I'm Third

Two lessons you learn only in life's storms

2009-07-27T22:38:00.001-05:00

Two lessons you learn only in life's storms
"...Why are you so fearful?..."
Mark 4:40 NKJV
In the Gospel of Mark we read: "...He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side'...And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?' Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?' And they...said to one another, 'Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!''' (Mark 4:35-41 NKJV). Here are two lessons you learn only in life's storms: 1) You must trust what God has told you. When Jesus said, 'Let us cross over to the other side' there wasn't a big enough wave to take them under, no matter how threatening. What has God promised you? Standing on that won't keep you from getting scared or soaked, but it'll keep you from sinking. 2) You must remind yourself who's in the boat with you. If the Lord can calm a storm, He can prevent one. So when He permits you to go through storms it's to show you that you don't have a problem He can't solve; that you may be powerless in the situation but He's not; and that through this experience you'll come to know Him in a way you have never known Him before. So learn these lessons well and come out stronger on the other side.

Owl City

2009-07-19T14:27:00.002-05:00

Video for Fireflies - Makes me feel so happy - like playing with my cousins at 12 years old

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=60599540

2009-05-18T15:19:00.002-05:00

Liberals make better music, but conservatives make better families. What does that make moderates?

Pay to Play

2009-05-14T16:00:00.005-05:00

Broadcasters Fight House Bill Requiring Song Royalty Payments

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Broadcasters are vowing to fight legislation requiring radio stations to pay royalties to performers, even as the recording industry and artist coalitions say the effort is gathering steam.

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday passed a modified version of a performance royalty bill that gives some exemptions to small broadcast stations.

Broadcast radio stations now pay song royalties to songwriters and producers, but they don't pay performance fees for playing the artists' music.

In contrast, cable, satellite, and Internet radio pay performance royalties.

Under the House bill, the smallest radio stations - $100,000 in revenue or less - would only pay $500 a year for the rights to broadcast recorded music. Stations with $100,000 to $500,000 in revenue would pay $2,500 a year. Royalty payments would be $5,000 annually for mid-sized stations, with $500,000 to $1.25 million in annual revenue.

Large radio companies like Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. (CCO) and Cox Radio Inc. (CXR) would be required to pay negotiated royalties to performers for playing their music on the air.

Broadcasters have mounted an intense lobbying campaign against the bill. They argue that airing artists' music gives the performers the necessary promotion they need to sell their records.

The National Association of Broadcasters has garnered 192 House sponsors to a nonbinding resolution opposing a new performance royalty for radio, short of the 200-plus they had in the last Congress.

It takes 218 votes in the House to block a bill, and NAB is hoping House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will be reluctant to bring the performance royalty bill to the floor if she isn't certain it will pass.

But supporters - the Recording Industry Association of America and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists among them - note that the bill has several high-powered supporters, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, D-Calif.

2009 Country Music Marathon

2009-04-27T14:32:00.004-05:00

Over the weekend, I "competed" in the 2009 Country Music Marathon. I ran alongside my brother-in-law, Heath, who flew in just for the race, and my good friend Christine with whom I had been training for a the past several months. It was a very emotional experience. One that I now understand I had entirely underestimated.

Going into the race, 10 miles was the furthest I had ventured in one consecutive run. I used Hal Higdon's, a brilliant man, training schedule, and his reasoning for only running up to 10 before race day was "the inspiration will carry you to the finish line." Little did I know how true this would be.

There was not too much out of the ordinary on Saturday. The only potential issue besides the 13.1 mile course was the fact that it was to be the hottest day of the year. A stifling 85 for the high...and in a city where all who had been training were accustomed to much milder weather over the last several months, it was becoming a big deal. I did not heed much of a warning concerning the weather - I had been hot before - and I survived that.

35,000 people ran on Saturday. It was the biggest year for the event thus far. At one point people were asked to shout where they had come from: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, San Fran. I think being a local in this race meant being a minority.

It was hosted by Elite Racing - a company with multiple marathons/half marathons across the country all with the common theme of music. Different cities with different themes obviously...and Nashville's was shockingly - Country.

I loved getting to set up in my corral - runners were released in waves as the race started and each corral held about 1,000 of us. This was to prevent congestion at certain points down the path. It was a massive undertaking and something about it felt Biblical to me - a diaspora. We were all about to embark together on a journey that would test us each individually. Every time I'd look to my left or right, it was a new person - struggling up the same path with a different stride and pace.

Unfortunately, I experienced some sort of incident right at the turn for mile 2, when something happened to my knee (still waiting to find out). I was in moderate pain at that point but kept pushing through thinking, man up and shake it off.

At mile 8 the pain grew unbearable and I had to stop. It was like trading in every minute I had been training for 3 months and getting nothing in return. I stopped at a Medical Station on Music Row for some Advil. It was strange stopping along the side and watching the herd travel on without me. Being used to running alone or with one person, when I stopped, everything stopped. However, everyone kept moving - and as I watched each person go by I envied their time. I knew their finishing time was going to be better than mine and it killed me. It wasn't fair to me that the 50 year old man or jiggly fat girl was going to post a better time on the half-marathon than me. I knew I had to make it happen. Git-r-done.

At this point, Christine was the only one left with me and I told her to keep running as I was in for a long finish. 5 miles left to go.

I can honestly say that the spectators pushed me through the finish line. Given the magnitude of the race (35,000 runners and an estimated 100,000 spectators along the course) and the fact that we were in Nashville - the spectators were everywhere and extra friendly. Initially, it was weird to have randos yelling for us to keep running but as time grew on, it was essential. The spectators included my parents, sister, and friend Michael who were stationed along the course - at a certain spot where we passed by twice. It was incredible to think that all of these people - the bands, the volunteers, the cheerleaders, the people of my city, and families from others were there for support. As time went on, each time someone yelled, "You're almost there" or "We're so proud of you" it was to ME.

The last 2 miles were hellish. People were visibly in pain. Myself included. Not only was much of it in a dry spell of spectators, it was uphill again. Any runner knows that the slightest hint of an incline can be one of the biggest mental challenges in training. Picture Lion King - Wildebeest(that is correct spelling boothe)-trampled Mufasa. That was my feeling.

Anyway, to make a much too long post a little longer, I eventualy finished. The race ended with people dropping like flies, out of heath exhaustion, general exhaustion, and just being out of breath. I remember counting 4 ambulances along the course as people succombed to the heat. Sadly, one 25 year old guy died after finishing the half-marathon. Reasons are still unknown but the gravity of his death was a sobering realization of the preparedness that is necessary for running 13.1 miles.

Currently I am awaiting an MRI to determine what is wrong with my knee, and what I will need to do to fix it.

Getting over over-consumption

2009-04-19T14:56:00.004-05:00

The End of Excess

I've linked an article that I read when I picked up a March issue of Time Magazine. The cover features nothing but a red button showing "Reset" with a white background. The author of the article is the host of public radio's show Studio 360 and a former columnist for time. It is a very interesting look at the changing social, political, cultural, and mindset of a post-recession America. I think he hits the nail on the head in a lot of ways.

