Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Best Books of 2009


1. American Rust –Philipp Meyer
2. The Lost City of Z –David Grann
3. Let The Great World Spin –Colum McCann
4. Cutting For Stone –Abraham Verghese
5. Zeitoun –Dave Eggers
6. Deep Church –Jim Belcher
7. Counterfeit Gods –Timothy Keller
8. Await Your Reply –Dan Chaon
9. Shop Class As Soulcraft –Matthew Crawford
10. Eating Animals –Jonathan Safran Foer
11. Eating The Dinosaur –Chuck Klosterman
12. The Regulars –Sarah Stolfa
13. Our Noise –John Cook
14. Called To Be Human –Michael Jinkins
15. Living The Christian Year –Bobby Gross

Top 20 Films of the 2000s


Much like the Top 100 Albums of the 2000s and Top 20 Books of the 2000s, this list has some art, some science, and a bit of personal bias (though, again, less bias than the albums list).

1. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Almost Famous
4. The Royal Tenenbaums
5. Memento
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
7. Lost In Translation
8. No Country For Old Men
9. High Fidelity
10. The Departed
11. Junebug
12. The Station Agent
13. Wonder Boys
14. Half Nelson
15. The Visitor
16. I Heart Huckabees
17. Sideways
18. Hot Fuzz
19. About Schmidt
20. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Best Albums of 2009


1. Veckatimest -Grizzly Bear
2. A Brief History of Love -The Big Pink
3. Album -Girls
4. Grey-Eyed Girls -The Fresh & Onlys
5. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix -Phoenix
6. Time To Die -The Dodos
7. Hospice -The Antlers
8. XX -The XX
9. Bitte Orca -Dirty Projectors
10. Stockholm Syndrome -Derek Webb
11. Manners -Passion Pit
12. Wilco (the album) -Wilco
13. To Willie -Phosphorescent
14. Curse Your Branches -David Bazan
15. Hold Time -M. Ward
16. Cosmic Egg -Wolfmother
17. Belly of the Lion -Ola Podrida
18. Popular Songs -Yo La Tengo
19. Dim The Aurora -Monahans
20. No Line On The Horizon -U2

and, for those who are interested...

Best albums of 2009 mix:

1. Two Weeks -Grizzly Bear
2. Dominos -The Big Pink
3. Hellhole Ratface -Girls
4. The Delusion of Man -The Fresh & Onlys
5. Lisztomania -Phoenix
6. Fables -The Dodos
7. Epilogue -The Antlers
8. Crystalised -The XX
9. Temecula Sunrise -Dirty Projectors
10. The Spirit Vs. The Kick Drum -Derek Webb
11. Moth's Wings -Passion Pit
12. Country Disappeared -Wilco
13. The Last Thing I Needed (First Thing This Morning) -Phosphorescent
14. Please, Baby, Please -David Bazan
15. Epistemology -M. Ward
16. White Feather -Wolfmother
17. We All Radiant -Ola Podrida
18. Here To Fall -Yo La Tengo
19. It's Enough To Leave You...  -Monahans
20. No Line On The Horizon -U2

A Way of Life


"The task of the local church in our present situation is to reenter our neighborhoods, to dwell with and listen to the narratives and stories of the people. We are to do this not as a strategy for getting people to church but because that is how God comes to us in Jesus, loving us without putting strings on the relationship. It will be in these kinds of relationships that we will hear all the clues about what the Spirit is calling us to do as the church in that place. But this is not a strategy we take to a context; it is a way of life we cultivate in a place where we belong." –from Introducing the Missional Church

Monday, December 7, 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen...Neil Young


I don't usually find Fallon all that funny, the exception being when he does impressions. This one is fantastic.