soul and culture

new year, new blog

2011-01-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

I'm kicking off the New Year with a new look and a new home for the old blog. It was just time for an overhaul. Hope you'll join me here.

beer & carols

2010-12-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

Beauty

2010-12-12T14:44:00.003-07:00

holiday happiness

2010-12-12T13:37:00.001-07:00

There are no words for how much I laugh every time I watch this. Maybe even funnier than it was in person. Spontaneity at its best.

it was no Blue Door Pub burger, but I just had a burger with peanut butter

2010-11-05T07:49:00.001-06:00

just had a burger with peanut butter on it

2010-10-29T20:33:00.001-06:00

best organic delivery ever

2010-10-21T20:24:00.001-06:00

2010-10-16T16:05:00.002-06:00

i find the sound of SEC football some of the most comforting background noise there is.

Just Show Up

2010-10-10T21:11:00.002-06:00

At 4pm today I was perfectly content in my hoodie and PJs, a pot of tea at my side, some Nick Drake streaming from my iPod dock. Stack of current reads on the end table, an art project and a basket of knitting sitting nearby.

Sometimes we talk, my friends and I, about the importance of just showing up, whether one feels like it or not. For our community. And on some level, for ourselves. Today was my ‘don’t–want-to’ day. For no real reason other than I was comfy with my brown blanket and my feet up on the coffee table.

But I did show up. And I got to experience confession and absolution with my community. And witness Judah as Assisting Minister at the Eucharist. And share about what I love about our little rag-tag community of faith with some newer folks.

I get so much more than I ever give in this place. And today, just showing up was enough.

compensating for insomnia with espresso shots this morning.

2010-10-08T08:40:00.001-06:00

have I mentioned that today is Springsteen Special day?

2010-10-07T12:54:00.001-06:00

ouch. apparently the flu shot made Jesus a little sore.

2010-10-06T20:38:00.001-06:00

I really need a reading week.

2010-10-06T18:12:00.001-06:00

just got my flu shot in my Jesus tattoo

2010-10-05T10:31:00.001-06:00

tunes and tomes

2010-10-03T21:37:00.001-06:00

reading:

Composed: A Memoir, Rosanne Cash

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are, Brené Brown

Sabbath (The Ancient Practices Series), Dan Allender

listening:

Arcade Fire, The Suburbs

Ray LaMontagne, God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise

Amiina, Kurr

Toad the Wet Sproket, I Will Not Take These Things For Granted

Airborne Toxic Event, The Airborne Toxic Event

The National, Boxer

The Frames, The Cost & The Road Outgrown

looking forward to: THE PROMISE: THE MAKING OF DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN, INSIDER DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE CREATION OF BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S FOURTH ALBUM, DEBUTS OCT. 7 ON HBO

today is a reading/writing kind of morning. and THAT makes me all kinds of happy.

2010-10-03T10:09:00.001-06:00

16 folks for HFASS backyard movie night: JUNO or Marmaduke ? Your choice.

2010-10-01T19:30:00.003-06:00

spicy nugget extravaganza

2010-09-27T20:07:00.003-06:00

Photo of the day

2010-09-24T23:25:00.002-06:00

Jesus really digs his Honeycomb Hideout

2010-09-15T21:41:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - sept 14

2010-09-14T22:01:00.002-06:00

sweet

photo of the day - sept 13

2010-09-12T21:03:00.000-06:00

Satire.

photo of the day - sept 12

2010-09-12T10:45:00.006-06:00

Sunday Morning...ahhh

photo of the day - sept 11

2010-09-11T23:43:00.000-06:00

The Brown Palace Hotel.

photo of the day - sept 10

2010-09-10T03:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday, Dad.
9/10/1938-3/8/2008

photo of the day - sept 9

2010-09-09T20:45:00.000-06:00

Happy Hour dinner on the patio at Lime.

photo of the day - sept 8

2010-09-08T19:01:00.000-06:00

Shoe Whore.

photo of the day - sept 7

2010-09-07T21:24:00.000-06:00

Tuesday night grocery shopping. Exciting stuff.

photo of the day - sept 6

2010-09-06T14:43:00.000-06:00

photo of the day - sept 5

2010-09-06T00:35:00.000-06:00

Over the Rhine at the Soiled Dove tonight. Fabulous.

photo of the day - sept 4

2010-09-04T22:34:00.001-06:00

The two formerly known as the Little People. I've known these two since birth. So fun to get to take them to dinner and to see Despicable Me tonight.

photo of the day - sept 3

2010-09-03T19:47:00.002-06:00

New fabric. What to make?

photo of the day - sept 2

2010-09-02T19:16:00.004-06:00

Nose piercing. Photo taken by the pastor.

photo of the day - sept 1

2010-09-01T20:54:00.005-06:00

I love fresh flowers. Fabulous zinnias and black-eyed susans from Jim and Stuart's front yard.