Priorities

2009-04-17T08:39:00.002-05:00

What's the 'take away?'
""A man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it.""
Ecc 2:21
In business we talk about the 'take away'. It's your net profit, your bottom line reward. Here's a truth you need to know before they tag your toe, arrange your funeral service and lay flowers on your grave: when you live for yourself and fail to fulfil God's purpose for your life, the 'take away' is not worth the investment. Solomon writes, "So I turned in despair from hard work. It was not the answer to my search for satisfaction in this life. For though I do my work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, I must leave everything I gain to people who haven't worked to earn it. This is not only foolish, but highly unfair" (Ecc 2:18-21 NIV). Or as author John Capozzi puts it, "The executive who works from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m. every day will be very successful. He will also be fondly remembered by his wife's next husband." The day is coming when all the stuff you've striven, strained and stressed out to acquire will make no difference. Your résumé and job title will no longer impress anyone. No one will care what clothes you wore or what cars you drove, except your relatives who plan to wear them, drive them or sell them. If you're wise you'll plan to exit this life with a 'take away' that involves these three things: (a) Satisfaction, that comes from having fulfilled your God-given assignment here on earth. (b) Success, that's measured in terms of eternal rewards, not temporal ones. (c) Security, that comes from knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. These are the only 'take away' worth living for!

ExtraORDINARY JellyBEANS

2009-04-16T12:33:00.001-05:00

Backwards kick step in warehouse = awesome.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T08:42:00.004-05:00

I was scared that today was going to just be April 12, 2009 for me. I have scheduled two lunches and zero church services. It did not really hit me until last night that I was not going to be in a church today for the first time in probably my entire life. Even when in Italy - we went to church on Easter (not understanding a word of the service). Instead of panicking now at 8:46am I sluggishly grabbed this book sitting next to my bed and dove into it this morning. I'm sharing this because it struck me - even more than some of my past Easter services in English...Reinventing my Easter Sunday from bed this morning:

Wide Awake by Erwin McManus
Chapter 3 - Adapt

"Many of us need reinvented lives. We are living a rerun and we need fresh stories, maybe some new characters to enter our story. When you get up in the morning, maybe you feel that your life is just a show waiting to be canceled, an endless rerun with worn out story lines and superficial characters. If you are going to engage in a journey with God, if you are going to follow the God who created you, if you're going to explore mysterious, dangerous, unknown, uncertain places - then you need to know how to reinvent yourself. You have to learn how to adapt."

Later on in the chapter

"When you face challenges and obstacles, you have to learn how to either overcome them or adapt to them. Wisdom guides you to the best choice. To adapt is not to surrender but to become unstoppable. It is the difference between being a boulder or a river. Many of us see virtue as being immovable.
Yet in times of crisis, it is our willingness to be adaptable that distinguishes us. Conviction is a popular excuse for rigidity, but faith should actually make us more pliable, not less.
What we find in all these invidivuals through whom God has written biblical history is that faith gives you the confidence to adapt to your circumstance while never compromising your convictions.
You either adapt when you face circumstances you cannot control, or you allow them to become the boundaries of your life. They will establish the parameters of your freedom, define your limits, and diminish your dreams - and that is where you stop. I may not know anything about you or your life journey, but I know this. You can't control the context from which your life story is being written, but you can control the content."

Whether or not this is your Easter or your April 12th, 2009. This is true.

And here's where I would like to stroll every single Easter Morning.

Dayvan Cowboy

2009-04-11T18:37:00.000-05:00

by boards of canada

Pumped

2009-04-08T23:27:00.005-05:00

Never been more excited for Earth Day

Daily Routine

2009-03-16T10:27:00.004-05:00

Wake Up
Shave
Shower
Dress
Commute
Park on level P3
Ride up the elevator
Enter office
Check e-mail
Make coffee
Work
Lunch
Work
Leave office
drive home
enter house
sit on couch
run
eat dinner
watch tv
sleep
(repeat)

This is my routine. I do this five days a week and have been doing this since October. Just let me premise this with the fact that I am very happy with my job and excited about the opportunities it offers. All the people I work with are awesome and I have been afforded a lot to experience high quality individuals in an exciting work atmosphere.

However, being a 23-year old kid sometimes flares up and the corporate life overwhelms me. This probably happens a couple (2-3) times a week and is very short-lived. I began thinking about this when it occured to me one day around 12:30pm that a year ago I was cruising up and down the west coast on spring break. And at the present time I was currently sitting in a chair eating lunch on a paper towel alone in the breakroom.

Quite a change of scenery - one that is all the more frightening when I think about how fast the time has gone. People would always say that -man time has flown by- and everyone nods in response...but I don't think it really mattered how fast time was going until now. After all, I know time flies when you are having fun...but isn't it supposed to slow down when you are working? I guess not...

I started thinking back over the last 6 months since I've started working and what also frightened me is my inability to remember it. It is filed away into one of those Bruce Almighty file cabinets in my brain. Literally, what do I do on a weekly basis that is memorable? What, if anything, is creating memories? I find it hard to fathom that the main things I remember occured over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a day I took off in February. Little to nothing that occurs in my life is memorable during a week - unless some part of that routine I wrote earlier is changed. Is this bad? Or is this something to get used to?

Part of me feels like I really dove into this whole corporate thing way too early - and part of me feels like I'm nervously freaking out for no reason - am I placing too much value on free time as a 23 year old or too little value on time at a desk as a 23 year old? I guess there is value in both but I'd like to live a memorable life and I definitely don't want to wake up 10 years from now remembering a couple days of each of those years...

Perfect

2009-03-11T15:20:00.002-05:00

Latest Man Points handed out today

2009-03-05T11:51:00.003-06:00

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/COMBOSR-Brand-Releases-prnews-14553226.html

COMBOS(R) Brand Releases Manliest Cities in America Rankings With Nashville at Top and New York at Bottom

Manly Study Highlights

Nashville is the Mecca of manliness. With its high number of NASCAR enthusiasts, popularity of hunting and fishing and concentration of BBQ restaurants, the Music City stands alone atop the mountain of manliness.
Despite high ratings in the "bowling" category, New York City ranks 50th out of 50 in the study due to low scores in manly indicators such as "fishing," "home improvement" and "drag racing."
If you're in the Midwest and looking to enjoy a game with a cold beverage, look no farther than St. Louis, which has the highest concentration of sports bars in the country.
Grand Rapids, Mich. has more monster truck rallies, per capita, than any other U.S. city.
Philadelphia and Chicago, with low scores in the "hunting" category fail to crack the top 25 (ranked 30th and 46th respectively).
The men of Oklahoma City know how to snack with gusto. Their city owns the highest purchase rate of salty snacks, such as COMBOS®.
Got chainsaws? What about hammers and power drills? The men of New Orleans do. The "Big Easy" boasts more hardware stores per capita than any other U.S. city.

