the shack...

started reading it yesterday and i'm already on page 88. that's a pretty big chunk in one day for me. i kinda went into it with a bit of skepticism but the story is good, albeit a bit over-dramatized at points. i'll let you know when i'm done.

speaking of books, i finished "sex God" on the airplane two days ago. i thought it was really good. i enjoyed it better than velvet elvis. velvet elvis was good, but there were a few points that were a bit post-modern for me, but i still really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anybody. but sex God was really great. you should go read it.

Next on the list is a book called "generation ageless" and was actually by my second cousin or something (i'm not quite sure of the relation but not too far off. i think it's my mom's cousin). he is president of a company out of atlanta called Yankelovic, Inc. and does market research and analysis. supposedly he coined the term "baby boomers" and "gen x'ers", so he's pretty on top of things. generation ageless is his book about baby boomers and i guess just a description of that market and how it will change as they get older. my aunt suggested it to me and suggested i talk to him sometime because even at this point i really have no idea what i want to do when i grow up. we'll see.

leadership...

so lately there has been something weird going on in my life - i have been interested in the news/current events. it's crazy. for the past 3 weeks i have read Newsweek and Time every week, an issue of Forbes front to back, and listening to talk radio sometimes while i drive. i refuse to believe it's because i'm getting older and becoming an adult. no, it must be just a phase...

actually i really enjoy knowing what's going on around the world and it's a necessary transition as i get older and closer to integrating* myself into "the adult zone." so if you want to talk about news, let's get together at gnu's room or taylor's.

anyway, the meaning of all this is to tell you about and urge you to read an article in the latest issue of Time magazine about one of my heroes, Nelson Mandela, entitled, "The Secrets of Leadership." It's basically gathered information from a man who spent an extended amount of time with Mandela, helping him write his autobiography. It covers 8 amazing points of leadership, all exemplified in real life, by Mandela, which are:

1. Courage is not the absence of fear - it's inspiring others to move beyond it.
2. Lead from the front - but don't leave your base behind.
3. Lead from the back - and let others believe they are in the front.
4. Know your enemy - and learn about his favorite sport.
5. Keep your friends close - and your rivals closer.
6. Appearances matter - and remember to smile
7. Nothing is black or white.
8. Quitting is leading too.

Here's a link to the article online.

if you're interested at all in South Africa's fight for freedom from Apartheid, check out No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu or Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog. They are both amazing books that detail a lot of Mandela's life and the struggle under and through Apartheid in general.

*it took me forever to think of that word. i had to look it up in dictionary and thesaurus and it's not even the one i was thinking of. oh well.

Hallelujah...

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley. own it. please.

john mayer is ridiculous awesome. i'm going to see him august 29 in hotlanta. my friend clay's dad has a buddy in atlanta who apparently owes him some big favors and got 4 front row, center tickets for the show. needless to say i'm probably going be pinching myself the whole time...can't wait.

however, before that i have some business lined up. but fun business.

this thursday the 17th i'm heading to vail, colorado to do some fly-fishing/mountain biking for 5 days. i'll get home monday.

the day after i get back (tuesday) i am driving my grandmother's car 16 hours up to Saratoga, New York so she can have it there for the month of august. she goes up there every end of july through august for the horse races. i'll fly home from there on thursday. - p.s. if you are bored and/or looking for an adventure/road trip, i have an opening(s) for co-pilot(s)...

friday i'll leave to go to Savannah, Ga to race at roebling road raceway. race saturday and sunday.

monday i head up to north alabama for fbc's youth retreat. i'm pretty stoked about this...i missed out on youth group when i was younger and have never been on any sort of 'retreat' before. plus i get to play music a lot!

then, a week and a half later, i go back to saratoga for an extended stay to go to the horse races with my grandmother and hopefully do some fishing on one of the days.

at some point during this craziness i have to find time to move into my new house and get ready for school. got some exciting days ahead. i'll keep you posted...

silver wings...

here are some thrice lyrics to read and re-read and mull over...

