Guesswork Theory

Michael Giacchino - "Married Life" (Up Soundtrack)

2009-07-14T10:45:00.003-04:00

I became a big fan of Michael Giacchino after hearing his Henry-Mancini inspired score for The Incredibles, which turns out was recorded using 1960's recording methods. No digital mulitrack recording, just the whole orchestra in a room with a few microphones. Pretty cool.

Anyway besides The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Lost, and others, Giacchino also scored Pixar's latest film, Up. I am having a hard time deciding if Up will beat out The Incredibles as my favorite Pixar film, but suffice to say it was one of the most wonderful films I've ever seen. I've heard it said that at Pixar "story is king," and it never was more true than in Up. The story was so emotional, so relatable, so well-crafted. I walked in griping about how expensive movies have become and walked out feeling it was worth every penny.

The score was a big part of it. The melody was so simple and beautiful I found myself picking it out on my keyboard when I got home - something I've never done before. The following is a track from a particularly beautiful but tragic section of the film and it contains tons of variations on the main theme, which is just great. Give it a listen. And if you haven't already, go see this film!

The Sound of Inevitability

2009-07-11T13:12:00.002-04:00

"You hear that? That is the sound of inevitability."

That is a quote from a movie which premiered ten years ago and quickly became one of the most sermon-referenced films of all time. It is spoken by the film's antagonist to its protagonist, forecasting the antagonist's unstoppable triumph.

It is spoken everywhere. From the demagogues to the pundits to the prison wardens to the journalists to the extremists to the terrorists to the bankers to the televangelists to the politicians - the world is prophesying pain. Evil is coming with vengeance and cruel, unstoppable certainty. Anton Sugar is leering ahead while white lies and small compromises allow fear, anguish, and corruption to creep into every unsuspecting crevice and corner of our lives. It is too powerful, it is too pervasive, it has too great a hold and it wields too great an influence to be stopped. You may avoid it in isolation but ultimately you will not change a thing. Worse yet, you will contribute to the tide of evil in ways you will not even be aware of. You may separate yourself from the world, but the constant, universal decay marches on. It is taking us down - step by step and inch by inch.

But it's a lie. There is a deeper, more mysterious, more permanent inevitability that began before time and will last for eternity - the kingdom of God, at hand. With the power to heal bodies and relationships, to bring peace to minds and countries, to end war and poverty, to bring charity and justice, to feed the hungry - heal the sick - comfort those in misery. A transcendent revolution.

Even more mysterious than its power is the fact that you and I may give ourselves to it. Through faith and belief in something infinitely bigger than ourselves we may be of service in the redemption of the world. In the destruction of the first inevitability through peace, justice, mercy and love. We band together in small groups, we meet often and love deeply, and set about doing - giving, helping, serving, offering what we have.

Could it be? Could thy kingdom come... today? Could you and I and our community of truth-seekers have a hand in the redemption of the world? Could a new day be coming? Could it be possible that the death and fear and destruction that we have been promised in short order isn't on its way? That in its place the crafter of the universe could be molding something more beautiful than our small attempts at social justice could ever dream?

Do you hear that? That is the sound of inevitability. The inevitable march of God's kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven. Despite all this ugliness we have reason for hope. Yes, despite all this ugliness, we have reason for hope - though I struggle to believe it. For joy despite sorrow, for peace despite pain. The true light which gives light to every man has come into the world and the darkness has not understood it. It is inevitable, it is immeasurable, and our present sufferings will not stand.

Do you hear it?

Discoveries: 7/7 through 7/10

2009-07-10T10:33:00.003-04:00

So I found a way to automatically update this blog every time I reach ten shared items on Google Reader (or "Discoveries," as I call them on this blog). It's complicated and involves having access to your own server (thanks, Ed!) but it works. I'm going to try it for a while and see how I like it. If you like it or it annoys you, please let me know.

