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?
JENNIE is a new discovery of mine since KPop Demon Hunters got me interested in this genre of music. Jennie Kim is a member of the mega popular Kpop girl group Blackpink, who also has her own solo career. She's an accomplished dancer and rapper, and worked with Blackpink's vocal coach to help develop her singing ability in preparation for a solo component to her musical career.
The thing I like about this song is the energy to it. It's very high-intensity and raw, and the choreography of the dancing in the video really reflect that. I also like her solo song "Mantra," but I listened to this song considerably more than that one last year, so I figured I should feature the one that most often popped up on my playlist.
"How It's Done"
by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami (from KPop Demon Hunters)
My daughter got obsessed with the KPop Demon Hunters phenomenon pretty early on. We resisted watching it for a while (like many, we assumed it wasn't appropriate for kids or would be scary), but started hearing from friends that it was actually really good and little girls, in particular, were loving it.
This was the opening song of the movie, and after seeing it, I was immediately hooked. The animation style is reminiscent of other Sony Pictures Animation titles like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, but the content was just so unique. I can see why little girls flocked to this movie; the protagonists (Rumi, Mira, and Zoey) are all strong and funny. They kick butt and sing catchy songs.
Up until this point, I hadn't had a ton of exposure with KPop music (outside of a passing familiarity with hit songs from the genre's biggest artists like BTS and Blackpink), but after this movie came out, I did a much deeper dive on the genre and gained an appreciation for its artistry and complexity. This is one of my favorite songs from the movie because it showcases a lot of that complexity with the speed and sophistication of the lyrics (both English and Korean).
This was probably one of my favorite movies of last year for its originality and high production value. It's honestly tempting to put almost all the songs from the soundtrack on my playlist this year.
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