It's Here

Love Wins

My Forever

This album embodies springtime:

He is We - My Forever

It's incredible. Especially "All About Us".

Love Wins

     One of my favorite authors is Rob Bell, and he has a new book coming out in late March. It's entitled: Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived and it attempts to answer the question:

Who goes to Hell?

Even though his book hasn't come out yet, it's managed to create a great deal of controversy because some believe Bell presents a Universalist view of Salvation in his video preview. Rob Bell's writings (especially Velvet Elvis) have had a tremendous influence on my life, so any controversy should be treated carefully, with Bell given the benefit of the doubt. After all, nobody except for him and his publishers have actually read his new book.

LOVE WINS. from Rob Bell on Vimeo

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Spring Time

In anticipation of the wonderful season that is Spring, I've changed the design to a spring-time feel. It's still in progress.

Folk Music

Clockwise from top left: Emotionalism, Blind Man Walking, Mission Bell,  Gold

     Folk music has the intangible quality of being organic. Whether its the rich acoustic guitars of the Avett Brothers, the bluegrass of Cadillac Sky, the pop/blues of Ryan Adams, or the soothing voice of Amos Lee, something about these sounds just stirs the soul. In a world of auto-tune and incredible post-production processing on albums, a lot of the tangible qualities are lost.


 These songs feel real, alive, as if they contain the souls of the artists. 


 Organic.


 Here are my favorites:

1. The Battle of Love and Hate - Avett Brothers
2. Born Lonesome - Cadillac Sky
3. Windows Rolled Down - Amos Lee
4. When the Stars Go Blue - Ryan Adams
5. Dancing Shoes - Green River Ordinance
6. Poison and Wine - The Civil Wars
7. White Blank Page - Mumford and Sons

War and Art

I found this on the internet. Such a thought-provoking image.

Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas

Beneath The Neon by Matthew O'Brien

     Beneath the Neon is an eye-opening book on homelessness in Las Vegas. It focuses on the men and women who spend their nights underneath the strip, living in storm drains and tunnels that crisscross the city. Matthew O'Brien is an investigative journalist who ventures into these tunnels to interview their residents. This book widened my perspective on homelessness. I learned the following about homeless people:

1.     Just because they're homeless doesn't mean they aren't smart. O'Brian ran into some incredibly intelligent, well-read people who knew more than you and I about society and its problems.
2.     They weren't always there because of drugs and alcohol. Yes, many of them were battling drug or alcohol addictions, but surprisingly many of them were there because of depression; others from simply unfortunate circumstances.
3.      They need help. But not the kind of help we normally want to give them. Instead of simply throwing food, clothing, and shelter at them, they need better long-term solutions. In particular, they need IDs, jobs, and affordable housing. Homeless people don't want charity, they want to work themselves out of it.
4.      Counseling, rehab, and therapy would go a long ways towards helping someone get on their feet. There is a huge mental component of beating homelessness.
5.      IDs. Most homeless people don't have a drivers license or some form of identification. Without an ID, they can't get a job. No job, no money, still homeless.
6.      Not all homeless people are messy and slobs. Yes they haven't always bathed in the past few days, but one thing I found remarkable was how clean and organized most of the camps were (a homeless man's living and sleeping area). They had a separate area for the "toilet", and kept their belongings neatly together.
7.      Creativity is alive in the tunnels. From the graffiti sprayed on the walls, to the poems etched in the concrete, people had created beauty in the darkened tunnels. Several men had elevated their beds in the tunnels like mountain climbers, to avoid the flash floods that wash away everything on the floor.

I hate homelessness, but I haven't done nearly enough to stop it. I keep walking.