A quick lesson in “Presentation.”

Posted by on September 22, 2011 1 comment

You may have an idea.  Maybe a huge stream of ideas all intertwined and interconnected, like that box of tv/vcr cables that you have no idea what to make of it.  All of those ideas, those ingredients, are useful, yet anybody who looks at them may look and think “I don’t need/want this mess.”

Maybe you yourself have talent or ability.  You’ve always wanted to use it, but you just can’t seem to get the opportunity.  It will never happen unless you get it together, and PRESENT it.

Present your ideas.  Present your products.

Present yourself.

There’s no magic involved to turn NOTHING into something.  Find the channel that best represents your potential.  Start a website.  That doesn’t cost ANYTHING.  Put your resume together.  Make it NICE.  People need to see YOU in order to know what you’re really worth.  Be proud of yourself and your work.

That cottage cheese and cucumber didn’t look very appetizing, did it?

I'd buy it.

 

Review: New Coldplay Single – “Paradise”

Posted by on September 12, 2011 No comments

I have to say, I’ve really hated getting newsletters in the mail lately.  Useless info from Facebook, LinkedIn, my bank, what have you.  I’ve never ever regretted subscribing to Coldplay’s mailing list.  Today, it’s truly paid off.

Coldplay’s latest single released today in the UK:  ”Paradise.”

Simply put, this is the BEST song I’ve heard from Coldplay’s highly anticipated “Mylo Xyloto.”  Now, I liked “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” but I don’t think it holds a candle to the mass appeal that this new song will no doubt have.  The first thing that comes to mind: this song SOARS.  Its orchestral lead-in demands attention, layering in a steady, bassy, groovin’ electro beat and drum track that makes itself right at home.  The lyrical storytelling and dreamlike chorus vocals evoke a visceral connection to the titular destination, sought by a girl once naive.

All in all, a beautiful track destined to be a hit.  I would dare say this could easily be this generation’s “Bittersweet Symphony.” If you’re listening to it now and think “Meh, it’s pretty good,” just wait ’til you get a chance to hear it in your car, on the road. Pure beauty.

MYLO XYLOTO releases October 24, 2011, in digital, vinyl, and CD format.  Click here for pre-order and more information.

The Internet, Censorship, and Democracy

Posted by on June 30, 2011 No comments

“Assumption: The internet is basically a very good thing when it comes to promoting democracy.”

Are both sides equally advantageous? Or is democracy bound to tip the scales slowly but surely? Is it that simple?

one of the hardest things

Posted by on June 24, 2010 No comments

it was the first time i’d ever been in a climbing harness… straps on my legs and around my waist.  i had no problem belaying other people climbing, it was something i needed to learn.  but i needed to learn how to use the zip line… and that was 35 feet higher than i was at the moment.  just so you know, i’m not afraid of heights.  i love to be at the top of something and peer down the edge, feeling gravity nip at my toes.  but here… a climbing wall, with tiny little nubbin foot holds, and freshly taught rec staff holding ME on belay?  not something i’d bet on.

i looked over to the supervisor and told him that i’d feel a lot better climbing a ladder straight to the top.  he smiled and informed me of my second option.  the lobster claws.  the lobster claws are two ropes that i hook to my harness, each end had steel locks that operated like their namesake.  he walked me over to the side of the rock wall.  we stood at the base of what was basically a telephone pole straight up.  all the way up were staggered staples that were two inches wide and stuck out about 4 inches, and were positioned like alternating steps.  the goal was to climb up these staples, and hook in each claw all the way.  take a step up, attach the left claw, take a step up, attach the right claw, take a step up, detach the left claw and attach at the next highest staple (at least 2 feet apart) and alternate all the way up to the top.

i inhaled…

after all my talk, there was no way to back out now.  so i started climbing, quickly.  left, right, left right.  about 10 feet up the pole, i stopped to think about this… and realized that there was nobody holding me up by a rope like the regular rock wall.  it was all me. my arms and legs wrapped around a pole.  lifting myself.  i made the first 15 feet in about 20 seconds.  the staples kept getting smaller and smaller, not to mention further apart.  my breathing deepened and i began to tire, clutching my fingers through these tiny metal loops.  everytime i detached a claw i felt my body wearing out leaving me 5 seconds to attach it to the next staple, or i’d collapse backwards.  i had nothing to lean into, or rest upon.

