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Thursday, January 7, 2010
Monday, October 6, 2008
Great (Conference) Weekend
The recurring thought I had all weekend was, "How do these men (and women) come up with so many stories, so many examples, so many amazing talks?" Some general authorities are an absolute wellspring of insights, wisdom, and motivation. They are master teachers who shed light on topics I've heard and scriptures I've read thousands of times.
I am especially excited for the newer apostles, and some of the as-yet-to-me-unknown members of the seventy, for their "Fresh" takes on topics such as prayer and faith.
I had three moments this weekend where I was absolutely blown away:
1) When listening to Pres Uchtdorf's masterful sermon on hope. This man is an absolute tour de force. I found myself in awe at his charisma, his eloquence, and the sheer power of his determinism and faith.
2) When listening to Elder Wirthlin's talk on adversity. Elder Wirthlin will always have a special place in my heart and solid standing as a "gentle giant." I've always been captivated by Elder Wirthlin's written words, but this conference he really connected to me through his spoken words. And once again Elder Holland spoke the thoughts of my heart when he bore tribute to Elder Wirthlin "Within the ranks of the General Authorities, there is no man more beloved than Joseph Bitner Wirthlin. We praise him for living the sermons that he preaches."
3) Listening to the choir's magnificent "Faith in Every Footstep." I don't know what it was about that hymn...it was so powerful and poignant. As much as it was the words, it was also the music itself that really caught me.
For me the big theme of the conference was, "As a people we know trial and hardship. We have faced it before, we may very well face it again, but with preparation, faith, and hope we can endure and we will endure. This life is about endurance and challenges -- but we are not alone."
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
What's in my Playlist Now
So contrary to what I've posted lately, I actually still do listen to music. I haven't gone and become Amish or anything (mennonite? zen buddhist?). I just haven't been sharing. So here's what's currently in my Rhapsody playlist. Oh how I love the All-You-Can-Eat music model:
Dr. Dog (Fate)
Big fan of this release. It's fun, catchy, poppy, slightly 60's retro. It's got that great AM radio sound like M. Ward, etc, but much more playful than the brooding genius. Favorite track is "Uncovering the Old", which was in the background during dinner the other day and got the whole family spontaneously dancing in our seats.
Assorted (Ping of Pong)
This is a great mix brought to you by BRR (and friends I believe)...great eclectic upbeat fun mix.
TV on the Radio (Dear Science)
Bluesy, hip-hoppy, electronica. Very smooth and danceable grooves. Catchy enough to be labeled 'Pop', smart enough to never be played on the actual radio.
Land of Talk (Some are Lakes)
Still trying this one out. It's an boy-girl indie-pop outfit (no surprise there)..they have a bit of an edge to themselves (the girl sounds a bit like the lead singer of Evanescence) but so far they prove to have a way with melody and instrumentation and wordplay.
Blind Pilot (3 Rounds and a Sound)
Great Portland band -- a 3-piece I believe that creates beautiful hushed melodies set to strumming guitars. Kind of like if Johnny Marr played with Iron and Wine ... well not as hushed as Iron and Wine but...
Brian Eno and David Byrne (Everything that Happens will Happen Today)
Just loaded this up and love every track that's popped up on random so far. These guys were just absolutely made for each other musically. Neither of them have sounded so strong in years. It's just what you'd expect: atmospheric, literate, both fresh and familiar, with a strong world-influenced rhythm section.
5AM Workout
A couple of months ago I was in my office and overheard one of the developers talking about his schedule:
"So I get to the gym at 5AM, have a good workout, am in my office by 6:30 then put in a standard 12-hour day."
Two things that jarred me with that one: 1) that he was AT the gym at 5:00 (I was still getting over the mental challenge of waking up at 5:45 -- the pre-6:00 hour), and 2) that he was totally ok with putting in a 12-hour day. He's a pretty successful developer (he's a Principal, and about the same age as me...) so it was very good for me to hear about his work ethic in such concrete terms. It reminded me of when I heard the schedule of one of my friends growing up who made partner at his law firm by age 30...he was at the office at 6:30 every day (AFTER going to the gym) and worked until 7pm every night.
So I'm joining the folks who work out at 5AM. Not because I want to be partner at a law firm or a principal at microsoft, but because I've been running pretty regularly at 5:45 every morning, and I'm not really seeing much in terms of results. And because it's starting to get cold at 5:45 and when I open the door it's completely black outside and especially on the rural roads around our neighborhood it feels pretty crazy to try to go and run in that stuff.
So I was at the gym this morning at 5:25 (hey I got UP at 5:00) and had the best workout I've had for 6 months. Getting up that early also meant I had to skip the Heroes premier last night (it was 2 hours long and we didn't get around to starting it until 10pm so we both decided it was just too late to start...). I'm glad about that. I've actually been dreading the fall TV season starting up again because of how much of a hold it takes on my evening schedules. I really like it so much better when I don't try to cram 2 hrs of tv in every night.
Here's to consistency...
JT
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Blind Pilot - The Story I Heard
Here's my new favorite song from the Portland duo Blind Pilot. Let me know if the Rhapsody link below works for you...
Blind Pilot - The Story I Heard: "1. The Story I Heard - Blind Pilot"
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Monday, September 15, 2008
Hulu Me
So we rediscovered Hulu (tried it a while ago when they didn't have enough content) and we're hooked. Mainly because we've started watching Arrested Development. Only two and a half episodes into it, and we're completely hooked. I mean laugh-out-loud, rewind and replay multiple times hooked. Each character is so multi-dimensionally wacky and grounded, and Jason Bateman as the glue that holds them all together is absolutely perfect.
Actually I'm glad we haven't watched this up until now...it's always fun to discover an absolute gem like this. There's nothing quite like curling up late at night with a laptop in the comfort of your own bed with a hilarious show to send you off into the night. Good stuff.
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