Closing Time (of Your Life)

Posted on June 15, 2012 by awtraughber

SOME SAY THAT SERENDIPITY IS DEAD thanks to our hyper-connected internet culture.  Much of the time, I agree with those sentiments.  Then there are other times, though, where you follow the white rabbit from link to link and find something that really makes you happy, really challenges you, really gets you to reflect on the big ideas of life.

Or you find something that reminds you of that brilliant cultural moment that was the (late) ’90s.  Case in point: an article I found over at Grantland from last November about the song “Closing Time” by Semisonic.  I bought Semisonic’s greatest hits album a few years ago (back where there was still a Tower Records, I think) based on my love of “Closing Time” and the weird recollection I have of their other radio hit that I knew of, “Chemistry.”  It was a decent collection, really scratching the itch of the moment for me.  I’ve been a fan of “Closing Time” from the beginning, and I appreciate anything well-said about the song and its moment.

Check out that Grantland article by Steven Hyden here.  Warning: I’ve not watched the clips embedded in that article with the exception of the one from The Office, so viewer beware.

And, just because, here’s the song and video itself: “Closing Time” by Semisonic.

There’s just something about the ’90s that I really miss.

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Donald Miller Would Be Proud?

Posted on June 12, 2012 by awtraughber

ONE OF THE THINGS said by Donald Miller at the Storyline conference that I attended in Portland was that “we live in a world of way too much, so we have to fight to keep our stories clean.”

Miller said this in the context of “editing the story of your life” by making sure that you have clear goals and a real sense of ways to stay focused on what is most important.  I hadn’t heard such a thought articulated like that before, and it came to my mind Monday while reading a Huffington Post article by Bianca Bosker titled “The Rise of the ‘Less Is More’ Selective Social Network.”

Bosker begins the article with an anecdote about viewing a friend’s collection of seventy photos taken over a five-hour period.  The collection was full of random images, taken at whim.  Bosker’s conclusion: “there was no attempt to weed out irrelevant images.”  And why should there be, when editing things takes time and effort, and who has time for that?  The author’s other solid observation: “we’ve been thrust into an unlikely scenario where it actually takes more effort to consume the content that’s being shared than it does to create it.”

We are, of course, a consumer culture.  We are always taking in.  And in the midst of all the taking in, we take “more than enough” as a mark of excellence and success.  Is the case the same for social media and digital interaction?

You can read the entire Bosker article here.  And, as always, you can check out Donald Miller’s blog here.

(image courtesy of wikieducator)

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The Emotional Make-Up of Muppets

Posted on June 11, 2012 by awtraughber

ONE OF THE HIGH POINTS of last year’s The Muppets movie (and there were many), was the song between Walter and Gary, “Man or Muppet.”  It was an Oscar-winning song (admittedly in a slow music year), but it was also a brilliant take on differences and growing up.  One would think that there would be no more obvious distinction: you’re either a man or a muppet.

Enter Dahlia Lithwick of Slate Magazine.  This past Friday, Slate’s legal person released an essay titled “What Kind of Muppet Are You?” in which she drew the line between Order Muppets and Chaos Muppets.  Granted, I pretty much thing of every Muppet as some kind of Chaos Muppet, but she has a point.  Sure, it’s a tongue-in-cheek article that more people than not will probably take too seriously, but it is an interesting article to muse on (especially when she uses the distinction to give relationship advice.  You can check out the Slate article here.  What kind of Muppet are you?

And here’s the “official” video for “Man or Muppet.”  Have a great Monday!

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New Song Saturday: Andrew Peterson

Posted on June 9, 2012 by awtraughber

A FEW DAYS AGO I posted an entry on Grantland’s “Top 10 Songs in Christian Rock.”  In it, I commented that I don’t listen to much Christian music these days apart from particular artists (many of them out of Nashville).  Turns out that one of those artists, Andrew Peterson, has a new album dropping in August.  Peterson brings an interesting perspective, both wise and whimsical, to his work.  More often than not, his music resonates in a good place and encourages good belief and behavior.

Peterson has made the first song from his forthcoming album, Light for the Lost Boy, here.  Just scroll down and hit the play button.  “Rest Easy” is a good reminder of a great truth.  Can’t wait for the rest of the “light” this album will shed.  For more information, you can always take a break in The Rabbit Room.

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Remembering Ray Bradbury (and reading him, too)

Posted on June 7, 2012 by awtraughber

I CAME LATE TO THE RAY BRADBURY PARTY.  It was a couple of years ago.  Donald Miller had spoken highly of Bradbury’s collection of essays on writing: Zen and the Art of Writing.  Somewhere around there I found my way to Fahrenheit 451.  Both books blew me away.  I had heard of Bradbury’s great novel, of course, heard it referenced here and there.  But to read it?  A strange but powerful revelation.

Fahrenheit 451 was a revelation because I’m a reader surrounded by non-readers.  It’s not the people around me hate books; they just don’t have the time to read and then don’t say anything about what they have time for.  My students, God bless them, read less and less each year.  Reading allows for at least some sense of distance from everyday life, gives you a broader horizon to view life against.  I wish every one of my students, my co-workers, my friends could have a Guy Montag series of moments, of revelations about the power of books.

The title and cover of Zen and the Art of Writing were major turn-offs for me.  Brightly colored with cheesy font, title all but ripped of from another work (assuming the other came first).  But the insides? Potent stuff.  Something about his style: honest and true, scalding like magma.  It was from his essay “The Joy of Writing” that I took the title of the blog between my last one and this: “I claim no victory.  But there was blood on my gloves when I hung them up.”  That’s what writing was about to him: fighting through your loves and hates, your joys and sorrows.