The Manly Methodology*

The rankings were determined using 50 of the largest metropolitan areas as defined by the United States Census Bureau, which includes a central city and the surrounding county (or counties).

Each metro area received a manliness rating between 0 and 100 based on how well it performed in each of the study's manly categories. Factors used to determine the manliest city rankings included the number of U.S.-made cars driven in the city, number of sports bars and BBQ restaurants, number of home improvement and hardware stores as well as manly salty snacks consumption. All data was adjusted by the current population of the cities to arrive at "per capita" figures, providing an accurate comparison between cities of varying sizes.

"America's Manliest Cities"

1. Nashville, Tenn.
2. Charlotte, N.C.
3. Oklahoma City, Okla.
4. Cincinnati, Ohio
5. Denver, Colo.
6. St. Louis, Mo.
7. Columbus, Ohio
8. Kansas City, Mo.
9. Indianapolis, Ind.
10. Toledo, Ohio
11. Memphis, Tenn.
12. Richmond, Va.
13. Columbia, S.C.
14. Orlando, Fla.
15. Dayton, Ohio
16. Salt Lake City, Utah
17. Milwaukee, Wis.
18. Minneapolis, Minn.
19. Cleveland, Ohio
20. Detroit, Mich.
21. Jacksonville, Fla.
22. Phoenix, Ariz.
23. Birmingham, Ala.
24. Grand Rapids, Mich.
25. Tampa, Fla.
26. Harrisburg, Pa.
27. New Orleans, La.
28. Las Vegas, Nev.
29. Pittsburgh, Pa.
30. Philadelphia, Pa.
31. Louisville, Ky.
32. Atlanta, Ga.
33. Providence, R.I.
34. Dallas, Texas
35. Buffalo, N.Y.
36. Rochester, N.Y.
37. Baltimore, Md.
38. Boston, Mass.
39. Houston, Texas
40. Seattle, Wash.
41. Sacramento, Calif.
42. Miami, Fla.
43. San Diego, Calif.
44. Oakland, Calif.
45. Washington, District of Columbia
46. Chicago, Ill.
47. Portland, Ore.
48. San Francisco, Calif.
49. Los Angeles, Calif.
50. New York, N.Y.

A word from the Australians (2)

2009-03-04T14:01:00.000-06:00

Night vision (2)
"I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness."
Isaiah 45:3 NLT
Sometimes God doesn't tell us why because He wants us to know Who. In Psalm 23, David goes from talking about God, "The Lord is my Shepherd," to talking with Him, "Thou art with me." What happened in between? David learned that no matter how dark the way is, the Lord is there to guide us. He discovered that it's better to walk through the valley with God than stand on the mountaintop alone. God doesn't always light the path in advance, but He promises, "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown" (Isa 43:2 NLT). When you feel like you're out of your depth or in over your head, claim the promise! Job had many unanswered questions, but when he began to understand the difference between reason and relationship, he told God, "I...heard about You before, but now I have seen You" (Job 42:5 TLB). When you can't find the reason, trust the relationship. God won't fail you. Contrary to what you may think, darkness isn't always the work of the enemy. Sometimes it's one of God's best teaching tools. "About the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea...And when they saw Him...they were greatly amazed...beyond measure, and marvelled" (Mark 6:48-51 NKJV). You get to know the Lord by going through storms with Him. The Psalmist said, "To You the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to You" (Ps 139:12 NLT). So instead of running from your problems, ask God to develop your night vision, to show you "the treasures of darkness...hidden in secret places" (Isa 45:3 NRS).

Word from the Australians

2009-02-26T10:34:00.001-06:00

Night vision (1)
"Who is among you who...fears the Lord...yet...walks in darkness?"
Isaiah 50:10 AMP
God promises us peace, but not smooth sailing or immunity from life's problems. The Bible says you can "fear the Lord...yet...walk in darkness and...trouble" (Isa 50:10 AMP). Check your Bible: (a) Job lived an exemplary life yet he lost everything. Troubled and perplexed, he cried, "God has blocked my way [and]...plunged my path into darkness" (Job 19:8 NLT). (b) Jeremiah, after preaching to a rebellious people who beat and imprisoned him, said, "Oh, that...my eyes [were] a fountain...I would weep day and night for...my people" (Jer 9:1 NIV). (c) John the Baptist was puzzled about why his cousin Jesus, who could raise the dead, had left him to languish in prison. So he sent him a message asking, "Are You the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Luke 7:19 NIV). (d) Paul suffered so much he "despaired even of life" (2 Cor 1:8 NKJV). Faith is like film; it's developed in the dark. Dark days make us lean on God in ways we normally wouldn't. The truth is, if our faith was never tested we wouldn't be motivated to pursue God and draw closer to Him. The hymn writer wrote: "When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." It's easy to praise God when your health is good and your bills are paid. It's when light suddenly turns to darkness that we discover what our faith is made of and where our trust truly lies. It's in those seasons that we develop night vision!
Soulfood Bible Readings
Gen 10-12, Matt 18:21-35, Ps 61, Pr 6:16-19

2009-02-07T18:09:00.001-06:00

I'll tickle ya...

2009-01-26T16:30:00.003-06:00

Taxi to the Dark Side

2009-01-23T11:26:00.004-06:00

Recently I saw a documentary called Taxi to the Dark Side. I had no clue what it was about - it only popped up on a netflix advertisement for something that might interest me. The title was intriguing as well. An hour and 45 minutes later this documentary ended up having quite an impact on me. It follows the story of an Afghani man whose job as a taxi driver was misconstrued as a person of violence. The perspective broadens to truly unearth a lot of evil things that occured to POIs or PUCs as they were called. I was surprised that I felt what I did. Without getting political, I will say that it raised some questions in my head.

Warning:Material is unsuitable for immature people.

The preview is rated G.

Continue reading if you work for the government...

Government Agents: USA # 1! I love America! Red, White, and Blue - these colors don't run!

Concerning Offices

2009-01-20T22:43:00.003-06:00

- One's garb is always to be in accordance with the office's standard dress code. This is a fact that should be known before the first day of work... in order to prevent under or over dressing

- Establishing oneself as an early riser in the beginning is better than establishing oneself as a late arriver unless bearing coffee, doughnuts, or bagels.

- One is to get psyched on the way to work with a series of carefully chosen tunes or morning public radio

- Elevator doors should be held. Followed by eye contact and a friendly greeting when others enter. Eye contact after the doors are closed can be awkward.

- Upon arrival, one is to always turn the lights on in the lobby. To forget is absent-minded

- Mail is to be dispersed in a timely fashion.

- There is no such thing as a stupid question, unless you ask it too late.

