Third Day – I’ve Always Loved You

I’ll just leave this here for your Monday. I saw Third Day live when they were on tour with Tenth Avenue North and Trevor Morgan a few years ago, and I get chills every time I think about hearing this song live. This is a live version with Third Day and Trevor Morgan that’s similar to the one I remember.

I don’t know how to explain it
But I know that words will hardly do
Miracles with signs and wonders
Aren’t enough for me to prove to you

Don’t you know I’ve always loved you
Even before there was time
Though you turn away
I’ll tell you still
Don’t you know I’ve always loved you
And I always will

Greater love has not a man
Than the one who gives his life to prove
That he would do anything
And that’s what I’m going to do for you

Don’t you know I’ve always loved you
Even before there was time
Though you turn away
I’ll tell you still
Don’t you know I’ve always loved you
And I always will

“The Bet”, an unmade Seinfeld episode, was too dark for the cast

I’ve been on a bit of a Seinfeld kick lately, and while looking up the Wikipedia article of the list of Seinfeld episodes to find which season “The Chinese Restaurant” was in (season 2…an early but goodie), I came across this piece of trivia: “The Bet” was a written but never made Seinfeld episode from season 2, that included lines such as this terribly dark bit (from the linked Wikipedia article):

Julia Louis-Dreyfus stated, “I read the script and I remember thinking ‘we’re not going to do this’.” According to Alexander, when she read a scene in which she holds the gun to her head stating “where do you want it Jerry? The Kennedy? [holds the gun to her stomach] The McKinley?” (referencing the assassination of the two American presidents), Louis-Dreyfus turned to Alexander, stating “I’m not doing this.”

I’m glad they didn’t go there…that’s a little too much for the ordinary, everyday antics of the Seinfeld gang. Guns aren’t funny, especially in the context of all that’s happened with gun violence since 1991.

Here’s a Youtube clip from a hidden extra on the Seinfeld Season 1 & 2 box set with more details on the unmade episode.

29 Ways to Stay Creative

This image posted on the Lifehack blog was made to be pinned. Someone must have thought that one through well.

But I like its message – I want to put it on my writing desk for inspiration. My favorite is number 6. I’m so much more productive if I take breaks every 60-90 minutes or so, as opposed to 4-hour marathon sessions. My worst one? Number 27 – I do not keep what most people would call an organized work space, but it works well for me.

Read more here: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/29-ways-stay-creative.html

29 Ways to Stay Creative. Graphic: Lifehack.

Support – A Poem

Tech Support Cheat Sheet. Comic: xkcd.

I haven’t dabbled in poetry much, but today I had a déjà vu moment that got me thinking about my years in IT support. I wrote this little ditty this evening as a result. (It’s probably embarrassingly trite, but it has charm in its own little way.)

Support – A Poem

Hi Mom.
Your computer is slow?
Did you restart your computer?

Paula Deen and Asking for Forgiveness

I’m Sorry. Photo: Leyram Odacrem

Random House canceled its five-year contract with Paula Deen today, in what seems to me like the final nail in the coffin of her public life and her career. Since she allegedly admitted to using the N-word and wanting black waiters to play the roles of slaves at a wedding party, multiple sponsors and partners have broken ties with the Food Network star, leading many to question the future of her brand.

There are plenty of news sources covering the excruciating details of this story, but I want to ask one question here:

What would have happened to Paula Deen’s career had she just said, first and foremost, “I’m sorry”?

Tell me a story

What makes a blog post great? Tell me a story.

Don’t try to make me to “Like” your post. Don’t optimize your prose for search engines. Don’t spend time trying to pick a pinnable feature image for your post.

Just tell me a story.

It doesn’t even have to be a great story. As I reboot my writing life here on this blog and elsewhere, I know I’m going to tell my share of just “ok” stories. The most important thing that makes a story a story is that it’s real.

What’s real? Real is what you, the writer, make it.

A Quarter Life Celebration – by Sarah McCartan (Thought Catalog)

This. This sums up exactly how I feel (or ambitiously want to feel) about my quarter-life right now. A fantastic read for anyone who is 25 or 25 at heart, struggling to find his or her place in the world.

With all the pain and sudden tragedy that strikes in the world, and even the loss that I’ve witnessed, or felt in my own life, there is no reason not to celebrate every single moment of simple joy that has been given to us. In fact, it’s a shame not to. My hope is that I can better remember how to embrace these moments of excitement, gladness and awe just like I did as a child, oh so sweetly, innocently and genuinely, instead of worrying about what is or isn’t coming next.

Read more here: A Quarter Life Celebration – by Sarah McCartan (Thought Catalog)

Psalm 131 for your weekend

When I actually open up my Bible and spend time with God, these are the sorts of gems I find. May these words follow you through your long weekend.

Psalm 131 – Song of Quiet Trust

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

What I learned about myself from a week-long staycation

“There are seven days in the week and someday isn’t one of them.” Illustration: deeplifequotes (via Flickr)

I just returned from a week-long staycation. I took a week off from work with no structured or concrete plans nor anyone else to hang out with and decided to do exactly what I wanted with my time.

I’ve never actually given myself an opportunity like this. I tend to be driven by what other people need or want me of me, and then only secondarily,what God or I need or want out of my time. I’ve also had a really stressful year so far, with lots of changes and disruptions that make me wonder who’s actually at the wheel of this crazy runaway train car that is my life right now.

In the end, this experience wasn’t all that exciting or earth-shattering. I didn’t pull a Ferris Bueller or anything. But, I did return to work feeling refreshed and relaxed, and I learn a thing or two about myself.

Here’s what I learned from this experience:

“I” Memories and “You” Memories – Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

Flinders View from the rise. Photo: Georgie Sharp

I took a trip involving a long car ride this past weekend, and picked up the audiobook version of “Beautiful Ruins,” the 2012 bestseller by Jess Walter, to listen to during the trek.

This version is a beautifully narrated telling of the novel (I think too many publishers are getting sloppy with their audiobooks). The book is also a wonderful story, “spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives” (from the book description), and full of lots of thought-provoking quotes.

Here’s one that particularly struck me:

“Some memories remain close; you can shut your eyes and find yourself back in them. But there are second-person memories, too, distant you memories, and these are trickier: you watch yourself in disbelief.”

The book doesn’t elaborate on what, in particular, makes a first-person memory versus a second-person memory, but this was where my mind wandered to.