

I have gotten a serious photography bug again. It is like a long lost friend come home.

I turn 50 this year. Wow.

Well, all for now.

Joel

Iran, Gulliani, Islam, Roses, John Mayer

Last week I was asked for an opinion from the "other side" of the pulpit. Despite pasting in from a text file there was still microsoft code in the piece which I think kept it off the aggregator. If someone could tell me if they see this it would help me.

My response to the invitation was as follows...

My pulpit opinions having to do with the kingdom of God don’t get much of an ear around here. And as a private citizen, I have no more voice or credibility or insight than anyone else. I am happy to tackle any thorny biblical/theological matter if asked, wearing my pastor hat. I am happy to opine on the state of things, with my pastor hat off.

I look forward to the Spring garden. I have lots of plans -- roses, new butterfly plants, lilies, maybe abelia. Of course the usual veggies.

I’ve spent a lot of spare time lately on my big genealogy and Flickr projects. That’s what has keep me quiet.

So, machine gun variety, some opinions…

We can’t just up and leave Iraq, no matter how or why we got there. The only reason to do so would be out of some perverse joy to see Muslim people slaughter each other. Well, maybe just being naive would be another reason.

If Iran won’t comply soon, someone will have to take her out – her weapons systems I mean. We simply cannot have Iran with the bomb. Under no circumstances can we let that happen. That would spark a nuclear race in the Mid East. That would threaten countless millions of people, and would ultimately kill thousands more Americans than would result in an attack soon and their retaliation.

We have to get unhooked on their oil. That needs to be a hugely serious effort. It has to include more than ethanol - but wind, solar, new types of batteries, new high tech hydraulics, and I think nuclear energy. Do Democrats and Republicans have the wil to do this? I am not sure. Duh, we're funding the very people killing us!

I am so confused now about global warming I don't know what to believe anymore. But I do know that there are a hundred good reasons otherwise to clean up our air, and just doing that would take care of a lot of the warming problem right there (because it's not just about CO2) and solve other problems we're sure of in the process.

On immigration, particularly from Mexico,, were I king, I would do two things. I would grant almost universal amnesty and fast track to citizenship to all illegal immigrants already here who are not criminals. I mean, are we going to kick them out? No. So why not just accept reality and embrace them. I would lock down the borders so tight, no matter how much money and manpower it took, that the flow would come to a trickle. I would criminalize hiring of illegals. We cannot be Social Services for Mexico. Their leaders have squandered countless billions of dollars of oil revenues, they are corrupt, and they leave the poor people in squalor. They need to figure out their own mess.

On local stuff, I think the latest tape will prove hugely damaging to David Wray. I don’t care how nice he is. That was abuse of power.

On our local councils – what, are you kidding. They should make a comedy show out of us. Speaking of which, we have to do something about the real estate whores in our leadership so as to reduce sprawl, protect open spaces, single family neighborhoods, and everyday non affluent people.

We need to give students in terribly disfunctioning schools choice – vouchers.

Lee Street is a disgrace to the city. I hope we clean it up.

About taking to democracy to the Muslim world, I mean, is George Bush in idealistic la la land? Ok, maybe we can show that most Muslims want peace and stability and not suicide bombings. That's one thing. But a secular government is another. The very notion of a secular nation is contrary to Islam. Islam is fundamentally, at its core, theocratic. It would be like telling me I can only be a Christian on Sunday to tell a Muslim his government cannot be guided by Muslim law. It isn’t going to happen. Turkey is an interesting experiment that may not last.

Secularism, secularization, and secular government are an affront to Islam. Nor does our secular materialistic sex drenched culture help matters. No wonder they hate us. Maybe if we hated us more things wouldn’t be so bad with us in the world! I mean by that hated our excesses, hated our gross materialism, hated the way we export so much smut. It’s no wonder…

I am happy about the Honda plane deal.

