Glory to God in the highest, in this season of celebration!
Here is a version of 'Bring A Torch, Jeanette Isabella' that I recorded.
listen to me
Featured instruments are (my badly out of tune) piano, (my dad's old) nylon-string guitar, melodica and ukulele. And my voice.
I enjoy the background noise that you can hear sometimes. People talking, babies murmuring and gurgling. Everything was recorded in about 2 takes, and I just fooled around with some stuff on Garageband. No mystery here.
My mom and I were talking today about how wonderful it is that we can forgive others, because God has forgiven us. Be blessed, my friend.
(p.s... the title's the part from the bible that Linus reads, in the Charlie Brown Christmas special.)
("i'm sort of a boring person.")
so I was hanging out with my grandparents the other night and we were talking about the good old times.
I love conversations that take you down a rabbit trail, where you're talking about one thing and the next thing you know you're talking about something else and you forgot how you got there. Perhaps one day that won't be so novel! But for now, it is.
My grandpa and I were talking about music (as that is what I study) and he asked me if I liked country music (I forget why) and I thought about it and said, "I like old country music, like Hank Williams."
and then he pulled out this Patsy Cline tape and he put it in on real loud in the other room, because that is the only tape player they have that works. If you had asked me before, I wouldn't have thought that I liked Patsy Cline!
But man, she is good! Check out this song. It is (unfortunately) not a Christmas tune, but it does have some real nice slide guitar licks. Her voice is great.
ps. tomorrow is Christmas eve. nuts!
I love conversations that take you down a rabbit trail, where you're talking about one thing and the next thing you know you're talking about something else and you forgot how you got there. Perhaps one day that won't be so novel! But for now, it is.
My grandpa and I were talking about music (as that is what I study) and he asked me if I liked country music (I forget why) and I thought about it and said, "I like old country music, like Hank Williams."
and then he pulled out this Patsy Cline tape and he put it in on real loud in the other room, because that is the only tape player they have that works. If you had asked me before, I wouldn't have thought that I liked Patsy Cline!
But man, she is good! Check out this song. It is (unfortunately) not a Christmas tune, but it does have some real nice slide guitar licks. Her voice is great.
ps. tomorrow is Christmas eve. nuts!
how we be
WHOA, hey!
so Jesse and I got each other some instruments for Christmas. We did presents early this year because of timing with seeing each other and everything. I got him a second-hand (steel-string) lap slide guitar and he got me a melodica!
So awesome!!
please take note of our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It is elegant, I think.
also, you know, I've decided it's okay to sometimes get a little personal on here... I mean, I'm assuming only people who actually want to read this, read this - versus me publicly posting my thoughts and feelings on something like facebook where people see what I am doing with my life whether they like it or not.
That being said, I wrote this in my journal the other night, and I want to share it here. I was writing it and even kind of thinking about my blog and everything. Maybe it can be encouraging, or challenging. I hope it is:
so Jesse and I got each other some instruments for Christmas. We did presents early this year because of timing with seeing each other and everything. I got him a second-hand (steel-string) lap slide guitar and he got me a melodica!
So awesome!!
please take note of our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It is elegant, I think.
also, you know, I've decided it's okay to sometimes get a little personal on here... I mean, I'm assuming only people who actually want to read this, read this - versus me publicly posting my thoughts and feelings on something like facebook where people see what I am doing with my life whether they like it or not.
That being said, I wrote this in my journal the other night, and I want to share it here. I was writing it and even kind of thinking about my blog and everything. Maybe it can be encouraging, or challenging. I hope it is:
Dec. 19
You know, life is just too short to live it miserably.
And with everything I know, with the information I have, I choose to believe in freedom, living fully. Understanding that God is fully pleased with us. I want to believe in miracles. Miraculous transformation, people changing, lives being completely turned around.
I want to infuse all of my actions with a sense of deep hope. Like the french verb espoir -- hope with a sense of certainty .. with a faith not dependent on myself but in God. A faith in God that leads to a belief, an adherence to the fact that yes, I am worth loving. People are worth loving.