- One is to position himself at the urinal furthest from the bathroom entrance according to age.

- If someone's door is shut, slide the paper under the door to prevent awkwardness.

- Cell phones are to be placed on vibrate. Facebook and google chat on silent.

- Personal sites are to be visited only in moderation. With quick access to Outlook and work-related sites just a click away.

- One must be mentally prepared to eat lunch alone until confidence is gained to invite others to join.

- If asked to perform duties outside of one's expertise, the answer is always an enthusiastic yes.

- Although sometimes requested, time off is granted not demanded.

- Small talk is just that: small. Do not add unnecessary depth to conversation.

- Use of sarcasm in the office is still establishing itself. Heed caution: it varies on corresponding ages.

- One is to always empty the coffee upon departing the office. To forget leaves a burnt coffee pot. And a tarnished reputation.

- Leaving the office is to be celebrated again with a well-prepared mix... regardless of departure time.

More to come as time goes on.

Presidential Approval Ratings

2009-01-20T16:56:00.004-06:00

Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal

Canada Attacks!

2009-01-15T13:00:00.003-06:00

The age old argument

2008-12-30T09:59:00.004-06:00

Coke, soda, or pop?

When is someone going to fix this?

2008-12-20T23:21:00.001-06:00

After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music via the Internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music piracy.

The decision represents an abrupt shift of strategy for the industry, which has opened legal proceedings against about 35,000 people since 2003. Critics say the legal offensive ultimately did little to stem the tide of illegally downloaded music. And it created a public-relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl.
[us album sales]

Instead, the Recording Industry Association of America said it plans to try an approach that relies on the cooperation of Internet-service providers. The trade group said it has hashed out preliminary agreements with major ISPs under which it will send an email to the provider when it finds a provider's customers making music available online for others to take.

Depending on the agreement, the ISP will either forward the note to customers, or alert customers that they appear to be uploading music illegally, and ask them to stop. If the customers continue the file-sharing, they will get one or two more emails, perhaps accompanied by slower service from the provider. Finally, the ISP may cut off their access altogether.

The RIAA said it has agreements in principle with some ISPs, but declined to say which ones. But ISPs, which are increasingly cutting content deals of their own with entertainment companies, may have more incentive to work with the music labels now than in previous years.

The new approach dispenses with one of the most contentious parts of the lawsuit strategy, which involved filing lawsuits requiring ISPs to disclose the identities of file sharers. Under the new strategy, the RIAA would forward its emails to the ISPs without demanding to know the customers' identity.

Though the industry group is reserving the right to sue people who are particularly heavy file sharers, or who ignore repeated warnings, it expects its lawsuits to decline to a trickle. The group stopped filing mass lawsuits early this fall.

It isn't clear that the new strategy will work or how effective the collaboration with the ISPs will be. "There isn't any silver-bullet anti-piracy solution," said Eric Garland, president of BigChampagne LLC, a piracy consulting company.

Mr. Garland said he likes the idea of a solution that works more with consumers. In the years since the RIAA began its mass legal action, "It has become abundantly clear that the carrot is far more important than the stick." Indeed, many in the music industry felt the lawsuits had outlived their usefulness.

"I'd give them credit for stopping what they've already been doing because it's been so destructive," said Brian Toder, who represents a Minnesota mother involved in a high-profile file-sharing case. But his client isn't off the hook. The RIAA said it plans to continue with outstanding lawsuits.

Over the summer, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo began brokering an agreement between the recording industry and the ISPs that would address both sides' piracy concerns. "We wanted to end the litigation," said Steven Cohen, Mr. Cuomo's chief of staff. "It's not helpful."

As the RIAA worked to cut deals with individual ISPs, Mr. Cuomo's office started working on a broader plan under which major ISPs would agree to work to prevent illegal file-sharing.

The RIAA believes the new strategy will reach more people, which itself is a deterrent. "Part of the issue with infringement is for people to be aware that their actions are not anonymous," said Mitch Bainwol, the group's chairman.

Mr. Bainwol said that while he thought the litigation had been effective in some regards, new methods were now available to the industry. "Over the course of five years, the marketplace has changed," he said in an interview. Litigation, he said, was successful in raising the public's awareness that file-sharing is illegal, but now he wants to try a strategy he thinks could prove more successful.

The RIAA says piracy would have been even worse without the lawsuits. Citing data from consulting firm NPD Group Inc., the industry says the percentage of Internet users who download music over the Internet has remained fairly constant, hovering around 19% over the past few years. However, the volume of music files shared over the Internet has grown steadily.

Meanwhile, music sales continue to fall. In 2003, the industry sold 656 million albums. In 2007, the number fell to 500 million CDs and digital albums, plus 844 million paid individual song downloads -- hardly enough to make up the decline in album sales.

Swipe It

2008-12-10T08:35:00.005-06:00

I drove by the Green Hills Mall this past Saturday because it is situated directly between the house I live in and the nearest Walgreens. Given the state of the economy - 534,000 losing jobs over the last month (Nov), I expected the mall to look more like a set out of an old Western movie - mostly abandoned with the exception of drunks hanging from the doors of Cheesecake Factory at midday and the passing tumbleweed - than the mall of, say, 2004.

As I got closer I began to see the Christmas lights hanging in the three story atrium from across the hill. I could already see the unavoidable, impenetrable ring of cars all drooling for a parking spot like sharks circling their prey. I was shocked! Isn't everyone out of money? Didn't everyone get fired over the last 30 days? Something doesn't add up.

But wait, even if I'm out of money... I guess we could all just put it on the card. Great Idea! People use their cards for different reasons. Sometimes we want the airline miles. Sometimes it's the Marriott Rewards. But a lot of times it's because we don't have cash. Not just, "I don't have cash at the moment." BUT "I don't have THE cash." There's a difference. When a majority of America is spending money it doesn't have and will soon owe most of it at a sky high interest rate, something bad will happen. Multiply that with inflated house prices and money tied up on Wall Street in inflated stocks and the last 3 months happen. Poof! Gone. Our economy built on fake services and fake investments was over-inflated. There was no real wealth there. The country's productivity did not increase. But back to the mall...

It is strange to me when my usual 4 minute run to Walgreens turns into a good half hour trip. If things are supposed to be this bad across the country, then why is everyone shopping? It doesn't add up. People must be spending money in there. I can only hope everyone is making deposits in the ATMs. So here's the warning: Don't go to the mall and spend your "disposable (slash non-existent)" income on an LV Purse or a Burberry Suit and expect to get bailed out. What do you think you are as big as GM?

