Media Friday: What I’m Watching
Here's a brief look at what I'm watching this season.
If you're lamenting the state of television these days, drop by TOC and register your complaints.
24: OK, it's starting off a little bit slow and I foresee some things happening similar to the last season, but I'm going to stick with it and see where things go.
House: Since moving to Mondays two weeks ago, I've fallen behind on the adventures of television's favorite snarky doctor. (24 is on Mondays, too, but I watch it online.)
American Idol: I watch it almost because there is nothing else on worth watching.
Lost: I watched the entire series thus far (first four seasons) over the course of a couple of months last year. Like 24, Lost is off to a slow start, but I feel like it is really going somewhere. It's already tying up loose ends and explaining a lot.
America's Best Dance Crew: If you don't know this show, it's because it's on at 9pm (central) on MTV. They just started their third season which is surprising because it debuted around this time last year.
ON HIATUS
Life: I don't know why NBC took it off the air for so long following Christmas and they've yet to tell me when it will be back. After two time-slot moves (one to start the new season, one half-way through) I've already predicted the demise of this series.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Like Life, SCC has been off the air since before Christmas. It is slated to return mid-February with a new time-slot (the proverbial nail-in-the-coffin for television). I would appreciate it if they would at least wait until the season is over to cancel it and then tie up any loose ends along the way.
Changing My Mind
I've always been a little skeptical about popular people - whether musicians, kids at school, or preachers.
Several months ago, I had my opinion changed about LifeChurch.tv's Craig Groeschel by hearing him speak at the Willow Creek Summit. I subesquently read his book, It, and gained a real respect for him and his church.
Yesterday I came across a video from Nightline about Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill. It had the same effect on me. I'm glad that both of them have proven my skepticism wrong. Maybe I need to be more open minded toward the evangelical church. (Irony??)
Site Update: Update
So, this is an update about the update.
I'm still in the process of updating the site. I'm doing a little house cleaning at the moment that you probably won't really notice until it's all done. When it gets there, I'll let you know.
My biggest hurdle is putting together my custom layout. I've got a line on someone to do that for me, but I try not to rush my free help.
So, stay with me. It's all coming together.
Tilling the Book: Season 2
RyanBrymer.com is pleased to announce the re-launch of Tilling the Book.
If you're not familiar with Tilling the Book, it is an online book club where everyone reads the book on their own and then posts a weekly, blog-style note about their thoughts on the chapter at hand.
The last book that we worked through was Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning, which spurred a lot of great conversations.
Right now, we're taking recommendations for this season's book (no subject is off limits). If you're interested, stop on over and share your thoughts.
We'll be taking book recommendations for a couple of weeks, make a decision, then give you a couple of weeks to get the book. We should start reading around the last week of February.
Side note: If you have a particular interest in physics, this challenge might be up your alley.
Monday Morning List
Friday
- Quiet night at home
- Realized that The Fast and the Furious is not the great work of cinematography that I once believed it to be
Saturday
- Woke Up
- Cooked apple cinnamon pancakes
- Watched a tv show
- Went back to bed
- Katie threw a baby shower for a friend, so I played guitar while she was out
Sunday
- Church
- Nap
- Reloaded music onto my old computer and re-synced iPod for the first time since before Christmas
- Freebirds
- Baskin Robbins
- Finished reading Punisher War Journal vol. 1: Civil War
Media Friday: 2 New Albums
I picked up a couple of new albums this week:
There Came a Lion by Ivoryline
You are My Sunshine by Copeland
Media Friday: Calling Brave Souls
Ok, so there's this book that I really want to read. I've started it twice. The first time I got about halfway through. The second time, I only got about 2 chapters in. I'm ready to try again and I'm looking for someone who is brave enough to try reading it with me, so that we can mutually encourage each other through the hard parts and perhaps provide clarity when things become confusing. If you're brave, go pick up
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
This is a book about Physics. Specifically, it is about Superstring Theory, the relationship between Quantum Mechanics and The Theory of Relativity. It is very heady and deep content, but written in a very readable tone with examples that are very relatable.
If you feel brave and want to give it a try, leave me a comment and we'll figure out how we can process it together.
If this does not pique your interest, maybe you could head over to Tilling the Book and make a suggestion for Season 2 - Beginning Soon.
On Being Responsible
Life requires action.
Action requires decision.
Decision demands responsibility.
I was speaking with someone a few weeks ago who was talking about life's struggles. I said, "Life's not easy. The sooner you admit that the sooner you can move on and deal with it."
I think that as American's (especially middle-class Americans) we've become so conditioned to believe that life just happens and we can ride the wave and end up where we want to be. The problem is, when people realize that this is simply not true, they stall out resulting in several different outcomes: depression, denial, anger.
The only right response, however, is to take responsibility. Realize your own place in the puzzle and recognize what you can do to change things. Be systematic about it. Don't like what you've got? Change it.
"...let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us." - Hebrews 12:1
Rough Start
I set my alarm to go off early so that I could get a head start on my day. It went off. I ignored it. I woke up late. I left my breakfast and lunch at home. And that's just the beginning. It's been a rough start.
So, that's all I've got for today. What's community for if you can't be real?
Fortune Cookie Diet pt. 3
"Investigate new possibilities with friends. Now is the time!"
Connecting with people is hard work. It's time consuming, messy, and risky. But it's so worth it.
This thought is challenging though because it's not just about connecting. It says to "investigate new possibilites." It makes me want to look at all of my different relationships and ask, 1) has this relationship stalled? and 2) how can I get it moving again? or should I?
Look, life isn't going to slow down any time soon. If you believe that solid friendships are requisite for a healthy life then now is the time to start doing the work required to maintain them.
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