Nothing witty today.

Crappy stuff accumulates, especially when I don't spend time with God. He doesn't send crappy things my way in retaliation for my not spending time with Him. Instead, good things become crappy because I don't spend time with Him, and crappy things just get crappier. He knows this. He tells me to spend time with Him for my own good. I was born "batteries not included", and I don't function as intended without the power of the Holy Spirit.

I want to live what I was made to live for, and I will only experience it this side of eternity by spending time with Him.

That having been said, I plan to start practicing piano like it's my job. Because it is. I mean really.

Chacos(TM)--the new Rainbows(TM). Simply fratastic.

My Tattoo Threat is coming closer to fulfillment. My frustration at not having any visible tattoos on my arms, shoulders, back, or legs is getting to the breaking point. From whence cometh this itch?

I've been channeling Haley Joel Osment recently. As I look around Athens, "I see [gay] people."

Music Dork -- Word of the Day

Phrygian.

As in, "That's Phrygian awesome, dude!"

Context: My music history professor unintentionally alluded to this use today when he noticed that a particular Medieval modal cadence sounded like a Phrygian cadence when you alter one of the notes in the penultimate chord. He altered the note on the whiteboard and exclaimed, "That sounds like a Phrygian cadence!"

I heard the word Phrygian as a proximate homonym of the ubiquitous adjective friggin' and just about lost my sh-t.

Again, feel free to add this to your lexicon. I'm a walking Word Generator.

Fucky.

It's not a four-letter word.

Why don't people use this construction to describe unpleasant things or undesireable situations?

I think it sounds cute, if a bit crass.

You heard it here first.

Cake Batter Pancakes.

Sweet. What would you use instead of syrup and powdered sugar?

Skittles.

Disclaimer: This post is not intended to hurt the feelings of anyone whom it may happen to describe. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or events, past, present or future, is purely coincidental. Some names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Over the past few years, I have received thousands of emails, and I have grown increasingly comfortable with the informality of the medium. When I receive an email with an actual greeting ("Dear Jason,") and complimentary close ("Love," or "Best regards,"), I take notice. I try to use them in my own emails because it reminds people (and me) that we're still engaged in some type of formal communication.

Among Christians, there are various ways to express a complimentary close that indicates both your membership in the Christian community and the special relationship with the person you're emailing. Some of the ones I have seen (and used) are as follows:

* In Christ,
* Your Brother/Sister in Christ,
* By His Grace,
* In His Love,
* For His Glory Alone,

However, one type of Christian complimentary close ("CCC") that I have seen on and off is simply this: "Blessings,".

When I read it, I do a double take. Gramatically, it strikes me just the same as if someone were to use one of the following:

* Skittles,
* Coffee,
* Asphalt,
* Lamps,

It's just too abbreviated. I have to assume that the sender intends one of the following:

* May God send you His Blessings,
* May you have many blessings,
* I wish you to have many blessings,
* I give you my blessings,
* May you prosper under my blessings,
* Blessings exist,

Which is it? It's too vague for me, and it seems, well, incomplete.

Hairicane Katrina

Rant of the day: mispronunciation of words.

I know I've not got a lot of room to talk, what with my infamous substitution of "peench" for the Prada-wearing, trust-fund-bragging "pihnch", but how does one get "HAIR-i-cane" out of "hurricane"? These are the same people who say, "Don't be in a HAIRY! You'll get there on time." And this, too: "Wait! You'll run into protesters if you wear that FAIR coat tonight."

FUR. HUR. They rhyme. FUR coat. HUR-i-cane.

Can anyone pin the dialect on the donkey? In what part of the U.S.A. do these asses reside? Are you one of them? How can you tell? Ask *me*.

Concert Photo

I went to a concert the other night. My former college piano teacher was performing works by the famous 60s piano duo Ferrante & Teicher along with Susan Teicher, the daughter of Lou Teicher. In the middle of their set, Ms. Teicher grabs the microphone, heads down the aisle, and introduces her father in the audience. He and his wife were sitting directly behind me, so I got my friend Jack to take this picture with my camera phone.

Officially an iPodder.

After two years of waiting for the ultimate iPod, I think I may have found it: the iPod nano. I ordered mine yesterday, thanks to a helpful student/educational discount, and I can't wait for it to arrive. I realized that I don't need my entire music collection (currently 29.89 GB) with me, but 1,000 songs (give or take) is plenty enough to keep me from being bored on the elliptical. Plus, I desperately need to listen to all those CDs for Music History and Piano Literature.

Speaking of school, the Bulldawgs host the Gamecocks today in Athens. I can't wait to see the feathers fly. Spurrier and USC are a perfect match: the short nickname for USC's mascot applies equally to both.

Pee on my pants.

