This Guy Falls Down

Weird Nashville

Well, I was hoping to post some more links to weird and unexplained sites this October, but time has not been too kind to Mr. Lee, so two will have to do for this year.

My friend Mr. Geof Barkley heard this guy talking on the radio about how he does tours of the Bicentennial Mall in Nashville and explains how it's patterned after Mount Meru, the mythical "axis of the world".

Now I'm not saying I believe it. I'm not even saying I get it. I'm just providing a service here and pointing it out. (Let the head scratching commence...)

Have a safe and happy Halloween! (Or Fall Festival, if that's more your speed.)

New Wilco record

While I wish this post was to say that there was a new studio album from Wilco coming out really soon, I can report the next best thing. There's a new live album coming out on November 15th. Entitled Kicking Television, the album was recorded at one of the band's Chicago concerts back in May. I actually think this is a great move as the band currently possesses a live chemistry which they've never had. Also, I'm selfishly looking forward to hearing Nels Cline perform live again (if you haven't heard Wilco since he's been with them, you haven't heard Wilco...). I'm a little bummed that they didn't include "Theologians", my favorite track off of A Ghost is Born, or my new live favorite "Sunken Treasure", but I can relate. When you've got as many killer songs to choose from as those guys have, something's bound to get left out.

A lap around the blogosphere

In a recent perusal of ye ole blogosphere, I've "discovered" three blogs of note (I use the word discovered lightly because I've met two of these people in person):

1. Church of the Masses is run by one Barbara Nicolosi of ActOne, a great organization designed as a support network for Hollywood screenwriters, actors, etc.


2. Through Barb's blog, I discovered that Alice Bass, author of The Creative Life (notice it's on my sidebar), has a blog entitled The Fairfax


3. Lastly, Ryun Hovind has added his blog to the illustrious list of influential blogs I like to call "The Merc". That would be members of my Tuesday morning mentoring group who have started blogs...

A sneak peek at November

Instead of the usual hype I try to throw your way to set up a new book, November's selection comes with a trailer...

I figured that with all of the hype and new interest, most of us will probaly end up reading it in the next couple of months, so a BOTM seemed an obvious move.

I hope the movie's as good as the previews!

October Book Discussion

Consider this your official place to record your thoughts on Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies. I started compiling some questions, but this just doesn't feel like that kind of a book. I mean, how can you take someone's personal reflections about their faith journey and try to quantify it? It's like the Donald Miller quote about turning mystery into math.

At any rate, I'd love to hear what others are thinking about the book. So use the comments section below to record your general thoughts. Nothing fancy - whenever things start looking too "official" here people start getting gunshy. I'll chime in too whenever I get a minute.

NOOMA

"We can get anything we want, from anywhere in the world,
whenever we want it. That's how it is and that's how we want
it to be. Still, our lives aren't any different than other
generations before us. Our time is.

We want spiritual direction, but it has to be real for us
and available when we need it. We want a new format for
getting Christian perspectives.

NOOMA is the new format.

It's short films with communicators that really speak to us.
Compact, portable, and concise. Each NOOMA touches on
issues that we care about, that we want to talk about,
and it comes in a way that fits our world.
It's a format that's there for us when we need it,
as we need it, how we need it. "

- from the "About" page at NOOMA.com

I recently discovered these short films and have found them to be an inspiration. Rob Bell, who speaks on most of them, was recently featured in Relevant magazine.

Give them a shot and tell me what you think.

A blog from GodBlogCon

Last week, several influential "God-bloggers" got together in California for GodBlogCon. Now, how do you think would be the best way to document what happened there? Hmmm... How about a blog? Seriously, this was an event I wish I had been able to attend. There were several people there who I would've loved to have met in person. I guess the blog is the next best thing...

New iPod and iTunes

If you haven't been to Apple's website in a couple of days, be sure to check it out. They just announced the release of several new products. The ones that interest me the most are the new iPod, and more importantly, their latest version of iTunes.

The new iPod features video capabilities. That's right. You can listen to the new Third Day album (hey we've got a new record coming out! why not a little self promotion?) and watch Grandma's Lake Tahoe trip all in the (dis)comfort of your airplane seat. They offer 2 models: a 30G for $299, or a 60G for $399. If you're like me and you're running out of room just with songs, the 60G might be the call.

As excited as I am about this new iPod, I'm even more excited about iTunes 6. Apple has made over 2,000 music videos available. And you don't have to have the fancy new iPod to enjoy them. I've already downloaded videos from U2, Ryan Adams, John Mayer, Steve Earle, and Switchfoot (sorry, Steph!). That's real cool and all, but it gets better. They've struck a deal with Disney and offer animated shorts from Pixar as well as selected episodes from ABC television shows. You heard me right. Now you can watch Lost or Desperate Housewives (you're welcome, Steph!) from the (dis)comfort of your airplane seat...

SanDisk introduces a new music format

Eyeing the burgeoning cell phone market and its musical future, SanDisk is introducing a new format called TrustedFlash. The first release will include the Rolling Stones' latest CD, Bigger Bang. There are all kinds of potential uses for the new format, including movies, music and games. Labels are sure to love it because of its copyright protection, while consumers will like it because the protection is tied to the TrustedFlash card and not the player.

Very interesting. Too bad I don't know anyone who works at SanDisk who could give me the scoop ;)

Interesting theory on the "Lost" numbers

Now, I don't necessarily think this is the answer, but it's fun to speculate nonetheless. Somebody with way too much time on their hands plugged the numbers into a GPS and got this. Seems to me like if this were the answer it would've been degrees/minutes/seconds as opposed to decimal form. Ah, I'll shut up - I'm just ruining the fun!

Thanks to Adam R. for steering me to this site...