Lunar Boulevard

Think you're having a long day? Then check this out: a single day on Mercury lasts as long as 59 days on Earth. Suddenly I'm feeling much better about today.

There seem to be two kinds of TMBG fans: those who think only their early albums are good and those who enjoy the band's whole discography. Often you can tell these people apart quite easily by finding out how they feel about John Henry , the Johns' fifth album. This is the point in their career where they ditched the drum machines and programed backing tracks and instituted a full band into their sound. This was the jumping point for many followers and the cries of "Sell outs!" began by a few bitter fans who wanted the same sound featured on album after album. Now let's be clear: there are fans who don't like this album and yet still love a majority of the duo's output. Disliking John Henry doesn't mean someone isn't a TMBG supporter; it's the fans who feel that John Linnell and John Flansburgh haven't done anything worthwhile since that I find puzzling. All great artists change and try new things. Heck, it's been a staple o...

Now that things have had a week to settle down (to some extent) after the election, I'm sure I can't be the only one pondering what the next four years will bring and, more importantly, how to deal with a society that's becoming more progressive and anti-Christian. It may feel hopeless and daunting, yet I'm feeling remarkably calm about the state of our nation simply because God is in control and none of this has happened outside of His sovereignty.  What's even more interesting is how many believers are either ignorant about politics or somehow feel that it's irrelevant to our faith. I find this completely baffling and have decided to compile five things Christians should keep in mind after this election. 1. We're called to pray for our leaders Look, I didn't vote for Obama and would have preferred a different outcome to the election. However, that doesn't let me off the hook for praying for him and all of our nation's elected offic...

Yes, that's exactly what it looks like. The Museum of Flight in Seattle has erected a full-size mockup of a space shuttle that was used by more than 350 astronauts for training. This is beyond cool and if you're in the Seattle area you should go check it out. Heck, I would!

In 1976 Larry Mullen, Jr. posted a flyer in the hallway of his school. It asked if anyone was interested in forming a band. Over 36 years later they're still going strong and have cemented their place as one of the most influential and beloved bands in the world. It's always interesting to see where artists come from and how their beginnings shape what paths they take down the road. U2's 1980 debut album is an energetic and accomplished burst of post-punk that gives a big hint about just how high the band would claim in the years afterward. You can't ask for a better opening track to a debut album than "I Will Follow". Everyone's heard this track and it still remains a fan-favorite and a staple at their shows. A tale of yearning and confusion written by Bono about the death of his mother at an early age, it combines everything that makes U2 such a powerhouse: Bono's soaring and passionate vocals, The Edge's chiming guitar, Adam's urgent b...

Want to learn something neat about the sun? Well, here you go! The Sun is almost a perfect sphere. It has a difference of just 10 km in diameter between the poles and the equator. God gave us a great ball of incandescent gas for keeping us alive. It's amazing! 

I had a bit of an upset today. I won't go into details because it's nothing terribly serious, merely a new job opportunity I was excited about that didn't come to fruition. I've spent the last week and a half working hard to get everything together and to do the best that I possibly can to make myself a viable candidate; unfortunately it didn't appear to pay off. Normally I would be devastated, and in some ways I'm definitely hurt, yet I feel a strange peace about the situation. Yeah, I know: it doesn't make sense. A few weeks ago I penned an article discussing a previous job experience I had endured and the difficult circumstances that it left its wake. While those ghosts are still something I fight on a daily basis, I have seen God work in my life to leave that behind and strive for something better. Time will only tell whether or not this happens but I'm constantly in prayer that it will. For some reason this broken opportunity doesn't sting...