Logocentric (adj).Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
I have always enjoyed the longer distance running and skiing. The Marathon in Summer Olympics and the 50km Mass Start in the Winter. My wife can't understand how I can watch the same race for several hours. But they are fascinating to me. I like the Downhill Slalom, Bobsled and Luge sports. Attending a Winter Olympics remains on my bucket list.
My favorite sporting events in the Winter Olympics are the Luge, Bobsled, Figure Skating and curling. Initially, I thought I would be bored with curling but I'm not. It's fascinating how they determine each glide's angle and potential score.
When my children were younger we built them a luge course, they loved it. We were lucky that winter to have lots of snow to build up the walls and with some help with pallets that we covered with snow, it kept them and the neighborhood kids busy until it warmed up and melted. I was a lot more at ease with the luge course than I was when they decided to try arial jumps off our house roof. Never a dull moment when you live in Maine.
I am reading ESV through the Bible this time. Like you, I've explored a bunch of translations. My church uses NIV but my women's Bible study group (part of the same church) varies based on what Bible study we're doing.
Hope you enjoy the Olympics! I agree that the every four year thing makes them feel more special.
I read the New American Bible, which is a Catholic Bible. (NABRE) They include Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, which generally aren't included in other versions of the Bible. I would be curious to read an orthodox bible or the Ethiopian Bible as I hear they have differences as well.
As for the Olympics, I love the Winter Olympics. I'm just crossing my fingers I have time to watch!
In terms of the original texts the NASB has the best reputation among conservative scholars. It looks at more translations, has a sensible hierarchy of text selection and the best principles for approaching the translation task. It favors original texts when possible. The ESV and NKJV are on a similar level. The Net Bible gives the best overview of the discussions in its commentary. The NIV renders the original text to make it more readable. It is a more functional text which is why many churches use it but it is also less precise. Greek or Russian orthodox are more Septuagint orientated and there is a considerable amount of ethical or emotional rendering to the text.The disadvantage of the NASB is that it loses much of the Hebrew poetical style in its effort to be precise as this does not translate into the English
I'm very fortunate to have met some practicing and humble Christians. Truly humble people seek to serve, not attain power and influence. The actions of many Christians make me run the opposite way... as fast as I can.
In his book, Sit, Walk, Stand, Watchman Nee states: "Nothing has done greater damage to our Christian testimony than our trying to be right and demanding right of others. We become preoccupied with what is and what is not right. We ask ourselves,' Have we been justly or unjustly treated?' and we think thus to vindicate our actions. But that is not our standard. The whole question for us is one of crossbearing".
Jeff, this is an excellent book. Perhaps one for your reading list?
"Ghost (Lost Kings Remix)"
by Halsey (feat. Lost Kings)
This is an older song of Halsey's, originally off her first studio album, Badlands. I think the original song it just okay; the lyrics are great, but the original music and melody didn't really jump out at me. The original is just a little too slow and haunting, and the pace of the lyrics lends itself to a faster-paced, more upbeat song. Lost Kings managed to pair it with a remixed beat and increased tempo that I think fits the song much better.
One of the main reasons why I listened to thing song so much this year is that both of my kids, for reasons that are a mystery to me, absolutely love this song. Like, to the point of, "Dad, can you play it again?" while we're in the car driving somewhere. It's adorable to see both of my kids trying to repeat after the lyrics but not quite get all of them so they just kind of trail off halfway through a verse.
I'm a big fan of Halsey; it was fun to have a little flashback this year to some of her earlier work.
While we're on the topic of The Eras Tour from my last blog entry, I might as well get my obligatory Taylor Swift entry out of the way. The Life of a Showgirl has proven to be a somewhat divisive album for her, with a lot of people thinking it's a great as per usual, but a not-insignificant number of fans who feel like it's a bit of a miss.
If I'm being honest, I'm probably more in the second camp.
Granted, the problem with having such an extensive and great catalog of music is that everything inevitably gets compared to the absolute heights of what she's been able to achieve. And the truth is, just like even the best hitters in baseball can't possibly hit home runs every single time they have an at-bat, it's statistically impossible for Taylor Swift to have every album be Reputation or 1989 or Lover, where almost every song is an absolute banger.
For me, this is probably the song on her new album that I bop along to the most often. There's some other good songs on the album (and some eyebrow-raising ones like "Wood"), but this one has the right combination of melody and lyrics that just hit right.
"Close To You" & "Dancing On My Own"
by Gracie Abrams & Robyn
Gracie Abrams is one of my favorite artists of the past couple years. Last year, I featured her song "That's So True" on my playlist for "Invalid Item" , and this year I'm following it up with a song I might have listened to even more this year than I did that track last year. And rather than include just the original song, I figured I'd share a video of one of my favorite live performances in recent years, where Gracie Abrams performed this song in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois at Lollapalooza 2025... and surprised everyone by bringing out Robyn to perform her hit song "Dancing On My Own" (also one of my favorites). This was an incredible performance that really highlights how good both of the songs are.
The first time I heard Gracie Abrams was actually when she was one of the opening acts for Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" when my wife and I attended in Los Angeles in August 2023. We were standing in line at one of the merch tents and listening to Gracie belting out her songs from the stage. After the concert that night, I added her to my Spotify playlist and she's been heavily featured ever since.
FUN FACT: Gracie is actually the daughter of writer/director J.J. Abrams!
"The Thrill"
by Wiz Khalifa (feat. Empire of the Sun)
While we're on the topic of sampling and covers, this was another one heavily in my music rotation in 2025. Sampling heavily from "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun (released in 2008), Wiz Khalifa illegally sampled the song for his first iteration of "The Thrill" which he released on a mixtape in 2009. It wasn't until the end of 2020 that the song finally received an official release after the collaboration had been formalized.
Like the first three songs on my playlist this year, "The Thrill" was a song that I often listened to on repeat while I was working. It has a great beat and catchy lyrics, and it's easy - after listening to it half a dozen times - to let the song bleed into the background and focus on the task at hand while the upbeat tempo of the song keeps you going.
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