These are links from my Google Reader Shared Items to interesting webpages I discovered for 7/7 through 7/10:

He's Barack Obama | Funny Video Animation by JibJab – No "this land," but pretty good.
Image Fulgurator – Amazing.
Indaba Music launches online digital audio editing tools – In the near future band members will live in different cities and record together online.
CNSNews.com – Democratic Leader Laughs at Idea That House Members Would Actually Read Health-Care Bill Before Voting On It
David Kelly (weapons expert) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Military Institutes New 'Don't Tell, Let Me Guess' Policy | The Onion – America's Finest News Source
The High Cost of Poverty: Why the Poor Pay More – washingtonpost.com
The Top 10 States With Worst Budget Problems – ABC News
Google Plans a PC Operating System – NYTimes.com – HOORAY!
New algorithm guesses SSNs using date and place of birth – Ars Technica

For more discoveries, grab the feed or join Google Reader.

Palling Around with Terrorists

2009-07-07T16:42:00.007-04:00

And without preconditions, I'm sure.

Brandi Carlile - "Fall Apart Again"

2009-07-05T12:09:00.008-04:00

Saw Brandi Carlile open for Jamie Cullum a few years ago. It was a weird mix of styles but Erin and I fell in love immediately after her cover of "Hallelujah." Her best-known song is "Throw It All Away" but I love this one just as much.

The Onion: Twitter Creator On Iran: 'I Never Intended For Twitter To Be Useful'

2009-07-01T14:18:00.009-04:00

Twitter Creator On Iran: 'I Never Intended For Twitter To Be Useful'

SAN FRANCISCO—Creator Jack Dorsey was shocked and saddened this week after learning that his social networking device, Twitter, was being used to disseminate pertinent and timely information during the recent civil unrest in Iran. "Twitter was intended to be a way for vacant, self-absorbed egotists to share their most banal and idiotic thoughts with anyone pathetic enough to read them," said a visibly confused Dorsey, claiming that Twitter is at its most powerful when it makes an already attention-starved populace even more needy for constant affirmation. "When I heard how Iranians were using my beloved creation for their own means—such as organizing a political movement and informing the outside world of the actions of a repressive regime—I couldn't believe they'd ruined something so beautiful, simple, and absolutely pointless." Dorsey said he is already working on a new website that will be so mind-numbingly useless that Iranians will not even be able to figure out how to operate it.

The most interesting thing about Twitter to me is the unintended ways it is being used. All joking aside, I do believe personal, mobile broadcasting is changing the world. In the very near future nearly everyone on the planet will be carrying a device capable of broadcasting and text, images, audio, and video with them everywhere they go. One day soon these devices will all be connected on a high-speed, worldwide data network. There is no question in my mind that this 21st century phenomenon will shape the future in huge, exciting ways we can only imagine. In fact, that's what we must do - imagine and create them.

Quotes: Global Warming, Soccer, and the Emerging Church

2009-06-30T07:49:00.001-04:00

"So-called 'global warming' is just a secret ploy by wacko tree-huggers to make America energy independent, clean our air and water, improve the fuel efficiency of our vehicles, kick-start 21st-century industries, and make our cities safer and more livable. Don't let them get away with it!" Chip Giller

"Soccer: the sport for fourth graders that foreigners take seriously." Stephen Colbert

"For those fortunate enough to be unfamiliar with all the nuance of Christian subcultures, 'emerging' has often become a catch-all world for new forms of Christian theology and worship - a word that, in actuality, mainly means nothing. But emerging does own the annoying stereotype of being fascinated with all things hip and trendy, a 'relational authenticity' that can very much be its own version of plastic." Winn Collier

Taxation Without Representation

2009-06-28T23:08:00.007-04:00

Can't tell you how excited I am about this:

ClearType Makes Fonts Smooth

2009-06-28T11:30:00.000-04:00

I spent over an hour the other day fighting to make the fonts look smooth on a website I designed, because some people don't use ClearType.

If you have a PC, I beg you to go here and turn on ClearType (you must use Internet Explorer). It will take 5 seconds and you will never have too look at ugly, pixelated fonts again.

If you have a Mac, you already paid the extra $1,000 not to have to deal with this.

The Jackson 5 - "Who's Loving You"

2009-06-26T19:20:00.000-04:00

Two Lies (on Art and Science)

2009-06-26T09:37:00.006-04:00

1. Scientists are not creative.

2. Artists are not analytical.

I have expressed this idea here before, but I heard a pretty decent TED talk on it this morning by the first African American female astronaut, Mae Jemison, and I though she put it well. If you don't believe it, just ask Dr. Ramachandran or any music theorist.