from tender years you took me for granted

but still i deign to wander through your lungs

while you were sleeping soundly in your bed,

(your drapes were silver wings, your shutters flung)

i drew the poison from the summer's sting,

and eased the fire out of your fevered skin.

i moved in you and stirred our soul to sing;

and if you'd let me i would move again.

i've dance 'tween sunlit strands of lover's hair;

helped form the final words before your death.

i've pitied you and plied our sails with air;

gave blessing when you rose upon my breath

and after all of this i am amazed,

that i am cursed far more than i am praised.

nashville...

saw thrice in nashville this friday at rockettown and it was one of, if not the, best shows i have ever seen. it rivaled seeing sigur ros at the ryman. part of it was just the performance. they were so tight and the whole production was flawless (lights, transition, tones, everything). attach to that unmeasurable sentimental value and you can imagine about 1% what it was like to actually be there. i think part of it was that i feel that they are one band that has matured in some similar ways that i have. just from reading the evolution of their lyrics and style, not to mention the fact that they have transitioned from the punk look to the wise, old man beard, it's easy to see why i've kept coming back to this band.

also, i had my first win in a superbike race this weekend. actually, it was my first real win in about 10 or 11 years of racing. in years past, i have always ridden a class up - with faster people to make me better. this was a good win too because there were about 5 of us in my class that were all within a second of each other during practice and the saturday race. so at the beginning of the race i was in third. the 5 of us were on each other's rear tires in a line for about 2 laps and then i passed second place. the following lap i made the pass for first in the same spot as second. then i just got in a groove and started to pull away. i finished about 5 seconds ahead of 2nd place. it was really cool to win a tough race like that. felt really good.

however, in the last race of the day, whitey, one of the 5 of us who were battling, passed me on the last turn to win the race. i was pretty pissed because after the 1st lap i had led the whole race. oh well, i'll just do the same thing to him next weekend at barber.

also, i've been looking at '70's era honda motorcycles to buy and i may have found one. it's a 1972 honda cl 350. it's in pretty rad condition and is from the original owner. i'm heading to marietta, ga to look at it on wednesday and will possibly be coming home with it. for only $1500, it's a pretty awesome deal.

hope is the thing with feathers...

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

-emily dickenson

hosea...

a while ago i was talking to one of my good friends russ powell about some stuff and the conversation moved to discussing the book Hosea. russ gave a really interesting illustration he had seen from the text that i had never heard before. i thought it was really awesome. basically, God commands Hosea (a prophet to Israel) to marry a prostitute, Gomer, which he obediently does. Although Gomer bears 3 children throughout the course of their marriage, she is repeatedly unfaithful to Hosea. we can imagine Hosea's nauseating flux of emotions being married and faithful to a prostitute. His heart is repeatedly broken by Gomer when she is unfaithful, and then fulfilled, albeit tragically temporary, when she comes back to him.

Russ explained this to be an illustration for the church's marriage to Christ in the sense that we play the roll of Gomer. We are constantly rebelling from God, being unfaithful to him. Christ's heart is repeatedly broken by our unfaithfulness and sinful nature. However, when we come back to the lord (whether this is by our own will or not i don't know) we can only imagine the happiness, love, and fulfillment in Christ's heart. Christ is ever faithful to us, always there, always waiting for us with open arms to come to Him, no matter how unfaithful we have been.

In Hosea 2:14-23, the Lord tells of his love for unfaithful Israel...
"But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her out into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there, as seh did long ago when she was young, when i freed her from her captivity in Egypt."
"In that coming day," says the Lord," you will call me 'my husband,' instead of 'my master.' O Israel, I will cause you to forget your images of Baal; even their names you will no longer be spoken. At that time I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds and the animals that scurry along the ground so that they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows, so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as Lord."
"In that day," says the Lord, "I will answer the pleading of the sky for clouds, which will pour down water on the earth in answer to its cries for rain. Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries of the grain, the grapes and the olive trees for moisture. And the whole grand chorus will sing together, 'Jezreel' - 'God plants!'
"At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself! i will show love to those i called 'Not loved.' and to those i called 'Not my people,' i will say, 'Now you are my people.' then they will reply, 'you are our God!."