The Bitter End

As I get oh so close to finally finishing off my MDiv, I am reminded of how hard it is to finish things off. When I go running, the last quarter mile is the worst. When I take a long road trip, I always have to pee really bad and the last hour or so seems to take thirty. When you have worked a long day, the last hour takes the longest. I hope and pray that the last four and a half weeks of my seminary education are not the longest or the hardest, because that would put them as pretty dang hard.

I combine the feeling of hoping that the bitter end goes quickly with the rush of excitement and possibility that someday soon Robin and I and some friends will be embarking on a whole new adventure. We will finally have a chance to settle, and settle for the foreseeable future, when we get to Denver. It has been a drive for at least a year and a half. We look forward to having kids, trying to buy a house, having dogs. But more than anything I look forward to being able to finally get settled down and live for the present for a while. I know, as soon as I try to do that, we will get pregnant and will be looking nine months into the future. But at least that will only be one change at a time.

I feel like I am meant to have a church in Denver, to make a difference in a community that really needs the touch and the light of Christ. It is hard to think about leaving behind a lot of what we love here, I love being a student, kind of, I love being a youth minister, I love our youth, I love our pastor and his wife, I love that Robin has a job she loves, I love the price of rent. But I know that these things are not the things that we are supposed to do in the long term. I hope our church is good, I hope that we can help people come to know Jesus, and I hope I can lead in a good way. Mostly, I look forward to enjoying the present...

The Weez...

My favorite band, since I got their first album on a burned CD my junior year of highschool, has been Weezer. I feel in love with Jimmy Eat World and Ben Folds in college, but my first love in the music world has always been Weezer. The great thing about Weezer, is every time I graduate from something, they have been kind enough to release an album to congratulate me.

In 2001 I graduated highschool, and they gave me the Green Album (which is highly criticized for being too poppy, but I like it quite a bit anyway.)

In 2005 as I was graduating college, Weezer again gave me the gift of releasing an album, this time "Make Believe." This is considered by some to be their worst album, but I love it still.

And now in 2008 as I graduate seminary, they have released the Red Album. Every review I have read online hates it, but I just can't help but like all things Weezer, so of course I like it.

Every album they release is compared unfavorably to one of two albums. If you are a hardcore Weezer fan, you compare their new album unfavorably to "Pinkerton." If you are only a casual Weezer fan, you compare their new album unfavorably to Blue. This has happened to every album since Green. "Well, its good, but not quite as good as the Blue album." "Oh, you must be a casual Weezer fan." That is pretty much the dialogue.

I am always curious about these types of reactions. George Lucas has gotten a lot of crap for his newest Star Wars movies and his newest Indiana Jones movies. I don't entirely know why this is. If something is too similar to an old great, it is too similar for fanboys. If it is very different, its too different and they "sold out." I just think people don't appreciate how hard it is to continually put out greatness, and I think that they cannot just come to new offerings with an open mind. They want what they loved about the old work, without being the same. WELL WHICH IS IT?!!!
I realize that I am fiercely loyal to things I love, like the Weez and George Lucas (and episode I truly was crap) but I also think we should let these people put out their art, and if we like it, great, if not, don't buy it. I have written a lot without saying anything, but I will say, right now I like the Red Album. Not a whole lot, but I really grew to like "Make Believe" so I expect that will happen here too. I will sure as crap memorize every song, and learn them by heart. And I will buy a new Weez t-shirt soon too...