new favorite

2010-06-24T22:10:00.001-06:00

pondering

2010-06-20T22:10:00.002-06:00

- is it time to re-visit spiritual direction?
- can I do a 48-hour silent retreat without coming out of my skin, and have something of value come from it? is it worth it (right now)?
- what if I really followed my heart, and didn't work in a white-collar sweat shop?
- what could that look like?
- if I really followed my heart, what the hell would that even mean?
- why am I not picking up my camera?
- what do I need to be writing?
- why does writing anything feeling so daunting these days?
- courage, o where art thou?
- how can I balance more writing and creative projects with my current job?
- continuing to watch idols of certainty and compentency crumble...

reading:listening:watching

2010-06-13T22:09:00.005-06:00

Reading
A Homemade Life, Molly Wizenberg
Frank Stitt's Bottega Favorita: A Southern Chef's Love Affair with Italian Food*
Frank Stitt's Southern Table: Recipes and Gracious Traditions from Highlands Bar and Grill
3191 Evenings, Maria Alexandar Vettese and Stephanie Congdon Barnes
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
Making Sense of Scripture: Big Questions About the Book of Faith, David J. Lose

Listening
David Rawlings Machine, A Friend of a Friend
Arcade Fire, Funeral
Johnny Cash, American IV: The Man Comes Around and American VI: Ain't No Grave
Willie Nelson, Country Music
Dewi Sant, May
Paste Sampler 62
Jonsi, Go

Watching
Glee episodes I missed
Police Women of Memphis

*In my opinion, Frank Stitt is the best chef in Birmingham, and Bottega is one of my favorite restaurants there.

random thoughts

2010-06-13T21:18:00.007-06:00

Thinking of trying out Field Notes for when I need a little notebook, but it feels like I would be betraying my Moleskines.

I held out as long as I could before ordering this film from The Impossible Project, but the time has come. Can't. Wait.

I also want to try Lomography's Diana F+ adapter for my Canon.

Wishing I had gotten that orange chenille bedspread at the Paris Street Market last weekend. Even if it did have gum on it. It went perfectly with my vintage pink and orange flowered pillowcases. Maybe it will still be there next time.

Pente-chaos

2010-05-23T21:16:00.004-06:00

Sometimes, the balloon order gets lost, the word on the cake is wrong, and the candles on the altar are crooked and they make me crazy. But God shows up. Every. single. time.

photo of the day - may 23

2010-05-23T21:14:00.001-06:00

thirty years of PacMan

2010-05-22T09:20:00.005-06:00

I was surprised for a moment yesterday when I opened Google to find they were celebrating the 30th anniversary of PacMan. Thirty years, really? And then I remembered back to my childhood and the day we got PacMan for our Atari.

Up until that point, I think we had Space Invaders and Asteroids and the standard Atari fare. We (the brothers and I) had pooled our money together and our mom had reserved a copy of PacMan for us at Sears. Living in a small town, this meant a full-blown field trip to obtain this special jewel. So, Saturday morning chores, a trip to Jackson to McDonald's (yes, that seemed special at the time) and then to Sears to purchase our beloved new game.

Back home, Brian and I commenced playing, figuring things out as we went, while William, age 7, sat down and read the instruction manual. Apparently this process served him well, as he is now a mechanical engineer. And, I am told, he was quickly able to thrash us at most video games, perhaps due to his methodical approach.

We enjoyed many hours of Atari, and never had another gaming system. The old Atari stayed around, sheltered safely in the attic. When our dad moved from Henderson to Nashville, the Atari made the move with him. We found it in a box in a closet when we were sorting things out after his funeral. None of us wanted to keep it, so we let it go with the rest of the stuff that went to the estate auction.

Several months later, I received an email from a long-time friend. She had recently obtained an old Atari and a box of games from a local on-line auction company. Going thru the box, she found some hand-written score sheets in the bottom with our names on it. The Clifford Atari. I kid you not. So now she has the Atari that she played at our house oh-so-many years ago.

I should add that this photo of William playing PacMan was taken last year at the Jacksonville Airport while we waited on Brian to arrive for his commencement ceremony for his doctorate degree. So, on Saturday, Brian got his Ph.D, and on Sunday we had to take him to the airport arcade. For PacMan.

photo of the day - may 18

2010-05-18T22:26:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - may 17

2010-05-17T20:52:00.001-06:00

photo of the day - may 16

2010-05-16T22:30:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - may 15

2010-05-15T21:38:00.001-06:00

photo of the day - may 14

2010-05-15T07:45:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - may 13

2010-05-13T21:34:00.001-06:00

photo of the day - may 12

2010-05-12T18:39:00.001-06:00

photo of the day - may 11

2010-05-11T19:26:00.001-06:00

photo(s) of the day - a trifecta - may 10

2010-05-10T19:15:00.003-06:00

photo of the day - may 8

2010-05-08T00:20:00.001-06:00

photo of the day - may 7

2010-05-07T17:16:00.000-06:00

photo of the day - may 6

2010-05-06T09:24:00.003-06:00

photo of the day - may 5

2010-05-05T19:48:00.001-06:00

photo of the day - may 4

2010-05-03T23:32:00.000-06:00

pantocrator ink

2010-05-03T15:41:00.003-06:00

A little over a year ago I decided that I wanted a tattoo on my upper arm of the Christ Pantocrator, one of the oldest icons of Jesus Christ. The oldest known Pantocrator image was written in the sixth century, and it survived the iconoclastic periods of 730-787 and 813-843, housed in the monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai desert.

