Well, today has to go better right? I kicked it off with a delicious trip to Scooters Coffee. Large coffee down and all is right in the world. After that we caught a quick concert from an acappella group out of M.I.T. Wow, they were not good. After that, a quick concert from the Grace Univ. choir - they were good.
Once they finished, we headed out to a bookstore and I picked up Surprised By Hope by NT Wright. Excited to read it.
Tonight's show was at The Glacier in Omaha, NE. Super sexy venue! We played w/ a great singer/songwriter, Chris Saub. The house was brought down. If you're in Omaha, stop by The Glacier...awesome place!
Enjoy these pics. Late night and load-out.
Ahhhhhhh, today was a breath of fresh air. I needed that breath.
I don't have the foggiest. But I do have a time line of this mini-midwest tour. Enjoy!
DAY 01 8:01AM I depart from St. Louis for Lincoln, NE
8:15AM I stop for coffee and a donut at QT (my head said chocolate, but my heart said pink icing - always follow your heart)
11:38AM Refuel at QT in OakGrove, MO - gas and Rooster Booster Lite
12:12PM Stop by the Musicians Friend Outlet in KC and pick up a guitar stand
1:08PM Arrive in St. Joseph and pick up friend (drummer) Justin Amos and load up his gear
1:20PM We're back on the road
2:45PM Wonder which hwy we're supposed to turn on for Lincoln...turn on the GPS and realize we missed it 3.2 miles back, drive an additional 5 mies to the next exit, go back and try it again
2:58PM Now on the correct hwy, we make a gas and bathroom pitstop...coffee and RBL needs to go
3:50PM Arrive at the venue (The Box Awesome - Lincoln, NE) for load-in and sound check. No one is here. 4:10PM No one is here.
4:20PM No one is here.
4:40PM No one is here.
4:55PM Aahhhh, the sound guy arrives! Load-in begins. (show starts at 6) 5:15PM No opening bands. (There should be 2...)
5:20PM No opening bands.
5:30PM No opening bands.
5:40PM No opening bands. 5:48PM Opener #1 arrives. Timeliness is not they're strong suit.
6:34PM The music begins. Staff and bands are present.
9:02PM Music is over. Staff and bands and 17 people have been rocked. Minds have been blown. Futures will never be the same. 9:05PM Load-out. 10:00PM Arrive in Omaha at Grace Univ. (great school and friends that put us up sans dinero...could be money or Robert)
10:15PM LATE dinner and concert at Old Chicago in the Market area. Very nice. Belly's fill and music soothes the ears. Chris Saub plays a beautiful 'Hallelujah.'
12:49AM Back to Grace Univ. Walked to our "room." We give thanks for their hospitality!
12:50AM There are no sheets, no towels, no pillows, and no heat in our little dorm.
1:15ishAM The discussions fade and we're asleep
2:43AM I wake up freezing and uncomfortable.3:19AM I wake up freezing and uncomfortable.
4:27AM I wake up freezing and uncomfortable.
5:00AM I wake up freezing and uncomfortable.
5:35AM I wake up freezing and uncomfortable.
6:11AM I wake up freezing and uncomfortable. 7:20AM I wake up freezing and uncomfortable.
8:26AM I wake up freezing and uncomfortable...This time I stayed up.
'yello, this next week is a bit nuts...i'll be on the road, away from the fam :-(, touring with my drummer Justin Amos across the midwest in a mini-midwest tour. it'd be GREAT to see you at a show or 2 or 3 or 4...and w/ a couple friends in tow.
Wed, March 25th - The Box Awesome - Lincoln, NE - 6PM Thur, March 26th - The Glacier - Omaha, NE - 8PM Sun, March 29th - Jerry's Bait Shop - Lenexa, KS - 9PM Mon, March 30th - Jerry's Bait Shop - Lee's Summit, MO - 9PM Fri, April 3rd - Donna's Ice House - Lake of the Ozarks, MO - 9PM Sat, April 4th - Cicero's - St. Louis, MO - 9PM
...but it will be sad to leave behind kate and cora (at least they're spending the weekend w/ grandma and grandpa). i mean look at this girl... so anyway, i hope to see you out at a show over this next week.
peace, ross p.s. i'll really try and get up pics and stories from the road
Lets just go ahead and give Greg Gumbel the honor and respect he so deserves. I mean, come on...look at that gorgeous head of hair. He is aging very nicely indeed.
His face - like an angel. His hair - like locks of woven gold (black gold). His voice - like a sirens wooing woofulness.
An altogether perfect package. Gumbel, you are a mans man.
undergrad. check. grad-school. check. honda. check. xterra. check. taylor. check. LS house. check. all the other little stupid credit card stuff. check.
Maybe I'm just getting tired of all of the bleak news coming from D.C. Or maybe I'm just way too positive. But what if we took this opportunity of unrest and financial craze to really get creative and to make a fresh start? If we dialed everything back to 0, what could we accomplish? I mean, we've already spent more in 60 some odd days than in the past 8 years, with 2 unpopular, high-priced wars, and the growth of government at a staggering pace under Bush. But maybe, just maybe Orwell's 1984 doesn't have to be our next step. Sure we're headed to that 0 mark, but maybe we can turn that into positivity...?
