Books 1-30-6

Finished To End All Wars, by Thomas Knock.  It was a good historical look at president Woodrow Wilson, specifically relating to his progressive ideals and contributions.  Wilson saw many of the abuses of our constitutional form of government, "Once the government regulates monopoly, then monopoly will see to it that it regulates the government." (17) and brought to light many grievances that are now magnified in corporate America.  The book was illuminating in regards to America's 20th century emergence from an isolationist pacifist into a world consortium of nations dependant upon each other.  Very interesting how Wilson's progressive internationalist ideas of peace and interdependance have impacted global foreign policies. "Nobody can hereafter be neutral as respects the disturbance of the world's peace for an object which the world's opinion cannot sanction." (97)

Zauberflöte

For Mozart's 250th birthday, I decided it was time to get a new MP3 audio player, since my last mp3 player went kaput.  Not my car audio one however, which continues to be a champion performer.  So, for this new player I decided to go with an Apple iPod nano.  I also got an InvisibleShield, which is pretty much a prerequisite because of the propensity for the nano to become heavily scratched.  
In other news one of my friends recently purchased an xBox 360.  So far the only game I've played on this nex-gen console is the classic arcade game Joust.  Excellent fun! 

Rocket Plane: Episode 2

Today was a day when the forces of nature aligned to give us a shot at the stars.  Well, maybe more a shot at the clouds.  This afternoon, a few friends convened to create a sequel to our Episode One.  And after spending several exhaustive minutes working out the engineering stats and flight dynamics we did just that.  Not to mention egregious amounts of electrical tape.

January Rain

     It was snowing big, fat snowflakes yesterday.  Today it's been either a light drizzle or quickly melting snowflakes.  It's really soothing to hear the rain pattering away on the skylight.  I've started some mid-winter spring cleaning.  I've rearranged a room worth of stuff, but need to sort through half of it.  I also cleaned the car, which was starting to get dusty.  The convertible top really makes cleaning it out easier.

 

Unceasing Worship

     Unceasing Worship by Harold Best is a refreshing look at how we approach worship in our lives and local church bodies. This book is a gem, packed with practical knowledge about how to go about bringing proper and truthful worship into our churches. The author showcases a great extent of wisdom gleaned from years of ministering in music and teaching at Wheaton.
     Every once in a while a really great book comes along and you want to share how it impacted you.  I want to give a sense of how good this book is, so I have quoted from it pretty extensively.  If I were to rate Unceasing Worship, I would give it a exemplary 5 's out of 5, for being informed, well written, and thought provoking on its subject matter.  And also for the fact that the author is an Idahoan:  “When I moved to the Idaho panhandle a few years ago…” (174)

Books 1-7-6

     I recently finished up Unceasing Worship, which was an excellent read.  I'd give it five stars, and am planning on writing a little more about it.  I also was recently given a book by a friend of mine who is academic dean for Trinity Bible College, Nigeria.  He gave me Fear and Trembling by Søren Kierkegaard.  We also had a discussion about how much existentialism Kierkegaard actually displayed in his theology.  Apparently, according to my friend's masters thesis, it is less than usually accredited.
     Also recently picked up To End All Wars, by Thomas J. Knock.  I've been a fan of president Woodrow Wilson for quite some time, he seems like a rather enigmatic leader of America, and was also a scholar and had some good insight into the American Constitutional system, particularly the abuse of congressional commitees.  Woodrow was also the president of Princeton before becoming president of the United States, and is the only president to have ever earned a doctorate degree.  
     Another book I recently got is Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller.  I've had several friends and acquaintances say how much they enjoyed this book, I'd say it's like Vonnegut meets Christianity.  It was a bit flippant at points, and it even has pictures similar to Vonnegut.