Top 10 Things Which Have Recently Blown My Mind

2009-06-24T20:02:00.004-04:00

1. A Colin Powell aid says the Bush administration used torture to procure evidence for a link between Iraq and Al Quaeda. Let me run that by you again. An aid to Colin Powell said the Bush administration used torture to justify a link between Iraq and Al Quaeda. Not to find terrorists, foil terrorist plots, or "save lives." To confirm claims the administration used to justify the Iraq war to the American people. If you are skeptical regarding whether waterboarding is torture, you should know the U.S. convicted Japanese WWII POW's of torture for waterboarding our soldiers.

2. General Patreus has stated that the United States violated the Geneva Conventions. Patreus: "I don't think we should be afraid of our values we're fighting for, what we stand for... When we have taken steps that have violated the Geneva Conventions, we rightly have been criticized, so as we move forward I think it's important to again live our values, to live the agreements that we have made in the international justice arena and to practice those." I couldn't agree more.

(For more on this, here's a great post by a friend of mine.)

3. A U.S. missile cruiser mistakenly shot down a Iranian civilian passenger airplane in 1988, killing all 290 passengers on board, including 66 children. The U.S. cruiser was in Iranian waters and the plane was in Iranian airspace. In 1996 the U.S. paid Iran $61.8M in a settlement brought before the International Court of Justice regarding the matter. The U.S. has never admitted responsibility or apologized to the Iran government. In fact, Vice President George H. W. Bush stated regarding the incident, "I'll never apologize for the United States of America. Ever, I don't care what the facts are." The cruiser's crew was awarded Combat Action Ribbons upon returning to the U.S.

4. In 2004 a welder in Granby Colorado, frustrated by the outcome of a zoning dispute which destroyed his business, built a homemade tank in his garage and went on a rampage, destroying buildings belonging to members of the city council.

5. China - the country we are all supposed to be so incredibly afraid of because they own so much our debt and could wage financial warfare on us one day - owns a measly 6.5% of the U.S. national debt. 73% is owned by ourselves. Hat-tip to Drew on this one.

6. Number six, well, you see, number six was going to be that my former governor Mark Sanford is suing the SC General Assembly after they overrode his budget vetoes, requiring the state to take $350M in federal bailout money - after Sanford, in my opinion, spent the last 6 years bankrupting the state. But then this happened.

7. 700 NYC teachers are being paid to do literally nothing. Because union rules and tenure make it incredibly hard to fire a teacher in NYC, teachers accused of wrongdoing from insubordination to sexual misconduct are being placed in rooms and paid their full salary to sit and do nothing while they await their hearings - which can take over a year. This costs NY taxpayers an estimated $65M a year. It's happening in other cities as well, such as Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

8. Illegal drugs account for 8% of world trade.

9. As of 2000, suicide outnumbered homicide in the U.S. 5 to 3.

10. In 2007, medical bills were the leading cause of bankruptcy. Since 2000, average wages in the U.S. have increased by 3%, but health insurance premiums have increased by 58%.

Honorable mention: 24% of the homeless population is employed.

If My Friends Ran for President

2009-06-18T21:45:00.024-04:00

I'm sorry if you don't know these folks. I guess you can catch them on the campaign trail! Oh and I'm really sorry if I couldn't think of a slogan for you.

The Bottom Five

2009-06-16T17:51:00.012-04:00

You may or may not have noticed that my list of friends' blogs has grown a little long. I decided today to remove everyone who hasn't posted in 2009:

Adventures with J&K

Bleeding Cowboys

Glimpse

Little Girl with a Big Punch

The Blue and Yellow Tree

If you are one of these bloggers, I promise to add you back if you decide to blog again - which I sincerely hope you do!

Of course you may notice one person who did not get cut, my beautiful wife Erin. I, like the rest of the world, am still holding out hope that one day she will post again and share her unique sense of humor with the masses. Hey, a man can dream, can't he?

Ben Dunlap Tells of a Passionate Life

2009-06-16T08:00:00.002-04:00

This was one of the more uplifting speeches I've ever watched, partly because it came at a time about a month ago when Erin and I were struggling. There is a tremendous amount of hope in it, with the added bonus of a terrific accent. Enjoy!

