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?
I found this song on a video game trailer of all places. There was a trailer for Borderlands 3 last year and it was set to this song, which I instantly fell in love with. There's just so much going on, from an electric guitar to a soulful saxophone to funky electronic beats. GRiZ actually self-describes his sound as future-funk, which I suppose is appropriate, and he's known for putting saxophone instrumentation into his songs.
For me, this is along the lines of my first song of this year's Soundtrackers, "Highway Tune" by Greta Van Fleet. This is a song that I don't often listen to in the course of playing my daily current playlist, but it's definitely a song I keep around when I want to get pumped up. Whether that's staying alert while driving, or while exercising, it's got a ton of energy to it and I often find myself playing it in times where I need a little pick me up. I've also found quite a few other songs by GRiZ that also fit that bill; he has such a unique sound that I find myself if not outright enjoying then at least appreciating the artistry in his work... which is not something you can always say about DJs and electronic music producers.
If you had asked me to bet money on whether Carly Rae Jepsen, of 2012's "Call Me Maybe" (and the resulting video by the Team USA swimmers at the Beijing Olympics) fame would still be relevant almost a decade later, I would have bet against it. But she proved me wrong when she came up with another bonafide hit in "I Really Like You" in 2015, and this song from 2017. I discovered this song on the soundtrack to Leap! (called Ballerina in its native France), a surprisingly good animated movie about an orphan girl who dreams of dancing at the famed Paris Opera Ballet. This song was written for the soundtrack (Jepsen also voiced a character in the film), and released as a single to promote the film's stateside release. While the song didn't exactly set the charts on fire, it did appear on "Best Songs of 2017" lists by Billboard, The Guardian, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair.
If you get a chance, watch Leap! and experience this song in the medium it was created for. I believe the film is currently on Netflix and it truly was a surprising animated movie. Not perfect by any means, but really, really enjoyable. It's definitely worth a watch, and this song is definitely worth a listen. It's one of the better pure pop songs I've heard in the past few years.
I discovered this song in one of those weird situations where you go to a concert and end up liking the opening act better than the headliner you bought tickets to go see. He was one of the opening acts for Ben Platt's Sing to Me Instead tour and, honestly, my wife and I were a little disappointed by Platt. His rapport with the crowd was great, but the songs on the album just... aren't that great. To be fair, he was just coming off sky-high expectations thanks to his stunning performance in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway, but still, the songs just didn't hit home for us.
This song from his opening act Wrabel did, though. There's something so melancholic and soulful about it; I immediately had to pull out my phone and download it so I could listen to it again on the way home. As I looked into more of his background, it turns out that there's a reason this song is so catchy; he's a really talented songwriter. One of those that, like Lady Gaga, spent a whole lot of time writing songs from other people you'd readily recognize before striking out on his own. Over the years, he's written songs for P!nk, Kesha, Kygo, Marshmello, and The Backstreet Boys.
Of all the artists I've discovered this year, I think Wrabel might be the one to watch. I'm not fond of all of his music, but he's always trying something new, always pushing boundaries, and has the talent to really establish himself as a household name.
This song is at the opposite end of the spectrum as yesterday's entry; this is a song that I still really like, but I find myself skipping over whenever it comes up lately because I've played it so many times since I first discovered it. Which doesn't make it any less of a great song, just one that I need to take a little bit of a break from in order to keep appreciating it.
Boyce Avenue first hit my radar for a number of covers of hit songs they did on YouTube. This song is from their 2010 album which predates all of that stuff, but it's sometimes funny how people have to come back and discover older stuff later on. Their biggest and most popular covers (which are definitely worth seeking out on YouTube if you have the inclination) were a cover of Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop" and Ed Sheeran's "Photograph" featuring Bea Miller, the Chainsmokers' "Closer" featuring Sarah Hyland from Modern Family, and my personal favorite and the one that I discovered first, Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" featuring Kina Grannis. They're actually one of the most-watched independent bands on the internet, with apparently over 4 billion (with a b) views on their channel.
If you enjoy cover versions songs (especially acoustic covers), Boyce Avenue has one of the best channels for that. You can easily spend hours clicking through their renditions of hit songs with a variety of guests. And, if "Every Breath" and a few tracks can attest, their original songs ain't too bad either.
"May I Have This Dance (Remix)" by Francis and the Lights feat. Chance the Rapper
I discovered this song (or the original song, rather) on the soundtrack of the Netflix original movie Always Be My Maybe with Ali Wong and Randall Park (which I highly recommend if you're a fan of romantic comedies). I'd never heard this song, or even of Francis and the Lights at all up until that point, but they're quickly becoming one of my favorite new artists to listen to, and I think that Chance the Rapper adds some interesting additional depth to this song. I'm not usually one for remixes over originals, but every once in a while a remix finds the right balance of preserving what was great about the original and managing to add a little extra something.
Overall, this is probably one of my most-played songs from last year. There are quite a few on my playlist this year that I listened to a whole lot and then kind of lost interest in or were starting to feel played out, but this one is consistently in my regular playlist, and I never get tired of it when it comes around again. It just hits all the right notes for me and really cheers me up whenever I listen to it.
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