Because I Like Songs

2008-12-08T21:46:00.004-06:00

Skinny Love - Bon Iver; These Long Summer Days - She's Spanish, I'm American; So Easy - Royksopp; Love is No Big Truth - Kings of Convenience; Ain't Gonna Lose You - Brett Dennen; Impossible Germany - Wilco; A&E - Goldfrapp; Crying - TV on the Radio; Closer - Kings of Leon; Big Chair - Travis; Bruises - Chairlift; Atlantic City - Bruce Springsteen; Reckoner - Radiohead; Give Me Your Eyes - Brandon Heath; Momma's Boy - Chromeo; Plastis Wafers - Of Montreal; Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show; Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop - Landon Pigg; Far Away - Cut Copy; The Country Life - Silver Seas; We Are All Forgotten - Paper Route; Flashing Lights - Kanye West; Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes; Two - Ryan Adams; Librarian - My Morning Jacket; New Soul - Yael Naim; You Appearing - M83; I've Seen Enough - Cold War Kids; Cure For Pain - Jon Foreman; Mansard Roof - Vampire Weekend; Bixby Canyon Bridge - Death Cab for Cutie; Naive - The Kooks; Lost! - Coldplay; Video Killed the Radio Star - The Presidents of the United States; For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti - Sufjan Stevens.

Responsibility

2008-12-04T13:15:00.002-06:00

25 November 2008 - Word For the Day
Taking personal responsibility
"If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you."
Proverbs 9:12 NIV

To display the kind of responsibility that makes you successful in life: (1) Recognise that gaining success means practising self-discipline. Every time you stop yourself from doing what you shouldn't, and start doing what you should, you're increasing your capacity for responsibility and the rewards it brings. (2) What you start, finish. There are two kinds of people: those who will and those who might. Responsible people follow through. And that's how others evaluate them. (3) Don't expect others to do it for you. Paul writes: "Each one should carry his own load" (Gal 6:5 NIV).

Addressing students at the University of South Carolina, Chief Judge Alexander M. Saunders said, "As responsibility is passed to your hands it will not do...to assume that someone else will bear the major burdens, that someone else will demonstrate the key convictions, that someone else will run for office, take care of the poor, visit the sick, protect civil rights, enforce the law, transmit value, maintain civilisation and defend freedom...What you do not value will not be valued, what you do not remember will not be remembered, what you do not change will not be changed, what you do not do will not be done. You can, if you will, craft a society whose leaders...are less obsessed with the need for money. It's not a question of what to do, but simply the will to do it." Sometimes we don't take responsibility because we believe others are more qualified. No, those who make a difference in life don't do so because they're the best qualified, but simply because they decided to try. Plus: God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called!

Emerette

2008-11-22T18:38:00.005-06:00

We have ecstatically welcomed the newest member into the Blanton/Farley family. The long awaited arrival of Emmerete Farley can only be described as perfect. She was delivered Friday at 12:35pm with no complications, no NICU, and no inhibitions. She came out kicking and screaming - a welcomed change from last year.

My third niece is happy to be here and the whole family is celebrating in blissful joy. As my sister said last night, there is literally nothing like it in the world.

Although different than Copeland's arrival last year, holding a new born baby reminds all of us of God's gift of life. Just like Copeland, she is his little girl.

Emerette McClure Farley, born November 21st 2008.

Monumental

2008-11-04T23:08:00.003-06:00

Regardless of my own political persuasion, today was a monumental event in history. Initially, I have a sense of uncertainty. So much is up in the air right now that there is literally so little I feel I can depend on. Seeing thousands of people erupt in joy about Obama's victory and my own mother cry watching John McCain's speech of concession, there is undeniable transformation occurring on a global scale.

People can say that they don't think it's a matter of race but it is. The US continues to set the standard for capability. In no other country, in no other time could a man from such a modest upbringing such as Barack Obama attain the position he will assume in January. The world can look to the US once again as an instigator of what was once believed impossible.

As time goes on, my feelings of uncertainty turn to comfort. I never once felt fearful about the future circumstances of the executive branch of our country. After all, the same God sits on his throne. Whether or not this turned out the way me or the people I love wanted it to, I am comforted knowing that there is purpose behind it all.

It is fact that everyone resists change. Today, we can rest assured that it is happening right now. I am excited to see what new, great minds can achieve given this incredible opportunity.

In the end, our government has done a good job in ensuring one thing. While the position of President brings with it much responsibility one man cannot change the world without the belief that the God who created him is his ultimate authority.

It is on that fact that I will sleep well.

"There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live."
- John Adams - American, President, Christian

An Interesting Perspective

2008-11-04T15:24:00.000-06:00

No, it was not me that did this.

Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read "Vote Obama, I need the money." I laughed. Once in the restaurant my server had on a "Obama 08" tie, again I laughed as he had given away his political preference--just imagine the coincidence. When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need--the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight. I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I've decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful. At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient needed money more. I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.

This is the Day

2008-10-29T08:54:00.002-05:00

Too powerful not to post this:

"This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24 NKJV
Some days the road seems too long and the climb too steep. Max Lucado describes them as days when "Hope is Hindenberged by crisis. You never leave the hospital bed or wheelchair. You wake up in the same prison cell, the cemetery dirt is still fresh, the dismissal letter still folded in your pocket, the other side of the bed still empty. 'This is the day' includes divorce days, final-exam days, surgery days, tax days, sending-your-firstborn-off-to-college days. God made this day. He knows the details of each wrenching moment. He isn't on holiday. He still holds the conductor's baton, sits in the cockpit, and occupies the universe's only throne. "We will rejoice and be glad in it!" Oops, there's another word we'd like to edit: in. Perhaps we could swap it for after? Or through, or over. 'I'll rejoice when this day ends!' Paul rejoiced in prison. David wrote psalms in the wilderness; Paul and Silas sang in jail; the Hebrew children remained resolute in the fiery furnace; John saw Heaven in his exile, and Jesus prayed in the garden of pain. You no longer have yesterday. It slipped away as you slept. You don't yet have tomorrow. You can't spend its money, celebrate its achievements or resolve its riddles. Days are bite-sized portions of life: 84,000 heartbeats, 1,440 minutes, a rotation of the earth, a sunrise and sunset, a gift of 24 unlived, unexplored hours. And if you can stack one good day on another, you'll link together a good life. 'This is the day', live in it."

Amen! I'm living and exploring from my cubicle this morning!

www.lookingforgod.com.au

One Ring to Rule Them All slash I'm a nerd

2008-10-27T15:12:00.002-05:00

Local Shire Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, relative of Frodo Baggins, is living a quiet, peaceful life until Gandalf the Grey walks into his home with a band of wandering dwarfs and drags poor Bilbo into a quest that entails defeating a dragon, a three way battle of men, dwarfs and monsters and, most importantly of all, leads Bilbo into contact with a peculiar ring that has had and will have a great impact on the future of their world.

Yes, this is synopsis for the 2011 prequel to the Fellowship of the Rings. I cannot wait. Peter Jackson is a writer. And they have the original Gandalf, Gollum, Aragorn, etc. I am pretty pumped. There is also "The Hobbit 2" which links the first Hobbit movie to the Lord of the Rings as we know it.

