s|ice: In Other News

Adam has got me hooked on a radio show lately called This American Life. For the most part, the stories are entertaining if not psychologically fascinating from an observational point of view. You might not always like what you here but the quality and variety of the show will make you listen and think. You can listen to them online for free here; below are some episodes to check out if you want to download [right-click, Save As...] and listen later.

290 - Godless America
American history in question and a Christian that finds her faith and then loses God.
77 - Pray
Christian lingo, sensationalists[?], and pray affecting an atheist.
188-Kid Logic
They really do say the darnedest things.
304-Heretics
FYI - There is no hell.
317-Unconditional Love
Could you love someone that tried to kill you?
286-Mind Games
What just happened?
328-What I Learned from Television
Good for both cultural observation and anti-stereotypes.
104-Music Lessons
David Sedaris and Anne Lamott.

Babel - I hear it's like Crash, which I've never seen, but on a global scale. Brad Pitt does a good job while not beating up or blowing up something. The Japanese scenes made me feel small in my worldview. As the native tongue was used, that's right, some subtitles are needed, I started to wonder how it would feel to be in a city of a million people and yet not be able to be understood or understand what others where saying. Beware of the crude flash scenes.

Ollabelle - James introduced me to this new band, which is a compilation of some individual artists. I would label it Neo-Gospel-Soul with a dash of Jazz and a hint of Funk. There first self titles album is pretty rockin', in a traditional newness kind of way, while the second release, Riverside Battle Songs, is a bit more melancholy.

If you haven't heard, Naomi and I started a MySpace band site which you can find us at www.myspace.com/undertheoak. We'll be playing a semi-show in May which makes me kind of nervous but should be fun. James will be helping us out with that. Also, a few friends and I have started a small, group blog in which we write a short essay once a month. Check it out at silhouette-words.blogspot.com.