Tales From Another Planet

My review of all of the DMB Live Trax series continues with what was, at least at the time, another recent release - this one coming out four months after the show had taken place. DMB Live Trax Volume 13 06.07.2008 1) Two Step 2) Rhyme & Reason 3) Corn Bread 4) Crash into Me » 5) One Sweet World 6) #27 7) So Damn Lucky 8) Crush 9) Don't Drink The Water 10) Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) 11) Pay For What You Get 12) Recently » 13) Water Into Wine » 14) Tripping Billies 15) Grey Street 16) You Might Die Trying 17) Ants Marching 18) Everyday 19) Louisiana Bayou 20) Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) A lot happened to DMB during 2008.  First, a little history. Stand Up, the band's polarizing (that's the kindest way I can put it - read: disliked by almost everyone) album comes out in 2005.  The following year's summer tour is very heavy on those songs and is considered one of the weakest tours.  In 2006, the band starts strong in the first month of the tou...

Among other fun topics at the "Women's Retreat" recently, a friend and I were discussing gender roles in different areas of society today. We discussed the interesting facts of secular versus "conservative" society and how neither one can really get it right. My husband asked me, half-jokingly, when transitioning from an almost all female workplace, where men were devalued and not allowed to move up when they were clearly the best candidate, to a mostly male workplace, where women are not in positions of leadership. He wondered, "Is there a place where men and women can work together side by side?" It's an interesting question. The post-feministic society does at times tend to devalue men. At his previous place of employment, a white male would be considered last for the job, despite the fact that the office was 90% female. His boss, and boss's boss, and boss's boss's boss were all female. When he had clearly earned a position of lead...

Some of you may (or may not) have noticed that I haven't been posting in the last week or so. First, it was the Women's Retreat at Emerald Isle. We had a blast, the weather was beautiful, and I came back refreshed and with some amazing ideas for my blog. While I'm sure that eventually those ideas will come to fruition and wow you, I was confronted with a sad reality when I arrived home... All that refreshing, relaxing and kid-free time, simply made me a bit more lazy around the house. Rather than spring cleaning fever, I feel like I've just gotten spring break fever. I've been taking the kids to the park multiple times a week, letting them play in the water table outside, and barely keeping up with the basic house chores. It doesn't help that my son started soccer right after we got back (and I'm assistant coach for the team) and my husband has been working late since then because of a big snafu in his work project. So, let's be honest. It wasn't...

By TC Today I'm talking Live Trax Volume 12. DMB Live Trax Volume 12 05.05.1995 1) Warehouse 2) Recently 3) Dancing Nancies 4) The Song That Jane Likes 5) Proudest Monkey » 6) Satellite 7) What Would You Say 8) Tripping Billies 9) Drive In Drive Out 10) Typical Situation » 11) #36 » 12) Ants Marching 13) #40 14) All Along The Watchtower I tend to float around when I pick my favorite era of the band.  Sometimes I really connect with the 2008-2011 era.  When Tim came back full time, I felt the band really picked up the energy and brought new life to a lot of old songs.  Sometimes I fall back to the 2000-2003 era, what I consider the height of their popularity and influence (if they had any at all), and that's when I first saw them too (in 2003).  And I tend to fall back into this period - the winter and spring of 1995. I'm not sure what it is about this particular era that is so fantastic to me.  The songs sound really tight.  The setl...

As part of Upward soccer coach training, we had the opportunity to hear from an excellent speaker regarding child evangelism. He made some great comments about how the biggest things we can do are to not confuse children and try to keep things simple and concise and clear up any misconceptions. It was a fabulous opportunity. We also had a unique opportunity in our small group to discuss some of these very same concepts with an adult, and I can tell you that it's not nearly as easy as it sounds with an adult compared to a child. Yes, the adult can understand more, but it is so much more difficult to get from that place of understanding to that open and genuine acceptance. That's why Jesus said we must become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. I remembered or came up with an analogy after last night's discussion. God's grace and the gift of Jesus (fully God as well) and His death on the cross to pay the price for our sins is really this simp...

A part of any good organization is a well-thought out mission statement. Since we aren't "officially" a homeschool yet (in our state, we don't have to register until the oldest child in the school turns 7), we haven't quite sat down to come up with an "official" name or mission statement. However, after a few of the latest blog posts, and helping some other families with advice for their journey to begin homeschool, I've decided it is important to sit down and list a few of the reasons we homeschool. Having a goal, idea, or even just a homeschooling "personality" is very important. I would suggest narrowing down your reasons for (or against) and ideas about homeschooling before even looking at curriculum options. If you don't, you might find yourself overwhelmed by all the choices, or spending a lot of money on a curriculum that doesn't end up fitting with your style. Obviously, this is just a blog post, but if you want a book t...

Most of us have heard the term by now, "white privilege". It means different things to different people, and is actually a bit different in many cases. So, what is "my" white privilege, and why does it matter? First, white privilege doesn't mean you are a racist person. It actually means that you don't have to think about race. For example, whenever I read a book written in this country, I typically assume it is written about/by/for white people, until and unless I read otherwise. Unfortunately, movies are much the same way. To some extent, this is because we apply our own world view to what we read, but to a greater extent, it's because those are the pocketbooks most likely to spend money on those products, so that's who the "main characters" are based upon. Some other examples? It means if I were to be pregnant in a bad situation, the majority of people would not ask, are you getting an abortion? It means if I were to be unemployed, I...

It's husband again.  It's hard to believe I've reviewed 10 of these already.  No time like the present to write about number 11. DMB Live Trax Volume 11 08.29.2000 1) The Stone 2) Rhyme & Reason 3) Don't Drink The Water 4) #41 » 5) Grace Is Gone 6) JTR 7) What Would You Say 8) The Maker » 9) All Along The Watchtower 10) Crash Into Me 11) Minarets 12) Lie In Our Graves 13) Bartender 14) So Much to Say » Anyone Seen the Bridge » Too Much [fake]  » 15) Ants Marching 16) Digging a Ditch 17) Pantala Naga Pampa » Rapunzel The series takes a hiatus from "current" shows (at the time) and swings back to a favorite time period for most fans, summer 2000.  This particular show is the show immediately after Live Trax Volume 3 (two nights earlier).  At first glance, the set is fairly similar.  However, there were a few surprises thrown in this show to make it special in its own right.  Butch Taylor also guests on this show as he did thro...

My husband said he missed being younger and carefree in his 20s. Maybe it's because I don't remember a lot of my 20s, but I can't think of much to miss (except the baby stage of my kids, since they are now officially both in the "preschool" age range). I feel like I wouldn't want to go back there, because I've learned and grown so much since then (although I obviously still have a long way to grow). So, while celebrating the birthday catapulting our youngest from babyhood to preschool, I reminisced a bit about what we were really celebrating. We're celebrating another year of growth in his life. I feel like 3 months ago, he was still wearing 18 months, and now he's outgrowing some of his 2T clothes. I can't wait to see how much he's grown at his official check-up tomorrow. He's enjoying puzzles and mazes, knows his colors and many numbers and letters/letter sounds. He is stubborn, sweet, cuddly, and defiant all at the same time. ...