Ode to a Beat

2009-06-13T12:00:00.007-04:00

Over the last year, I have fallen in love with a beat. Her name is the shuffle. She is performed best with brushes on a wooden snare, in a bum-ba ba-da-da-da bum-ba ba-da-da-da bum-ba fashion. Of course that doesn't do her near the justice she deserves, so here are a few fine musical selections featuring the shuffle. There are many more great shuffle tunes out there - these are just a few favorites that popped into my head today.

I've included the video of "Chinese Translation," because it's awesome. It also never fails to remind me of the great Drew Norris.

M. Ward - "Chinese Translation" Shuffle

Jonah Smith - "My Morning Scene" Shuffle

Josh Ritter - "Monster Ballads" Shuffle

Y-O-U - "Not a Dove" Shuffle

Phil Wickham - "Divine Romance" Shuffle

Tiller

2009-06-11T08:36:00.002-04:00

Years ago, after a shooter executed five Amish girls at their school in Pennsylvania and then committed suicide, members of the Amish community attended his funeral. I was deeply moved when I read about it.

While I was watching a CNN special on the abortion issue a few nights ago, a thought occurred to me. How powerful would it have been if Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Wanda Franz, Mike Huckabee, and every other well-known figure in the Pro-Life movement had attended Dr. Tiller's funeral Saturday. What an act of grace, love, kindness, and mercy that would have been. What a positive step towards healing and reconciliation between two groups so diametrically opposed could have taken place.

It has been said and it bears repeating: people who commit acts of violence towards those who perform or support abortions make a mockery of the term "Pro-Life."

I have heard and read another sentiment repeated in the news over the last two weeks which in contrast does not hold weight. It's the idea that the Pro-life movement as a whole is disingenuous, because it focuses on the legal issues of abortion with little regard for the women who choose to have them. I have heard presidents Clinton and Obama call for, and sometimes support, abortion prevention - an issue both Pro-Life and pro-choice believers can unite behind. There is a perception that organizations like NOW, Democrats for Life, and the policies of certain pro-choice legislators are the only things working to prevent abortions. Some believe that Pro-Life supporters care only for the life of an unborn fetus, and nothing for the mother or the child once it is born.

My counter-argument is a personal one. From the 4th to the 8th grade, my best friend Brian Duffy and I were inseparable. I slept at his house, ate at his table, and in a large way grew up with his family. His parents are avid Pro-Life supporters, some would say extreme. His father (a tall, imposing man with a gentle heart) has been to jail for standing outside abortion clinics and preventing women from entering. Brian's family marched, they held signs, they voted, and they fought.

But it didn't stop there. They also ran an organization called Women for Women out of their dining room, which supported mothers who chose to bring their children to term by helping them find a job, find a place to live, and put their child up for adoption if they chose to. One of the women who ran this organization lived in a spare bedroom in Brian's house. When she moved out Brian's parents invited in a young woman whose family had kicked her out of their home when they learned she was pregnant. She stayed with the Duffys for several years, even after she had her baby.

I grew up in a very idealistically rigid environment, some would say extreme. At my private grade school I was taught Pro-Life beliefs alongside Math and English. But that did not mean I was taught to hate women. On the contrary, I saw love for women played out before my eyes every day. I was taught to love women by example.

Obviously this is what all members of both movements must come together to do. Scott Roeder is not the face of the Pro-Life movement. In fact he doesn't represent it in any way - he is what the Crusaders were to Jesus or Osama Bin Laden is to Muhammad. The faces of the movement, in fact the faces of both movements, are millions of young women and children who are scared and helpless. If Roe v. Wade was overturned tomorrow it would be imperative that our society be prepared to care for the millions of women and newborns who would suddenly be at our doorstep.

I believe many in the Pro-Life movement understand and accept this responsibility and the implications of their beliefs, which are simply a call to love, despite disturbed murderers who would gun down a man in his place of worship in the name of life.

Quotes Make the Man

2009-06-08T23:39:00.002-04:00

Here are two quotes which I love selected by my brother, the great Drew Norris. I have marveled on several occasions at the window these few sentences provide into certain distinct parts of his character.

