A couple of pictures from the Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. In the first some color blind dude tried to get away with something. In the second...uh...maybe the same thing? Second is Timmy Brister. I just want to make sure the search engines locate that picture with anyone searching for "Timmy Brister." Thanks for the pose, Timmy Brister! All my photography.
First photo are my three boys studying on the Woodstock Square. Well, except that Danny saw me and posed. The second is a swarm of bugs in rural Wisconsin at the resort where I played golf a couple of weeks ago. See all my photography.
I was asked a while back to speak at the Band of Bloggers event at The Gospel Coalition conference, which was this month in Chicago. I was happy to go and be one of the eight panel members discussing being "Servants and Stewards" through our blogs. Each panelist was given 7 minutes to answer a particular question on blogging. Mine was "What is the place for art and culture in Christian blogging?" Here's a general outline/recap of my talk. It always comes out differently than I write it down, but should still be helpful. You can also view the handwritten notes from my Moleskine that I used for my talk (page 1, page 2 - page 2 is really my talk outline and page 1 quotes that I referred back to).
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*As I stood to talk I took a shot at my friend and co-panelist, Justin Taylor, who has yet to spent $9 on a domain name, but still has one of the best read Christian blogs in the universe. Justin, seriously, buy a domain name. :)
Context
1. Art - Beauty -- mention I don't have the time to explain a theology of the arts; assume the audience assumes it (later quotes should be an encouragement to look further into the arts)
2. Blogs -- mention that because we have different kinds of blogs with different purposes (pastor blogs, church blogs, personal blogs, family blogs, resource blogs, etc). I will explain what I do on my personal/pastoral networking blog and let the audience determine how to best blog on art & culture on their blogs.
3. Christians in general -- mention the need to enjoy, support, and create the arts; our blogs are a good place for us to do that
Abraham Kuyper quote, found in Art for God's Sake by Philip Ryken -- "Like God himself, we have 'the possibility both to create something beautiful, and to delight in it.'" - and I add "...on your blog"
Use the quote for a two part outline, in reverse. As we delight in and create art (and blog on it), we encourage others to do the same.
1. To Delight
Someone who delights in the arts is called an arts patron (observer, supporter, advocate). Use the questions from and Tim Keller quote in "Are you a patron?"
Questions:
Have you attended an arts event or venue in the last six months? (live music concert, museum or gallery, play, dance performance, independent film, etc.)
Do you have a favorite art form that you particularly enjoy experiencing and learning about?
Do you occasionally attend different types of arts events/venues, besides your favorite?
Do you have a favorite artist or arts organization whose work you follow closely?
Do you ever spread the word about a particular arts event or artist?
Do you sometimes look through the Arts section in newspapers or magazines?
Have you financially supported an arts organization or artist (outside of purchasing tickets) in the last year?
Do you know an artist, are you involved in his/her life, and are you actively supporting his/her career?
- The more "yes" answers = the better patron. Where there is a "no" it's good to stretch ourselves.
Quote:
"Christians cannot abdicate the arts to secular society. We must consume, study, and participate in the arts if we are to have a seat at the table. Whether it has a religious theme or strikes us as irreligious, we must be patrons if we are to have an impact on how the world interprets and responds to the arts. We cannot be wary, we cannot be afraid, we cannot be self-righteous. Christians must look, listen, read, and experience the arts if we are to lead our culture to renewal." - Tim Keller (via)
*As I mentioned I was going to quote Keller I took a second to mention my Tim Keller Resources page. Then I told the attenders that they received a Tim Keller book in their bags (each received 10 books as a part of attendance). I told them Keller's new book is very short and titled Unfashionable, which includes a lengthy epilogue by Tullian Tchividjian. As you probably know, attenders did get Tullian's book which includes a 3 page forward by Keller. People laughed. [By the way, get Tullian's book. Like it a lot so far. He graciously signed my copy after.]
How I delight in the arts at Reformissionary...
Music Monday: I use my enjoyment of music to fuel a weekly post on music, CD's, music videos, concert experiences, etc. Illustration: recently at the Brandi Carlile concert my wife, Molly, for the first time heard the background singers because she could see them. It was a learning moment for her. Patronage increased her appreciation for and delight in music. Now the CD sounds different to her. As we blog on these kinds of experiences we will encourage others to become a patron and delight as well.
National Poetry Month: Each April I blog on National Poetry Month with numerous poems, poet highlights, videos of poetry readings, etc. We can take advantage of nationally recognized arts emphases to become patrons and to encourage patronage.
