It's like a bonus... part 1
Last week I decided to take today (Monday) off from work to rest, and knowing that I had a 3-day weekend in front of me had enormous psychological benefits. Here are some highlights...
Let there be acoustic instrumentation!
A few months ago, based on reviews, I began to get into the music of Nickel Creek, a young bluegrass/pop trio out of San Diego, made up of violin (Sara Watkins), mandolin (Chris Thile), and acoustic guitar (Sean Watkins). I've always been a fan of acoustic music, and based on their debut CD alone, they're probably some of the best on their instruments in the world. Last Thursday I had the opportunity to head up to the City to see them in concert at The Independent, where they're touring with the former lead singer from the popular early 90's band Toad the Wet Sprocket, Glen Phillips. The four of them were backed up by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and Los Lobos drummer Pete Thomas.
Granted, I haven't been to too many concerts, but this one was clearly the best in terms of musical performance. I have never before seen fingers flying that fast across fretboards or picks striking strings with that level of precision. The musical style ranged from the mid-tempo acoustic rock from Toad, to upbeat instrumental bluegrass numbers to minimalistic jazz/blues-influenced pieces. Despite the fact that I only knew perhaps one-third of the songs played, I thoroughly enjoyed sifting through the intricate layers of melody lines and futilely attempting to identify how some of the musicians ornamented basic chord structures that I know to make the music sound more full and intricate. I'll definitely be looking them up next time they come to town.
There is a louder shout to come
The last several weeks, our church has been blessed to hear accounts from both long-term and short-term missionaries that we support from Africa, China, and Taiwan. It's amazing to hear the stories of prayers being answered and lives being changed (both the missionaries' and the people they serve). Overall, this is reinforcing in me a desire to go on short-term missions again sometime soon - I'm currently thinking in the first half of 2005. We'll see what happens...
Fare thee well
Yesterday (Sunday), the legendary 5824 house bid farewell to founding member Danny, who is heading down to LA to learn how to use the legal system to bring about world peace. As with all things 5824, the guys (JLau, Cal, and Danny) went all out and hosted 50-some odd people for a bbq. Good food (Danny's 3-hr slow-cooked ribs were snapped up in perhaps 5 minutes), good company, and a handsome 5824 T-shirt to boot... can't ask for much more than that on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. Had the chance to catch up with many old college friends that I hadn't seen in a long time, participate live in the hotly-debated "Would the '92 Dream Team medal in the 2004 Olympics?" discussion, and laugh hysterically at questions like "Would you rather drink a cup of spit or eat a cup of boogers?" and "Would you rather use someone else's toothbrush, or eat food particles from someone else's used floss?"
Lots of good memories at 5824 with the guys. We'll see what happens with the house community moving forward, but as for Danny, our loss is SoCal's gain... at least for the next three years before he moves back up here again. Heheh...
In the evening, got to hang out with the Canaan youth kids, who prepared a rousing sendoff for the graduating seniors. Listening to them reminisce about childhood stories is inspiring a post that should show up in the near future.
Last week I decided to take today (Monday) off from work to rest, and knowing that I had a 3-day weekend in front of me had enormous psychological benefits. Here are some highlights...
Let there be acoustic instrumentation!
A few months ago, based on reviews, I began to get into the music of Nickel Creek, a young bluegrass/pop trio out of San Diego, made up of violin (Sara Watkins), mandolin (Chris Thile), and acoustic guitar (Sean Watkins). I've always been a fan of acoustic music, and based on their debut CD alone, they're probably some of the best on their instruments in the world. Last Thursday I had the opportunity to head up to the City to see them in concert at The Independent, where they're touring with the former lead singer from the popular early 90's band Toad the Wet Sprocket, Glen Phillips. The four of them were backed up by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and Los Lobos drummer Pete Thomas.
Granted, I haven't been to too many concerts, but this one was clearly the best in terms of musical performance. I have never before seen fingers flying that fast across fretboards or picks striking strings with that level of precision. The musical style ranged from the mid-tempo acoustic rock from Toad, to upbeat instrumental bluegrass numbers to minimalistic jazz/blues-influenced pieces. Despite the fact that I only knew perhaps one-third of the songs played, I thoroughly enjoyed sifting through the intricate layers of melody lines and futilely attempting to identify how some of the musicians ornamented basic chord structures that I know to make the music sound more full and intricate. I'll definitely be looking them up next time they come to town.
There is a louder shout to come
The last several weeks, our church has been blessed to hear accounts from both long-term and short-term missionaries that we support from Africa, China, and Taiwan. It's amazing to hear the stories of prayers being answered and lives being changed (both the missionaries' and the people they serve). Overall, this is reinforcing in me a desire to go on short-term missions again sometime soon - I'm currently thinking in the first half of 2005. We'll see what happens...
Fare thee well
Yesterday (Sunday), the legendary 5824 house bid farewell to founding member Danny, who is heading down to LA to learn how to use the legal system to bring about world peace. As with all things 5824, the guys (JLau, Cal, and Danny) went all out and hosted 50-some odd people for a bbq. Good food (Danny's 3-hr slow-cooked ribs were snapped up in perhaps 5 minutes), good company, and a handsome 5824 T-shirt to boot... can't ask for much more than that on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. Had the chance to catch up with many old college friends that I hadn't seen in a long time, participate live in the hotly-debated "Would the '92 Dream Team medal in the 2004 Olympics?" discussion, and laugh hysterically at questions like "Would you rather drink a cup of spit or eat a cup of boogers?" and "Would you rather use someone else's toothbrush, or eat food particles from someone else's used floss?"
Lots of good memories at 5824 with the guys. We'll see what happens with the house community moving forward, but as for Danny, our loss is SoCal's gain... at least for the next three years before he moves back up here again. Heheh...
In the evening, got to hang out with the Canaan youth kids, who prepared a rousing sendoff for the graduating seniors. Listening to them reminisce about childhood stories is inspiring a post that should show up in the near future.
posted by Bob at
11:35 PM
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