While I am saddened to hear of Bradbury’s passing, I’m glad I found my way to him.  I haven’t made it beyond these two books, but I now find myself referring to them often (along with giving copies when appropriate).  Makes me think twice about how flippantly I may treat the written and printed word.

(Image courtesy of The Guardian UK)

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Musical Genre Revisit

Posted on June 6, 2012 by awtraughber

CHRISTIAN MUSIC has changed a lot since I lived near a decent CCM radio station (and even then, things were changing fast).  I still listen to a handful of artists, though most of them are now independent music makers living in Nashville and traveling the Southeast.  Still, I’m always interested in hearing how the industry is doing.

So I was quite surprised to find a musical “top ten” article about Christian (rock) music over at Grantland.com.  They run such a feature quite often, often spotlighting genres tied to distant locations or eclectic tastes.  The article, I suppose, is more descriptive than prescriptive, which is good.  Some of the artists mentioned in the list (well, two of them) have connections to some of my old favorites.  And the comments made by the site don’t seem to be overly sarcastic, which is the way many music experts treat the genre.  The comments at the bottom of the article are also interesting, with nods to oldies-but-goodies and a running gag on Coldplay and U2.

Check out the article here.

Picture courtesy of zazzle.com.

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Summer Reading Surprise

Posted on June 5, 2012 by awtraughber

A STACK OF BOOKS, both print and digital, has been piling up on my “summer reading” checklist.  A lot of the more immediate stuff is non-fiction: essays by Lethem and Franzen, Bissell and Robinson.  I’ve got one collection of short stories to get into (by Englander) and one Stephen King novel (set in the Dark Tower sequence) to work out my fiction needs.  And then an announcement is made concerning a pending release by Dave Eggers.

Dave Eggers, of course, is the main reason why I read anything contemporary.  When I first moved to Hawaii, I joined a book group at the area Barnes & Noble.  The first book for me: Eggers’ You Shall Know Our Velocity! The book was a revelation and a blessings.  And so it’s no small thing for Eggers to release a new book.  His last few have either been rewrites of children’s stories (Wild Things) or rooted in real life (Zeitoun).  With the new book that will ship in a few weeks, Eggers returns to from-scratch fiction, which is pretty exciting.  The novel, A Hologram for the King, is a contemporary story concerning technology and Saudi Arabian royalty.  It sounds like a wonderfully odd mix.

In a world that seems short on heroes at times, Eggers is one for me.  You can order the book at Amazon or from McSweeneys, the publishing group Eggers established years ago.  And you can check out an interview with Eggers concerning the book here.

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Public Speaking in the News

Posted on May 23, 2012 by awtraughber

IN THREE WEEKS I start one more summer of teaching Communication Skills.  It’s been a real blessing for me.  Not only has it given me something to do during the summer, it has also helped me build solid relationships with the students that I teach throughout the regular school year.  I speak aloud a lot, and I listen to a lot of other speaking aloud a lot.  So speaking skills are pretty important for others to have and use.

Which makes some recent information released by the Sunlight Foundation concerning public speaking both frustrating and fascinating.  Turns out that many members of Congress are losing ground in the area of communication skills.  What level do they speak at?  The sophomore level.  Which means that many of them speak on the same level as my students do (or hopefully will).  This isn’t something that I plan on telling my students until the end of the summer term, but you can read more about it here and here.

(Image from post.career.vi)

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Last Gasp Thursdays (or. . . That’s a Wrap Thursday)

Posted on May 20, 2012 by awtraughber

THE TRADITIONAL TELEVISION VIEWING SEASON is all but over.  A handful of finales remain, but most are done.  It’s a long wait until Big Brother, my summer friend, shows up on CBS.  Until then, dissecting this past season of network television could be an interesting thing . . . if Andy Greenwald hadn’t already done it for us.

Greenwald has spent the last 8 months recapping NBC’s Thursday night line-up.  Each week he has ranked the shows based on news-worthiness.  Some weeks, of course, have been better than others.  This week, 30 Rock and Community both wrapped things up for the season.  Both shows will return in the fall with 13 new episodes but not without caveats.  30 Rock will end for good with that 13th episode.  Community will go 13 episodes without its main driving force, show-runner Dan Harmon.

Thursday night television has had a legacy of greatness for some time.  Greenwald’s wrap-up article puts things in some kind of context.   You can check out his Grantland-posted commentary here.  This could be the sound of a world ending long before anyone ever realizes it.

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Catching Up with Godin (Part Two)

Posted on May 19, 2012 by awtraughber

INNOVATION, it turns out, was the topic of another recent post by Seth Godin.  Innovation, of course, was the topic a few days ago in relation to Nicholas Carr’s views on a possible “hierarchy of innovation.”  Godin takes the idea of innovation and applies it to a device that many city-dwellers are aware of: the parking meter.

Parking meters are occasionally a part of my Hawaii life.  When I’m driving and going to Waikiki or Kaimuki, I often have to use a coin meter.  Well, that’s not true for Waikiki.  A few months ago, they replaced coin meters with digital meters.  It’s a struggle almost every time to get the things to work right.  Godin, in due fashion, takes the idea and runs with it.  I’m not totally sure I agree with his final suggestion, but it is a thought.  You can read it here. (Image from theexpiredmeter.com)

Beyond that, Godin has posted some great short entries of late.  One, on worldliness, is something that I hope to come back to soon in relation to one of my favorite thinkers.  Godin recasts the term and makes it have more to do with awareness of the world around you (without the assumption that you are worshiping the world around you).  You can read that one here.

Take some time to check out Godin’s blog.  It’s great as a conversation starter.  Definitely adding to your must-read list.

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