On the upcoming n elections. I think it will be Hillary against Rudy. It should be a dandy. If the Democrats keep looking the other way about Iran and the imminent danger she poses to Israel, us, and many others, I think Lieberman will jump to the Republican camp.

I’ve been groovin’ on John Mayer lately. I love “Continuum.” Oh, and my daughter and I are going to go see Norah Jones. I am so excited about that.

I have gotten a serious photography bug again. It is like a long lost friend come home.

And why do we wink at China’s oppression? Money. Money rules. It rules Democrats. It rules Republicans. But maybe we’re too far down that path to change it.

I turn 50 this year. Wow.

Well, all for now.

Joel

Dixie Chicks, Taking the Long Way, Review Reprise fom June 2006

I wrote this first in June. Present comments are in brackets.

Bad news today [June 2006] about the upcoming Dixie Chicks tour. Ticket sales are sluggish, and some of the dates and venues may have to be pulled. They are scheduled to play here October 22nd. I’d like to go, so I hope this is not one of the venues pulled.

I bought their new CD, Taking the Long Way, a couple of weeks ago. The CD consists of fourteen songs all written by the Dixie Chicks with some helpers here and there.

Based on their original songs from their last CD, I am all for a CD of their own songs. I think they are terrific song writers. In fact, musically, Taking the Long Way is a superb piece of work. I have no idea what genre to call it. It’s not country, not really rock or pop, not blue grass. Maybe some sort of folk/country/pop/rock fusion. But I’ve never cared about genre types really anyway.

There are enough melodic hooks, unexpected but cool chord changes, surprises as to where you think a song is going, to cause me to expect to enjoy the CD for a long time to come.

Their single, which I heard them do on Leno or Letterman, is Not Ready to Make Nice. It is basically a middle finger to the country music powers that be, and the fans who got on their case after Natalie Maime’s comments about President Bush while they were on tour in England.

I admire their spunk. Not being a fan of the Country Music Establishment I don’t mind their rebellion against its rules and standards. Good for them.

Not Ready to Make Nice is not even in my top five favorite songs on the CD. As of today I’d go with Baby Hold On as my favorite, Easy Silence second, Everybody Knows third, Bitter End fourth, and The Long Way Around fifth. But I expect that to change as I listen to the CD more and more.

I think the Dixie Chicks are simply great musicians and songwriters.

I also think they have been really stupid, and have dug their own grave to a great extent. [well I guess Hollywood put Nasville in its place Sunday night!]

The crack about President Bush made in England before an adoring British anti-war crowd was just a cheap shot, and that it was taken out of country at the beginning of the war justifiably rubbed people the wrong way. Their upcoming concert was mentioned at the Chris Daughtry show at Grimsley Stadium and there were resounding boos. I don’t think those folks were all Republicans.

I really don’t think most people care what Natalie Maime’s personal view is of the war in Iraq or President Bush. She is hardly uniquely qualified to offer intelligent commentary. She is free to run her mouth as she sees fit. [She ran it too much at the Grammys] People are free to buy their CD’s and go to their concerts as they see fit.

The Dixie Chicks should incorporate their thoughts about life and the world – and the war – in their art, in their music. They do this to some extent in "I Hope" which I find to have a hopelessly naïve “why can’t we all just get along” message, but I still like the song. I just don’t think political commentary, even in music, is their strong suit. And I am a fan of good protest music, even when I don't agree with it. OK, so I miss the sixties. [and seventies already...War Pigs and all!]

Much of the CD is about how they have dealt with their fall from grace. There is too much of it for my taste. I think the over focus becomes self indulgence. It focuses attention too much on their own struggle with their fans and with country stations when there are simply too many other things to write about. Yet, existentially, they have been living in that struggle, so it is no surprise that they would write something about. Just too much I think.

What I worry about is that the buying of their CD’s or the attending of their concerts will be less about their music and more about whether people agree with or disagree with their political stance. I think that would be a real shame.

Having said all that, I will keep enjoying the CD for its musical excellence, and if I have the money I will go see them when they come here, if they do. And, again, I admire their grit.