Maxim on the move

2008-10-24T18:25:00.003-05:00

Is this a good or a bad thing? I'll let you be the judge of that.

‘Maxim’ magazine moves offices to Franklin, Tennessee

Alpha Media Group, the company that produces Maxim and Blender magazines, is moving its back-office operations from New York City to Franklin.

Alpha CEO Stephen Duggan said the company's finance, manufacturing, distribution, office services and digital technology divisions will move into a floor at the Dover Center on Seaboard Lane in December.
Advertisement

Print, sales, marketing and most of the magazine group’s creative team will remain in New York.

Maxim is among the most successful young men’s lifestyle magazines in the country, reaching more than 12.5 million readers each month. Music magazine Blender reaches about 2 million readers monthly. Alpha also produces stuffmagazine.com and two other Web sites visited by about 5 million users a month.

High rental costs in midtown Manhattan are part of what pushed Alpha to leave the Big Apple, Duggan said. The company, which announced layoffs earlier this year, looked at Atlanta, Dallas, Austin, Texas; and several other cities before choosing Franklin.

SoCal, The Office, and Football...Life is good

2008-09-26T14:43:00.004-05:00

It is nearly October...everyone's favorite month...for obvious reasons, but a lot has occurred since I last updated the 2 people (my parents) who read this on my life.

California: I have recently returned from a trip to LA/Orange County and had a blast. I got to see a lot of my favorite people there before I sign my life away and work for the next thirty years of my life (Thanks for the reminder Chad). I spent a majority of my time in Newport Beach, where my friend Chad has an incredible place and a life unabashedly similar to that of the kids on the O.C. I was also in Brentwood - a place I had been many times without knowing it. It's between Santa Monica and Westwood...ish. I still don't really know. Anyways

I got to return to Pepperdine for the first time since school started back up and it was weird. I got to catch up with my cousin Kimberly who is loving it there and I'm happy for her to continue on the Blanton/Powell name. However, I realized that life continued at the school after I left - without much difficulty. There was a sense of belonging I had always had going there and it was gone. Instead of, "Hey, Good to see you!" it was "Hey...what are you doing here?" It was sad. Plus the fact that I went to a memorial service that was extremely emotional and I had never even met the woman being remembered. It was touching yet moving and I feel like I have lost out not getting to know Thomasina - faculty from the Pepperdine London house.

Throughout the rest of the trip it was also weird to be in California again. I had taken so much pride in adapting smoothly to life there as a student but also as someone from Tennessee. As my cousin who now goes to Pep Law can attest to it is slightly like studying abroad at first. No friends, you stick out, and get lost often. For some reason my mind felt more like I was in Florence again. The conclusion I drew, be it wrong or right, was that it was in fact the people I had grown to surround myself with that made me comfortable. When I was with all the people I had such a great time. I was fine. But I also kinda freaked out traversing the seas of freeway to get to those people.

Football: I love football and it is nice to be back where I can constantly distract myself with the sport. I know I shouldn't brag and as soon as this is set in concrete in the blog world forever it will cast an evil spell on all my favorite teams but Nashville's teams are freaking ridiculous right now. Montgomery Bell (5-0) is ripping all the other high school teams in the area a new one...represent. Vanderbilt (4-0), the school that rejected me yet somehow I am still 100% loyal to is ranked for the first time since 1984 at #21. Incredible - Richard live it up. And the Titans (3-0) are crushing the ignorance out of their opponents on a weekly basis. This week should be a fantastic game v. Minnesota.

Work: I start work on October 1st for CSP. I am extremely excited although it will be a major shift in lifestyle. This week I have woken up at or around 11am. Should be an interesting blog update in a week or so.

TV: If you haven't seen the Office premiere yet do it now. I feel bad for those whose lives are void of such a cultural masterpiece of our generation. Pam and Jim are engaged. Michael is a quasi-father-to-be and things are going to heat up according to some nerds who have websites that I read. Also, J.J. Abrams' new show called Fringe is pretty good too. The first episode has a guy using an Insulin pen...enough to sell it for me obviously. I recommend it - mom and dad I will show you how to use hulu. Thanks to Michael for recommending that to me a week before I start work...should keep me productive.

Well those are some of the major things going on in my life. I really want to use this to keep in touch with whoever wants to know. Maintaining friends at this point in life is very important to me so do the same and keep in touch.

The Race is Almost Over!

2008-09-08T09:10:00.005-05:00

Two obvious events that have occurred in the last two weeks are the D and R conventions. I am college (graduate) kid ranting.

Does anyone else find it extremely soothing to listen to Barack Obama? Whenever I hear him speak I find myself thinking, "Yes, Barack, everything WILL be alright." However, I snap out of the daze somewhere between the laborious applause and aerial views of 70,000 people standing in awe of him at the convention. At the end of the day, a lot of people are confusing a celebrity with a President. Someone who looks the part and whose life we track filled with obsession. We judge them (in an increasingly vulgar sense) on their slip-ups and one-liner comebacks. At some point it starts to sound like a couple of college kids ranting on in their own correctness. I don't want to hear college kids in this stage of the race - I want to hear grown-ups with concrete plans and ideas.

It is sad to me that America's culture has now infected the political system. I wish that for a day I could live in 1780 Philadelphia and watch the political process take form in its most natural environment. After all, the Presidency was long ago a position to be earned. Granted based on one's devotion and service to his/her country. It speaks volumes that today someone with no connections in Washington and carrying no tradition there is nominated to be President. Both parties have found their nominees for different reasons but are now playing the "Change" cards. What was so wrong with over 200 years of freedom and democracy?

As I face the first year of beginning my own professional career. The 2008 election is not something I look upon lightly. Since February, when I jumped off the Obama train, I began to approach the race from a moderate standpoint - as not to be blinded by one side or the other.

Social issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and capital punishment matter not. Ultimately, the supreme court will decided the future of these arguments. Many found it essential to have George W. Bush as a pro-life candidate running in 2000. Gee - what a great deal Bush did on the abortion issue in 8 years. I will not vote for an Executive Branch position based on who is in the Judicial or Legislative Branches. Call me an idealist but I do not think it is necessary. And, yes, I know who nominates our Justices.

Fiscal plans are a different story. What inhibits me and my family from practicing success and the ability to do well. McCain's policy does keep the rich getting richer, but also the poor (me) getting richer as well. Obama's plan - while trimming the national debt and rewarding the sloths or America - increases the taxes paid by the rich (those who make over $227,000) while cutting the tax bill on the lower and middle classes. Why would a poor, recent college grad like myself wish a higher tax rate for myself under McCain's policy?

