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?
This is only my third entry for Emotionally Raw week here at the Soundtrackers, but I'm gonna bring out the heavy guns. This is probably the single most painful song in my life, one that I literally turn off or skip whenever it plays. Hell, even loading up the video for this challenge and hearing the first few beats of the music was like a knife twisting in my gut.
I spent most of middle school (and high school) crushing on one girl in particular. I was also painfully shy, quite literally a wallflower. I would go to school dances but never detach my back from the wall of the gym. I'd go to pep rallies, but plant my butt in a bleacher seat in the far back corner and watch everyone else participate. Well, a friend of mine thought it would be funny to ask the girl I liked to dance. And yep, it was to this song. He teased me about being too shy to ask her to dance myself and said, "Well if you won't, I will!" And proceeded to do just that.
Now, the older me can look back on the situation and realize that it was just stupid junior high bullshit. But everybody remembers those formative years of "firsts" in their life and this was my first time being jealous of someone for being more outgoing and courageous than I was at the time... and it would ultimately be the first time that I lost a friend over something. I was just so hurt, so traumatized that I couldn't hang out with this friend anymore. And to this day, even though that was more than twenty years ago, and I haven't spoken to either the girl or the friend in nearly that long, hearing this song will take me right back to that middle school gymnasium and all the swirling pain and emotions that I felt that night.
It's strange how vibrant some memories are. We can have trouble remembering what we had for dinner the night before, or what we did last weekend, but other memories are just as vivid as they were the day we imprinted them in our brains. I have a feeling this song will forever leave me emotionally raw when I hear it.
It's been a busy week and I have a whole lot of Soundtrackers entries to catch up on, so let's get right into it!
The Greatest Showman came out over a year ago at this point, and I still listen to this song pretty frequently when I need inspiration. I think we've all been where the song puts us at one time or another, feeling out of place, ostracized, and not fitting in with the rest of the crowd. Feeling ashamed of who we are or that we somehow need to be different, that we need to change who we are for acceptance. I know I still feel like that a lot of the time, even as someone closer to the middle of their life than the beginning.
As a writer, I struggle with creating work that I want to write versus the things I think other people think I should write. As a working professional, I struggle to be my authentic self in an industry that prizes flashy shows of wealthy and fame and power. This is the kind of song I listen to when I need a little pick-me-up, a reminder that who I am is okay and that I don't need to pretend to be anyone else.
I'm convinced that songwriters Pasek & Paul, the geniuses behind this soundtrack as well as the phenomenal Dear Evan Hansen Broadway theater production, are going to have legendary careers. I mean, they kind of already have considering they're only 33 and 34, respectively, and have Oscars for their original songs on La La Land and Tonys for Dear Evan Hansen. They just have a way of tapping into those insidious feelings of inadequacy we all have and presenting a really inspiring, uplifting message about them.
On a side note, the thing I've always found funny about this movie is that almost all of the performers are treated like "freaks" because of various physical conditions... tons of tattoos, a bearded lady, gigantism, albinism, etc. And then you have Zendaya who sufferers from, what... pink hair? Is that the disadvantage she's trying to overcome? Is that what makes her an outcast in society? Hollywood casting beautiful people to play characters that are deeply physically flawed... the struggle is real.
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