This Guy Falls Down

Lost season finale

A couple of months ago, I was almost ready to give up on Lost. But I decided to stick it out because I had already invested several dozen hours of my life into the series. And it's payed off. The last six or so episodes leading up to the season finale have been incredible.

The finale itself was downright bizarre. The usual "flashback" segment turned out to be a "flash forward". Charlie is apparently dead. Hugo was the big hero. A lot of fun butt-kicking, and a hint towards a rescue. They stopped just short of ending the whole thing. Makes you wonder if they didn't know if the show was going to be renewed when they wrote it. Some questions got answered, but so many more remain.

Who did Jack visit at the funeral home?
What city was Jack in?
Was Kate still with Sawyer in the "flash forward"?
Was that really Walt or just a vision on the part of Locke?

It was a fun episode, and in hindsight, it made sense for them to wrap it up the way they did. It's going to be a LONG time before we see another new episode, certainly too long to try to hold out much of a cliffhanger ending. Better to build the momentum from scratch, ala 24.

On a side note, I bought The Third Policeman, one of the books Sawyer is seen reading on the island, and supposedly an inspiration for the show. Maybe it will tie me over until next year.

Tough crowd

I brought my guitar to my three-year-old daughter's preschool class the other day. It was one of the oddest "performances" I think I've ever had. I played three songs, and let my daughter help with picking out which songs to play. I started with "Keep On Shinin'", and the dozen or so preschoolers just looked at me with blank stares. After the chorus I thought I'd work on the crowd participation, so I asked them if they could clap their hands with the music. For the rest of the song they clapped completely randomly, nowhere near to the music.

When that first song ended, no clapping. Just an awkward silence. Then a kid blurted out "My Dad plays guitar! His name is Chris!" That was followed by "I'm from Georgia!" "I'm from Georgia, too!" "I'm from Kennesaw!", and finally "We're in Georgia!"

My daughter had prepped me that the kids knew "B-I-N-G-O", so I asked them if they knew it. They said "No." So I foolishly played it anyway. If you've never played the song before, it's kind of tricky. It's hard to line the chords up with the clapping. I cut it short after the "*clap* *clap* *clap* G-O" verse. So I downshift into "Jesus Loves Me". They actually sang on this one and it was kind of cute. I figured I'd quit while I was ahead, so I thanked the kids, packed up my stuff and left.

Later that evening, my little girl said "Daddy, you did good, but next time you need to do some more songs."

Next time I'm going to bring candy :)

Interesting Madeleine L'Engle quotes

Stacey Gagne at INFUZE Magazine recently chimed in about Madeleine L'Engle, being inspired by other artists, and taking notes in the margins.

The five second rule

We've all claimed it, or at least been there and been repulsed by somebody else who's claimed it. You know, you drop a delicious Twix bar on the ground (why do Twix come in those fragile little packages? there are TWO bars in there, mind you, hence the name Twix) and quickly pick it up and eat it and cite the Five Second Rule. Like Finder's Keepers and Shotgun, this is one of those unstated but universally accepted truisms.

But how "true" is it, you may wonder? Well, according to this study, not only is it true, but you could actually extend it to a thirty second rule with no consequences.

OK, pick up that Twix and enjoy it, right? Not so fast, according to these guys. Of course, I don't think anybody in their right mind would pick up a piece of food that had just fallen in a Petri dish full of salmonella, so I'm not sure of the validity of this study.

I guess we'll just have to rely on our good old common sense. You gonna eat that Twix?

God bless you, Jerry Falwell

I was shocked and saddened to hear today about the passing of Jerry Falwell. My prayers go out on behalf of Rev. Falwell's family, his church congregation at Thomas Road, and the Liberty University community. I had the chance to meet Jerry several years ago, and he struck me as a warm and caring individual who loved God and loved helping young people. I know scores of pastors and people involved in music who are doing great works and who got their start at Liberty University. He opened up the doors for Third Day to play at Liberty more times than I can count, and for that I am grateful. Yes, he was very outspoken, and yes, I often found myself throwing my hands up in the air as a result, but I know that his ultimate motive was to tell people about Jesus, even if I might have disagreed with the politics or the technique or the tone. I'm sure there will be much debate in blog circles about Falwell, but as a Christian, I mourn the loss of a brother in Christ and a mighty man of God...

It's coming...

What's coming, you ask? The new Wilco, that's what. Sky Blue Sky debuts May 15th.

(go here for a preview.)