A) The extent to which these two men's plans will turn from bill to law in full form is limited.
B) With every bone in my body I hate the idea of involuntary wealth distribution. It is socialist. I am not.
C) Handouts - I completely disagree with the encouragement of laziness. Saying it is OK to do enough to get by and complain for the rest. No, it's not. Watching a recent program, many impoverished people in this country blamed their own actions when asked how they got to their state of life. Mistakes only one person should pay for, not a nation. Just because some people have more money doesn't mean they care less about it or worked less hard per dollar than those who make less. There is no dilution of the effects of being industrious.
D) I, like 40% of America, do not call myself poor. Although by America's standards that is exactly what I am. Read this article, however and it uncovers some pretty interesting ideas. Even from 2003 it puts elections in a certain light.

Calabasas Fire

2008-08-26T22:24:00.004-05:00

At least this one started OUTSIDE 5583 Parkmor...

Here's the Story

How many roads must a man walk down?

2008-08-25T20:20:00.001-05:00

The Mark

2008-08-25T20:01:00.003-05:00

This is a snippet of something I recently read. It made me think of a few certain people who have found this call to be less trying than for the rest of us. Definitely a good thing for me to hear.

"At the close of his ministry, Jesus looks forward to his death on the cross, the open tomb and the ascension. Knowing that he is about to leave, Jesus prepares his disciples for what is to come. It is here that he makes clear what will be the distinguishing mark of the Christian:

Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me; and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall me know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13)

This passage reveals the mark that Jesus gives to label a Christian not just in one era or in one locality but at all times and all places until Jesus returns.
Notice that what he says here is not a description of a fact. It is a command which includes a condition: 'A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, so ye love one another that all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.' An if is involved. If you obey, you will wear the badge Christ gave. But since this is a command, it cannot be violated.
The point is that it is possible to be a Christian without showing the mark, but if we expect non-Christians to know that we are Christians, we must show the mark."

- Francis Schaeffer

Good Morning America: Steven Curtis Chapman

2008-08-07T19:59:00.000-05:00

enough said

Dang now I don't know who to vote for

2008-08-06T10:10:00.004-05:00

From the months of November 2007 to February 2008, I, Carter Blanton, was an Obama fan. If you don't believe me I can upload a picture of me wearing the shirt. The change of heart came about when I realized that Barack was a feel good candidate: that his speeches and persona were well-said and honestly moving to a certain extent. There was no real substance to my affection for him. So I got off the Obama train a couple of months ago and I am now walking home.

Until recently I took the stance of apathy thinking, "What does it even matter anyway?" But what I am now realizing is that who sits in the oval office can potentially affect my everyday life....this is making me straighten up a little bit in my chair. I am trying to familiarize myself with the candidates even more but I don't like either of the guys. Guess it is up to me to find the lesser of the two evils...

But wait....there's a third candidate?

It's a woman?

It's NOT HILROD?

This just made my decision a lot harder...

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

It's all fun and games until someone gets fat

2008-08-01T11:50:00.009-05:00

Just so those who read this know, I am not referring to anyone in particular in writing this post (except possibly myself). Living the past three months in the South have taken me back to plates and plates of memories and nostalgia after being in California for so long.
My first reaction was initally, "Wow, people are actually noticeably larger here - I'm sure glad I've been eating Californian for a while. I can't wait to continue eating chalk-like breakfast bars and smaller portioned everything here in Tennessee." Well that lasted about a week before I was face first in french fries covered in cheese and bacon, gravy spilled over chicken fried chicken, and a small herd of sonic #2's with tots. You may cringe at that list but I have seriously eaten all of those things in the past month.
Couple this with another one of Southerners favorite activities, not moving, and we start to have a problem here. Personally, I like to blame the extreme humidity, that invisible shroud of insta-sweat waiting for you in the outdoors. It sucks to go from door to car to door and have realized that you've worked up a little sweat doing so. Others may disagree but it's a lot easier to go take a run or play outside when you live in San Diego or Colorado where there are more fun things to play and less heat slash humidity.
The reason I'm writing this is not to dog on the South, I love it here - there are definitely some issues that are clearer to me now than before I spent time in Cali. Forgotten jewels would include the existence of forests, empty freeways, lightning bugs, and genuinely friendly strangers. Subtract earthquakes and add tornadoes. Although obesity doesn't discriminate, my people have decided to show it a little too much southern hospitatlity:

The latest Calorielab United States of Obesity Test Results:

State: Obese/Overweight
1. Mississippi 68.1%

2. West Virginia 68%

3. Alabama 66.6%

4. Louisiana 65.2%

5. South Carolina 65.3%

....are you seeing the trend here?

6. Tennessee 67.4%

7. Kentucky 69.1%

8. Oklahoma 65.1%

9. Arkansas 65.6%

10. Michigan 64.3%

Pathetic right? I guess my initial reaction was correct, people are actually larger than on the west coast.

Honorable Mentions:

41. California 59% - 5 spots closer to being the thinnest state as of last years numbers

51. Colorado 55.7% - Thinnest. 51st because evidently someone called the District of Columbia a state

After reading this article, feeling quite disheartened at the state of the union, and devouring some comfort food, I found another article. This time, obesity was broken down county-by-county across America. I rejoiced at the discovery:

County: Towns: BMI

1. Marin County, CA: Novato San Rafael: 24.48

2. San Francisco County, CA: San Francisco: 24.86

3. Williamson County, TN: Brentwood, Franklin: 24.90

4. Maury County, TN: Spring Hill: 24.90

5. Boulder County, CO: Boulder: 24.94

6. Douglas County, CO: Castle Rock, Parker, Highlands Ranch: 25.34

Are you kidding me? Williamson County? The county I am from?? I couldn't and still can't believe that my county is truly the third thinnest in the nation. If so, it does not bode well for the rest of the nation. I mean I expect to see California and Colorado on the list but it is pretty random to see anything from Tennessee ranking in the top anything in terms of fitness. I was pretty pumped and my day got better.

So I've written a lot now, and I would write more...but I have to go work out...that's what people in Williamson County do...work out all the time.

Copeland

2008-07-20T21:59:00.003-05:00

For those who don't know, my sister, Boothe, and her husband, Conor, had a baby girl last September named Copeland. She was diagnosed with a genetic disorder the summer before her birth - news that crushed her future parents and our family. She joined us on September 18, 2007.

Having never really heard of the disorder called Trisomy 18 I researched it and found that the majority of babies born with the disease do not survive the first week of pregnancy. In addition to being abnormally small, she had a hole in her heart and paralysis of the entire left side of her body. Copeland passed away 8 days after her birth. At the time I was studying in California and made the tough decision to stay there when Copeland was born - knowing that I would soon need to make a trip home for a memorial service. I still regret not being there to meet her and share in the joy she brought everyone who met her.

It is now 10 months and two days after her birthday. Copeland's impact on my family - specifically the outlook of my sister and her husband - are still recognizable today. It was a tough mental process to understand that God had a plan for Copeland, albeit short here with us. Not only was God's plan bigger than just Boothe and Conor, but it also affected those who surrounded them in their struggle. In return, it was amazing to see what comfort friends and family brought in a time of great doubt and hardship. I don't think either of them cooked a meal for about 3 months...

