LIST: Confessions, Creeds and Catechisms... [Bump]

Here's the list of creeds, confessions, etc. that I'm reading...

1. Apostles' Creed
2. Nicene Creed (325/381)
3. 95 Theses (or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences) (1517)
4. Belgic Confession (1618)
5. Westminster Confession of Faith (1646)

This exercise, I think, had its desired effect. I walked away from the Westminster Confession with several questions still unsettled about predestination/election, and I'm not sure I can ever quite be settled about those things. As always, I'll check in with my pastor, and ultimately, probably never quite feel right about Calvinist theology. This is that tension I say I love so much, but really, I want this one to go my way or make more sense. I don't like the idea of election.

Letter to the Editor: The Tennessean

(this letter was submitted on Wednesday. September 17, 2008)

Dear Sir,

I have a question about interstate driving conventions in Nashville: Is there a law requiring drivers to travel in the far-right lane at all times on Tennessee highways? The reason I ask is that since moving here from Boston, I have either observed or been involved in several near-accidents while merging on to the interstates, particularly the ones immediately surrounding the city. I have never driven in another state or city where drivers clogged the travel lane as they do in Nashville, and it makes merging at highway speed a perilous endeavor.

In Massachusetts (home to notoriously erratic driving practices), where the law requires that cars travel in the right-hand lane except when passing, it is nonetheless customary to to move over one lane when traffic is merging on the right. In ten years of driving in the northeast, I cannot recall having had trouble merging more than once or twice; here, I have trouble that often each week. Am I out of my mind?

Sincerely,

James Harrington
Nashville, TN

Next Big Nashville, I hardly knew ye

Next Big Nashville is over. It feels like summer camp ended.

For the uninitiated, this 4-night onslaught of music that takes over 20+ Nashville clubs is one of the highlights of the Nashville year. I hoped I'd find a couple of bands to follow up with throughout the year, and I was not disappointed.

Takeaways--

Favorite Band: Waves on Waves

Virtuosic mid-80's British New Wave sound dusted off and given a new suit of clothes by outstanding musicians who also are charismatic showmen. Conjured sonic images of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Erasure, and George Michael.

I couldn't have been happier.

Runner Up: Matthew Perryman Jones

I concede that the masses were right on this one. Watching him play feels like it must have felt like watching a young Bono pour out his own poet soul in his soaring tenor in the early 80's. You can't help thinking that Jones also has about 20 years of important and awe-inspiring music left to make. Here's hoping.

Oh, and bringing Glen Phillips up to rehash old Toad stuff didn't hurt, either. Fear was the first album I ever bought with my own money, and that music holds a very special place in my heart.

Favorite Experience: Glen Phillips, Dan Wilson, Daniel Tashian, and Kevin Griffin @ Bluebird

It was like hearing my high school record collection without a backup band. And hearing the stories behind those songs. And caring more than I knew how to then.

Glen Phillips is the big, recognizable name here, but the others are names you should know: Dan Wilson, formerly of Semisonic, who wrote "I'm Not Ready To Make Nice" for the Dixie Chicks, and who shared a great story about Semisonic's hit, Closing Time; Kevin Griffin, frontman for Better Than Ezra, who shared their hit Good before revealing that he'd co-written Howie Day's beautiful song Collide, and finishing up with Juicy; and Daniel Tashian, who fronts the retro-chill Silver Seas (formerly The Bees-U.S.), whose music sounds like Jackson Browne, Orleans, and The Byrds pressed together.

Suffice it to say this was an incredible, worth-being-crammed-in-a-pew-with-strangers, only-in-Nashville evening showcasing 4 guys who were obviously enjoying each other as much as we were enjoying them. For the record, these guys are all funny, charming, and brilliant songsmiths.

Runner Up: Space Capone

The funkiest, soulest scene kids who ever did live. I was shocked at what these guys did, and honestly, when I arrived mid-show, I thought that I was looking at a bunch of scene goons who had rushed the stage to lip sync and dance to a legit funk band. Oops. I apologize for doubting you, Sapce Capone.

Favorite Quote: "It comes so easy to the hardest working man in Nashville..."

Spoken by the too-cool-to-be-square, bespectacled sideman to the Dynamites' lead singer.

