Regrow Your Organs

I got to thinking today about microwave ovens. I was going to have a cup of tea and I was thinking how glad I was that I was having water that was boiled in the kettle to make my tea and not water boiled in the microwave. Whenever I have microwave boiled water I always feel like it doesn’t taste as good, whether it’s hot chocolate or tea. I’m guessing if I didn’t know what I was getting I likely wouldn’t know the difference. But when I do know, I want to see that kettle with the red hot heat underneath it and steam flying out before I pour it on my tea bag. Does this make me a boiled water purest? Anyway, that doesn’t matter unless you are serving me a hot drink. What does matter is that microwave ovens are weird. You put something in there and magically after a set amount of time it’s warm or really hot. If you start thinking about it you start to realize how weird it is. Kinda like when you say a word many times in a row and it eventually doesn’t even sound like it normally does.

Well, that stuff is weird but how about mice that can regrow body parts and organs? It’s happening, today, in our world. Check out this article.

Mighty Mice Regrow Organs

GL

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Regrow Your Organs

I got to thinking today about microwave ovens. I was going to have a cup of tea and I was thinking how glad I was that I was having water that was boiled in the kettle to make my tea and not water boiled in the microwave. Whenever I have microwave boiled water I always feel like it doesn’t taste as good, whether it’s hot chocolate or tea. I’m guessing if I didn’t know what I was getting I likely wouldn’t know the difference. But when I do know, I want to see that kettle with the red hot heat underneath it and steam flying out before I pour it on my tea bag. Does this make me a boiled water purest? Anyway, that doesn’t matter unless you are serving me a hot drink. What does matter is that microwave ovens are weird. You put something in there and magically after a set amount of time it’s warm or really hot. If you start thinking about it you start to realize how weird it is. Kinda like when you say a word many times in a row and it eventually doesn’t even sound like it normally does.

Well, that stuff is weird but how about mice that can regrow body parts and organs? It’s happening, today, in our world. Check out this article.

Mighty Mice Regrow Organs

GL

Read more...

Share What's Yours

It’s a boy!! Parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts, siblings and friends are all excited. Nine months of waiting and discomfort for the mother followed by one day (hopefully only one) of serious discomfort and a beautiful creation has been welcomed into the world.

After some time of recovery the parents are ready to make their first real public outing with their precious newborn son to their church. Making sure all the diapers and wipes and blankets and extra clothes and spare pacifier and whatever else might be needed are packed they load their newborn into the car and make the drive with the baby on board sign proudly hanging in the back.

They arrive and walk in with the car seat hanging awkwardly from Dad’s arm. As they make their way to their seats their friends spot them. Before you know it their baby ends up in a friends arms being ooed and ahhed at by everyone. It’s an exciting time for them all as they’ve all been waiting for this couple to have a child. Mom and Dad start talking to friends they haven’t been able to see for a little while, catching up on all that’s been happening. Eventually the music starts and everyone finds their seats. Mom looks around to see which friend their newborn son ended up with. To her surprise their baby is in the arms of a woman she has never met before. Feeling somewhat betrayed and almost negligent Mom walks over and retrieves her son from the woman she’s never met.

Have you ever seen this happen? I have. It always shocks me. I’m glad it never really happened to my wife and me. Man, that freaks me out. If it’s not your baby don’t go passing it around!

I think this story can have a few other applications. Try filling in the blank yourself.

If it’s not your _________ then don’t go passing it around.

GL

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We Should Sing

I don’t call myself a singer by any stretch. I can carry a tune just fine and know when I am out of tune and can even usually fix it before it sounds too bad but even though I occasionally sing in front of many people I generally won’t sing in front of anyone unless they are singing too. Singing is such a personal thing. If I’m singing then I am opening myself up to being judged. I’m exposing myself, letting people hear my imperfections. I don’t want to do that. I only want people to see my good side, to know the things I am proficient at, to see me excel at what I do.

This is why singing is so good, especially in a group. Anytime I’m in a group setting and a sing-a-long breaks out (which has maybe happened twice) I always think, “This is stupid. What a dumb idea.” But when we are done I’ve always had a good time and feel closer to the people I was singing with. I think it’s the willingness to open yourself up to other people to show your real self. A blog I did a while back called ‘risking stupid’ eluded to this idea too. Allowing yourself to open up and not hide your real self can be so empowering. It is also almost always enjoyable.

I think about being at dances. I never want to start dancing when things get started. I am so afraid of looking like a fool. Eventually I go through this whole thought process though and get the nerve to jump in there and make a fool of myself anyway. By the end I’ve had a great time and wish I had joined in sooner.

Being open and vulnerable and real is all anyone wants from the people around them. This is likely why this whole blogging thing has taken off. For some reason us bloggers seem to be able to express our true selves when we have the time to sit and write it down. I hope by being real and vulnerable in my blogs I will be held accountable to everything I say. As much as I hate typing that, it is the reason I write in the first place, to grow as a person and not stagnate.

So, all that said, we should sing in church and with our friends and with our families to grow our communities and become closer. Before we had TV and radio and computers, we did this all the time. Maybe it is something we need to get back to?