Mostly I admire their music making. I admire their genre busting. I admire their musicianship, and that of their supporting cast. I just wish they would change the subject a little bit.

In Memory of Rachel Elizabeth Johnson

Dear Friend,

Tomorrow, February 9, 2007, marks the twenty year anniversary of the death of two and one half year old Rachel Elizabeth Johnson. Rachel was my sister Mary’s first child.

A month or so ago. in working on my own 2007 calendar, I realized to my surprise that we were soon coming up on this 20 year anniversary. Then, shortly after that, I came upon some old photo albums my mom had put together of the first grandkids when they were young. Suddenly I had all these pictures of Rachel. Hmmmm.

So I talked to my sister and we decided together that putting together a “set” of pictures in Rachel’s memory on my Flickr site would be good and appropriate. So I have stayed late many days at the office going through these old albums, scanning pictures, trying to fix some of them that had faded or become discolored, and hoping to reach a goal of 100 pictures by the 9th. With my sister’s help I reached that goal yesterday.

Rachel’s death was very sudden, as she was overcome by a bacterial infection that invaded her body, and which looked like the flu or a stomach bug until it was too late. Almost all the organs of her body had been laid waste by this infection. She never had a chance.

It is hard to put into words the sense of loss and devastation of that day and that week. Rachel was the first grandchild in the family, born about a month before my oldest daughter Shannon. Rachel was the apple of my parent’s eye. She was a lively and inquisitive and lovely child.

I don’t think there is anything in life so terrible as to lose one’s child. It was hard enough for the rest of us. My parents were devastated beyond words. I suppose that some of the sorrow felt by the rest of us was sorrow not just in Rachel’s death and thus our own loss, but the pain of knowing how deeply this death had cut into the hearts not only of Mary and Sandy, but of my parents, and Sandy’s parents. It was beyond articulating.

There is a kind of grief without hope that goes beyond coping. Thankfully, my sister Mary and her husband Sandy were and are solid Christians with a strong and real trust in God, and a true Christian hope. Despite Rachel’s age, and all the nagging questions that accompany such terrible things, she not only was a covenant child, but also a child who seemed even as a little girl to have a lively and real faith in her own right. Thus the devastation was accompanied and diminished somewhat by our common hope.

My daughter Shannon was born about four weeks after Rachel, and as we all lived in Columbia at the time, Shannon and Rachel were together a lot. Rachel would be just about 22 ½ were she still alive today.

Mary said to me when we were thinking about this that she wanted her friends and family who knew Rachel to remember her, and those who did not know her to have a glimpse of this dear life that had lived so briefly on this earth, and which had had such a huge impact on my family. Mary did not, and does not, want the memory of her first child forgotten.

Similarly I want to share this part of my life with those who may know me. These things never “go away.” They remain with us; they are always in the background. They impact our personalities and spirits in many ways. One cannot know my sister, nor can one know me either, without knowing this part of our lives.

So this is my tribute to my niece Rachel, and to my sister Mary and her husband Sandy, and in a way to all of us who were so much a part of the life of this little precious person.

In Memory of Rachel Elizabeth Johnson.

Joel

My Top Ten Beatles' Songs Not On “1.”

Whoa, this is hard. There are SO many. I think the list would change from day to day. Here is today’s list.

1. While My Guitar Gently Weeps

This is my favorite George Harrison song, though I can’t say I understand it. I do like the idea of randomly picking up a word or a phrase and building a song around it. I liked the regular version enough already with the Clapton lead, but recently I heard a more acoustic version on “Love” that includes more or different verses, and it is beautiful. I think I may like that version even better!

2. Because

I can’t decide if the whole medley on side 2 of Abbey Road should be considered as one song, so I have compromised and just chosen the first part of the medley, “Because.” Again, the acappella version on “Love” underlines the beauty of the harmonies, as well as the symmetry and simplicity of the lyrics, which for me has various levels of meaning. There is an ethereal quality that shows a side of the band I wish had had more time to develop.

