Bowl Underdogs

Here are my silly bowl picks to cap off the NCAA football season and the Silly Underdog Contest.

Central Michigan 10.5 Middle Tennessee State
Oklahoma 8 Boise State
Louisville 10 Wake Forest

All is once again right in the world, now that my Volunteers will be playing on January 1 vs. Penn State. It should be a good game.

As for the championship game, I am glad that Florida made the title game over Michigan, but I believe that OSU will cruise to a perfect season.

And once football ends with the SuperBowl, I'll go into sports hibernation until August.

Nord's Top Twenty Songs of 2006

This list is not intended to be comprehensive nor limited to songs released in 2006. It summarizes my favorite new music acquired this past year. Feel free to make your own recommendations in the comments. Honorable mention to The Violet Burning's Drop Dead cd which for some reason I have yet to pick up. Shame on me. I'm also interested in Andrew Osenga's The Morning and Robert Randolph's Colorblind.

20. Suspension – Mae
Released in 2005, CT Music included the album The Everglow in their best of 2005.

19. Boy in the Bubble – Greg Adkins
Greg Adkins was one of the biggest surprises of 2006. I've never been a huge fan of modern folk, yet Greg offers great lyrical insight into Christian sprirituality that reminds me of Terry Taylor or Mark Heard. And Greg also hails from my hometown of Knoxville.

18. Roll Away the Stone – Ashley Cleveland
A cover of of the 1970 Leon Russell song. Ashley Rocks!

17. The Coldest Heart – The Classic Crime
One of the surprises from the Tooth n Nail compilation One Dark Summer.

16. Only One Bum in Corona Del Mar – The Lost Dogs
A Terry Taylor rock opera in one act that is simultaneously laugh out loud funny and thought provoking.

15. Uncle Joe’s Bunions – Greg Adkins
This is the only original song on Greg's Bluegrass Service cd and it beautifully captures the oldtime religion prayer meetings that drive me absolutely nuts.

14. Good Monsters – Jars of Clay
The title track from this band's newest cd. I've become a big fan of this group that refuses to stay the same.

13. Paperthin Hymn – Anberlin
Another great rockin' track from One Dark Summer. I intend to check out more from this band.

12. All My Tears – Jars of Clay
Americana meets pop rock.

11. Here It Goes Again – O.K. Go
The treadmill video song. Infectious pop rock at its best. Great for working out.

10. Studying Politics – Emery
I first heard this song on Zionred's myspace page. I love the intro.

09. Lutheran Hymn – Greg Adkins
Michael Roe is one of my favorite songwriters and performers, yet Greg's version of Lutheran Hymn is better than the original. Some killer mandolin playing may have something to do with it.

08. Work – Jars of Clay
CT Music declares the new Jars cd Good Monsters their best album of 2006 and I'm inclined to agree.

07. Talk – Coldplay
This song would have probably been my favorite of 2005 had I taken the time to check out X&Y earlier than I did.

06. Ready or Not – Ashley Cleveland
Ashley sings the blues better than any female vocalist I'm aware of and Kenny Greenberg plays some great licks on Ashley's newest album.

05. Get Me Ready – The Lost Dogs
The Lost Dogs released their first new material in three years and this song just rocks. I think it features some of Terry Taylor's best vocal work ever.

04. Typical – Mute Math
I love the guitar hook to this song as well as the live video clip from Cornerstone.

03. Dead Man (Carry Me) – Jars of Clay
Quirky alt-pop that captures the struggles of living out Christian spirituality while living in a corruptable vessel.

02. That’s Where Jesus Is – The Lost Dogs
The Lost Dogs write a fantastic call to arms Christ followers to care about social justice issues. This song dovetailed nicely with Rob Bell's New Exodus series and the Starving Jesus tour.

01. Control – Mute Math
Typical may be the most popular song off of Mute Math's premiere album, but I love this one both musically and lyrically. "Take control of the atmosphere...Such a beautiful surrender" Great stuff.