During the summer of last year, Boothe began keeping a blog - the first one I ever truly followed. She began sharing her experiences and feelings throughout the pregnancy and how her relationship with God and her family progressed during that time. Since then, literally thousands of people have shared the impact her writing has had on their own personal experiences. I, too, have been greatly affected by her ability to communicate so powerfully in her blogs.

Her pictures have been perfect also, here's one of Copeland's first birthday party - first week that is. Haha, I love it.

I guess at the heart of it I am amazed at the impact that a 4 lbs. girl who was here for 8 days has had across the world. Her loss was more of a gift than anything and I cannot forget that Boothe wrote her cup truly overfloweth during this time.

We all still miss her greatly but are overwhelmed at the idea of reuniting with her...

Here is the letter Boothe and Conor wrote to Copeland and read at her memorial (also be sure to watch the videos linked below):

Dear Copeland,
On the day you were born, we had prayed for you for two years. You were the answer we had been waiting for – with one exception. You were more. You were better. God truly poured out one of His greatest blessings on our family when you came along.

We knew that you were going to be with us only a short time, but we didn’t realize it would be so short. Who can prepare their hearts to lose what they’ve ached for, what they’ve found a piece of their soul to be knitted together with? As we write these words, we know you are with our Father. We know it in our heads even though our human hearts struggle to comprehend. We believe because Jesus came and lived and died an unfair death that you are with Him now, waiting for us, who will be with you one day. Never before have our sights been set on heaven as they are now. Never before have the things of this world been dulled as they are now. We long to see you… we long to rock you, to kiss you, to watch you grow. But we will plant our feet firmly on the knowledge that those longings will not go forever unmet because we rest in the promise of Christ.

Copeland, before your birth, we had no idea how much we would love you. We are so grateful for the time we had to be your mommy and daddy here on earth. We pray the Lord will strengthen our minds to remember the precious moments He granted us with you: your delivery and Daddy’s “thumbs up” when you began to cry, sharing you with the 60-odd visitors who flooded the waiting room upon your arrival, staying up through the night with you at the hospital while Daddy and I talked about how much we had been changed just by your coming, taking you home in your carseat for the first time, laying you in the crib we thought you would never even see, rocking you, singing to you, reading the Psalms over you, changing your tiny diapers and your tiny clothes, taking you to Sellers’s school so your new big sister could show you off, even keeping vigil over you through the last nights as your breathing grew heavy. I know we both count it as a privilege and an honor to have held you in our arms until the Lord chose to take you home to Him. We believe with hope that you felt carried the whole way.

We are not sure how we will go on. We will miss you so much our hearts will be near to bursting. We will long for you and wonder where you are. We will think of you every day, every hour, and ache to recreate the moments we had with you this side of heaven. But because we know you are there… we will walk. We will carry your sister, and all the other siblings the Lord chooses for you to have. We will honor the way you have changed us and the thousands of people worldwide who came to know your story by choosing each day a life that looks differently, a life that says, “Thank You, Jesus, for reminding us that heaven is real… You are real… and it’s time we learned to live like we believe it.”

We will never forget.

We love you.
Mama and Daddy

Eight Days

Home Video
One of Boothe and Conor's friends wrote the song to this video and it is pretty emotional...Enjoy

Join, or Die

2008-07-05T14:38:00.003-05:00

In honor of America's recent birthday...and a recent obsession with John Adams, I have put together a short list of some thoughtful quotes that have impacted me and helped me form such a great opinion of him. I recommend reading the book by David McCullough or if not that, watching the HBO Series that is now out on DVD. Both are fairly long investments but very worthwhile at that.

"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and
philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."

"The fourth day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore."
- on Independence Day (I think we've got this one down)

"I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
- on the White House

"There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live. "

"Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide."
- Written in 1814, 12 years before death

"A pen* is certainly an excellent instrument to fix a man's attention and to inflame his ambition."
- *insert "blog"

The Return

2008-06-29T22:49:00.004-05:00

I have recently had the opportunity to travel to various parts of the country (Phoenix, Chicago, LA) this summer thanks to the incredible generosity of my parents. I am currently in the Yosemite National Park with my friends Chad and Christine and have had an amazing trip to LA for the wedding of my friends Collin and Sarah.

I had a great time reconnecting with the people that single-handedly managed to make my experience there such a memorable one. However, it is a strange feeling returning to the place I spent some of the most incredible, trying, and yet impacting years of my life as merely a visitor. California has been a place I had for so long been able to call home and yet now it has acquired a sort of distant feeling. There were some feelings of discomfort, honestly, driving around areas of such familiarity yet feeling disconnected all of the sudden. LA - in all of its glory seemed to have lost some of its mystique. In the place that I can truly call a second home, I have developed a greater affinity for the friends and family I have there than the city.

In all the return made me realize that the relationships I hold so dear and that I care to maintain are not tied together by any one city. Fostering these relationships are what I really aim to focus on in this time of transition.

Thanks to those who made my college experience such a fruitful one...

For the time being I plan to spend some much needed time reflecting in the mountains.

Keep bloggin' - Carter

The RIAA

2008-06-25T09:26:00.009-05:00

One of my greatest passions in life is Music. Personally, I think that music is art and therefore demands one pay to enjoy it. To me, there are two sides of an argument involving online music piracy: Those who are O.K. with it and those who are not. Thanks to the RIAA (The Record Industry Association of America) it has gotten a little riskier to be O.K. with downloading free music.
The process is actually quite interesting but the RIAA can target college students using school networks to share music - but only with a little help from universities. I have to admit that when three students at Pepperdine were alerted of their alleged crimes against entertainment that I was 100% ok with due process and punishment for stealing music.
However, suing people is not the right way to combat the issue at hand. The RIAA has said it is realistic and understands that it is impossible to "wipe out" illegal downloading but can be brought to a "level of manageable control." In a sense, we know our jobs heading up Anti-Piracy at the RIAA is impossible to do but we're gonna take a crack at it anyway.
There has to be a better way for the organization that protects 90% of all legitimate music to combat the issue..someone just needs to think one up. Instead of using scare tactics - face the fact that technology has changed the music industry and deal with it.

If you're not careful, you may end up like them: RIAA Youtube Video

Intro

2008-06-24T14:27:00.005-05:00

There are two main reasons for me starting this blog.

First, I have found Facebook insufficient. - With a majority of my friends now spread across the country it makes sense to keep people updated in an easy format. And those who want to know now can.

Second, Scott has one and he told me to try it - He has recently begun keeping his own blog from the Dominican Republic and it is a neato way to read what people would send you in an email if they only had the time to write every person one. Plus, I know enough people with nothing to do but read/write blogs that it could work out.

Beware: I am not writing this because I think I am cool. Many words have been used to describe me and blogger is not one of them. Read the Title Description above.