Best Album's of 2008

My brother's blog post inspired me to finally get back on this blog and post my own best albums of 2008. I fear that few people actually glimpse at this blog anymore, but I'll provide my own anyway.

I have to go with Bon Iver with my album of the year. I'm not the guy who usually has the patience to listen to an entire album all the way through. I am the guy with playlist after playlist, refining and creating some of my own stations. However, Bov Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago, is incredible all the way through. It places me in a state of meditation and reflection. It ceases to grow old, in fact, it becomes better with each listen, the sign of a true piece of work. It is the epidomy of "Trident" - the gum that doesn't overwhelm you with taste at the outset, rather than "Bubble Gum" - it's the best thing you ever tasted but only lasts for a couple chews. (I must cite "Bubble Gum" as a term developed by the older bro.)

At a close second is Frightened Rabbit's The Midnight Organ Flight. The Scottish band rings home a classic. Wow, another album that I have listened to way too many times and yet ceases to grow old. Their album was a dissapointment in terms of sales from what I heard, however, their following is starting to really take off. I tried to get tickets for a show in Chicago and it was sold out months beforehand. And this show was their third show in Chicago this year.

Rounding out the rest, I have no particular order.

Society, Hope You're Not Lonely, Without Me

From my perspective, the recent stimulus package provided by the government has reinforced the materialism and consumerism of our country by the way that it was presented. Rather than encouraging people to save and be smart with the money, emphasizing that it was coming out of next years return, it was initiated so that people would go out and spend it immediately. Isn't this type of behavior what got us in this current recession?

Anyway, while our culture (and me included) struggle with materialism and consumerism, it is great when you have messages that go against the grain. I would recommend the movie Into the Wild to anyone, but especially those who need a slap of perspective. Eddie Vedder sings a song called Society on the soundtrack that says it well.

Oh it's a mystery to me. We have a greed, with which we have agreed...and you think you have to want more than you need...until you have it all, you won't be free.

Society, you're a crazy breed.I hope you're not lonely, without me.
When you want more than you have, you think you need...and when you think more then you want, your thoughts begin to bleed.
I think I need to find a bigger place...cause when you have more than you think, you need more space.

Society, you're a crazy breed. I hope you're not lonely, without me. Society, crazy indeed...I hope you're not lonely, without me.

There's those thinkin' more or less, less is more,but if less is more, how you keepin' score?
It means for every point you make, your level drops.
Kinda like you're startin' from the top...and you can't do that.
Society, you're a crazy breed.
I hope you're not lonely, without me.Society, crazy indeed...I hope you're not lonely, without me
Society, have mercy on me.
I hope you're not angry, if I disagree.Society, crazy indeed.I hope you're not lonely...without me.

The Birthday Week

So I was a little spoiled this year for my birthday, as it was more like a birthday week. I had the priviledge of having all my friends meet Melissa and I in Wrigleyville at The Irish Oak for a fun get together. The Cubs clinched their division that night so the streets were filled with crazed fans (who are most likely depressed now after being swept by Arizona), but for the moment, well, they were typical Cubs fans.

But the weekend before I had the blessing of being with my brothers in Seattle as David and I visited Michael. It was a good time and Michael threw a birthday bash with his Mars Hill students. It was so much fun to be with the bros, and also so neat to experience a little taste of Michael's world on the west coast. It was also funny to see people's faces when I was introduced to them - I had somewhat forgotten what it was like to be a twin. So many, "Wait, no way, oh, that's crazy, I feel like I'm talking to Michael but it's not him." We also had fun at a number of different Seattle coffee shops - Zocas is the place to be, and we also found some nice scenic views of the city.

Philip Mangano - Ending Homelessness

I had the priviledge of hearing Philip Mangano, appointed by President Bush to attack the issue of homelessness years ago, at a conference on homeless and runaway youth.

Mangano was voted by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people. He has served our country well, advocating for the least of these with care and skill. Here are a few notes from his talk...

The goal is not to MANAGE homelessness but to END it -
Homelessness is a moral, social, spiritual, and ECONOMIC wrong - you don't manage wrongs.

What our country did in the past was to manage those who were homeless but they just ended cycling through the doors of shelters. This social work frame did not work.

You END the wrong of homelessness by adding a BUSINESS frame.

The business frame - Cost Benefit Analysis
The cost of doing nothing for the homeless is huge - study in San Diego - studied the amount that it ends up costing the city by not doing anything for the homeless - they found out that each homeless person ended up costing the city $200,000 over the course of 18 months. If you combine that with, let's say 200 homeless people in the city, that's 40 million dollars. It would have been cheaper to put the homeless people up in penthouse suites than to leave them on the streets.

So how in the world do they cost so much by being on the street? Incarceration, behavioral healthcare, substance abuse treatment, and hospitalizations add up to a staggering amount of money. And after all of these costs, they are back on the streets in the same position as before.

Again, the cost of doing nothing is huge.

Definition of insanity by Einstein - doing the same thing over and over and expecting change.

Overall, I was blown away by how Mangano has approached this issue. He has not only used his heart but his brilliant mind to tackle the issue of homeless. Like an expert problem solver, he has picked apart the issue and wants to end homelessness. If anyone can end homelessness, this guy can.

I really liked how he pleads for the case of homeless people not only by appealing to the moral wrong, but the economic wrong as well. He kept saying, even if you have no compassion, altruism, or spark of love in your heart, you will be a fool if the economic impact of homelessness does not inspire you to end homelessness.

Betachaser

Take a look at a new blog my friend Tony and I are putting together. Two guys who are novices in the personal finance and investment field, but we are trying to become somewhat informed independent investors...Check it out here. Even with the little money we have invested in the market, it has made for an interesting ride seeing how we got into the market at about the top and have watched it tumble downhill. It has been the most volatile time in the stock market in 5 years.

Also, check out this place for quality photos - It is a place where people upload their own photos for others to use. A lot of great pics - some you have to pay for (in the Stock Xpert sections) but most of them the only restriction is that you don't sell them for profit - some you have to ask for permission from the photograher to use. The two pics I used for this post are from the site.

Melissa's 24th Birthday

Melissa's birthday was on Sunday, but it was more like a birthday week. The week started with our favorite restaurant Sweet Tomatoes, and we ended up going there two more times the rest of the week, not to mention Kamehachi sushi bar restaurant, Georgie V's, and the Red Star Tavern. Whew, that is a lot of eating out.

Mid week my mom, my aunt Anita, and my cousin Ellen stayed for 3 days - my cousin Ellen put all hard core shoppers to shame with nearly 12 hour days of shopping. I was impressed by the determination and stamina. It was great to see them.


Then the in-laws came for the weekend. We had the pleasure of going to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Quite an incredible array of plants and landscaping.

FACING THE GIANTS

I have to admit that I would not have watched this movie if someone wouldn't have dropped it off at our house to borrow and if my wife didn't turn it on. I wasn't expecting much from a movie that a church put together - not that I didn't expect a good spiritual message but I wasn't ready for a half rate movie on a Friday night.

But wow, Melissa and I were both very touched by this movie and were very impressed by how well it was done. Melissa needed more than a few tissues throughout the entire movie and I'de be lying if I said I didn't shed a few tears.

It reveals both the journey of despair and of faith that believes through it. It really challenged the way I respond to tough times in my life.

There is also bonus features showing how the movie all got put together which is really neat as well. Hope you can see it.