It is the one great weakness of journalism as a picture of our modern existence, that it must be a picture made up entirely of exceptions. We announce on flaring posters that a man has fallen off a scaffolding. We do not announce on flaring posters that a man has not fallen off a scaffolding. Yet this latter fact is fundamentally more exciting, as indicating that that moving tower of terror and mystery, a man, is still abroad upon the earth. That the man has not fallen off a scaffolding is really more sensational; and it is also some thousand times more common. But journalism cannot reasonably be expected thus to insist upon the permanent miracles. Busy editors cannot be expected to put on their posters, “Mr. Wilkinson Still Safe,” or “Mr. Jones, of Worthing, Not Dead Yet.” They cannot announce the happiness of mankind at all. They cannot describe all the forks that are not stolen, or all the marriages that are not judiciously dissolved. Hence the complex picture they give of life is of necessity fallacious; they can only represent what is unusual. However democratic they may be, they are only concerned with the minority.

GKC
The Ball and the Cross, part IV: “A Discussion at Dawn”

If I remember tonight – I’ll add a post @ 11:11 p.m. – worthy of a post don’t ya think?

inspiration;
c.1300, “immediate influence of God or a god,” especially that under which the holy books were written, from O.Fr. inspiracion “inhaling, breathing in; inspiration,” from L.L. inspirationem (nom. inspiratio), noun of action from pp. stem of L. inspirare “inspire, inflame, blow into,” from in- “in” (see in- (2)) + spirare “to breathe” (see spirit). Literal sense “act of inhaling” attested in English from 1560s. Meaning “one who inspires others” is attested by 1867.

You want inspiration? Here are 10 tips;
1 ) Seek God first in all endeavors (prayer, bible study, obedience) for unexcelled inspiration.
2 ) Seek inspiration outside of your trade. Go to artists that work in mediums you don’t specialize in.
3 ) Get out in nature. You will never run out of inspiration in taking in this wide, bold, wonderful and sublime world God has created.
4 ) Be truthful / honest / real
5 ) Consider learning a lifestyle rather than a title.
6 ) Celebrate the amazing diversity we are surrounded in with the human experience, walk wide eyed in your daily gift of the present, fight evil at every opportunity overtly OR quietly.
7 ) Enjoy a deep and meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ, be it in a building called the church or not.
8 ) Fellowship with authentic Christians.
9 ) Make your goal to please God not man.
10 ) Admit you don’t know yourself.

sedit qui timuit ne non succederet

just got back from an absolutely epic roadtrip…taken in our Town and Country (yes we drove)…over 4,800 miles in about 8 days stops included; Pikes Peak, Painted Desert, Painted Canyon, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Yellowstone, a very safe and enjoyable time was had by all.

Don’t ask me to play your cocktail hour… I got my hands on a steel drum (soprano) for a first (thanks mom!)…. and wrote this basic melody pretty much 15 seconds out of the box….what I have here is with and without vocals……steel drums – they bring one straight to the island don’t they? Honestly – they are a bit hard to record – so hopefully my technique there will improve as time goes on. If you want the vocals they are below the music player links. And as always – click the arrow to stream – and download to download.

play da pans mahn

with vocals
Download

without vocals
Download

psalm 118:24
oh Lord i want to thank you for this day
Your love endures forever
i want to lift my voice unto you and praise
share joy together

this is the day the Lord made (2x)

oh Lord sometimes i get so tired and i
i lose my way from the folks out there and
i hear some folks they do conspire
but with You i know im ok

well when im down i know you lift me up
give me hope and make me feel better
oh Lord i know you’ll never let go no -
and so i’ll praise your name forever

this is the day the Lord made (2x)

i will rejoice…i will be glad

im not gonna be afraid

im not gonna be sad

im gonna lift up my hope

im gonna lift up my prayer

im gonna kneel down before the throne of my Lord

i got myself a brand new start (3x)

scat

this is the day the Lord made (out)

Assigning the musicians; I was reading through 1 Chronicles 25 and was struck by some aspects of Gods designs for worship musicians. It was a quickie of a spoken thought – with a washer running in background and people walking upstairs – but I hope you get the idea of why I wanted to share this…about 6 minutes long. The blue arrow streams, or you can download.

Download

…did I mention ähhhhhhhh”?

St James and the magician Hermogenes in a showdown

This series is in 2 parts. I will include the first one today. The story behind this print is that the Jews had hired a magician named Hermogenes to thwart St. James (son of Zebedee). There are various versions of the story, in one the assistant of Hermogenes is converted, in another Hermogenes himself accepts Christ. In this series by Bruegel we have the following view. James has been in Judea to preach the gospel. Pharisees and Jews having hired Hermogenes to use witchcraft and magic to fight the saints miraculous powers. When the demons came upon James they cried out “have pity on us – behold we burn before our time!”…James is here in the studio of sorcery, presumably that of Hermogenes. The latin caption declares “Saint James by devilish arts is placed before the magician”. Hermogenes, surrounded by his monsters and misshapen devils sits at the left, hunched over a book of spells. The Saint shows no fear, even amid the black magic vileness and viciousness. In fact – of the two Hermogenes appears more uneasy. All Hell has broken loose in the chamber; naked witches dangle their breasts as they fly astride dragons and billy goats above…a real Hallowe ‘en broomstick witch is flying up (or down) the chimney, another is at the peak of the chimney hood top right. A diabolical toad seeks to out stare a cat at the hearth. A hole has broken through into the rooms subconscious – the cellar below, sinister monsters huddle there. The sun faced horror with upraised arms just behind Hermogenes is the twin of Satan the prince, seen in another print of Bruegels.

Such is the nature of this fantastic confrontation between saint and sorcerer. It is significant that most spectators today undoubtedly find the demonic sideshow much more interesting than the quiet strength of the Saint.

quite busy behind the scenes…did a soundtrack for a jingle contest, am working on some new music, one tentatively named “intro 2011″…which would be the logical next step from outro 2010…and had intended to finish in January – but you know the “management by crisis’ dance…working on some videos for songs which should be forthcoming fairly soon, as well as going through a fairly specific “to do” list for on/offline promotions…the plates, my friends, are spinning at an exhilarating rate, do stay tuned.

My life depends not upon any meat;
My bread comes not from any human tilth;
No wings will grow upon my changeless wealth;
Wrong cannot touch it, violence or deceit;
Thou art my life, my health, my bank, my barn–
And from all other gods thou plain dost warn.

GM