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In Austin for Verge

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I flew out of O'Hare in Chicago at 10:15am after an hour delay. Arrived in Austin at about 1:30pm. Hitched a ride with Brent Thomas and three other guys. Got lost because of my navigational issues. And have now arrived at the Aloft Hotel in Austin. Looking forward to tonight's first main session.

I'm not really sure how I'm going to approach blogging/Twittering Verge. I don't want to just overload Twitter with a zillion quotes of everything said. Especially since all of you can get the live stream for free!

Follow @VergeConference on Twitter. Keep up with the verge hashtag for everyone's tweets: #Verge10. Follow the social media team here for a variety of different takes and angles and responses. Should be a great time for all interested. 

Last Chance $5 Albums

Amazon's 800+ $5 albums ends tonight. Some great albums on this list. Here are a few I recommend...

  • 99 Most Essential Masterpieces of Bach, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven
  • The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music
  • 99 Most Essential Baroque Masterpieces
  • Vampire Weekend: Contra
  • Russian Circles: Geneva
  • Cut Copy: In Ghost Colours
  • The Album Leaf: Into The Blue Again
  • Thad Cockrell: To Be Loved
  • The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
  • Rodrigo Y Gabriela: 11:11
  • John Coltrane: The Ultimate Blue Train
  • The Weepies: Say I Am You
  • Great Lake Swimmers: Lost Channels
  • Matt and KimGrand
  • Pink FloydDark Side of the Moon
  • ColdplayRush of BloodParachutes
  • J TillmanLong May You RunYear In The Kingdom
  • RadioheadThe BendsOK Computer
  • Sara GrovesFireflies and Songs
  • Yeah Yeah YeahsIt's Blitz
  • The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
  • Gillian WelchRevival
  • Volcano ChoirUnmap
  • The Avett Brothers: Four Thieves GoneMignonetteEmotionalism
  • Okkervil RiverThe Stage Names & The Stand Ins
  • Bon Iver:  For Emma, Forever Ago
  • White Rabbits: It's Frightening
  • Bowerbirds: Upper Air
  • Antony & The Johnsons: The Crying Light
  • The Zombies: Odessey & Oracle
  • Pelican: Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw
  • Music Monday 1.4.10

    Before it's too late, grab these $5 albums...

    As I've said before, the end of the year is not only a chance to point to great music. It's a great chance to find music you missed. Here are some great things I've just found from 2009. I've found them through blogs as well as on the top 10 lists found at Metacritic.

    Allen Toussaint's jazz album, The Bright Mississippi, is so good. An intro... (via)

    I've somehow missed The Horrors. On many top 10 lists, this psychedelic shoegaze is a worth a listen. Buy The Horrors: Primary Colours.

    Lots-o-Links 11.30.09

    Molly Update 10.27.08

    DSC_00102007-07-09Molly had MRI's done Friday night at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.  From a patient/family point of view it was a spectacular hospital: new, beautiful, comfortable, peaceful.  It's slightly over 1 1/2 hours from our house with no traffic.  So future MRI's will be done in Madison, if at all possible.  We got there early hoping she would get in early, and she did.  We left about an hour earlier than expected.  When has that ever happened?  Plus, Fuddrucker's is on the way and we love the Fudd. 

    Despite the good experience with external things, it was a miserable experience for Molly.  They had her head and neck positioned in ways that jacked her up big time.  She had to be taken by wheelchair out of the hospital.  Her nausea had finally started to subside a few days before we went to UW Hospital, but the MRI brought it back.  My Dad and Uncle came to town for several hours on Saturday and Molly was just all messed up.  "Jolts" and terrible balance issues were especially noticeable. She didn't go to church again on Sunday because of nausea and bad balance problems.  She is also having a little swelling near her incision...again.  We are guessing that's because of the  MRI as well. Hope it goes away quickly.

    Molly's worst issue has been in thought processing and getting out her thoughts.  She will stop in mid-thought and just not be able to finish what she's trying to say.  It doesn't matter how simple it is.  At any given moment in speaking she will just stop and find saying the next word impossible.  It goes without saying that is very frustrating for her.

    On the positive side her energy levels have been increasing and her nausea is subsiding again 3 days after the MRI.  She's up more during the day.  She's sleeping a little better at night, not just laying there wide awake.  But still not quite right on the sleeping front.

    Today we UPS'd the MRI CD to Dr. Frim.  They should get it tomorrow and hopefully will look at it right away. More likely it will be by the end of the week.  I'll let you know when we know what he sees.  Please pray he will see nothing bad, OR that he would find keys to an Escalade in there.

    I have to add one more thing, a teaser. In a couple of days I'm going to explain how some people have responded to Molly and our family in this ordeal.  Some amazing things have happened through our church and in our community.  Be looking for that.

    NPM '08: A Few Poetry Sites

    Npm_2008_poster_550To continue my National Poetry Month (NPM) kickoff, here are a few general poetry sites worth checking out. 

    <> Poets.org: My favorite general poetry site, from the Academy of American Poets.  You want to read poetry on your mobile phone, you say?  Sure, poets.org has a mobile site. Also worth noting is their National Poetry Map.  Very helpful resource of finding poets and poetry near you.

    <> National Poetry Month at Poets.org: a good primer page that answers questions like What is National Poetry Month?, info for Poem in your Pocket Day (more on that soon), and plenty of other stuff.