2. To Create
"The characteristic common to God and man is apparently that: the desire and the ability to make things up." - Dorothy Sayers in The Mind of the Maker
"The primal artistic act was God's creation of the universe out of chaos, shaping the formless into form; and every artist since, on a lesser scale, has sought to imitate him." - Perrine's Sound and Sense
How I blog on my creation of art at Reformissionary...
Phriday is for Photos: The last few years I have taken up photography. While I've been a little too infrequent in my Friday photographs lately, it's been a staple at Reformissionary for a long time. When I've slacked I've gotten notes from friends and readers mentioning they've missed it. Because I'm creating and blogging my art, my readers have been an encouragement to me to keep creating. And through blogging my photography I hope I've encouraged my readers to create themselves. Actually I can say that I have talked to several readers who have taken up photography because (at least in part) they have enjoyed my Phriday is for Photos posts. [One Band of Bloggers attender talked to me after the event and said he just upgraded from a Nikon d50 to d90, to some degree because of my blog. I'm jealous.]
Conclusion: A quote by Luci Shaw from her chapter "Imagination, Beauty, and Creativity" in The Christian Imagination (Ed. Leland Ryken)
"We were each, in the image of our Creator, created to create, to call others back to beauty, and the truth about God's nature, to stop and cry to someone preoccupied or distracted with the superficial, 'Look!' or 'Listen!' when, in something beautiful and meaningful we hear a message from beyond us, and worship in holiness our creator who in his unlimited grace, calls us to become co-creators of beauty."
Select art/culture websites:
Select art/culture podcasts:
Little League officially kicks off here tomorrow with opening ceremonies and Elijah's first game at 4pm. Looking forward to a fun season.
Here's two photos taken with my camera phone. Just goes to show you can do some pretty cool things without shelling out a bunch of money for a digital SLR. The first is from this week when the boys were at a laser tag place for a birthday party. That the floor of an upstairs party room. The second is from a year ago tomorrow in downtown Woodstock, IL.
The first is something fun I did with Elijah's concert photo from this week. The second is rural Kentucky in April of 2006. Got some great photos from that trip. My photography.
I need to get back into my Phriday Photo posts, so I'm vowing (right hand raised, left hand on my Nikon) to make my best effort. Thanks to those of you who gently nudged me to get back to it. So for today a new photo and an older one. First, my son Jack on Monday in a waiting room at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison. The second is from March of 2007, a sunset photo.
Kent Shaffer over at Church Relevance has determined that Reformissionary is the #27 church blog in the world. Some good blogs on the list, and I'm honored to be there. It's the best system of measurement I've seen for judging the popularity of a blog. Impressive, Kent.
I've started a new church blog (Doxa Blog), though I don't know exactly the role it will play yet. Working on it. I have the domain doxablog.com, but right now it's only masking the link to this blog and it's a headache. Also working on a Facebook group for Doxa.
My new article: When Doctors Are Stumped
Two talks on Questioning Evangelism
Paste Magazine anticipates 29 movies in 2009
Scot McKnight says some nice words about my photography, which I have long neglected
Brief Molly Update: Mayo Clinic has turned Molly away. Twenty minutes before leaving for my Dad's house for Christmas Molly received the letter saying that they turn down a lot of people and that Molly isn't a good candidate for an appointment. Essentially they don't think they would find a solution to Molly's Chiari issues. Maybe it's because they know Molly's surgeon is already a recognized expert and he would know more than they would. Dunno. We can appeal that decision by sending any info that may change their minds. I don't know that we have anything like that. Still looking into it, and other options. Molly has been sleeping a lot better with her new sleep meds. Glad for that.
Two quick prayer requests...
Links...
Run to Amazon to download The 99 Most Essential Beethoven Masterpieces for $1.99. World class orchestras and artists in this collection. I'm listening to it now and it's wonderful. C'mon, 2 bucks! Go get it now because the SALE ENDS TODAY!
2009 is the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, so decorate your church stage with tulips! Or maybe make it a year of reading Calvin. Here's a year through the Institutes reading guide. The Reformation 21 guys are blogging through Calvin's Institutes in 2009 (You can request a reading schedule). John Piper's new book John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God is officially released tomorrow. Piper's pastor's conference message on Calvin is also worth a listen (or re-listen).
I don't think I've linked to this yet (and it's late), but Tim Keller had a Christmas article in Christianity Today: "The Advent of Humility."
