Winter Reading List

Next up in my winter reading list are two Ernest Hemingway books, The Sun Also Rise, his first novel, and The Old Man and the Sea, one of his later works that also won the Pulitzer Prize.

It's hard for me to decide which one I enjoyed more. Both are equally hopeless, although The Old Man and the Sea has a true sense of beauty. In a way I think think that Hemingway meant for the reader to identify with the unnamed fisherman, who engages in a futile struggle with nature.

Now that I am an entire week out from the end of the semester, I have decided to start counter-balancing all of this nihilism and start reading some theology again. I am starting with We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry by G.K. Beale. So far I am two chapters into it and it is great. I eagerly anticipate discussing this book in depth in class with Dr. Payne next semester.

Winter Reading List

In continuation of my winter list, yesterday I read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. While best appreciated in the context of the novel, I found the following exert especially profound.

"Most of the big shore places were closed now and there were hardly any lights except the shadowy, moving glow of a ferryboat across the Sound. And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailor's eyes- a fresh green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder."

An apt catechism for the Lost Generation.

Winter Reading List

In celebration of being down with finals, I read The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck today. My 1964 paperback edition I got at a book sale is only 114 pages long, so it was not too challenging to knock it out.

Gabriel at Sunergos suggested that if I liked Steinbeck I should read East of Eden next.

I have a pretty lofty reading goal this break, including finishing a few of the books from my summer list, like The Seven Storey Mountain, that I did not get a chance to complete before the semester dragged me into its black hole of academic overload.

Top 50 Albums of 2008

Paste Magazine has released their top 50 albums of 2008.

Sigur Ros clocks in at #2 and Bon Iver, Sun Kil Moon, and Fleet Foxes all get top ten nods as well.

She & Him grab the coveted #1 spot- an award that previously has gone to such artists as Sufjan Stevens and The Decemberists.

I'm glad someone is looking for signs of life in our culture.

Finals Log

I'm reaching the home stretch, but there is still much to accomplish. God is gracious and I have accomplished more than I anticipated.

My Johann Sebastian Bach playlist on Pandora is providing an excellent atmosphere for finishing my final paper: 4 single spaced pages to go.

The last song that played was Piano Concerto N. 15 in B Flat Major by Mozart. It was quite pleasant.

Like Bach, and unlike Mozart, I am seeking to do my work to the glory of God. As I approach the end of this semester, it is my desire to place my trust in the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ and not my own abilities.

Why do we then indulge our fears,
Suspicions and complaints?
Is He a God, and shall his grace
Grow weary of his saints?

- Isaac Watts

Finals Week

My finals week officially kicked off today. I don't actually have a final till Wednesday, but literally every spare minute is needed to prepare for the 3 exams and 7 papers due.

I will be cutting off contact from the outside world. In case of an emergency I can be found at either Sunergos, with my earbuds in effectively isolating myself from my surroundings, or the SBTS Library, on the second floor or in the reference section.

Goodbye outside world. See you in a week.

Sewage

The entire week has been working towards this trajectory. Last night after plunging a clogged toilet at work for over ten minutes, i discovered my efforts only succeeded in flooding the other bathroom with sewage. The floor was literally covered in crap.

Praise God for my friend Ella, who volunteered to help me clean the putrid mess.

I'm waiting to find out how this week can get any worse.

Crash

My second favorite cardigan, my third favorite pair of jeans, and my newest gloves were destroyed when I crashed my bike today. Arrgh. Being a bicycle commuter is suppose to save me money, but when you factor in the damages to the bike, that spill set me back $70. Thankfully my own injuries are only peripheral so there are no medical bills.

As Dimitri Martin says, "The easiest way to add insult to injury is when you are signing someone's cast."

Finals Checklist

Papers

Marriage and the Family Reflection paper (10 pages)

Religious Literacy book review (5 pages) DONE.

The Closing of the American Mind book review (5 pages) DONE (More or Less)

God and Government book review (5 pages)

36 political article summaries (13 done)

Sermon: 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (5+ pages)

Sermon: 1 Samuel (5+ pages)

Exams

Greek (comprehensive)

Religion and the Public Square (open book)

Marriage and the Family (closed book)

Look Closer

"I realized that here was this entire benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid. Ever... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it... and my heart is going to burst."

-American Beauty, 1999.

Concert Blurbs

Quick concert recaps:

Anathallo. To say they are amazing live is so hypobolic it's ridiculous. I was wearing a silly grin on my face every second they were on stage. Their new album, "Canopy Glow", could be the best I have have heard in 2008.

Colour Revolt. Between the British alternate spelling and their rock solid shoegaze/post hardcore melodies, I'm led to believe this band went to Oxford in addition to being from Oxford... Mississippi that is.

Ben Sollee. Louisville's best musican? Quite possibly. He kicked off his national tour at the 930 to a sold out crowd.

Brian Ott. Is playing a show Sunday night at U of L and I am playing with him. See you there.