Lunar Boulevard

Is your lifelong dream to have a crater on Mars named after you? Does the idea of paying $5 to name a crater fill you with unbolted exuberance? If so then today is your lucky day. Starting on Wednesday you can use the Internet to pay to name one of the red planet's 500,000 craters. This is part of a mapping project by the space-funding company Uwingu. Apparently the bigger sized craters will cost you more, leaving one to wonder just exactly how much the largest indention will set you back. What's even scarier is that there's probably someone out there willing to pay it. Feel free to visit www.uwingu.com and put your name on the face of Mars! Wow, that was a line I wasn't expected to type when I got up this morning.

It's hard to believe it's been five and a half years since Beck's last studio album, Modern Guilt . Never one to sit idle for too long, Beck has always managed to reinvent himself and over the course of his career he's garnered critical acclaim and a spot as one of my favorite musicians. Year after year I kept waiting to see what he would do next and always ended up slightly disappointed that a new studio album wasn't on the radar. Soundtracks, singles, and side projects were all interesting but ultimately they left me hungry for a full length record, a wish that has finally been fulfilled. There are basically two types of Beck albums: the eclectic, free-for-all records and the more contemplative, acoustic albums. While I enjoy both sides quite a bit I'll make no secret that his acoustic, folk-based work is my favorite, which makes Morning Phase all the more exciting. Billed as a companion piece to his 2002 magnum opus Sea Change (which is not only my...

My devotional this week focused on Psalm 23. Sure, it's a famous one that we all know by heart but sometimes we can reduce scripture to a cliche, making it easy to overlook its beauty and wonderful truths that lie within it. This point in particular struck me as profound. This psalm refers to God as "my shepherd", which would make us His sheep. Now if you're like most people you find the concept of being a sheep offensive. After all, sheep are dumb animals. Cute, but dumb. They are in constant need of supervision and help when it comes to even the most mundane of tasks.  David began as a shepherd and knew all too well just how much care and attention sheep require. His learned all about what it means to watch a flock and care for them. See where I'm going with this? His psalm here admits that we are like sheep, lost and in danger of harming ourselves and others. The beauty is that God is a loving and patient shepherd who looks out for us and wants us t...

We know a lot about our moon and science fiction, popular culture, and art have been talking about it for centuries. However, we've got nothing on Jupiter, which has four. They go by the names of Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, and Io.  That's fancy and all but I'd rather just have one to keep track of.

Bob Casale, one of the original members of Devo, tragically passed away this week. I've always been a fan of Devo and there's something about their nerdy, independent streak that has always stuck with me.  It's always sad to lose these legends and if you haven't already then now is a great time to give their catalogue a listen. As great as "Whip It" is there are even better gems to discover.  He will be missed.

  We recently passed 30,000 views, which is impressive when you consider that updates have been a bit slow lately. Rest assured they're coming, but in the meantime thanks for reading! 

All That You Can't Leave Behind was a landmark moment for U2, a hybrid of their big 80's sound with the electronic and layered experimentation of the 90's. It's still an album that I find great comfort in and after listening to it today it seems like the perfect candidate for the next "10 Best Lyrics".  10. Did I waste it?/Not so much I couldn't taste it/Life should be fragrant/ Rooftop to the basement-- "Kite" 9. You thought you'd found a friend to take you out of this place/Someone you could lend a hand in return for grace --"Beautiful Day" 8. You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been/A place that has to be believed to be seen-- "Walk On" 7. They say that what you mock/Will surely overtake you/So you become a monster/So the monster will not break you-- "Peace on Earth" 6. And you are such a fool to worry like you do/I know it's tough and you can never get enoug...

Sometimes I think the problem within the modern church stems from missing some of the basic foundations of our faith. These can range from something as simple as God's creation of the heavens and earth to sanctification and how salvation through Christ is the only hope we have for redemption and eternal life. So often I see Christians who either don't know much about their faith or purposefully choose to cherry-pick the Bible and pick what they want to believe. Neither is healthy and we're all susceptible to it, which is all the more reason to keep fighting and pressing forward in our relationship with God. Of everyone in the scriptures it seems that Jesus is often taken out of context and completely mischaracterized. We see it on bumper stickers, talk shows, and even in the pulpit. From political slogans to philosophy we constantly find people chasing a big misconception: that Jesus was nothing more than a cool guy who hung around and loved those He came into c...

Comets are cool, so let's talk briefly about them. Comet ISON was given its name from the International Scientific Optical Network, which is the telescope setup used in the comet's discovery. I had always wondered about that...

For the three of you who ever read this blog, I apologize for the lack of updates. We're in the process of moving and naturally it's hard to find time to do things like this. Rest assured regular writing will resume soon. In the meantime you can go outside and enjoy the nasty winter weather...or stay in and play video games. That's what I would do.

U2' new song "Invisible" is available for download in the iTunes Store. The song will be available for free for 24 hours and all proceeds go to benefit (RED). This track is fantastic, a soaring anthem driven by subtle synths and electronic touches. The tune is supposed to be on the new album, which we still don't have a release date for. The track here appears in an edited form but it's receiving positive press and fans seem generally happy with it, myself included. It's a stellar tune and it's free, not to mention it's for a great cause. You've got nothing to lose so check it out!

I always felt bad for R.E.M. after drummer Bill Berry left the group in 1997. Not because I didn't think the band was capable of going on without him but rather that few ever really gave their music a chance after that. With each release it seemed that fans and critics were quick to comment that the band was past its glory days and was drifting aimlessly through tired experiments and mediocre songwriting. While there's no arguing that Berry was an essential part of the band I also believe R.E.M. made some of their best and more creative music in his absence. With Reveal it seemed the remaining three members had made peace with his departure and had found a method that worked for them, resulting in what I think is arguably their best and most exuberant effort. What makes this record so engrossing is the atmosphere it creates. The production, while layered and heavy with electronic touches and multiple instruments, is effervescent and warm. Each track is wrapped in a blank...