Other Shows I Saw:

Heypenny - They added horns this time and got rid of the video screens, and I think they went 1-for-2 on those choices. The video screens were cool, but disallowed the kind of freedom that their frenetic pop output demands. The horns made them sound a little like a ska outfit, and that, to me, is just about never a good thing. Lead singer Ben may have been a little over the top/intentionally quirky, but bassist DJ's honest-to-goodness effusiveness balanced the ticket.

Umbrella Tree - This one made me hurt. It's clear that they're good musicians, but they're one of those weird-for-the-sake-of-being-weird bands that I just can't stand. In the words of a good friend and bona fide music historian, "If you start out trying to be unique, you're in trouble."

The Dirty Guv'nahs - I was won over during sound check by the lead singer's older-than-his-age blues pipes. I was lost almost as quickly by his younger-than-his-voice, spastic stage presence. Good songs, but the players weren't quite tight enough, and background vocals often were an (out of tune) afterthought. All of these things will average themselves out and the Guv'nahs will be a truly decent blues/southern rock band in the next few years. I'll look forward to it.

The Armed Forces - Not being a punk aficionado, but having listened to my fair share of the Ramones, et al, I can only say that this was ballsy punk, and I really enjoyed the show.

How I Became The Bomb - I first saw them at Cannery during last year's NBN, and have now seen them thrice. I think this was a step down on the overall experience chart from the first show I saw, but the first show was possibly distorted by my elation at having found a local band that sounded like them. Anyway, the show was solid, and many loyal fans were in attendance. Their stage presence is excellent, as is their writing. Lead vocals are always delivered ably and entertainingly.

See you next fall, NBN.

Update - April Sixteen

I haven't been great at keeping this thing updated, but I've gone back through and added the things I know I've done in the last month or so. Here they are:

-went to Chicago (and Wrigley) with Erin ("Travel" #3). You can see pictures at my facebook.
-went to the Frist (also with Erin) ("Nashville" #13) and saw the excellent modern art and Aaron Douglas exhibits. Do yourself a favor and go before both leave (June 1 and May 11, respectively).
-got paid for ghostwriting some historical liner notes for a series of 3 EMICMG Publishing releases called, 15 Hymns/Worship Songs/Songs That Changed the Church. ("Work" #3) This was really, really exciting.
-saw James Farrell and the Farrelltones (okay, that's not the name of his band) at FooBar ("Nashville" #1)

The pace has slowed, but there's room for this to be cyclical, of course. I'll be back at the AFI list again soon, and the Pulitzer list, and the big list... I think I burned myself out in that initial sprint. Ha.

Update - March Five

- watched On The Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, Sullivan's Travels, Swing Time ("Do" #2). Received The Gold Rush.
- posted another blog
- wrote a letter to Joel

Again, I'm having trouble keeping track with these occasional posts. I'm noting things in the original list (which I bumped below to make it easier to reference), but I may not get everything into these updates.

Update - February Fourteen (That Is, Valentine's Day)

- Watched Night At The Opera (#85) and Casablanca (#3) ("Do" #2)
- Wrote to 7 more publishers ("Work" #1)
- Contacted a professor at Vanderbilt Divinity School who's designing my next tattoo. ("Get" #3)
- Received Sullivan's Travels (#61) and Swing Time (#90) in the mail.
- Made tentative plans to go to 2 shows next week, one of which is at RCKTWN, which is a venue that I haven't yet knocked off. ("Nashville/TN" #1)

I think there may have been more, but I'm starting to lose track. Maybe that's a good thing?

More Rentals, and West End Pt. 2

Just rented:

A Night At The Opera (#85, 1935)
Dr. Strangelove (#39, 1964)
On The Waterfront (#19, 1954)
A Streetcar Named Desire (#47, 1951)
Vertigo (#9, 1958)

I have plans to watch Yankee Doodle Dandy tonight, and I still have Ben Hur here, as well, so it'll be a busy week.

Also, took inventory of most of the AFI list at the West End BB, and found that they had at least 40 more (that is, apart from the ones I've just rented) of the movies on the list that I've yet to see. That's great news, as it means I'll be able to finish at least the 50 I'm trying to see, and perhaps the whole darn list.

Update: Watched Yankee Doodle Dandy. Was hilarious to see James Cagney try to pull off the part of a song-and-dance man. E and I were laughing a bunch at his spoken-word style of "singing." Watched A Night At the Opera tonight, too.

