This Guy Falls Down

Throw another rock band on the 'barbie

Well I leave today to begin the long trek to Australia. You know the drill: I may post, I may not. With us doing about 10 shows in 11 days, I'm thinking it will lean more towards the "not" category. I will try to do my best and do an update at some point...

January Questions for Discussion

1) The first part of Mere Christianity was originally titled The Case for Christianity. How does Lewis make his "case"?
2) Much of this work was written during World War II. How do you think that carried over into Lewis' writing? Hint: this is mentioned in the introduction.
3) Much has been made about Lewis, who was single at the time, using marriage as an analogy for faith. What exactly was the analogy, and do you think he was qualified to make it?
4) Speaking of qualified, Lewis has often been described as the first Christian apologist. Why was he uniquely qualified for this role?
5) Use this space to insert your own insights. Or, if you prefer, you may use this time to give me a piece of your mind...

Heads up for February

Since February is a short month, I'm going to let you guys off the hook a little bit on the Book Club front. February's selection is a pretty easy read. And what is February's selection, you may ask? Well I'll tell you. It's A Swiftly Tilting Planet, by Madeleine L'Engle. It's got everything you could ever ask for in a book: adventure, history, telepathy (I'm hearing the Baptist types choking on their potluck dinner right about now). And the infamous Madoc even makes a sort of cameo appearance. Not to mention that it's by my favorite author.
If you haven't finished January's selection, no problem. I'm just letting you know so you can snag you a copy of the February book.

The year of the nickel

So, did you hear about the missing truckload of nickels? (Maybe they're the new buffalo nickels: apparently they're all the rage.)

The Strand Theatre

A major campaign has recently been launched to renovate The Strand Theatre. The Strand was the site of several of our early shows.

They've done it again

Well, it's that time of year again. The time us Mac geeks look forward to. It's the Macworld expo, which is the time when they unfurl all of their latest products. And they usually make a pretty big splash. This year, of course, is no exception:

1. Macmini: Aimed (I'm assuming) at those who jumped on the iPod thing but don't yet own a Mac, you can get a full-powered Macintosh computer for less than $500.


2. iPod Shuffle: For $99, you can get an iPod. Wow.


3. For us music buffs, there's Garageband 2, which now features multitrack recording, and even a guitar tuner.


4. iLife '05 features new versions of iMovie and iTunes in addition to the aforementioned Garageband 2.


5. iWork is an all-new application featuring a word processor and a professional slideshow/lecture application.

Mere Christianity Comments

Done with Mere Christianity yet? Well, do tell: let me know what you thought about it in the "comments" section that follows this post. Haven't read it yet? It's only the 11th, so you have 20 days to finish it.
Author's note: I hope to finish this book before my Australia trip later this month, and will provide my "official" review ASAP. And maybe even some stimulating questions for you. If not, you're on your own :)

Need a little resolution help?

You know what's hilarious? I was getting a little post together about my senitments regarding New Year's. And it seemed kind of familiar. Well, it's because I was saying almost exactly the same thing I said last year. Not exactly my own personal resolutions, although they don't change a whole lot from year to year, but more my general feelings about New Year's in general. I guess I love Christmas for exactly the same reasons that I'm not a fan of New Year's.
Anyway, I know I'm not making a lick of sense here, but that's OK. What about you? Got any resolutions going? If so, I've found a couple of things that might just help you.
You want to play the piano? Check out this dude. Guitar lessons are easy. You learn a few chords and then you start learning songs. Piano should be easier, because the chords are easier. That's exactly what this guy's saying. Learn you some chords, learn enough sight reading so you can pick out a melody, and have at it.
What about weight loss? Yeah, we could all stand to lose a pound or fifty. Try the Step Diet. If you take in less energy through eating than you consume through exercise, you will lose weight. End of story.
Finally, I found a book called Your Best Year Yet. Now, I haven't read this book, and, knowing me, I probably won't. But what a great thought. This really could be the best year you've ever had! And I hope that it is...

Overused words list, 2005 edition

Last year, I guaranteed that the whole "hizzle foshizzle" phenomenon would be mentioned on the Banished Words List. Guess what? I was right. BTW - as I recall it, Georgia is orange, not purple.
Thanks to Sarah for reminding me about this list. While you're at it, check out last year's list and see which words ("metrosexual") have stuck, which haven't ("companion animal"), and which have morphed ("bling bling" is now simply "bling").

Prospero año y felicidad

Happy 2005!