JD Greear:
Todd Hiestand: Books of 2008 - Leadership
Barnabas Piper: 22 things I admire about my parents on their 40th anniversary
Tim Chester has a new book coming out - The Ordinary Hero: Living the Cross and Resurrection
Virtual church leader hangout at www.churchstaffbreakroom.com
Despite a pretty lousy year for our family (for obvious reasons) we are enjoying the beginning of our Christmas break. And during this Christmas we are especially thankful for the birth of our Lord, who gives us peace in our difficulties, hope for tomorrow, and joy in the forgiveness we don't deserve.
This photo was put into our Christmas cards and we wanted to share it with you here. You can also view our Christmas card from 2007. That's a tough one to top.
Merry Christmas to all!
The McCoys.
This middle school basketball referee is too busy to ref. Sarah was the lead flute at her concert. I'm so proud of her. She worked very hard. My three sons listened quietly and almost patiently through the whole concert. See all my photography.
Yeah, I needed a pretzel rod and I had a camera phone. So what? See all my photography.
Here's little Elijah near the beginning of the worst week of his life so far. Thank God his fever is gone and he is full of energy today. See the rest of my photography.
Two photos at the University of Chicago. The first is one of the beautiful old buildings covered in ivy. The second is the parking garage at the hospital.
Section one: Updates on Molly, surgery, hospital stay, & recovery.
Section two: Updates on me, my experiences, reflections, & photos.
Essential Links
Tuesday
2:35pm <> A couple of brief updates. First, we must add because I don't think I've said it so far that the Hilton Our towels at home are exfoliating scrubs compared to them. We almost took one to give to a pregnant mom as her baby's snuggle blanket.
Oh, how's Molly? Good question. Molly is exactly where her doc said she should be. She is coming down off of the steriods and looking and feeling exhausted. She's in bed a lot, resting, healing. Me? I'm doing dishes, cleaning, buying & making food, and searching for a little time to be a pastor. :) God is taking care of my wife and the rest of us. We are very blessed.
Sunday
8:21pm <> Molly is fast asleep, the kids are still up messing around. I'm still keeping them home tomorrow. There's just too much to be done and everything is too hectic to get them there in the morning. We all need a break.
I picked up Molly's meds, including a steroid (strong anti-inflammatory). It's the steroid that is probably to blame for Molly's pep. It really helps. Plus, it will really help her to beat Lance in next summer's Tour de France. She beat me at arm wrestling earlier.
Just so glad to be home with our kids, and even with our cat. I'm strangely more affectionate toward Calvin post-surgery.
We are getting the feeling that Molly will have to wait a couple of weeks before really knowing how she will do with relief of chiari symptoms. She has started having the "jolts" a little today, but nothing major. But the doctor said even prior to today that she may regain some symptoms after the steroids taper off. She will likely have some confusing days ahead for a couple of weeks because of the inflammation the foreign substance will cause. At least that's how we understood the doc.
So if we start talking about some symptoms, I guess the call is to not panic until a bit of time passes. The jolt is the only thing we've seen so far, and it was there after the last surgery when all other symptoms were gone. So no worries yet.
Now, as for things we forgot. I failed to mention that when Dr. Frim put in the stent (tube) he attached it to the brain via what he called a "micro-stitch." He said he's one of the few doctors who do that. So let the stitch/sewing nicknames begin! I like "Steve'o and Stitch." :)
Molly also saw and talked to several nurses from last year. Pretty cool. We even talked to the one who so famously ran Molly into a private room when we needed one so much. It's neat to see people who we remember and who remember us, but we told them we hope to NEVER see them again.
I just want to add that au bon pain has a killer onion dill bagel. Delicious. As we remember other stuff I'll add them here.
6:48pm <> We are home and I'm about to head out and get Molly's stuff from the Pharmacy. Quick trip home and the kids are great (all but the part about going back to school a day early!). I caught Molly organizing clothes in the boys' room! Shameful. I made her rest instead. What a woman. Too bad for you that there is only one of her...and she's mine!
Thanks everyone for praying. We were talking on the way home about a note on the little things I missed mentioning along the way. I'll try to get to that tonight or tomorrow. I also want to update you on Molly's symptoms and what the next few days hold for her. And then tomorrow my Music Monday post will be going up and the blog will go somewhat back to normal.
Thanks to all my readers. You have made the last couple of days more full for us through your prayers, comments, and encouragement. And together we have seen God build a network of pray-ers around the world, who He has responded to with His favor.
2:31pm <> Molly is in the process of finishing up here, then changing into her clothes, then I'll be bringing the van around and picking her up. Could be home at 5-5:30pm-ish, depending on how fast the nurse gets stuff moving, Sunday traffic, and how long it takes to get the kids. Can't wait to get home.