    <> Poetry Magazine: A handful of good stuff from a key poetry magazine.  Try the very cool "Poetry Tool."

    <> Poetry 180: A program geared to develop a love for poetry among high school students by having apoem a day read aloud for the whole school year, hence the 180.  Poetry 180 has been developed by the amazing Billy Collins.  Collins provides a helpful "How to Read a Poem Out Loud article and audio.

    Lots-o-Links 3.18.08

    Said at Southern blog has an NCAA style (sorta) tournament where you go vote for your favorite student or alumni blogger.  They put me up in the Midwest Division.  [sarcasm]As my readers probably know already, these sorts of things are very important to me.[/sarcasm]  Here's what I want you to do.  Don't go here, don't find the midwest division, and don't vote for me.  Thanks.

    Though I never saw it before, Love, Chicago: Welcome to the Indie City is back online.  We locals hope for good things, which should be easy in such a great city.

    Drew Goodmanson keeps putting out things I can't ignore like "Multiplying Missional Communities" and

    Bill Walsh at the Desiring God Blog on the 9 reasons he is a photographer.

    The mortgage crisis is creating a new "slumburbs." (Thanks JB)

    Ben Witherington briefly reviews Bart Ehrman's God's Problem.

    The Guardian: "The Atheist Delusion."

    Scroll down and listen to Sproul on "Who is the Comforter?"  I needed it last week.

    Gary Rohrmayer on "The Principle of Sowing and Reaping."

    Guy Kawasaki on "The Myth of A Listers and Influencers."

    Lots-o-Links 2.20.08

    "I...drink...your...MILKSHAKE!"

    Sean Lucas on Tim Keller's The Reason for God...

    This is simply a wonderful book, a useful tool for God's work--but it will only make a true impact for the Kingdom if it is used, given away, and shared with others.

    Thanks to Ben Arment I've been watching a lot of TED videos lately.  This one with atheist Richard Dawkins isn't new, but it's important...

    Matt Chandler has some advice for preachers.

    [SBC Offensive Topic Filter]St. Anne's Pub on whiskey.[/SBC Offensive Topic Filter]

    If you are in or near Greenville, SC, here's a chance to hear some Derek Webb and Caedmon's Call AND help the Carolina Hope Christian Adoption Agency's new Ethiopia program.

    Reviews of Books/Music

    Things I Use

    Productivity & Analog Tools - Everyday Carry

    UPDATED January 2017

    Pencils

    Music

    Computer

    Apple & Kindle & Tech

    Bibles & Devotional

    Photography

    Poetry

    • Field Notes | I am using a subscription-only version of their reporter's notebook for poetry writing
    • Notes | I write some on-the-go in my Notes app

    Apps & Tools

    • Apple Music | Family subscription
    • Squarespace | personal blog & church website
    • Tweetbot | for Twitter
    • Pocket | articles and posts archive
    • iTunes | for music & iPod sync
    • Amazon Prime | mostly for shipping, also for music
    • Vimeo & YouTube | family & church videos
    • Feedly | Use infrequently to see some blogs
    • Trello | Quickly becoming the greatest app ever in my eyes
    • Google Docs | So much done here

    Mission to Suburbia

    Suburbs_crop_words_2My resource page for the mission to suburban America: blogs, books, websites, stats, etc.  This stuff will be mostly suburb-specific, though I will make exceptions.  Some are Christian resources, some are not.  NEW! means it's new to the list, not necessarily a truly new resource.  Let me know if you know of resources that should be listed here.

    __________________________________________________________________

    BLOGS

    Joe Thorn
    Missio Dei Suburbia

    The Suburban Christian (Al Hsu, The Suburban Christian)
    Theopraxis
    Living Missionally in Suburban America

    BOOKS

    Death by Suburb by David Goetz
         Death by Suburb website
         CT Review
    The Suburban Christian by Al Hsu
    The Jesus of Suburbia by Mike Erre
    The Good Life by David Matzko McCarthy
    Justice in the Burbs by Will & Lisa Samson
    Geography of Nowhere | Home from Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler - NEW!
    Suburban Nation by Duany, et al

    ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS/OTHER

    <>Christian Resources<>

    -Ten Ideas for Living Intentionally in the Suburbs (Chris Smith)
    -Cutting Edge Summer 2007 on Suburbia - Vinyard Church Planting
    -Suburban Spirituality by David Goetz
    -God of the Latte: Faith in the Suburbs by Lauren Winner (on Hsu's The Suburban Christian and Goetz's Death by Suburb)
    -Seeking God in the Suburbs (printable) - interview of Hsu and Goetz
    -Religion in the 'Burbs by Agnieszka Tennant
    -The Gospel and the God-Forsaken: The Challenge of the Missional Church in Suburbia (PDF) by Todd Hiestand
    -Bowling Alone No More by Mark Galli

    David Brooks
    -Patio Man and the Sprawl People
    -Bobos in Paradise

    <>Cultural Resources<>

    -Goodbye, Suburbia (& video) - NEW!
    -The End of Suburbia (DVD) - NEW! (get on Netflix)
    -Living Large, by Design, In the Middle of Nowhere
    -Finding Exurbia: America's Fast-Growing Communities at the Metropolitan Fringe
    -Could Rising Gas Prices Kill the Suburbs?
    -Is it Time to Move to the Suburbs?: Homogenous Cities Are Making the Cul de Sac the New Downtown

    (Link to page)