Update: ...and I've decided to return Ben Hur, unwatched. I just don't care enough about movie #100 to watch over 3 hours worth of it. Y'know?

One More Movie Down

Just watched Nashville (1975). ("Do" #2)

I must have missed something. I'd swear there've been at least 100 movies made that were better than that one.

Day Seventy - Progress Report

Today is day 70 of my 1001 day odyssey, so I thought I'd do a quick status check to see if I'm keeping pace. I know I lost some time to the Christmas season there. The result is encouraging:

Goals Accomplished: 9.5%
Time Elapsed: 7%

(That 9.5% figure takes into account the percentages of multi-tiered goals completed... lots of .12 and .06's there.)

Onward.

AFI Update, and renting movies in Nashville

Being impatient as I am, I've been doing a lot of in-store swapping of movies to maximize the dent I'm making in the AFI list. I had been accustomed to going to the Blockbuster on Gallatin Rd. in Inglewood, but was really discouraged by their selection. Problem solved.

If you're thinking of undertaking this sort of endeavor in the Nashville area, the Blockbuster on West End has an outstanding inventory of these movies. West End is most certainly my new Blockbuster.

Update - February Six Thru Nine

-Watched One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (disturbing, but excellent. Chief is a great character, and I loved Nicholson.), Taxi Driver (interesting and unsettling. Glad I saw it once.), Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, and 12 Angry Men (Loved both. Really excellent movies.) ("Do" #2)

Also rented Ben Hur and Nashville. I'll watch those in the next day or two.

Update (2/8): Yankee Doodle Dandy just arrived in the mail.
Update (2/9): Watched All The President's Men today and saw Disappointed By Candy/Harrison Hudson @ The Rutledge ("Nashville" #1) last night. Ran into Joe Kirk there. Awesome.

Also, Mat Kearney was there. He's everywhere. I think he's following me. Ha.

Update - February Five

Note to self: no waiting 3 weeks to update again. I've been trying to backtrack and figure out what belongs in this update, and I think (think) I've got it covered. Here goes... with possible exceptions, because, well, dem's da breaks, as we say in suburban New Hampshire.

Completed:

- got rid of books I didn't need or want ("Simplify" #1)
- got rid of CDs I didn't need or want ("Simplify" #4)
- got rid of DVDs/VHS tapes I didn't need or want ("Simplify" #5)
- got my glasses ("Health" #5)
- saw Heypenny @ Mercy Lounge ("Nashville/TN" #1)
- made meals for myself for 4 days and counting ("Health" #2)
- saw The Apartment (funny, and certainly racy for its time), which was on the AFI list. ("Do" #2)
- watched the final pre-Super Tuesday primary debates for both parties. ("Do" #3)
- wrote a new entry and posted a couple of old entries at my other blog ("Do" #5)
- wrote to Joel ("Family and Friends" #3)
- started reading A Confederacy Of Dunces (1980) ("Read" #1)
- have been in contact with 2 publishers ("Work" #1)

Also, if you haven't voted in your state's presidential primary, stop reading this and go do it.

Can this work? Can I pull this off?

As I said in my original post to this blog, I'm a compulsive goal-setter, and only sometime goal achiever. A few weeks after I posted that blog, my church small group had a discussion about the New Years Resolution phenomenon, and several of us chimed in on whether or not we'd ever kept a resolution. I have. To my memory, I have kept only one, and it was an unhealthy resolution that I kept in a not-quite-as-unhealthy manner. Nonetheless, I was happy to be among those who had kept one. It gave me hope, you see.

One thing that's making this list go by is that some of my friends are spurring me on, watching this list, reminding me when I have an opportunity to knock one or more of these goals. So far, it's been great, very encouraging, and I'm hopeful, if not entirely confident that I'll complete the whole list. The multi-tiered ones are particularly daunting, but I'm at least determined. We'll see how that all goes.

And hey, if you're inclined to want to participate in one of the tasks listed here, and are looking for someone to come along, well, I'm clearly your guy. Give a shout.

Update: New Glasses

2 pair, ordered from ZenniOptical.com. Total price: $47.90, S&H and prescription lenses included.



The first pair are the conservative choice, and the ones I feel most comfortable with. But I'm giving the plastic frames with 10% amber lens tint a shot. Not my usual, but I've gotta say, I kinda dig.

