The Endless Cycle...

I know that history repeats itself, but this is crazy. Taken from the introduction to The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2013:

"If the entering college class of 2013 had been more alert back in 1991 when most of them were born, they would now be experiencing a severe case of déjà vu. The headlines that year railed about government interventions, bailouts, bad loans, unemployment and greater regulation of the finance industry. The Tonight Show changed hosts for the first time in decades, and the nation asked “was Iraq worth a war?”

The list itself is an incredible read, for these students:
- The European Union has always existed.

- Smokers have never been promoted as an economic force that deserves respect.
- Most communities have always had a mega-church.
- For one reason or another, California’s future has always been in doubt.

It's amazing how fast time goes by and how quickly some things change, equally amazing is how some other things never change.

Also check out the commentary by Guy Chmieleski at his blog, This Day On The Journey.

Time off is great

These past few weeks I've been trying to enjoy some much needed vacation time. Since I've been married (almost two months) I've been on the road way too much and the Fall is going to be just as busy, so I'm trying to make sure I use this time I have at home now be around as much as possible. However, since Laura has a real job it does leave me with a lot of free time during the day, which I have greatly enjoyed. I've gotten all sorts of productive stuff done and have had time to play around with all my little hobbies (such as this blog and a redesign of my website). I know that this time won't last forever (and I think that is a large part of why it is so enjoyable), but until I hit the road again next month for The Revolve Tour, I'm just enjoying life with my wife (hey that rhymed! maybe I should try my hand at some poetry...)

Bridal Portraits Slideshow

This is a little slideshow I made over the weekend using Laura's bridal portraits and some pictures of her bridal party getting ready. Gotta love iPhoto's snazzy templates!

Getting Ready & Bridal Portraits from Daniel Myers on Vimeo.

Sad to see tr.im go

I was saddened today to learn that my favorite URL shortening service tr.im has shutdown (CNET article here). Apparently they decided there was no way to ever monetize the venture so it was best to shut it down now. I must confess, I don't fully understand the Silicon Valley business models that allow companies (i.e. Twitter) to operate on such a large scale with no primary source of income, but that's a whole other discussion. In anycase, I appreciated tr.im while it was around and am sad to see it go...

Finally Home, and I'm married!

The last few months my blogging has slowed considerably. I was really slammed with wedding stuff, moving, and trying to juggle work. All blessings of coarse, I'm thrilled to be married and need the work, but it has sadly not left much time for tending to my little blog. But I'm back now, and will try to continue to provide updates as they come along.

Pictures from the wedding are up on Facebook (Album 1 & Album 2) so go have a look!

Record Labels: What's Your Take?

Quick question, what is your general opinion regarding record labels? Do you think they are pure evil, necessary/unnecesary? Maybe you see the majors differently than indies. Do artists need labels? If an artist does sign on to a label, is it then fair game for the label to help shape the album creatively or should they be completely hands off? Is the label always obligated to release an album an artist creates, even if they think it is inappropriate for their market (which could mean a lot of different things, not just profanity)? Please explain how & why you support any particular opinion.

I'm sure many of you are aware of the "Derek Webb Controversy" for lack of a better term. In my opinion the most astounding thing about the whole issue is the all the internet (twitter, etc...) chatter about it. The abundance of broad assumptions on the part of fans and other commenters on the basis of a very limited amount of legit info (basically two very cryptic e-mails and some twitter posts) has been the most shocking to me. How about you?

Anyway, I'm just curious about your take on this issue and the idea of record labels in general. Feel free to post comments on this page or @dtmmedia on Twitter.

no other folowers...

I added a widget to my blog today that allows people to follow it. I'm currently the only one listed... should I feel sad about this?

a little bit of overkill...

Yesterday when the UPS guy delivered a fairly large box to my door I wondered which of the new toys I recently ordered on Amazon it could be, a box of this size might just contain all of them! Nope, inside this 12"x12"x6" box, was a single transformer that measures 4"x.5". It's madness I tell you!