In Greek, the word Pantocrator means “ruler of all”.

While I wanted a classic image, I wanted it to have a modern twist. My friend Paul Soupiset is an amazing graphic designer and illustrator in San Antonio. I fell completely in love with his work when he did a Moleskine painting a day as a Lenten discipline a few years ago.

Back in February while I was in San Antonio for the Faith Stories retreat, I asked Paul if he would design a Pantocrator image for a tattoo for me. He graciously agreed, and I was delighted to receive an image from him a few weeks later.

My tattoo guy made a few small changes, but stayed pretty true to Paul’s original design.

Here’s a photo of the finished piece, taken right after Julian finished inking.

As you can see, the symbolism of the original images is represented here. In his left hand, Christ holds a book with a cross on it, depicting the Gospel. His right hand is raised in blessing. There is significance of the posture of his right hand – with his thumb, ring finger, and little finger bent together symbolizing the divine and human natures of Christ and his index finger and slightly bent middle finger held upright.

The letters on the top left and right are ‘IC’ and ‘XC’, which symbolize Ieosus Khristos, the Greek shortened form of Christ’s name IC XC.

Jesus’ face follows ancient traditions, with a high forehead to indicate wisdom, a small mouth closed in contemplation, and eyes that appear to peer into the soul.

I couldn’t be more pleased with the final product. Thanks, Paul!

photo of the day - may 3

2010-05-03T14:57:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - may 2

2010-05-02T21:10:00.003-06:00

You know you are in the south when you can choose your toy rifle OR hand gun in pink.

welcome back, o photo of the day

2010-04-29T22:50:00.001-06:00

photo no mo'?

2010-04-09T20:47:00.002-06:00

My hard drive on my Mac crashed on Sunday. Still under warranty, so replacement drive is on the way. Easter Vigil and Dance Party photos as well as photo of the day to resume once I'm back up and running.

It's been a busy week with a huge competency test I had to take at work (I passed) and needing to play catch up on a lot of stuff post-triduum. Which, by the way, was fantastic.

photo of the day - april 3

2010-04-04T00:10:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - april 2

2010-04-02T23:25:00.002-06:00

Maundy Thursday

2010-04-01T22:18:00.005-06:00

photo of the day - april 1

2010-04-01T22:16:00.000-06:00

photo of the day - march 31

2010-03-31T20:37:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - march 30

2010-03-30T21:32:00.000-06:00

photo of the day - march 29

2010-03-29T21:46:00.002-06:00

Palm Sunday 2010

2010-03-28T22:26:00.009-06:00

photo of the day - march 28

2010-03-28T22:14:00.001-06:00

photo of the day - march 27

2010-03-27T23:01:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - march 26

2010-03-26T21:03:00.003-06:00

photo of the day - march 25

2010-03-25T20:49:00.002-06:00

spring snow pics

2010-03-24T21:23:00.003-06:00

photo of the day - march 24

2010-03-24T21:08:00.000-06:00

photo of the day - march 23

2010-03-23T18:32:00.000-06:00

photo of the day - march 22

2010-03-22T18:31:00.002-06:00

today my mom would be 69 years old

2010-03-22T06:05:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - march 21

2010-03-21T21:17:00.003-06:00

photo of the day - march 20

2010-03-20T07:18:00.000-06:00

photo of the day - march 19

2010-03-19T20:16:00.002-06:00

Last day of winter. Hopefully last day of snow. Fingers crossed. Spring. Bring it.

photo of the day - march 18

2010-03-18T22:43:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - march 17

2010-03-17T10:30:00.000-06:00

photo of the day - march 16

2010-03-16T22:24:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - march 15

2010-03-15T20:37:00.000-06:00

photo of the day - march 14

2010-03-14T21:08:00.002-06:00

photo of the day - march 13

2010-03-13T20:38:00.001-07:00

photo of the day - march 12

2010-03-12T17:30:00.002-07:00

photo of the day - march 11

2010-03-11T21:09:00.001-07:00

photo of the day - march 10

2010-03-10T22:00:00.002-07:00

music brought to you by countries beginning with the letter 'S'

2010-03-09T22:31:00.004-07:00

Frightened Rabbit
We Were Promised Jetpacks
The Perishers

and two more bands from across the pond that begin with 'S'
The Swell Season
Sigur Ros

photo of the day - march 9

2010-03-09T19:51:00.003-07:00

photo of the day - march 8

2010-03-08T07:47:00.000-07:00

photo of the day - march 7

2010-03-07T22:31:00.002-07:00

photo of the day - march 6

2010-03-06T19:22:00.002-07:00

photo of the day - march 5

2010-03-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

photo of the day - march 4

2010-03-04T22:07:00.003-07:00

photo of the day - march 3

2010-03-03T22:10:00.002-07:00

photo of the day - march 2

2010-03-02T19:26:00.002-07:00

photo of the day - march 1

2010-03-01T19:22:00.002-07:00

p.s. there's no basement at the Alamo

2010-02-28T23:21:00.003-07:00