"He means that he hopes to find himself a girl, the rarest of rare pieces, and live the life of Rudolfo on the balcony, sitting around on the floor and experiencing soul-communications. I have my doubts. In the first place, he will defeat himself, jump ten miles ahead of himself, scare the wits out of some girl with his great choking silences, want her so desperately that by his own peculiar logic he can't have her; or having her, jump another ten miles beyond both of them and end by fleeing to the islands where, propped at the rail of his ship in some rancid port, he will ponder his own loneliness." Walker Percy, The Moviegoer

"But this man had set down with a hammer and chisel and carved out a stone water trough to last ten thousand years. Why was that? What was it that he had faith in? It wasn't that nothin' would change. Which is what you might think, I suppose. He had to know better'n that. I've thought about it a good deal... And I have to say that the only thing I can think is that there was some sort of promise in his heart. And I don't have no intentions of carvin' a stone water trough. But I would like to be able to make that kind of promise. I think that's what I would like most of all." Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men

Glimpse

2009-06-04T12:30:00.001-04:00

ONE: I watched an old African American man and a young Latino woman smiling and laughing while they spoke to each other in sign language across the crowded subway car I rode in on this morning. It was so beautiful. I almost missed my stop watching them.

TWO: I ride the yellow line to work, which is unique because at one point in its journey it begins to rise out of the ground and with blast of sunlight races out over the Potomac. For a few seconds there are birds, water, sky, a view of two cities joined by bridges, and then the car descends again, back into the tunnels and underneath the skyscrapers. I get the feeling I'm in a giant mechanical flying fish. Maybe it's childish, but love this part of the ride. I look forward to it.

THREE: I started cutting through a garage near our apartment on my walk to the metro station. There is a homeless man who sleeps there most nights. I pass twenty feet from him, listening to my iPod, almost every morning. I am ashamed to admit that yesterday I didn't cut through. I must not respond this way. I must respond differently.

The Beatles Rockband

2009-06-03T17:00:00.000-04:00

I've never been excited about a video game before, but now I feel like Christmas is September 9th.

Quotes: Diet, Humor, and the Circus

2009-05-31T00:17:00.006-04:00

"What some call health, if purchased by perpetual anxiety about diet, isn't much better than tedious disease." George Dennison Prentice

"Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind." E. B. White

"When the politicians complain that TV turns the proceedings into a circus, it should be made clear that the circus was already there, and that TV has merely demonstrated that not all the performers are well trained." Edward R. Murrow

Jessica and Anna Invite Us In

2009-05-30T12:16:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the lack of actual content in my posts lately. I just haven't had the time, or the internet.

I wanted to let you know that two of the most thoughtful, wise, interesting, compassionate, talented people I know - my two sisters - both have incredible blogs.

Jessica is a registered nurse in Macon, GA. Her blog is therapy for her. Recently she wrote one of the most wonderful entries I've ever read about her struggle to remain humble while serving her patients.

Anna is an interior design and art student at UGA. She is currently spending a few weeks at the L'Abri Fellowship in Gretham England. L'Abri is a collection of homes where strangers come to live, work, and study in community with one another. I can't describe it all here, it is much too beautiful, but here is a quote from their website which will give you an inkling:

We strongly recommend that you leave your laptop at home. You will not need it at L’Abri. We suggest this not because we are against technology. Rather we have observed that laptops all too often tend to be an unwelcome distraction. In coming to L’Abri, you are setting aside a period of time to focus on important questions related to the meaning and significance of your life. A laptop will not help further this objective. We do however welcome all musical instruments.

I just can't tell you how broadly I'm smiling after reading that last sentence. Anyway Anna is there now, living the dream and finding herself in ways I wish I had done a few years ago - in ways I still have yet to do. She has 30mins a week to use the internet and write to us her about her experiences on her perfectly titled blog, the art of being brave.

I love these two women so much. And even though you don't get to be their brother, I know you will too.

Cookie Monster Comes Clean

2009-05-30T00:42:00.002-04:00

Erin and I laughed at this for like 15 minutes.

Three Photography Sites You Need to Visit

2009-05-28T13:56:00.004-04:00

My wife and two friends of mine all have fantastic photography websites. You should seriously check them out:

Erin Scott Photography

Michael Costa Photography (and architectural photography)

Mac is a guy (and blog)

The New Philip Yancey

2009-05-18T10:54:00.005-04:00

"Holy Curiosity will establish its author as a fresh new voice in Christian writing. It is a set of ten engaging think pieces on different aspects of the Christian walk, it is marked by intelligence and vulnerability and some cracking one-liners. [...] Collier is set to be the new Philip Yancey. You heard it here first." Christianity Magazine

You heard it here second.