a handful of people gathered around the bottom to watch this large guy take the option that nobody else wanted to do.  i wasn’t afraid to take the challenge, but it was physically the most uphill battle i’ve ever taken.  and it wore me to my core.  i had something to prove.  there was no way down but the zip line at the top. i couldn’t take steps backwards.

i’m reminded of the battles that i face from time to time, in my relationship.  sometimes, well, a lot of the time, i don’t know if i’ll ever reach the top.  but i know that if i don’t try, i won’t anyways.  i accept the challenge and once i realize i’m halfway, there’s nowhere i would rather go than forward.  no matter what it takes, or however hard the struggle.

when i finally reached the top of the wall, i collapsed on the floor, completely out of breath, and both of my arms locked tense, forearm muscles swollen and throbbing.  i finally got to take the leap off, down a 200 foot zip line… hanging upside down like i had seen campers do hundreds of times.  the rewards of the struggle completely worth the fear, the pain.  we can live our lives to the fullest, and enjoy every bit of our efforts.  we can be amazing together, we can see beauty together…  and i can’t wait to see what else is in store…

Trendy, trendy

Posted by on February 10, 2010 4 comments

I originally wanted this to be a twitter post… but my thoughts outgrew the 140 character limit.

When churches start calling themselves “nonprofits,” are they trying to stray away from the negative connotations of the label of “church” or are they trying to hop on the wagon of today’s nonprofits and claim that “cool factor” that comes with?

We do a lot of things to try and sound appealing. We dress to fit into a specific subculture. We invent cutting edge jargon. We talk about our accomplishments, our tastes in music, our job titles, our knowledge of current events, and especially our musings on the spiritual (+10 points for irony). People strive SO HARD to convince the world that they have value. “I HAVE SOMETHING TO OFFER” scream our narcissism driven postings via social networks while the virtual masses line up to rate and judge anything in front of them.

Welcome to a world where the number of blog comments and @replies we receive are not only indicative of our success, but give us our sense of self worth. A lack of means we must be doing something wrong, and its time to roll out the big guns… who do I know that will remind people that I am in higher social circle? What quick, poignant idea can I have to show how sensitively spiritual I am? Think.

Now, nonprofits, spiritual musings, social networks, and the like are all fine, great, and dare I say, important…but are we doing them to FEEL important?

Are we rating our own value by our number of followers instead of finding our value in BEING a follower?

From the drought side in

Posted by on February 8, 2010 No comments

You’re right. It has been a while. I’ve fallen right back into the habit of getting caught up in the physical, tangible here and now, that I’ve neglected the fact that a blog requires care. It requires dedication. Attention. A litterbox.

Wait.

Being homeless is kinda like letting somebody else cross a rickety bridge over a bottomless chasm before you. It’s a good way to find out what planks will be there when you need them. It’s a rough world out there, a world where an onion ring can have more fans than the great Justin Bieber himself. If you’re not careful, you could find those planks snapping out from underneath your feet.

I want to be one of those people that will never give when someone needs support. I may not have everything that everyone needs, but what I do have (given to me by my Creator) will be able to help somewhere.

And now… your beautiful moment of the blog… music starts at 0:32.

10 Weeks is a long, long time

Posted by on November 21, 2009 No comments

There were so many things to cherish and appreciate about the tour. It was a rare collection of opportunities I was fortunate to be immersed in.

I also learn that a lot can happen while I’m away for 10 weeks – parties and concerts, birthdays and deaths, arguments and fights, regrets, love gained and lost…

People change in 10 weeks. Some things never change, thank the Lord for that, but people do. Someone you thought you knew will have experienced as much change in ten weeks as yourself. There’s no imaginary capsule that holds your life in place until you get back. Nobody keeps your seat warm while you’re gone. Life moves, fast as ever, and you’re going to miss out on it.

How do I reconcile the change that I’ve returned to? This martian landscape bears little resemblance to the green earth I left behind.

I hold on to the things I know I are steadfast. A never-changing God whose promises fail not. True friends that anxiously await and open their arms to a weary traveler longing to grasp a slight bit of familiarity.

Who are you anymore?