12:54pm <> GUESS WHO'S GOING HOME!!! WOOHOO!!! Dr. Frim and Dr. Ricky Wong just stopped in and they are sending Molly home. Who's pumped? We are, that's who! Now I'm headed to the International House to see if I can get my money back for tonight. Or maybe I'll postpone it and we can stay the night for our post-op appointment in a week and a half. Or maybe they won't refund me and I'll just go home. Whatever. We are just so excited to be going home. Should be a couple of hours or so before the orders go through. If possible I'll update right before we go.
11:28am <> Molly finished a walk up and down the hallway, first with the nurse, then with me, then without holding on to anything. Outstanding! Seriously, she's doing EXTREMELY well. These signs are awesome. And she hasn't had a single "jolt" (a chiari symptom that she had). Really great news so far.
11:20am <> Just a bit ago Dr. Dey and Dr. Yassari came in to see Molly. Dr. Dey doesn't read my blog, so I have lost all respect for her. :) Ah, just kidding Dr. Dey! You've been a real encouragement to us and have always provided info we've needed at the right time.
Dr. Yassari then talked briefly with Molly and was very impressed with her recovery. He said her neck range-of-motion is outstanding for this soon after surgery. I think his words were "better than good" movement. Awesome. Then Dr. Yassari said that she may go home TODAY! Yes, you heard that right. Maybe home 48 hours post-brain surgery! We never even thought that was possible, but honestly Molly is way better now than at any point in the hospital from last year. She's better now than after leaving on Monday and spending two days at home. That's hard for us to believe, but it's true. Thanks for praying! Woohoo!
Now, it still may end up being tomorrow. And if so that's just fine. I've already paid for another night for me at the International House, so we're good. I doubt I can get that prepaid $70 back. :( Bottom line: we want everyone to be confident in doing what's best. But we would obviously love to be home and be with our kids.
Saturday
2.10pm <> Molly is looking at a menu. Good signs of another step in recovery. She has also said she feels much better after this surgery than the previous one.
12:12pm <> Molly is sleeping a ton. Very happy about that. Gonna get out, get some lunch, take some photos, check on housing for tonight, and who knows what else!
10:55am <> Dr. Frim and neurosurgery resident Dr. Yassari (I think he's in his 6th of 7 years of residency) just stopped by ICU. Dr. Frim encouraged Molly to watch college football, which makes me think he said that for my sake. Thanks Dr. Frim! He said Molly will stay in ICU until tomorrow, which is longer than expected. But it seems clear the reasoning is that very few surgeries are done on the weekend, so they probably won't need the room, and it's much more quiet and comfortable in ICU. After a long night in the noisy Recovery unit, this is a nice way for Molly to get a lot of rest.
Dr. Yassari was talking about how he remembered Molly from last time and how he read my blog about the surgery. I didn't know he even knew this existed, so that's pretty cool. I just googled "Dr. Yassari" and my blog is the 3rd hit! Awesome. Honestly, we've really liked all the doctors Molly has seen at the University of Chicago: Frim, Yassari, Yamini (haven't seen him this time, yet), and some of the younger residents like Dr. Dey and a few others I whose names escape me.
10:31am <> I love it! Molly won't shut up. Geez girl, get some rest! Love to see her awake and acting normal-ish.
She is still experiencing some numbness in her hands and feet. It can take some time for symptoms to see much relief, especially since there will be significant swelling from the surgery. But we'd love to say we haven't seen any old symptoms. Pray that they will be banished!
9:45am <> Molly is in ICU now. Going to see her.
9:15am <> I tried to give Molly as much chance to rest last night as possible while still being around regularly. She still has the typical post-surgery exhaustion, but has some increasing pep. I really think she is doing well compared to last time around. I just talked to her on the phone an hour ago and she was sitting in a chair. Very cool.
That said, she is STILL in Recovery. Much of last night she was the only patient in Recovery. Through the grapevine I heard that it wasn't because all the ICU beds were taken, but because there weren't enough ICU nurses to go around. Well, there were enough to go around for every patient but one...Molly. Which means Molly is tougher than all the sissies who need 24 hours of ICU. They can have their TLC and Molly will just sit up in a chair 18 hours after surgery and act like nothing happened. When the nurses ask Molly how much pain she's in, Molly says, "My feet are sore from jogging through the hallways?" When the nurses ask if Molly needs more pain meds, Molly replies, "I've saved all the pills you gave me and built a full size replica of Wrigley Field with my eyes closed." When the nurse asks Molly is she needs to lay down, Molly insists, "The brain surgery itself was so restful that I can't possibly sleep again already." Yeah, you heard me. Molly is tough. :)
I'll let you know when something changes. Should be any time now.