Update - January Seventeen

Here's a quick update on my 101:

- ordered new glasses (two pair!) from ZenniOptical.com ("Health" #5)
- started reading The Reivers (1963) ("Read" #1)
- read The Apostles' Creed, The Nicene Creed, and the 95 Theses (3/5 of "Faith" #4)
- read Psalms 1-9 (9/150 of "Faith" #5)
- saw Heypenny at The Basement ("Nashville" #1)

I'm really excited about the glasses; it's part of an experiment of mine, both fashion-wise (with trendy, plastic frames) and bargain hunting-wise (2 pairs with shipping = $47.90). Erin warned me about the dangers of ordering things like glasses online, but I disagree (the benefit outweighs the risk anyway, I think), and will be interested to see how well these glasses work out.

Also, because I've read the psalms before, and have caught myself skipping lines, zoning out, and re-reading passages, I'm recording myself reading them aloud, in the hope of having them ring truer than they do as just words on a page. I remember vividly hearing this young woman recite a good chunk of Philippians once, and thinking how beautiful scripture was when spoken aloud conversationally, rather than academically. I'm just trying to make them come to life a little more, and maybe to reach David's heart a little more, by trying to capture his tone at the time of writing. We'll see. Obviously it's kinda geeky, and I do it when no one else is in the house, but it's an interesting project, and that's what this whole thing is about, right? :)

LIST: 20 Nashville Venues and the Shows I Saw There

1. Windows On the Cumberland - Wild Honey/Larissa Maestro
2. The Family Wash - some Boston blues/Americana act
3. Exit/In - Biscuits and Gravy/The Lonely Hearts; How I Became The Bomb
4. The Basement - Heypenny; Matthew Perryman Jones/Glen Phillips
5. Station Inn - Farewell Drifters
6. Mercy Lounge - Heypenny; Space Capone
7. The Rutledge - Disappointed By Candy/Harrison Hudson; Waves On Waves/Heypenny/Umbrella Tree
8. Kimbro's Cafe - The Dust Poets
9. Wildhorse Saloon - taping of CMT's Can You Duet?
10. Grand Ol' Opry - Grand Ol' Opry Live (Del McCoury, Ricky Skaggs, Restless Heart), GMA Dove Awards
11. FooBar - James Farrell/Larissa Maestro/Treble-icious/Joe Bob and His Low Eb String
12. Uptown 162 - Cornerstone/HM/Gyroscope GMA Showcase
13. Rocketown - Tooth & Nail Records GMA Showcase
14. 3rd & Lindsley - Everyday Visuals; Mike Farris; The Dirty Guv'nahs
15. Christopher's Pizza - Rhona Kelley
16. Trevecca Nazarene (a stretch) - Jon Foreman/Deas Vail
17. Edgehill Studios - a couple random songwriters
18. Bluebird Cafe - Glen Phillips/Dan Wilson/Kevin Griffin/Daniel Tashian
19. City Hall - The Dynamites/DJ Egon
20. The End - Armed Forces; We Were the States
21. Borders West End - Matt Wertz

Update - January One

Progress Report #1 - 1/1/8

The lead-up to Christmas and New Years has kept me from being as aggressive with my list as I'd hoped. This will make the multi-tiered goals (reading and film-watching, mostly) more difficult, but certainly not too much so.

That said, I'm happy to report the first few victories (in red on the master list), and a couple of works-in-progress (green):

Completed (in no particular order):

1. I finished scanning my magazines and took them to my local recycling center. ("Simplify" #2)
2. I sent my digital camera off to Canon to be repaired, a mere 8 days before the warranty expired. I received notice from them that the repairs were covered, and I should be getting it back any day now. ("Do" #7)
3. I got rid of about a garbage-bag-and-a-half of clothes I haven't worn in quite some time. This, along with the magazine scanning, was done as part of my move, and I'll probably do another round soon, but this was significant progress. ("Simplify" #3)

In Progress:

1. One of the items on my private list is, by God's grace, underway. I'm both excited and scared, and I'd ask that those of you who are so inclined, please pray for wisdom, humility, and confidence at their appropriate times, for me. ("Private" #1)
2. I've started memorizing Philippians. ("Faith" #6)
3. I went to a show at Windows on the Cumberland. Seedy place, but the music was great. My Coke came in a can. ("Nashville/TN" #1) Also, I caught a great roots/blues act from BOSTON at The Family Wash.

That covers the progress for now. I'll update again soon!