No Greater Sacrifice

Today I witnessed one of the most heartbreaking scenes I have seen in a long time. I watched as a young soldier, one of four on our flight today, said goodbye to his family as he boarded the plane. The whole scene caught me very off-guard, I was just doing my usual thing at the airport, headed for my gate, but as I arrived I caught a glimpse of this young man's face as I scanned the area for a place to sit. At first I just looked away, I did not want to watch, but yet I kept looking back. The sheer agony on his face, the way he held his wife and looked at his two sons (I'm guessing they were around two and four) was almost more than I could take just watching. As they called for the final groups to board, I saw him draw them close for one final embrace and as he held the younger son in his left arm, he wrapped his right arm around his wife and the older one hugged his leg. Her face exhibited a somber strength, no doubt the strength she will need until he returns and his face showed sheer agony, pure and simple. I don't know that I'll ever understand the emotions I was witnessing (I pray I never do), but my appreciation for our soldiers and their families changed today.

PS - During the short trip the flight crew acknowledged the presence of the soldiers and told us that they are all headed to Iraq. I pray God keeps them safe and they can return soon.

Back In the Swing of Things

Hey everybody, 

It's been a little while since I've posted, the holidays tend to really through me out of all my usual routines and it sometimes takes a while to get back to normal. Anyway, I'm glad to be back and I'm really excited about all the awesome things this year will hold. I think that with out a doubt, 2009 will be a year that I will look back on as a defining time in my life and in the lives of those around me. Lot's of big things happening, so I'm just getting ready to hold on for the ride.

Obviously, the main big huge thing is that I will be getting married this summer on June, 20! How freaking cool is that? Our engagement sometimes feels like it's going to last forever but it's really been moving along alright, today the widget on my homepage tells me we have 174 days left. We've enjoyed being engaged so far, but I'm really hoping these next few months move quickly!

There are some other cool things going on this year too. Sometime during 2009 (dates are still somewhat flexible) our church (Rolling Hills Community Church) will be moving into our first building. This will be a great new development for our church and will open up a lot of new doors for our ministry. I love our church the way it is now, but not having a facility really does put a lot of limitations on us and this will help to address a lot of those issues.

A big development in our country was the inauguration of our new president, Barack Obama, last week. It was a great time for our country and the world to see how a free country can operate. There are not many other countries in the world where the people can both choose their leader and install that leader peacefully. Admittedly I did not vote for him and I still have many concerns regarding his administration, but for right now, I can do nothing but wish him the best, vigorously support him when he is right, and oppose him when he is wrong. I do believe that his heart is in the right place and that he wants the best for our country, although we may sometimes disagree on what the "best thing" is or how to achieve it.

So all around this year will be a major time of "change" (man, I'm sick of hearing that, lol). I'm sure there will be both good and bad, but with God's help I hope the good will outweigh the bad and we'll all look back on 2009 with fond memories.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's my favorite time of year! The weather starts to turn cold (we had our first snow of the year yesterday!), Christmas decorations are everywhere, and I can spend my evenings building a fire, drinking a cup of coffee, and listening to Bing Crosby sing White Christmas. Ahh, it's great! If you don't have any good Bing Crosby Christmas stuff in your iTunes you can start your collection by downloading this free holiday sampler from Amazon.

What is your favorite thing to do during the Christmas season?

More New Pictures

Here are some new pictures I took two weeks ago while hiking at Radnor Lake. The Revolve Tour has allowed me to have Monday through Wednesday free most weeks so I've been using the time off to enjoy the wonderful colors of Fall here in Nashville!

New Pictures from our weekend camping trip!

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

On Saturday I finished reading Andrew Peterson's first (and I'm sure not last) book called On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. Being his first book, there was naturally a little skepticism about how good it would be, just because the guy can write and perform great songs doesn't mean he'll be a good novelist. Well, I have to say, this one is a winner. 

The story is an epic tail, very reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, but has it's own special flavor that makes it unique. When reading through the first several chapters what made me fall in love with the book was the way Peterson has worked his humor into the story in a way that is not intrusive or out of place in an epic tale, and is still absolutely hilarious (see the "Addendum to the Permission to Hoe Garden Form" in the Appendices). The story itself is filled with exciting tails of exploration, battle, and the hunt for precious lost jewels. As the mystery begins to unfold you won't want to put the book down until you have turned that next page, and then the next page, and then the next... While I certainly don't want to leave any spoilers in this post, I will say that I think the ending was very well executed; the book is clearly meant to be Part I of a series, so while there are plenty of open doors for Part II, the book still closes with a satisfactory feeling of resolution... at least for now!

Music worth listening to, and apples...

I read this article today and thought it was worth sharing. I hope that sometime in my lifetime we will see a "revival" of sorts in our appreciation for music that is meant to challenge and provoke, not just provide mindless entertainment.