3. Across the Universe

This is my all time favorite song about writing songs, and one of Lennon’s most poetically beautiful songs ever. They are to me a window into his heart – or shall I say his best self.

4. Rocky Raccoon

So many people find this song funny, yet, there is a pathos in the opening notes that pervades the song to me. It is a fun and silly story, but it also is sad, and it also raises lots of profound questions, all surrounding the Gideon Bible theme.

5. I Am the Walrus

OK, it is more a less a nonsense song, a medley of unfinished songs and silly phrases with all kinds of silly word play and heavy duty tripping out behind it, but musically it just appeals to me.

6. I Saw Her Standing There

This is a quintessential early Beatles song. Somehow the inherent energy of the song, the in-you-face rocking out beginning, survived the toned down editing of the early records, though there is a bootleg version that will blow your skin off. It reminds me that the Beatles were an incredible working band for years and years, and the world had not quite seen such a show of musical force.

7. A Day in the Life

A neat concept, sort of existential and all, a slice of life, a miscellaneous day, depicted in two ways, via the news and via personal experience. Great blend of two songs with complementary themes, plus all that orchestrated tension!

8. Revolution

What can I say, I love to crank this up as loud as my speakers will play it and ears stand it. I prefer the fast version. Maybe this song contains one of the few instances where I actually agree with John Lennon! There is a lot of wisdom in this song, and what a great guitar/drum opening!

9. If I Fell

OK, I grant, this maybe the most schmaltzy sounding of all Beatle’s songs, but the harmonies are beautiful, and the sentiment realistic. One can sense John’s fear all over and around this song.

10. I Me Mine

It sounds like a total smack down of the rest of the band to me, though Harrison said not. I think it’s just a groovy song, and pretty much expresses the narcissism of our day pretty well. Let It Be was actually the first Beatles album I bought with my own money – I was only 12 when they broke up – and I have always had a deep affection for it, Phil Spector notwithstanding.

I Love Snow

I am sitting in my office looking out at the beautiful snowfall. This old southern boy loves snow. And it makes sitting in an office almost bearable - just to look out at it.

Some of my best memories of childhood involve snow, sleet, and freezing rain, with the family huddled around the fireplace, my dear Irish Setter Clancey loopy with happiness, long walks, great sledding (Columbia is quite hilly), stupid games like standing under pine trees and running when we hear the limbs pop. And boy did they pop, like gun shots.

Then there was the "great" snowfall, in February, of 1972 I think, or maybe '73. That storm came up from south of Columbia. Orangeburg, SC got 22 inches. Columbia got 14-17 depending on here you were, and north in Greenville they had maybe one inch. It started snowing while we were in school. They let us out and my bus couldn't make it to y home, so we had to walk the last two miles. Got sort of lost on a golf course, but that was all part of the fun! I remember the huge enormous flakes, floating down so slowly like parachutes. There was no wind. The snow fell straight as an arrow. We had a little metal rail around our back porch. It was maybe an inch wide. So absent was any wind that an inch wide wall of snow built up on the rail over a foot high. It was incredible. The snow fell all day. When we woke up the next morning it was still snowing. We had never seen anything like it. It made us so excited we could hardly contain ourselves. I remember being out in the front yard with my dog. I would stretch my hands out to each side and just fall straight backwards - right into fluff. I would lie there, the surrounding wall of snow above my eyes to the right and left. It was so warm and so peaceful lying there, well, until Clancey pounced. He wasn't going to waste this opportunity lying around. He wanted to play.

South of us along I-95 in southern SC people were in grave danger. Helicopters flew in to rescue stranded motorists. I think the governor declared a state of emergency.

So, looking out my window, I remember how much I love snow. Maybe one's love if it is inversely proportional to how much one gets. I would guess the snow gets old week after week, month after month.

But for me it is all joy. Thank you God for the snow today!