I don't know. I'm sitting in church and I just feel this sense that these past few months I've been only living to half of my capacity.
I just think so much in this life pulls us forward, pulls into reaching our full potential. And that takes imagination, to literally visualize ourselves where we are not, but were made to be.
10:00 - 12:00
hey!
I watched Casablanca.
I had heard it was a movie about love. I had no idea it was set in the time of WWII and was made during that time, too.
What a love story!
What a good movie.
I watched Casablanca.
I had heard it was a movie about love. I had no idea it was set in the time of WWII and was made during that time, too.
What a love story!
What a good movie.
in my little life.
I'm sitting here on the cozy queen-sized bed in my parents' guest room. I blog because I can! I'm helping my mom remove the awful teddy bear border that surrounds the walls and the (almost) instant gratification of it reminds me of vacuuming or sweeping, and it's fun.
I've lost 5 pounds in 4 days. Which isn't that much or anything, and I guess that means I'd like to put up some pictures of my face post-wisdom-teeth-surgery. I aimed to recover as quickly as Rodney did -- he stopped bleeding a few hours after, didn't need any of the prescribed painkillers and was eating nachos the same afternoon his teeth were pulled. (!)
Alas, it seems we all cannot be so fortunate. My recovery hasn't been so smooth, but it has been alright, too. My mouth was bleeding the whole day of the surgery, my right cheek has swollen and bruised about an inch off my face and I can't really chew. I even missed the tacky-Christmas-sweater party hosted by Stef. It sounded like a good time.
Anyways, surgery is surgery, and in my little life, I am so glad to be home. I am so glad to have several places to call home this Christmas. It can be a hard time for me. Is that too personal for a blog? It's interesting to notice how I've become pretty accustomed to the vibe of my life in London and being surrounded by 20-year-olds, and now it's strange to be spending time in places like Toronto and Orangeville.
I think I am growing up quite a bit right now. This weekend I decided that I don't think I'd need to be living in Toronto in order to be happy. For me, it's way more about nostalgia, culture, and feeling hip than anything else.
Rather than changing, I think I always need to be willing to grow. It's hard to talk about this and not sound cheesy, but it's okay because I do it all the time. I met a girl in Vancouver who said that we don't really change as human beings because to change means to "make or become a different substance entirely." Changing literally implies that we break down everything that exists and start all over again. As humans we are still the same at the core of who we are (which is good, that is what is intended) but noting that, we cannot be stagnant.
We cannot do things the way they've always been done. We cannot become resentful because that leads to bitterness. We must forgive ourselves and we must forgive others. We must encourage others. I say these things because I know bitter people. It seems we live and exist only to please ourselves. But I don't know, let's do it different. Let's at least, try.
I mean, what does it matter, though. These are just thoughts in my head that I put on the internet.
Rodney showed me this. It makes me think about blogging differently.
So far, in December, I listen to this song almost everyday:
I've lost 5 pounds in 4 days. Which isn't that much or anything, and I guess that means I'd like to put up some pictures of my face post-wisdom-teeth-surgery. I aimed to recover as quickly as Rodney did -- he stopped bleeding a few hours after, didn't need any of the prescribed painkillers and was eating nachos the same afternoon his teeth were pulled. (!)
Alas, it seems we all cannot be so fortunate. My recovery hasn't been so smooth, but it has been alright, too. My mouth was bleeding the whole day of the surgery, my right cheek has swollen and bruised about an inch off my face and I can't really chew. I even missed the tacky-Christmas-sweater party hosted by Stef. It sounded like a good time.
Anyways, surgery is surgery, and in my little life, I am so glad to be home. I am so glad to have several places to call home this Christmas. It can be a hard time for me. Is that too personal for a blog? It's interesting to notice how I've become pretty accustomed to the vibe of my life in London and being surrounded by 20-year-olds, and now it's strange to be spending time in places like Toronto and Orangeville.
I think I am growing up quite a bit right now. This weekend I decided that I don't think I'd need to be living in Toronto in order to be happy. For me, it's way more about nostalgia, culture, and feeling hip than anything else.