Friday
5:24pm <> No news. Molly is still listed at "Post-Op" and waiting for an ICU bed. Haven't seen her since 4pm.
4:02pm <> I just left Recovery (post-op) where Molly was very groggy. She must have hounded the nurse until they let me in! When I found out earlier that I probably wouldn't see her for a while, I decided to grab some food. I got in only only three bites when I got paged back and sent to Recovery. So lunch/dinner had to wait.
Molly is in a lot of pain, more than last time I think. She has thrown up a couple of times, which was a big issue last time. I think they've figured it out, though, through a different nausea medication. Despite all this Molly is still full of life. For example, the dude in the bed next to her had a post-surgery urge to take a dump. Oh my, I've located the bog of eternal stench in the colon of U of Chicago surgical patient. After the loud grunts and the first hints of fog Molly looked at me wide eyed and said, "Run!" Even after brain surgery Molly is looking out for me.
Pray that an ICU bed would open up soon.
2:18pm <> Word is that Molly may be in recovery (post-op) for some time, just like last year. There is even the possibility of staying the night there. Reason? ICU is completely full for the moment. I'm not sure when I'll get to see her.
2:00pm <> Just got off the family waiting room phone with Dr. Frim. Molly is waking up and all went well. He said there was some scar tissue around the patch he put on last surgery as well as scar tissue that fused together the cerebellar tonsils of her brain. He pulled apart the tonsils and cauterized them a bit so they wouldn't fuse together and close up the space again. He also put in the stent, as mentioned before, in the 4th ventricle to aid spinal fluid flow. Then he tried to make sure the space he created in the last surgery remain as open as possible as he closed things up.
We learned this morning that when brain surgery is done scar tissue is a very common problem. The brain doesn't get exposed to air so when surgery happens a person's brain will start to scar as a defense. Different people react with different levels of scarring. Molly obviously had enough scarring to create new problems, and we hope this will be a significant remedy. We also learned this morning that scarring can happen around a stent and cause it to get clogged at some point. We hope that would be a long time from now.
As best I can tell the signs are good for this surgery to have a very good effect. The incision is going to be slightly longer, as Dr. Frim needed a little more space to explore a bit and make sure there wasn't something else he could do to help. Thank you so much for praying! We are very thankful for all of you.
12:57pm <> Wow! I was just told by the receptionist in the family waiting room that the surgery nurse called and said the surgery is nearly over! How do you finish a surgery that much faster than expected? Maybe Dr. Frim just knew something that the other pre-op folks didn't know. More as soon as I know more.
12:50pm <> Sorry for a later-than-expected first update. Twitter has been a perfect place for most of my updates, so make sure you follow there. There are lots of pics there already.
We stayed last night at the Chicago Hilton, 18th floor. Beautiful place with a view of Lake Michigan, Navy Pier, Soldier Field, and the museums (Field, Science & Industry, Adler Planetarium). I'll see if I had any photos turn out later on. We watched a movie and tried to relax. Difficult to do.
We both woke up too early this morning, a bit restless. Showers, some news on TV, no food or drink of course. Checked out and paid cash thanks to some very faithful and loving church members. Drove out and made it to the hospital in 15 minutes. So easy and convenient! Very thankful we stayed downtown.
Showed up at the University of Chicago Hospital on time, to the family waiting room. A little paperwork and then to pre-op. Molly got into her gown, more paperwork, 3 tries at an IV thanks to Molly's veins, still more paperwork, a hit of something to relax Molly, a kiss and she was wheeled off. If you haven't seen Molly choosing the stent for herself, it's funny. It was all her idea too.
The surgery didn't officially start until 11:49am, a lot later than expected. I heard the surgeon was unwilling to start until he beat his fastest time at Minesweeper. Tall order. Now, just waiting. Should be about 3 hours, so 3pm or so. I'm supposed to hear something at about 2 hours.
Sunday
2:25pm <> I paid for 2 nights in advance at the International House (not "Of Pancakes," but the place I slept last night). I went and got the stuff out of my room and asked if they could give me money back for tonight. I wasn't all that optimistic. Barbara, the nice lady behind the desk there, was so excited that my brain surgery wife is going home early that she didn't even make me pay the $30 for late check out. Very cool. We'll get a check in the mail for reimbursement in a couple of weeks.
