life in a minor key

2006-07-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

This random blog has moved to Wordpress....see ya

http://lifeinaminorkey.wordpress.com/

Lower Ninth Ward

2006-06-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

This is a photo I took last week of the devastating remains of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

sad song

2006-05-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

The Girl with the Weight of the World in her Hands
She won't recover from her losses,
She's not chosen this path,
but she watches who it crosses
Maybe move to the right,
maybe move to the left
So we can all see her pain she wears like a banner on her chest
And we all say it's sad,
and we think it's a shame
And she's called to our attention,
but we do not call her name,
The girl with the weight of the world in her hands.

We're busy with our happiness,
busy with our plans
I wonder if alone she wants it taken from her hands
But if things didn't get any harder
She might miss her sacred chance to go a consecrated martyr,
The girl with the weight of the world in her hands.

I wonder which saint that lives inside a bead
will grant her consolation when she counts upon her need
It makes us all angry though we feign to care
But who will be the scale to weigh the cross she has to bear,
The girl with the weight of the world in her hands.
"Is the glass half-full or empty?" I ask her as I fill it
She said it doesn't really matter, pretty soon you're bound to spill it.
With the half logic language of the sermon she deliversA
nd the way she smiles so knowingly at me gives me the shivers
I pull the blanket higher when I'm finally safe at home
And she'll take a hundred with her, but she always sleeps alone,
The girl with the weight of the world in her hands.

disillusionment

2006-05-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve spent the past few weeks settling into a new apartment in Midtown Tulsa (actually…the place was built in the 1930’s, so it isn’t exactly new). I’ve not really been attuned to much here lately, mostly final exams, packing boxes, and spending a lot of time with family. When I do get the chance to meander on the web, some of the first sites I visit are the many blogs my Rivendell pals are maintaining.

I’m always amazed at the level of subject matter that some of my friends, pastors, and their wives (???) are producing. Everything from theology and Christian apologetics to music and children are discussed, usually on a very high level. I suppose my little corner here is a bit pale in comparison, as I usually copy and paste some obscure article or post a random music video. Perhaps I’m still trying to find a whole purpose with this blog stuff.

Maybe this blogging thing is just a fashion, something for me to feel a level of association with my cohorts. I’m not sure. I have no great spiritual discourses or original thoughts to share about the current state of the church or life. Believe me, I keep going in that well and am desperately trying to fish something profound out. These are usually fleeting attempts and I’m left a bit muted.

All I can say right now is that God has used disillusionment in my life as a sobering reminder of his purpose. This is a level of enlightenment I suppose, although not the type that will give me a wonderful testimony or place my amongst the strata of Christian “brains”. For me, the past few years have been a process of shedding Christian idealism and discovering a way to an obscured trailhead. If I find this trailhead, I’m praying that it will lead me to a deeper understanding of humility and servanthood.

I’ve changed the title of this blog from “Before the Deluge” to “life in a minor key”, which reflects my one of favorite elements of music. A minor key is a bit like a rainy day or a somber vibe. Right now, my rainy day is disillusionment, and for some reason, I’m okay with that.

2006-04-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

I found this excerpt from an article about friendlationships called "Who's on First Base?". This is a subject that is near, but not really dear to my heart.

"Anyway, we were almost done when she said something about how we've known each other for almost two years. I said yes. She said we've had a lot of fun together. I said yes. And then she said some other stuff, I don't remember what — you can't listen to everything a girl says or it would wear you out. I think I must have said yes to that too, which was probably a mistake. The next thing I knew, she was talking about how a girl needs a commitment or something. And I guess it took a few minutes for what she was saying to sink in, and I asked 'What do you mean?' And she said 'commitment' and spelled the word. And I said 'It's not like we've been dating or anything.' And she said 'What do you call it when we've been seeing each other exclusively for two years?' And I said 'What do you mean exclusively? I do things together with lots of other people.' And she said 'Not with other girls you don't' and I said 'Girls and guys both' and she said 'What girls?' And I said I couldn't think of any and she asked me why I was holding back and I said I didn't know what she was talking about and then all of a sudden she was crying and she left the table and the waiter brought the check and he looked at me like I was dogmeat and I couldn't find her and so I went home, and I keep trying to phone her but she won't return my calls and it's all I can — I mean I — well — "
He looked embarrassed and took a deep breath. "So that's why I say she changed the rules."

2006-03-28T16:44:00.000-08:00

I've been hiding from this blogger stuff for a bit. I've got a few ideas to sort of resurrect this fix, as my "myspace" addiction is dying off.