Rather than changing, I think I always need to be willing to grow. It's hard to talk about this and not sound cheesy, but it's okay because I do it all the time. I met a girl in Vancouver who said that we don't really change as human beings because to change means to "make or become a different substance entirely." Changing literally implies that we break down everything that exists and start all over again. As humans we are still the same at the core of who we are (which is good, that is what is intended) but noting that, we cannot be stagnant.
We cannot do things the way they've always been done. We cannot become resentful because that leads to bitterness. We must forgive ourselves and we must forgive others. We must encourage others. I say these things because I know bitter people. It seems we live and exist only to please ourselves. But I don't know, let's do it different. Let's at least, try.
I mean, what does it matter, though. These are just thoughts in my head that I put on the internet.
Rodney showed me this. It makes me think about blogging differently.
So far, in December, I listen to this song almost everyday:
thoughts on nudity and nakedness
these are just a few highlights from this incredibly profound blog post on nudity and nakedness (thank you Jared and Andrew):
And in almost all of my relationships, even my super important ones, I feel like I lack a connectedness.
But I guess sometimes, in order to understand and desire a connectedness, we need to tangibly experience what we lack.
"Nudity only requires the removal of clothes, but nakedness requires the removal of much more: our personal shields, our walls of solitude, the barriers we put up to keep others at a safe distance.
...
We’re living in the most clothed period of time history has ever seen, but are we any more modest? Are we any more moral? Are family values any more protected?
...
Surely all of who you who are married have been nude with your spouse, but how often are you genuinely naked with each other? How often do you deeply, humanly connect with the essence of who your spouse is?
And beyond marriage, how often do we as people deeply, humanly connect with each other? As friends, couples, even family, how often do we let ourselves be truly vulnerable with each other?"
I know I talk about this stuff a lot, but it's so important.
Actually connecting with each other is so important.
Actually connecting with each other is so important.
And in almost all of my relationships, even my super important ones, I feel like I lack a connectedness.
But I guess sometimes, in order to understand and desire a connectedness, we need to tangibly experience what we lack.
advent(ure)
This picture is totally the background on my laptop right now.
Check out that mullet! Really, not much has changed since I was little.
And Kyle's face is funny, too.
Check out that mullet! Really, not much has changed since I was little.
And Kyle's face is funny, too.
Man, you definitely don't see mountains like that here in Ontario.
and it would be me!
So, I went to Vancouver last summer. And I am hoping to go to France next summer.
Ideally, I'd have some connection with someone there who would say, "hey, do you have any Canadian friends who want a place to crash in France for a few months?"
and it would be me!
Unfortunately, I haven't found anyone like that yet. (If you know anyone in France saying that, let me know.) So I'm looking into volunteering again with YWAM. It would be neat to spend some time with the Taizé community, too.
Oh, man! I picked up a nice little assortment of used books for 50 cents each the other day. The French department is is having a book sale and they had such nice, old books. Poetry, and books on linguistics and classic novels and stuff. The pages were yellowed and smelled of dust, and history.
I realized those pictures I scanned and put here - those pictures of me when I was kid - don't make it look like I was particularly happy. I might scan more. I think I was a shy kid but I smiled sometimes, too.
I am getting my wisdom teeth out this Friday. Please keep me in your prayers for things to go well!
Today is the last day of classes, and that means Tuba Christmas in the music building lobby, as part of the music faculty tradition here at Western! Hooray for cramming as many people as we can in the lobby, selling festive treats, tubas and euphoniums playing carols, and then, collectively singing carols ourselves!
Oh, man! I picked up a nice little assortment of used books for 50 cents each the other day. The French department is is having a book sale and they had such nice, old books. Poetry, and books on linguistics and classic novels and stuff. The pages were yellowed and smelled of dust, and history.
I realized those pictures I scanned and put here - those pictures of me when I was kid - don't make it look like I was particularly happy. I might scan more. I think I was a shy kid but I smiled sometimes, too.
I am getting my wisdom teeth out this Friday. Please keep me in your prayers for things to go well!
