Lunar Boulevard

  Think a year on Earth is a long time? Just consider the orbit of Neptune for comparison. The big blue planet takes about 165 years to complete one orbit around the sun. That means it has only completed one full orbit since its discovery 1846.  I'm not sure I fully comprehended this back in 2011. We should consider ourselves lucky that we were alive to see it!

  We have a new U2 album! Well...kind of. Songs of Surrender , the first release from the band in over five years, is finally here, and it's not exactly the project any of us wanted or expected. Containing 40 re-recorded songs, it's the band's attempt at doing their own unplugged/reinterpreted project. To be fair, everyone from Moby to The Cranberries have done an album similar to this, so it's not fair to ding U2 for indulging themselves in this fashion. At the same time, U2 fans have been starving for new material and getting this after so long leaves the listener feeling unsatisfied.  Loosely tied into Bono's recent memoir, these 40 songs are largely a lockdown project from Bono and The Edge. Most of the tunes are recorded acoustically and contain minimal overdubs or instrumentation. Normally seeing U2 work in this fashion would be thrilling, expect that most of these songs end up sounding the same. This might not be so bad if limited to 10-15 track...

  If you think it's windy outside today, then get a load of Neptune. The planet's winds can reach speeds of 1,600 mph, with storms that could easily swallow the Earth. I'll try not to complain about the cold breeze the next time I go for a walk.

  This past week I read Andy Weir's The Martian . I saw the film a few years ago but hadn't gotten around to reading the novel; both are excellent and the film follows the book pretty closely. This past Sunday our sermon revolved around 2 Corinthians 6, where Paul describes his various hardships, which ties in with many of the trials that Mark Watney goes through in his struggle to get off of Mars and return to Earth. I didn't plan to tie these two together but they compliment each other, as both Paul and Mark experience various troubles and sufferings in order to accomplish their task (though Paul does it through the power of the Holy Spirit and without copious amounts of profanity). The takeaway is this: even in our sufferings, God is sovereign and has the ability to sustain us if we put our trust in Him. These past few months have certainly been trying for me, yet I've had a peace and patience that can only come from God. Throughout this u...

Asphalt Meadows was one of my favorite records from last year, a triumphant release from a band that has managed to deliver quality album after quality album. I'd argue that this is their best since Codes and Keys (which will likely get its own Underrated Record article someday) and now we've been gifted an acoustic version of the album to compliment it. In short: it's exactly what you would expect. The acoustic versions are beautiful and really bring out some of the more subtle layers in their electric counterparts. The band does a fine job of stripping down the faster, more rock-oriented tunes. "Here to Forever", "I Don't Know How I Survive", and "I Miss Strangers" really benefit from this treatment, allowing the songs to breathe and create an atmosphere all their own. However, it's the gentler songs like "Rand McNally" and "Fragments from the Decade" that shine the brightest, taking on a more sombre and haunting t...

  If you're a fan of the Peanuts then this is the mission for you. The command module for Apollo 10 was named Charlie Brown and the lunar module was named Snoopy. We need more cool names like this.