2006-01-10T20:23:00.000-08:00

"One of the most wonderful things in nature is a glance of the eye; it transcends speech; it is the bodily symbol of identity."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

2005-12-30T23:54:00.000-08:00

Dominic Miller (who is Sting's principal guitarist) is one of my guitar heroes. I emailed him a earlier this week and he actually responded to my question. Here what he had to say:

Hi Chad
Thanks for this. Lindsay Buckingham is one of the most creative song accompanists on guitar. His parts always sound perfect to me. I am flattered you should put me in the same paragraph as him. Yes I do in some way model my approach on his, but there are also many others. Classical playing has been of some help, mainly with technique which I sometimes use on electric and visa versa. But my main instrument is musicianship. I like to be true to the song and complenet it as much as it deserves, if not more. Having some classical backround and listening to people like Lindsay Buckingham helps make this possible.
Best wishes,
Dominic ---

(my initial email)
In your session work (most notibly with Sting), I appreciate that fact that the your guitar parts always seem to compliment the lyric or verse. Although sometimes quite subtle, the method in which your voicings weave in and out of the songs remind me quite a lot of Lindsey Buckingham. Do your feel that your classical reference point has contributed to your ability to express or restrain your session guitar work (as you always seem to "play for the song)
Chad C. from Tulsa, Oklahoma

2005-12-26T19:20:00.000-08:00

“In the liberation of Iraq, we've applied powerful weapons, like the tank you build here, to strike our enemy with speed and precision”
- Bush, April 24, 2003, thanking the workers at the Lima Army Tank Plant

2005-12-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

Brown and Agile Child
by Pablo Neruda

Brown and agile child, the sun which forms the fruit
And ripens the grain and twists the seaweed
Has made your happy body and your luminous eyes
And given your mouth the smile of water.

A black and anguished sun is entangled in the twigs
Of your black mane when you hold out your arms.
You play in the sun as in a tidal river
And it leaves two dark pools in your eyes.

Brown and agile child, nothing draws me to you,
Everything pulls away from me here in the noon.
You are the delirious youth of bee,
The drunkedness of the wave, the power of the heat.

My somber heart seeks you always
I love your happy body, your rich, soft voice.
Dusky butterfly, sweet and sure
Like the wheatfiled, the sun, the poppy, and the water.

2005-12-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

I guess I need to get out more??

2005-11-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

"Politics is for people who have a passion for changing life but lack a passion for living it"- Tom Robbins

2005-11-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

This record is just disturbing. I swear these are the elders from the hardline church of Christ I was raised in.

2005-11-10T16:02:00.000-08:00

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. --Stanley Horowitz

2005-11-04T16:29:00.000-08:00

Here's another cool photo of some early morning filtered sun beams.

2005-11-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

Check out this classical guitar piece entitled "Bachianna" by Dominic Miller. He's one of the most lyrical and colorful guitarists I've ever heard. Dominic is best known as Sting's principal guitarist. Enjoy !!!!http://www.dominicmiller.com/bachiann.mp3

2005-10-31T19:39:00.000-08:00

In light of the recent indictment of Lewis Libby, I found the following article quite interesting (written prior to the indictment). Here is the first paragraph, as well as a link to the entire article. (GW’s administration continually resembles a bad cowboy movie.)

In a New York Times article published on Sunday, columnist Frank Rich buried the dart right in the center-black. "What matters most in this case," wrote Rich, "is not whether Mr. Rove and Lewis Libby engaged in a petty conspiracy to seek revenge on a whistle-blower, Joseph Wilson, by unmasking his wife, Valerie, a covert C.I.A. officer. What makes Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation compelling, whatever its outcome, is its illumination of a conspiracy that was not at all petty: the one that took us on false premises into a reckless and wasteful war in Iraq. That conspiracy was instigated by Mr. Rove's boss, George W. Bush, and Mr. Libby's boss, Dick Cheney."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/101705I.shtml

These are some lyrics from song written by Jackson Browne almost twenty years ago (eerily prophetic)…

They sell us the President the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they're never the ones to fight or to die

2005-10-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

"The sorrowful spirit finds rest when united with a similar one. They join affectionately, as a stranger is cheered when he sees another stranger in a strange land. Hearts that are united through the medium of sorrow will not be separated by the glory of happiness. Love that is cleansed by tears will remain externally pure and beautiful. " -Kahlil Gibran

2005-10-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

I met this gentleman at a Buddhist monastery in Chengdu, China in July. I never got his name , but he'd repeat "welcome to Chengdu...welcome to Chengdu" in a humble tone that a loving grandfather would use.

I wonder if he tells his grandchild the story behind that old tattered hat he wears. I bet it has a few adventurous tales. It's original owner was possibly a Russian named Vitaly or Sergei, who purchased the hat with their total weekly earnings from the vodka kiosk they work at part time.

2005-10-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

I took this photo a few weeks ago early on a Saturday morning on the Illinois River (close to Arkansas). I really like the way the photo turned out, although I began thinking about the trees. They remind me of various barricades that are planted in the name of dominion, both physically and spiritually.

2005-10-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

A few excerpts from the current Rolling Stone interview with Bono regarding aspects of his faith:

"The music that really turns me on is either running toward God or away from God. Both recognize the pivot, that God is at the center of the jaunt. So the blues, on one hand -- running away; gospel, the Mighty Clouds of Joy -- running towards. And later you came to analyze it and figure it out."

"As an artist, I see the poetry of it. It's so brilliant. That this scale of creation, and the unfathomable universe, should describe itself in such vulnerability, as a child. That is mind-blowing to me. I guess that would make me a Christian. Although I don't use the label, because it is so very hard to live up to. I feel like I'm the worst example of it, so I just kinda keep my mouth shut."