Today is the last day of classes, and that means Tuba Christmas in the music building lobby, as part of the music faculty tradition here at Western! Hooray for cramming as many people as we can in the lobby, selling festive treats, tubas and euphoniums playing carols, and then, collectively singing carols ourselves!
nostalgia is progressive procrastination
Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full.
One for my master, one for my dame,
and one for the little boy
who lives down the lane.
I grew up singing that nursery rhyme to myself, and I grew up watching Star Trek (DS9). I grew up watching Stickin' Around and I liked reading my dad's old copies of MAD magazine.
I totally dug this little magazine put out by the Toronto Blue Jays. I liked the drawings and the dog, too.
If I remember correctly, Rodney and I liked Sonic The Hedgehog 3 better, but we played the second one more often. I was always Tails and he was always Sonic.
I remember when we got our first computer in the summer of 1998. It was a "286" and somehow my dad had heard of a guy getting rid of them from behind this one building in downtown Toronto (which is now where the Four Seasons Centre For the Arts is situated).
It totally ran on MS - Dos and I can recall the family event of seeing how the computer worked, and what would happen when you typed things in after the pixelated white C:/DOS> letters on the fully black screen.
Eventually, we upgraded (it was exciting) and I remember, one time, going 'into' a chatroom and lying about my age and talking to a girl in the States about jazz music. I was nine years old.
Remember those big 8-inch floppy disks?
I remember going to the Christmas parties held by the doctor's office we went to. They always had Chinese Santas (and Garfields apparently, as well). Our 'Hello, my name is' stickers always had numbers instead of names.
I remember playing by myself for hours, I remember playing 'House', I remember seeing how high I could go on the swing before it would jump a little bit at the top. I remember reading anything I could get my hands on, I remember the amazing sweaters and the treats from the dollar store my grandparents would give me and Rodney.
Man, childhoods are pretty good.
he calls it "truth"
I subscribe to an acquaintance's, stranger's, if you will, someone I know through a friend-of-a-friend's blog. And I really like his last post. And I am going to re-blog it, so to speak. Because it is true, and interesting, and powerful. These are not my words, but Andrew's.
"Genesis 2:18-24 -
I think God knew our propensity as humans to push away community, relationship, and pursue independence. It's interesting that God brought Adam all the other created creatures and no suitable helper (or, as it's sometimes translated, partner) was found. God knew that Adam would need someone created as his equal (not the same as him but equal to him) to be his partner or helper.
It's also interesting that God took a part of the man's side for Eve to be created. I believe that God's choice of body part was highly symbolic. He didn't use Adam's foot, which would have symbolically put Eve below Adam. God didn't use a part of Adam's head, which would have put Eve above Adam. God chose a part of Adam's side (traditionally, his rib). I believe this symbolically put Eve beside Adam in the things of life, under his arm for protection, and near his heart.
In contemporary society, we praise independence and we pursue casual relationships that cost us little and have nearly no benefit to our lives. God's plan for us is that we would live in families and communities that were close-knit. In these environments, accountability flourishes, deep friendships bless us, and we are given a safety net in case of life's upsets."
"Genesis 2:18-24 -
The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
I think God knew our propensity as humans to push away community, relationship, and pursue independence. It's interesting that God brought Adam all the other created creatures and no suitable helper (or, as it's sometimes translated, partner) was found. God knew that Adam would need someone created as his equal (not the same as him but equal to him) to be his partner or helper.
It's also interesting that God took a part of the man's side for Eve to be created. I believe that God's choice of body part was highly symbolic. He didn't use Adam's foot, which would have symbolically put Eve below Adam. God didn't use a part of Adam's head, which would have put Eve above Adam. God chose a part of Adam's side (traditionally, his rib). I believe this symbolically put Eve beside Adam in the things of life, under his arm for protection, and near his heart.
In contemporary society, we praise independence and we pursue casual relationships that cost us little and have nearly no benefit to our lives. God's plan for us is that we would live in families and communities that were close-knit. In these environments, accountability flourishes, deep friendships bless us, and we are given a safety net in case of life's upsets."
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