Check out the entire article by Jason Gray here.

If you enjoy it please post your comments here or in the rabbitroom.

Some Things Never Change

This month I have, somewhat by chance, stumbled into a renewed interest in American history. I posted a few weeks ago about how I came across the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Shortly after that Laura started receiving discs through Netflix from the HBO series about John Adams. I watched the first four episodes while flying to and from Sacramento this past weekend and had to come home and finish the last episodes on Sunday evening. If you have not seen this series I would highly recommend it. Aside from the production being remarkably well done, I appreciate how they wend about portraying the story of the American Revolution: as a very real and human tale. 

History books have a way of categorizing our predecessors into neat categories: heroes & villains, patriots & cowards, but the reality is that they were people just like us. At times they were strong, and at times they were weak, sometimes right and sometimes wrong, they were flawed, imperfect people, who were struggling just to hold it all together. I think the greatest misconception about the whole ordeal is the notion that everyone was in agreement about how to handle our separation from England. The issue was bitterly contested by the representatives of the various colonies and was ultimately resolved through political negotiations not completely unlike those we have today. With our current political climate I think it is interesting to take the occasional look back at our history and note that there are somethings that just don't change.

Art, Music, Justice tour in Franklin tomorrow night!

For those of you here in the Nashville area the Art Music Justice Tour is going to be in Franklin tomorrow night (Tuesday, October 20, 2008). The show features Sara Groves, Brandon Heath, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, Charlie Peacock and and is at Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN. Show time is 7:00 pm and I think tickets are $15 (I'm not positive that's correct, but I doubt they will be much more). This will certainly be money well spent. Let me know if you plan to be there!

Some new reading...

The other day I was perusing my book shelf, trying to decide which of the many unread books I should undertake (I seem to have developed a poor habit of buying books faster than I can read them). The one that jumped out at me was a left-over from a college course, (one of the many books I purchased, read for 15 minutes, and put on the book shelf), but on that day it had a special significance. Just the day before I had been listening to an audio book on a plane ride back to Nashville and in the book the author mentioned his opinion that The Autobiography on Benjamin Franklin is one of the best literature sources on success in existence. I remember thinking at the time that it would be great if I had time to read it, but that I probably would never get around to it. Well, as I surveyed my non-fiction shelf, I discovered that I actually already own a copy of it, and as it didn't appear to be too intimidating, I decided to give it a shot. I can honestly say that is has captured my attention unlike any other biography has been able to (not that I read a lot in that genre).
The theme of Franklin's early life is what he terms industry, or more simply, hard work. He was consumed with reading, writing, learning, and working to improve his situation. I'm about half way through the book at this point, so I'll try to come back and wrap this up after I've finished it, but already I can see there are a lot of great things to be learned from his life.

Some good quotes:
"I grew convinc'd that truth, sincerity, and integrity in dealings between man and man were of the utmost importance to the felicity of life."

"So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for every thing one has a mind to do."

"[My father] convinced me that nothing was useful which was not honest."

The Common Sense Fix

For those following the financial mess that is all over the news as of late, you should find this document interesting. I'm not a financial expert by any means, but this is a plan that I can understand, and deal with (as opposed to the absurd $700 Billion idea). We all know that we can't trust the news media, they are always biased in some way, this week they are almost uniformly slanted in favor of the massive bailout. I find it interesting that on every news channel I have watched I have not seen even the acknowledgement of an alternate plan, although it is clear that it is out there since over half of the House voted against the bail-out. If "everyone" is so obviously for this idea, then why didn't it sail through unanimously? Anyway, I digress... Although the news media has not really been interested in covering this proposal, it is being spread around in Washington and does have a chance. I'm not sure where it's origins really come from, I understand it is the result of input from a lot of different sources, but that really isn't the issue, the point is that A) it looks like it could work, and B) it is something most "average" Americans can get behind.

Although he did not develop the plan Dave Ramsey has gotten behind it and has posted a summary of it's idea's to his website in PDF format. You can view all that info here. If you support this then make sure you let your Representative and Senators know!

Colorful Hat Pictures!

I finally got my pictures from the Colorful Hat tour online. You can find them all on my picasawebsite. There are two albums posted, one has all the photos I took from the whole week, the good & the bad, and the other has just the one's I liked. I was a little disappointed by how few of the pics came out well, but I guess I couldn't really expect much better considering 90% of them were taken from FOH in very low light conditions. Anyway, here they are...