11:54am <> As I've been praying today for my church I've been thinking about how thankful I am for the folks I pastor. They have been praying, supporting us, and doing what needs to be done while we are out of pocket. I'm very thankful this morning for Jeff Temple who is preaching. He's a good teacher and a good friend. His family is also keeping our kids. Jeff's wife Saralyn has been so sacrificial as she has had 7 kids (her 3 and our 4) to care for. What a great family. I'm also very thankful for good friends from Joe Thorn's church, Rob and Shannon, who are leading worship as our worship guy is away. Thanks to all.
Saturday
12:06pm <> Put some new photos up on Flickr.
11:22am <> Just added some blue text highlights so you can more easily follow what's happening at a glance.
11:11am <> I forgot to mention something that happened at the Chicago Hilton on the morning of Molly's surgery. It's not important, but it's funny and indelible. Our room had a beautiful view including a view across the courtyard of more of the Hilton building. On Friday morning a lady in a room across the courtyard, curtains wide open, decided to parade around in her room in full view with nothing on. Trust me when I say that I wish, I SOOOO wish, she was fully clothed or that the curtain was pulled. Not good. But it made for a moment of humor for Molly and me on a very stressful morning. Strangely, the event is worth recording for all to read. :)
9:45am <> I know some of you will kick me in the teeth for this, but yeah, I slept in the van last night. Well, not much. I took 3-4 short naps during the night and it was very helpful. I'm not that tired and I think can get through the day. I'm hoping to get a room at the International House on campus tonight and tomorrow night, but they are supposed to be very busy as there are many events going on. Pray I can get a room!
Friday
5:30pm <> For some reason I can't get Twitterfox to work right now. It's been useful only occasionally. Mostly using the phone to post to Twitter, and my phone is charging at the moment. But there isn't all that much to Twitter right now anyway.
5:24pm <> Ate a Greek pasta salad for lunch/dinner. Really good with rotini, tomatoes, black olives, feta cheese.
Otherwise I'm beat. Mental, physical, emotional exhaustion. But the chocolate dipped shortbread cookie helped. :)
2:18pm <> Feeling relief after hearing that Molly is out of surgery. Hungry and looking for food after this update goes up.
12:50pm <> After Molly went into surgery I returned to the family waiting room with Molly's stuff. The receptionist said my brother came to see me. Wasn't expecting that. For those who remember last year, I have no desire to sit with someone during the surgery. I like to be alone, praying, blogging, etc. But, if he's here he's here.
Since he wasn't in the waiting room I had to look for him. I needed to eat anyway so I headed for au bon pain. He was sitting just outside. He said that Dad warned him NOT to come and sit with me, but he chose to risk it since it was only for a few minutes. Come to find out Scott was already in Chicago for the Illinois Municipal League convention...which is held at the Hilton! How awesome is that? He was staying 10 floors below us last night and none of us knew it. I also found out Scott was probably eating and we walked right by him. Pretty cool.
He and his wife will also be at the Hilton tonight and said I could crash there if need be. Also pretty cool. Good of Scott to stop by. Nice to see a familiar face just as I was pulled away from my wife. Thankful for my brother.
Just one this week, and one some of you have already seen. It's Lou Piniella and his self-induced wedgie. Um...yuck, but funny. See all my photography.
First, my boys are ready to kick some Chiari butt as they sit outside the University of Chicago hospital last Friday. Second, my four are questioning why the sun is illuminating a taxi. All my photography.
It was fun taking our kids to school this morning. We always hate it because we love to be with them, but we know it's important. This will be a difficult year with all four kids in school (Danny is in Kindergarten now) at three different schools. I'm exhausted already! But I LOVE my kids. Here are three photos from the last three "first day of school" days from newest to oldest: 2008, 2007, 2006. From left to right: Daniel, Elijah, Jack, and Sarah.
I know it's late for some Phriday Photos, but it's been a long day and I haven't gotten around to it. Here are some pictures from our Chicago trip on Monday.
The first is a view up Michigan Avenue's Magnificent Mile. The building in the distance with the two spires is the Hancock Tower. The second is the Cloud Gate (or "the Bean") which I've shot before here and here, for example. I've never shot it at night until now. Beautiful. The third is the "Great Lawn" concert area, with a guy who stood right in front of me taking a photo. Turned out pretty cool. The last photo is Elijah looking up into the sun and therefore making a pretty odd face. He was laying in the water near these things. It was a great trip on Monday.