GL

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Subjectivity and Creativity

“It almost goes without saying that subjectivity is not the friend of the commercial artist.
Everyone's a critic; everyone thinks they have a lock on what colors work, what images convey the right message and what's truly hot in the market already.”

A quote taken from Fugitive Musings.

Even though he’s coming at art from a different world than I am these same things apply. Reading his blog hit me because it’s sort of what’s on my mind these days.

The band I play for “Downhere” is in the process of writing and choosing songs that will go on our next album. It’s such a crazy process. We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 demos now I’m guessing and there are some really great songs in there. So how do we decide which songs go on the album? How do we figure out which songs will have the most appeal, which ones the most people will like the best? How many fast songs, slow songs, different sounding songs, songs in a different meter, songs with different lead singers?

Radio has an interesting way of doing this, at least in our industry. They’ll take sound clips of let’s say 50 songs and play them for a sample group of people. These people then rate each clip they have heard. The crazy thing is that they mix in new songs and old songs. I don’t know about you but if I have even heard a song once I almost always like it better the second time. Take the new Coldplay album for instance. I wasn’t really into it when I listened to it for the first time or even the second time. Then my brother in law Bob told me how much he was enjoying it so I made myself go back and listen to it a few times with more of an open mind. Now I really like it, at least the first half, likely because those are the ones I’ve listened to most often.

So who decides what is good and what isn’t? Take a look at these charts from R&R and figure out how many songs you like or even know.

Rock
Seether
“Remedy”
(Wind-up)

Staind
“Right Here”
(Flip/Atlantic)

Nickelback
“Photograph”
(Roadrunner/IDJMG)

Crossfade
“Colors”
(Columbia)

Rihanna
“Pon De Replay”
(Def Jam/IDJMG)


CHR/Pop
Audioslave
“Doesn't Remind Me”
(Interscope/Epic)

Mariah Carey
“We Belong Together”
(Island/IDJMG)


D.H.T.
“Listen To Your Heart”
(Robbins)

Pussycat Dolls f/Busta Rhymes
“Don't Cha”
(A&M/Interscope)

Kelly Clarkson
“Behind These Hazel Eyes”
(RCA/RMG)

Christian CHR
Jeremy Camp
“Lay Down My Pride”
(BEC/Tooth & Nail)

Switchfoot
“Stars”
(Sparrow/EMI CMG)

Tobymac
“Burn For You”
(ForeFront/EMI CMG)

John Reuben f/Matt Theissen
“Nuisance”
(Gotee)

Kutless
“Strong Tower”
(BEC/Tooth & Nail)

For full listings go here and click on formats.

So what I’m getting at is that I don’t think any of us has a better idea than anyone else as to what people will like. When we are dealing with subjective art everyone’s opinion is just as valuable. I guess the program director at the big radio station would have an opinion that would be more valuable but only because he decides what to play. And whatever he plays people will eventually know and probably even like only because they’ve heard it so many times!

So there you go. A little look into what goes on while preparing to record a new hit album that everyone will love and want to own. As you can see this whole having a hit song thing is quite elusive but also quite necessary to the survival of a band. I just pray that God would show favor to us and that program directors at radio stations will somehow be attracted to our songs no matter what we decide on.

GL

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Katrina and Parenting

Well I can’t write a blog without at least mentioning Katrina. For many people out there this is the only thing that is going on in their lives right now. I don’t really have any profound thoughts to share about it but I will say please remember and realize how devastating this has been to many people’s lives. I just found out that parents of a friend lost something like three or four homes that they owned and likely everything in it. I don’t have any links for you to go to to help out but I’m sure if you are reading this than you have already been to other blogs that have ways you can help. If not, check out some of the links to your right here. This Guy Falls Down, Ethos and Shlog have some great options.

Let’s try to move on from Katrina for just a little bit. Last night I was reading a selection from Devotions For Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas (thanks Generation Ex Files). This book looks at parenting in the spiritual sense or sacred sense. Many of the devotions help the reader to realize how parenting can bring you into a closer relationship with God.

Last night’s chapter was titled They Just Don’t Understand. Man, what a picture he painted in the first couple of paragraphs. A mother has a daughter who has difficulty walking properly. The mother spends time researching her daughter’s problem, she spends money bringing her to doctors, she spends time at the doctor and 4 hours a week in rush hour traffic getting her there. The great thing is that all this work is making a difference for her daughter’s walking difficulties. The sad thing is that one day as mother was picking up daughter, daughter said, “I’ll never forgive you for doing this to me.” WHAT! All I can think is what kind of ungrateful brat says something like that?

Then the writer says this. “It’s one thing to sacrifice for your child; it’s another thing to have that child look at your sacrifice and act as though it were child abuse.” Ouch! I couldn’t help but think about how often I do that to God. How many times have I looked at the sacrifice he gave and just ignored it? Creating a child that has its own free will has such a great opportunity for incredible love as it does for breaking one’s heart. I guess this is what God goes through with us constantly.

I know I’m quite early on in this parenting thing but as tough as it can be I’m glad God uses it to help us understand who He is better.

I wonder if the more children you have the better you understand God? After all he’s got millions . . .

GL

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