HONEST TO BLOG

An Honest New Year

I wanted to offer you all a "year-in-review" entry, with month-by-month unblogged trivia from last year. For instance, I might note under January o6 that I started off last year by falling asleep at a complete stranger's house in Ireland with Labyrinth playing in the background. Despite a promising beginning, I couldn't manage to remember enough interesting trivia to make it worthwhile. So, you'll just have to content yourselves with the fact that, via this entry, Jan 07 hasn't gone completely undocumented.

Lately, I enjoyed having brother Gary visit for a spell. I've also been busy with some substituting work at the local Christian school. I attended a Greek Orthodox (bride-to-be) & Irish Catholic (groom-to-be) engagement party, and an all-expenses-paid high class birthday party of a close friend in Baltimore on different weekends.

Thesis progress slowed over the holidays, but is back in gear. This will again be my regular occupation for the next several months, I suspect, as time is running out.

Besides being a lover of metrical psalm singing, and old calvinistic folk hymnody, I have enjoyed shapenote music since early college days. Some friends of friends have just produced an excellent documentary on the subject, entitled Awake My Soul. No one who wants to know about early American music can afford to neglect this on-going tradition. Here's a good link for downloadable audio. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has at least two CDs available. And here's a pdf lesson in shapenote singing for children or adults.

Macht writes one of the best entries on sex I've ever read. Ever.
update: Highly recommended lectures by Lauren Winner author of Real Sex, realplayer audio links --2006, 2007

Steve Bishop begins a Dooyeweerd The Christian Idea Of The State study guide site.

After a year of production, This American Life is finally ready for ShowTime* release in late March. I'll have to get it on DVD someday.