The first is Elijah (front) and Jack (nearly hidden) tubing on my uncle's boat. It was awesome. For another tubing launch photo with Sarah and Elijah, go here. The second is grandpa (my dad) with someone in tow. Maybe Elijah again. For more tubing photos and all my photography, go to my Flickr site.
A couple of photos of my boy Danny at the White Sox game a week and a half ago. I changed my ISO to get these in low light, and I think they turned out nice. Plus, he's so freaking cute! All my photography.
The first is Danny at Dairy Mart in Huntley, IL after Elijah's All-Star game last night. The second is my legs at the Woodstock pool a few weeks ago. I forgot to take off my leg-sweaters. Both photos taken with my trusty Sprint Centro. All my photography is on Flickr.
My 7 year old, Elijah (forefront of the top photo and pitching in the bottom), made the Little League all-star team. I took these from the try-outs. See all my photography.
First is my 9 year old, Jack, who was watching his brother play soccer. Second are all three of my boys playing in the water during and after a heavy rainstorm. All my photography.
Our kids were really wanting a donut, so we obliged. I really don't like sweets very much, but that Chocolate Kreme really hit the spot. The second photo is of Elijah at his Little League "Pitch, Hit, and Run" competition. Yeah, that's the "Run" part. See all my photography.
My three sons, just before entering the Woodstock High School to see my beautiful daughter play in a band concert. My photography site.
I'm trying to get back on track with photography. I've just not done much lately. More of my photos are going up at my local Starbucks in June. Here's one from early this week with my dad at my mom's grave, and a building on the road home from dad's to Woodstock. Check out all my photography.
The older I get the harder snowboarding looks. My kids have shown me how quickly they can figure it out. We got them one of those cheapo snowboards and they just love it. Our youngest, Daniel, is keeping his balance in the first picture, and enjoying some delicious snow in the second. See the rest of my photography.
Joe Thorn and I are gonna be so famous. I've received two emails (since midnight!). The first said they found this on digg.com, the second on del.icio.us. Scroll until you find us.
The first is the Woodstock Square Opera House just before Christmas and the second is my sister-in-law and her daughter on Christmas Eve. Check out the rest of my photography.
My belated Friday photos...
The first is a foggy farm near Woodstock. The second is Danny getting his hair chopped. I had to take the scissors from the stylist and throw them across the room in order to get her out of the way for the photo. I put myself in the mirror because I like seeing myself. See the rest of my photography.
By the way, Joe Thorn and I have both upgraded our cell phones recently Both have ok cameras on them. So we are regularly taking and exchanging photos along our way and emailing them to each other on our phones. It makes for a fun, creative practice. We are also putting some of the better ones on our flickr sites.
I took about 100 photos in order to find the one we liked for our Christmas card. But we had many others that we liked a lot. Here are a couple other favorites (click on them for larger versions)...
It's been some year for my family. We lost three loved ones, including my mom. My wife had brain surgery. I've had significant back and neck problems requiring physical therapy.
We've also had great fun with soccer and baseball and a trip to Disney World. So we thought it would end the year with a bang and take a Christmas photo that represents how much we like being together and how much fun family can be. Enjoy your family this Christmas season.
A couple of Christmas shots. The first is Danny (our youngest) in front of our newly decorated tree. The second is an out-of-focus view of Christmas tree lights. The third is a street-level of the Woodstock Opera House during a snow storm. See all my photography.
No new photos, so here's one from last year at around this time.
Me and a certain pastor friend are going to see this tomorrow. I'm pumped!
-Bob Hyatt is good reading, as usual. 80-20 and the Organic Church Part 1 and Part 2
-Harry Potter as "Shared Text"
-Seth Godin's "Unleashing Your Ideavirus" (Part 1 and Part 2) was an excellent and thought-provoking read. It's not very new (2000), but it was good. More Godin here.
-I really dig this creative photography of kids.
-Must reading for those mashing the Thanksgiving potatoes.
The first is the last soccer Saturday for my boys this fall. They played as tough as they look. The second is Halloween. We told the kids that since we spent so much on Disney World that they had to make do on Halloween on what they already had. Danny already had a Power Rangers outfit with no mask. Elijah (Alfonso Soriano) always has sports clothes around. Sarah is playing a mom (she has puke made from cream of mushroom on her shoulder...yuck). And Jack isn't just any skateboarder, he is Rodney Mullen.
Three pics of my boys today. The first two are Danny (4 1/2) and the last is Elijah (7). The first is Danny looking out an airplane window on the way to Disney World. The second is at the University of Chicago waiting for Molly's 3 month follow up visit with her surgeon. She is now free for all normal activity after a great report from the doctor. The third is Elijah waiting for the Disney flight.