Board Game Geek

Yes I'm a geek, and I've beefed up my credentials by officially joining boardgamegeek.com. Check out my profile.


Here are my top 10 games:
1. The Settlers of Catan
2. Princes of Florence
3. San Juan
4. TransEuropa
5. Blokus
6. Memoir '44
7. Whist
8. Poker
9. Wyatt Earp
10. Liar's Dice

Underdog recap

The regular season of the Silly Underdog Contest is over. Here's a recap of my victories:

1 Army 5.5 ARKANSAS STATE
2 Stanford 10.5 SAN JOSE ST
2 TEXAS 2.5 Ohio State
3 CONNECTICUT 6 Wake Forest
3 STANFORD 3 Navy
4 Boston College 7 N.C. STATE
4 UAB 10 Mississippi State
5 CONNECTICUT 3 Navy
5 UTAH 3.5 Boise State
5 FLORIDA INTL. 8 Arkansas St
6 COLORADO 5 Baylor
6 TEXAS TECH 4 Missouri
7 N.C. STATE 4 Wake Forest
8 PITTSBURGH 6.5 Rutgers
8 FLORIDA ST 4.5 Boston Col.
10 Boston Col. 3.5 WAKE FOREST
10 Georgia 6.5 KENTUCKY
11 FLORIDA ST 7.5 Wake Forest
12 TROY ST 7.5 Arkansas State
13 UTEP 10.5 Memphis
14 GA Tech 2.5 Wake Forest

Total score: 121

Geek Analysis:
I was 21 of 42 (50%) in my predictions overall.
Best points in single game: 10.5 (twice)
Least points in a single game: 2.5 (twice)
Avg. score: 5.75 pts. per game
Week 5 was my best week (3 for 3) and week 9 my worst.
With the exception of week 9, I had at least one victory every week.
Wake Forest was my best underdog with five victories.
I successfully picked against FSU, BC, Stanford and UConn twice each.
I placed #70 in the top 100 (a personal best - compare with last year's 75 pts).
"Baylor Bear" Scott passed me up in the final week (#34 overall) after trailing most of the season (thanks a lot UCLA).

Advent

Advent is upon us. Take some time to pause and reflect on the meaning behind all the holiday hustle and bustle. Celebrate peace on earth and goodwill toward man early and often!

Check out the blog Advent for Evangelicals for more information.

hat tip: aka Pastor Guy and the Grapevine

a little quiz

Where are you right now? Dallas, TX
What are you doing? I’m volunteering/consulting with Wycliffe Bible Translators – helping them establish an archives.
How long will you be there? Two weeks.
Is your family with you? No they are at home and I miss them dearly.

Done anything touristy? Scott came up from Waco and we went to Dealey Plaza to check out the grassy knoll.









What about church? I attended Irving Bible Church with my hosts. It’s the first truly modern, seeker-friendly mega-church I’ve attended. The worship band was very good and one of their elders spoke on the dangers of materialism. Very Cool!

Any good food in Dallas? A group of Wycliffe folks took me to a Pakastani restaurant and my hosts took me to the Original Market Diner on the city's westside.

Are you reading anything interesting? Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller (thanks Daniel!) This one of my new favorites.

What’s new on your iPod? Mute Math’s “Typical” and “Control” along with some Coldplay from X&Y and Rush of Blood…

What are watching on tv? Besides The Amazing Race which Janell and I closely follow, I’ve been watching Jericho and Lost. Streaming webtv has transformed my lunch breaks.

How about football? Well I’m pretty pleased with UT’s season. I’m so glad that Fulmer has turned the program around.
And the stupid underdog contest? I’m having a great season (17/33 for 100.5 pts. and in the top 100).

mid-term election reaction

I voted early and I encouraged everyone I know to vote regardless of their political affiliations. I’m a big believer in both civic involvement and the will of the people. And from what I can tell, the electorate turned out in force and made their will known. The outcome did not surprise me greatly. Otherwise, I feel that the GOP wasted its opportunities over the last 6 years. Change is healthy. I just wish the Democrats didn’t have to be the beneficiaries. The people need more choices!

