Recommendations

Hi, I’m back, etc.

I have a series of recommendations for you.

• Play Settlers of Catan
• Watch Luther (at the very least for its historicity)
• Read Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
• Read “Jesus Wants to Save Christians” ASAP.  Also, you should’ve read “Velvet Elvis” by now.
• Okay, so apparently Microsoft has this new song making software called Songsmith.  It’s sort of like Apple’s GarageBand, except completely different.  This commercial video thingy for it is very, very confusingly odd.  Also, if you search YouTube for “Songsmith”, you will find some very clever persons have run popular songs through the program with hilarious results.
• I thought Andy Rowell (my Biblical Literature 2 – New Testament professor two years ago) had an excellent, fair piece on the nature of Inauguration Day.  (an aside: I skipped a class to watch the Inauguration.  We’re allowed one skip, and I thought that, considering I’ll tell my grandkids about the inauguration of the first black President someday, using my skip as such was much more than justified.)
• I would like to read the C.S. Lewis essay, “Why I’m Not a Pacifist,” because I’m sure it’s fascinating.  There’s a problem, though:  I can’t find that.  Help? (EDIT:  Wyatt found it on Amazon, in the book “The Weight of Glory”.  Here’s a link to the excerpt.)
• Our MLK Day chapel speaker, Bryan Loritts, was phenomenal, and I implore you to listen to his message.  You can download it here.  Offhand, I can’t remember another chapel getting a standing ovation.
• Listen to Okkervil River, whose 2008 release, “The Stand Ins” definitely deserved a mention in my 2008-in-review post (also, upon further review, I don’t think I’d leave She & Him on there).
• Also, thanks to Caleb (who I’m fairly certain doesn’t read this) for turning me on to Andrew Bird.
• Lastly, also worth your listens: Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes and Fleet Foxes.  Obviously I could go on.  Looking back on those music recommendations it seems I’ve been digging lots of folksy stuff lately.

Filed under: Recommendations , Andrew Bird, Bright Eyes, chapel, college, Conor Oberst, Fleet Foxes, MLK, Music, Okkervil River, Rob Bell, Songsmith