One more post on Rich Mullins… he and his band perform an impressive feat here with a cup game throughout the song. I don’t know how they manage to keep track of it all.
Great share from The Music Corner. Check out their blog if music (especially Christian music) is your thing.

Here’s some insight from an individual who had a passing meeting with Rich Mullins… and his thoughts on what made Rich such a powerful minister of God’s grace and truth.

I’m certainly not a Puritan, but…

Dear SFO Pacific News outlet,

You might want to not place adult mags like Penthouse and Hustler literally right next to the toy airplanes and Hello Kitty plush animals.

THAT’S NOT WHAT HELLO KITTY MEANS.

Just a thought, from a Midwestern prude.

Happy joy, I get to take off from Japan about 4 PM and land in the States the same day at 9 AM.

I don’t even need a blue box.

Take that, Capaldi!

I am a procrastinator.

I almost waited until tonight tomorrow to get this posted.

This has been a long weekend of 12 hour days, waking up at 4 AM to complete Mandarin-Chinese homework due at 8 AM, working through lunch, then catching up after language class on other office work or exercise until 5 or 6 PM (or 7).

Saturday was going to be “do nothing day” but we have some settling in and unpacking still to do. So today became “run errands and pay bills, then unpack boxes organize storage, then build furniture and move other furniture, while keeping laundry going and making some lunch to feed the family with what’s left in the pantry, because don’t forget, we need to get groceries today.”

I woke up wanting to turn on the Xbox and wait until I was cajoled or nagged into action by my wife.

But I figured get the pain over with, and then I can chill later, with both the sense of relaxation and the satisfaction of a job well done.

I found this pic in my feed:

It challenges my thoughts about creativity and work. I have been meaning to write – not just a blog post or poem here and there, but writing further on my novel.

Like the housework, I can hide my head in the sand (play Xbox, browse Facebook, read blogs…) and tell myself “later.”

Or I can turn and face it.

Something to remember in a couple hours when I sit down and choose between games and writing…

Your dreams aren’t going to make themselves happen apart from your effort.

The Daily Post had an inspirational Neil Gaiman speech that popped up in my reader and caught my eye. As an aspiring author and generally creative person always trying to make something worthy of the attention of another, I grapple with the same doubts and self-loathing about my work as I’ve heard described over and over again by other writers, artists, musicians, and creatives.

To hear someone like Neil Gaiman express his own fears of failure is encouraging. It says I’m not alone. Neither are you. We all struggle with these things.

I’d reblog their post but that seems silly. But here is a link just in case.

One of the commenters suggested watching David Foster Wallace deliver a speech called “This Is Water” as an additional thought-provoking message. I watched it, enjoyed it, didn’t agree with all of it, but loved the main thrust of his message.

You can see it here.

When we realize we’re all alone in this ocean together, it’s good to remember a little consideration of others goes a long way.

I’ve had several friends and co-workers over the years who would probably nod in affirmation while reading Abby’s response, and rail in frustration at Ragen’s post here. After all, body fat is one of the few socially acceptable ways we can outwardly judge a person at a glance. We keep limiting all the other options, so ignorant people need *somewhere* to channel their disappointment at the existence of those they deem unfit or unacceptable.