As for myself, I didn’t vote a straight GOP ticket. I’m glad that Bob Corker won. I voted for the None of the Above Candidate in the Governor’s race as protest vote and I voted for the Constitution Party candidate in the House race (which was virtually uncontested). Of course, after further study, I don’t think I will endorse the Constitution Party. My friend voted Libertarian in Texas. I may look into them next time around. I’m not sure there is a party out there that fully represents my thinking.

I think my political philosophy is changing. In recent years, I’ve been cynical in my support of most GOP candidates. I believe that they court the evangelical Christian vote, but that the party’s values aren’t fully consistent with Christian spirituality. I’m not convinced that abortion can be curbed through legislation. I’m not sure that the defense of traditional marriage should be the number one issue for Christians. Does the GOP truly care about the growing gap between rich and poor? Is what is good for GM truly good for the country? Should corporate lobbyists have more influence in Washington than the citizenry? How about reforming the pork barrel spending? Overhauling the tax code to eliminate breaks for corporations and the wealthy? And I haven’t mentioned social security?

I hope and pray along with the change in power, we can have a change away from power plays and government as usual.

Halp us Jon Carry

and to think that the guy wanted to be their commander-in-chief...

POST #100 / David McCullough and the Qualities of Leadership

We'll it took a little over a year to reach this milestone. I have good intentions of blogging more and reaching #200 at a faster pace...

This past week I attended a lecture by the Pulitzer Prize winning historian David McCullough over at MTSU. Overall David McCullough both enlightened and entertained. He began his speech with an amusing anecdote about being asked "Besides John Adams and Harry Truman, how many other presidents have you interviewed?" He also noted that the most striking impression of his only encounter with President Truman in person was the fact that Truman was in color.

The speech was entitled "Qualities of Leadership" and drew heavily upon the author's most recent works John Adams and 1776. During the lecture, McCullough stressed the importance of having a proper sense of history - that our founding fathers had a deep appreciation for classical history and a profound sense of duty to future generations. He also chided our culture for its nostalgic pining for a time when life was more simple. The "Good ol' Days" never happened! September 11 was perhaps the worst single day in our history, but it didn't fundamentally change everything. Furthermore, life in 1776 was not a picnic. For those present in the early days of our nation, the great American experiment was not guaranteed to succeed. McCullough reminded us that the actors in history did not know how their story would end, just as we do not know what the future holds for us today. He pointed out that throughout history, unexpected events often changed the course of history (for example, George Washington's miraculous retreat from Brooklyn made possible by favorable wind conditions that prevented the British from sailing upriver). McCullough also stressed the importance of teachers in our society and encouraged us to make history a priority in the education of our children.

Partying Like It's 1989

This past Saturday Night, our adult sunday school class held an 80's party. The pictures above provide evidence of our lil' escapade.

I'm afraid the whole ideas was mine. We had costumes, we had trivia, we had the music, and we had karaoke. It was a blast. As part of my research, I conducted a poll to find out what folks remembered from the 80's (favorite films, tv shows, music, celebrities...). As a mixer, party goers had to identify people based on what they did during the decade (Who graduated from high school? Who repeated the 8th Grade? Who dated a headbanger? etc...).

Then I put together a Name that Tune with music clips ranging from 30 seconds to 2 seconds (I even through in some TV theme songs for good measure). For my final game, I created a What Year Was It? contest (inspired by the Dateline NBC featurette). The karaoke was a hit, but I don't recommend choosing Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science". ouch!


Here's a partial song list from the evening:
Footloose - Kenny Loggins
Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
Call Me - Blondie
Celebration - Kool & the Gang
Beat It - Michael Jackson
Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Jump - Van Halen
Dukes of Hazzard Theme - Waylon Jennings
The Miami Vice Theme
Hungry Like a Wolf - Duran Duran
Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
The Final Countdown - Europe
The Power of Love - Huey Lewis
Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns n Roses
What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy) - Information Society
She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
To Hell With the Devil - Stryper