Here's an update on my photos in Starbucks. They have given out more than 100 of my Moo photography cards and I've had to order 300 more just to make it through October! Hope they show up before we leave for vacation on Tuesday morning. I've had at least 5 workers, without me even bringing up the subject, come to tell me that they are getting tons of comments and questions about my photography. Really awesome. Very encouraging. Enjoy these photos I took in Chicago recently, and check out the rest of my photography.
Yesterday was a good day. I took the train into Chicago yesterday to meet Joe Thorn. We ate some lunch (I had Chinese, he had Japanese) and then walked around for a few hours to take some photos of the city. We saw two of the worlds most huge and incredible eyebrows, two of the worlds smallest dogs, and a disturbing photo of two sumo wrestlers. I can't show you any of those photos. But I can show you a few others at the bottom of the post.
Mid-afternoon we hopped in Joe's van for a short trip up to Irving Park road toward the concert venue for Beirut/Colleen/Alaska in Winter. Soon after parking at Portage Theater we were able to meet Zach Condon, the front man and brain behind Beirut (see their MySpace to hear all new songs from The Flying Club Cup). Joe took the photo of me and Zach, obviously. It was a treat to meet him and talk briefly about the Take Away Shows of Beirut, which you absolutely must check out if you haven't already. Condon looked tired, road worn. I believe they had to cancel some dates last year because of his exhaustion, so I hope he finds the time to get some rest.
Then we walked up Milwaukee Avenue looking for things to photograph. There wasn't much that caught our eye. We ate at Hops and Barley and then made our way back to the theater for the concert.
Alaska in Winter opened, which was a dude alone on stage (Brandon Bethancourt) singing to what I would call mellow Balkan electronica, I guess. We really enjoyed it. I bought the album: "Dance Party in the Balkans." Worth looking into. Just trust me.
Colleen played next, which was a girl alone on stage with a few different instruments playing minimalist folk (no singing). Very much enjoyed Colleen. I think this music is so intense it really demands full focus, so don't expect to find good lyric-less reading music here. Please go to Colleen's MySpace, stop doing whatever else you are doing, and listen to "I'll Read You A Story." It was easily the best song, the most dramatic song, the most gorgeous song, the most haunting song, she played. The rest were good too, but this one was amazing.
After a 4 song set (these were longer songs) from Colleen, Beirut took the stage. The crowd was filtering in over the first hour and a half and opening acts. But as Beirut started you could see the theater was packed. They opened with Nantes, a personal favorite, which you can see videos for here or here. They played at least the first five tracks of The Gulag Orkestar (maybe more), mostly songs from The Flying Club Cup, a couple from the Lon Gisland EP, and one really intense French song that was an admitted indulgence for Condon (and well worth the time). By the way, Joe took this photo (he had permission from the venue).
The music was played with energy and passion by the eight musicians that filled the stage. Three were mostly on strings (upright bass, violin, mandolin/guitar/ukulele), Condon was on the mic and played a horn, two others had horns (one a trumpet and the other swiched between several things including a baritone sax), and one dude was on the drums and another on the accordion. The band members often switched instruments. I think six of them at one time or another played a ukulele or mandolin. Solid musicians.
I can't recommend Beirut enough. I think it's one of the most brilliant bands of our time. Please give them a listen. Grab this six song live set Beirut did for KEXP Live Performances podcast on Tunes. It was recorded on Monday in Chicago.
The crowd, by the way, not only filled the seats (well over 1,000) and the front of the venue, but packed out the front so that people were packing the aisles when the front ran out of space. It's interesting to note that this is European, Balkan style music and it seemed the whole crowd was well under 30 (except for a couple of handsome pastors who are in their mid-30s). Great to see Beirut have this sort of following.
Here are some photos from yesterday, and for Photo Phriday...
As I mentioned before, I am the artist featured for the month of October at our local Starbucks. Very glad to have six of my photos (the first six shown) on the wall for all to see. I have Moo cards in a couple of places in Starbucks that give my email and Flickr page for those interested in my photos. They are already more than half gone after two days (I think I put out 100)! Pretty cool.
I'm putting up some of my photos at our local Starbucks on Monday. They put up the work of a local artist for a month at a time. I'm October. So I've spent some time every day this week getting the photos ready, buying frames, and getting them ready to put up. Here are the ones I'm framing. The first six are likely the ones to go up. See the rest of my photography here.
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