I swear those wet spots on my shorts are not urine. Believe it or not, I have spent the last 32 years (minus 3-4 years for potty training) becoming an expert in how to aim my equipment. I can hit the water 99.9% of the time, which must be a stellar pee-to-water percentage given how much urine I find on the seats of toilets in public places. At least *lift* the seat and pee on the part no one sits on.

The water drops splashed on my shorts when I was washing my hands, something that I also find to be a rare habit among men. I have seen men leave the bathroom at church and not wash their hands. I notice it because these are the same men who go around shaking hands with everyone they see.

Yuck.

In all your ways.

Proverbs 3:6 "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." (ESV)

Consider all your ways. How do you acknowledge Him in your job? Your family? Your meals? Your church?

What about your drinking? Your "going out"? Your dating? Your time alone with your girlfriend / boyfriend? Your socializing with friends? Your trips to the movie theater? The movies you rent? The music you listen to?

If you don't acknowledge Him publicly, do you acknowledge Him in your heart? Do you consciously and enthusiastically take Him with you? Or do you simply choose to ignore Him, making a truly arrogant "bargain" by demanding that He give you this "one time" or "one little (fill-in-the-blank)" without waiting for His response?

Do you acknowledge Him in your thoughts throughout the day?

I'm asking you this because I don't do it myself, but I am convicted that I ought to obey God and acknowledge Him in all my ways. I know what acknowledgeing Him entails, but but I need to consider is the extent of "all" in my life.

Lunch Blog

That sounds like a really bad lunch item. "Yes, I'll have the lunch blog, medium well, please."

After finding myself on the East Side for a meeting, I stopped by Loco's for lunch. Lo, and behold! They have wireless internet. This is helpful.

This morning, I turned in my first writing assignment in over five years. It was humbling to have my first draft returned to me earlier in the week with only a few comments. Humbling, I say, because those few comments were devastating to the paper, e.g., "You have no thesis statement." We didn't need thesis statements in law school, or, if we did, my legal research and writing grade is now explained.

Carrie. Can anyone say, "Whomp! There is is!"?

"W H double O M P as I flow,
"To the school of old, hardcore, keep the folklore wreck
"3 to the 2 and 1 mic check
"Mad skill, blow ill, I’m the man of steel
"That’s grill of the microphone I just killed
"Party people is the party tag team is through
"Whoop there it is, I thought you knew."

Yeah, I thought you knew. :)

Check this out: Help Paul. I saw a large ad for it in today's Red & Black. What a trip. If my "friends" did that to me, they'd soon be ex'es.

See y'all around.

2" Needles

I got a 2" needle stuck *all the way* into my heel today. My doctor thought a cortizone shot would be the best next step in my recovery, but in order to put the cortizone where it needed to go, he had to bury (his exact word of comfort) the needle all the way through the side of my heel so that, as he slooooooowly pulled it back out, he could inject a trail of stuff all the way across my heel.

He didn't tell me about the slooooooow part.

But, I'm walking fine, and my heel doesn't hurt for the first time in 3+ months. I didn't cry, but I was sweating like a whore in church. Well, I'm a whore and I go to church and I don't usually sweat that much, but you know what I mean. (Please say you do.)

I'm in a lockdown at Jittery's 5 Points until I get my first writing assignment for Music History finalized and catch up on my reading. I've started back at the gym with a new trainer who seems to know what he's doing. I ran my last trainer off, and he's now in law school, but I probably won't stay at the training gym long enough to run this one off. When I finish the sessions I've paid for, I'm going to work out at Ramsey. Like you care.

Off to write and study.

Our Sin Nature

For convincing evidence of the Bible’s claim that all men are born with a sin nature, turn on your TV and watch what is developing in New Orleans. In response to the United States’ worst natural disaster ever, people are taking advantage of the devastation by looting the businesses and homes of those affected by the Katrina. When confronted, either by people trying to stop them or by people trying to steal from them, they are becoming increasingly violent. The mayor of New Orleans has diverted nearly all of the police force from looking for survivors to trying to stop the looting.

We also see this in the gouging at the gas pumps. Rumor, not actual fact, drove the dramatic price increases.

We should not be surprised at this, as if we were horrified that people are capable of such hurtful and violent behavior. Over the next few days and weeks, we will read newspaper articles and watch television news reports that address the looting with the assumption that this is just the worst of society, good people “gone bad”.

But we know better. This is exactly what happens when men perceive that Godly restraints have been lifted, even if briefly. Selfishness and covetousness are our true native operating system, and we are now seeing the horror of it at work. This is what men do when no one is watching. This is what men do when authorities cannot enforce laws. This is what men do when they can.

Of all the world’s religions, only the Gospel as taught by the Christ addresses this phenomenon adequately. No other religion or pseudo-religious belief system posits that men are basically bad and in need of a Savior.