Exercise 7 – And if you’re really into seeing what I had to program you can right click anywhere on the page and “view page source”.

And the CSS code can be found here.

As you can tell from the page I’m a huge LOST geek. So far I’ve enjoyed this season. Can’t wait to see how it ends.

Also, if you’re into all this Web2.0 stuff, I discovered an awesome life-changing site called Netvibes this week. I’ve used it to create my own homepage, a lot like what you can do with iGoogle but so much more. I even created a netvibes page for work (Warren High School). The students do a lot with current events so I thought “why not just build a netvibes page where they can see numerous news sources at a glance. And with Netvibe’s customization features I was even able to create the site with the same design colors as the WTHS homepage. You can see the page for yourself here.

So, I’ve been really busy with school which means I’m learning a ton, but on the other hand not doing a whole lot of recording. I look forward to summer when I will have a little more time to put into my other passions. The Broken Bones are doing well and I’m so glad I get the opportunity to keep playing music even though I’m bogged down with school. I also tried out mandolin for the church worship team last week (something I thought I’d never do again) and it looks like I’ll have that as another musical outlet. Things are good and Lent is upon us which means spring is coming along with Easter, the celebration of my Lord’s resurrection, and all the transformation and rejuvenation this preparation period brings.

Anyways, I finished my first exercise and I’m so proud of it that I just have to share. Here it is, my first web page designed completely from scratch from yours truly:

http://www.theloveuniverse.com/LIS_753/exercise01.html

She ain’t much to look at, but she’s all mine.

A few other related observations
1. Bluefish is an awesome open source text editor for writing code.
2. The history of the internet is surprisingly old and fascinating. If you’re at all curious you should deifinitely check out the video below.

A few unrelated observations
1. I thought Coco’s last show on Friday was surprisingly joyful and touching. His remarks on cynicism have really stuck with me the past few days. He will be missed for the next seven months.
2. The band I’m currently playing with (Zach Pietrini & The Broken Bones) is playing The Elbo Room this Friday.

I just finished William J Webb’s “Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis” and I highly recommend it to any brothers or sisters in Christ who share with me a dissatisfied attitude towards the way in which Scripture is often interpreted and applied.
A recurring tension in my life has been my uncertain disposition towards Scripture. Raised in the Evangelical Lutheran tradition and schooled at Trinity International University I was instilled with the notion that the Bible as we have it today is divinely inspired in its entirety. The nuance of what this meant varied depending on who was teaching at the time. And while most of these teachers and leaders would stress the importance of understanding the historical context of the Bible, they would act as if we were on dangerous ground or a slippery slope when it came to questioning the morality of the biblical text as written (especially in the New Testament), as if the bible existed in some sort of vacuum and was immune to cultural influence. How could one possibly argue with the command when its written right there, as clear as day? My concerns grew as I encountered many passages in the Bible which I felt to be absolutely detestable (yes, even in the New Testament). Some passages seemed to directly contradict the spirit of the gospel that I held so dear. And even worse, many of these passages have been used and are still being used to support and defend some of the most atrocious acts in all of human history. I also discovered a lack of consistency in how much value was attached to certain commands. This presented a huge stumbling block to me believing in the inspiration of Scripture. What sort of God inspires these sorts of writings?
I have recently found refuge in Webb’s proposal for what he calls a Redemptive Movement Hermeneutic. It is a hermeneutic that takes into account God’s ultimate plan of redemption and renewal that has yet to come to fruition. It is a hermeneutic that I feel comes to terms with not just the biblical culture, but the culture in which we live in the present.
Webb is an Evangelical and wholeheartedly believes in the divine inspiration of Scripture, but believes that the Bible was written during moments on this path towards redemption. Therefore, we receive glimpses of what this ultimate ethic is. An ultimate ethic that was embodied in Jesus Christ. In fact, this is a hermeneutic that Jesus Himself uses with much of the Old Testament. He shares a hermeneutic that looks at the underlying spirit of God’s commands. But the biggest difference for me is that with this hermeneutic a modern Christian is allowed the perspective to read the Bible and understand that in some cases our present day ethic is actually stronger than some of the commands as worded in the text. Webb does outline an approach to gauging what is cultural and what is transcultural in Scripture. That is what makes the book absolutely worth reading. He introduces what he calls the ladder of abstraction as a guide for obtaining meaning out of texts that we can safely assume have a cultural dimension to them.
I don’t necessarily think that anything Webb proposes is earth shattering or radical by any means. However, I do think he offers a relevant skeletal framework for approaching the Bible that I was in desperate need of. If you think about it, the Bible exists in this tension between idealism and realism. Which gives me renewed interest in it because that is where I often exist. And leaning too far towards idealism makes me disillusioned and cynical while leaning too far on the side of realism makes me apathetic and complacent. Thinking of the Bible in these terms has given me renewed faith in not only the inspired words but in the divine wisdom of God that reveals Himself in mysterious ways.

25. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below- Outkast (2003)

24. Why Should The Fire Die- Nickel Creek (2005)

23. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven- Godspeed You Black Emperor (2000)

22. Funeral- The Arcade Fire (2004)

21. Brighter Than Creation’s Dark- Drive-By Truckers (2008)

20. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb- U2 (2004)

19. Music For The Morning After- Pete Yorn (2001)

18. O Brother Where Art Thou- Various Artists (2000)

17. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots- The Flaming Lips (2002)

16. Sea Change- Beck (2002)

15. The Shepherd’s Dog- Iron & Wine (2007)

14. Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2008)

13. The Mysterious Production of Eggs- Andrew Bird (2005)

12. The Motorcycle Diaries Soundtrack- Gustavo Santaolalla (2004)

11. Z- My Morning Jacket (2005)

10. Demon Days- Gorillaz (2005)

9. Relationship of Command- At The Drive-In (2000)

8. Leaders of the Free World- Elbow (2006)

7. Parachutes- Coldplay (2000)

6. Talkie Walkie- Air (2004)

5. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot- Wilco (2002)

4. Illinois- Sufjan Stevens (2005)

3. Vespertine- Bjork (2001)

2. The Rising Tide- Sunny Day Real Estate (2000)

1. Kid A- Radiohead (2000)

Albums I can’t believe didn’t make the list!
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes- TV on the Radio (2004)
Think Tank- Blur (2003)
Wincing The Night Away- The Shins (2007)
Catch For Us The Foxes- mewithoutyou (2004)
Grinderman (2007)
The Crane Wife- The Decemberists (2006)

One observation: According to the list, the years 2000 and 2005 were very influential musically for me.

So recently I’ve been playing with a little folk rock outfit called Zach Pietrini & The Broken Bones. Zach is a great songwriter and it has been a joy to play with these guys, especially because I get to tinker with all sorts of instruments. So far I have gotten the opportunity to play guitar, banjo, mandolin, theremin, and melodica. My next goal is to play them all at once.
Over the summer I spent a lot of time working with the band and engineer, Gordon Persha, on their full length album. It was a long but fulfilling challenge and now we get to reap the fruits of our labor. The album is finished, printed, and in our hands. Today we officially released the album for online download at the band’s store. It’s called “The Bright And Shining Lights: of anywhere else” and you can stream it in its entirety on the band’s website.
There will be a release show this Friday at Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL. $3.00 for admission or $10.00 for admission + a CD. Come on out and celebrate with us!

1. I haven’t recorded nearly as much. Call it writer’s block, lack of time, no creativity, laziness, or whatever you want but the fact is that I just haven’t felt like doing it much lately. I’ve gone through these spells before and there is no formula for getting out of them. I just need that burst of inspiration, a free afternoon to do something with it, and an evening at Caribou to edit. I find the best thing for me to do is expose myself to a lot of new stuff and hope for the best. If this were a career I’d be much more diligent, but since this is just a hobby its best not to push these things. No reason to get burnt out on a hobby.

2. I do have a handful of tunes that are awaiting collaboration. I write music, but I am awful at singing and lyric writing. Frustration arises when I have 3-4 songs that are pretty much complete but need those last crucial pieces of the puzzle called lyrics and vocal melody. However, last week I started a dance tune with my friend Jay that used found sounds around the house for rhythm. It was a cool tune that could do without vocals, but it needs a lot more layering and editing. So now its a matter of seeing a vision for it and taking the time to chisel that vision out.

3. I’ve been doing other things. I love to travel with my wife and we did a lot of it this summer. We road tripped to New Orleans and spent 8 days in Britain. Both trips were incredible. When I have felt like playing music I’ve spent most of my time practicing my theremin. That instrument is really hard.

4. I’ve been playing with a new band. This last one came as a shocker even to me. I never thought I’d be part of a regularly playing band again, but the opportunity arose, I had the summer off, and they weren’t asking for a ton of commitment so I was glad to do it. The band is Zach Pietrini and the Broken Bones. Zach is an amazingly talented songwriter and the other guys in the band are fantastic musicians and friends. The best part is that they are currently recording their first full length album with Ammi producer and good friend Gordon Persha. So I have spent a lot of time this summer in the studio helping out where I can with guitar, banjo, mandolin, and creative input. I have also been assisting T-Bone (Tim Yoder) with building the band’s website. And when I say assisting I really mean just watching him work and giving nods of approval. The site is under construction and the album is still in the works but there is a link to the right under “links” if you want to take a look.  It just feels so good to play with other people again.

So, I guess that is where I am at the moment. I know that I wanted to do a lot more this summer, but life has a way of sneaking up on you. Now I’m back at work and I’m starting grad school soon so I know my time will be even tighter. Ironically, I find that sparks of inspiration tend to ignite when I have no time to do anything with them.

This semester’s classes:
Introduction to Library & Information Sciences
Organization of Knowledge