Maybe in all of this craziness, we can stop long enough to take a deep breath and grab hold of the innovation that makes us great, the creativity that brought us Jazz and Country music (ok, Jazz), the charity that is the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, and the entrepreneurial mindset of a Steve Jobs or the Google dudes.
Couldn't that be on the horizon too? Couldn't we envision newer, better ways to accomplish the tasks we do? Or is it really all doom and gloom.
I believe in the former. A mushroom cloud and the post-apocalyptic forecast being shouted from the CNN and FOX newsrooms need not occur.
This is one of my all time favorite poems. Coming from WWI; Lieutenant Col. Mcrae wrote this amidst the horror of no mans land (the stretch of death between the trenches of opposing sides).
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
I thought of this today because yesterday at church we had a navy chaplain as our guest pastor and he spoke of blurring lines between christian and muslim. More broadly, we were celebrating and discussing worship, and how when we live lives of worship rather than confine it to an hour-long "service" or experience 1X each week, we begin to live compassion and love our "supposed" enemy. And as the poem so eloquently puts it, God is hovering some place above us all, very near - no battle lines, not in military fatigues, not in a cloud of napalm. God is as near as the lark even amidst the horrors of war.
This is the first weekend in a LONG time that I haven't been on the run, touring, traveling, moving, or working in some sort of way. So what the heck shall I do with my day. Here's the plan (some of which has already come to fruition):
pancakes shave head play guitar coffee (good coffee - strong delicious coffee) goodwill airport lunch nap (if cora plays along) read dinner (pigs in a blanket anyone???) mizzou victory! glass of wine (or 2 or 3) snl bed
Today, Friday, is my day off. That means that it's Cora and Dad day.
Last week it consisted of breakfast, a trip to the conservation department, then donuts...donuts!
That's tough to beat.
Today, we had eggs and a banana for breakfast, then we took off for the Powder Valley Conservation Dept. Cora loves all of the taxidermy, displays, helicopter, videos, turtles, etc. After that I thought it'd be fun to go get bird feeder supplies.
We grabbed a cute little bird feeder, some bird food, and a stand (just Cora's size). When we got home we set it up and put the bird food out. I'm not sure how quickly birds realize there's food present...do they smell it...see it...?
I'm the type of guy that believes in integrity. And once integrity is lost, it is nearly impossible to regain. Truth is hard to come by these days and once your word fails, you have nothing else (in my opinion).
I also understand the "game" of Washington politics. Earmarks are certainly no new invention.
However, when a president runs a campaign and first 50 days promising over and over to allow ZERO earmarks, I expect the truth.
This is lie #1. (see last weeks post for more on this)
#2 comes from the Republicans that hounded the administration over these said earmarks. Don't be front and center when the earmarks are being dished out! A little consistency in message will go a long way!!!
This week we find that the republicans represent over 40% of all earmarks and that 3 of the top 5 states are requests from republicans..."Republican Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi tops the list, with $470 million in earmarks for himself and his colleagues...Next up is Cochran's seatmate—Republican Roger Wicker, hitting the scales at $390 million." (CNN)
Is truth telling and consistency truly a lost art?
Today I'm back in the sauna and I notice a familiar towel. I look to my left and see the ticked-off old guy that stared me down like I've never been stared down in my life sitting and soaking in a sweat.
I stand my ground, or rather sit my ground, sweat a good sweat for about 8 minutes, then I think to myself, "wouldn't it be awesome if I just grabbed his towel, ran out to the pool, and chucked it into the deep end?"
I kinda laughed to myself, got up, and left. I think I probably did the right thing.
So last week I wrote this little number. To really "get" it though, you need to enter into the mystical idea of us "being" the church, not us attending or going to church. After all, we are called to be the hands and feet. And as ambiguous as this might seem, I believe it to be both symbolic and physical. We can be the actual hands and feet of Jesus - symbols of Jesus, but also the reality and tangible element of Him.
So with that type of mindset, imagine a song. It could be a smattering of lyrics and poetry set to chords that you may enjoy or not enjoy. Or, a song can be the words on your lips and the emotions and the spirit that embodies said lyrics and heard chords and melodies. It can be a congregated feeling and ushering of unity from a body of folks that agree and promise the words being sung.
With that idea, I offer you Church Song.
Church Song (c) 2009 Ross Christopher
VERSE When there's loneliness abounding And there's hate across the land We are the church song
When the death of nations rise around us And the world is stuck in war We are the church song
When there's sickness and crying And gnashing of teeth We are the church song
And when there's sad eyes In every man, woman, and child We are the church song
So let us sing...
CHORUS Cause we are the church song the voice of the people the cry for justice salvation is near
Yeah, we are the church song united and ready peace in our bloodstream and love on our tongues
We are the church song
BRIDGE We sing Alleluia, songs of mercy love in every breath
Yesterday I was working out at Gold's gym. After I was finished, I decided i'd hit the sauna.
Typically the saunas i have been in have a cup with water available to pour on the rocks to create more steam.
Today...no cup.
BUT there was a towel. I figure, oh, Gold's put this here to run under the faucet outside the door to squeeze out over the rocks. Works right?
Welp, I just soak that towel and in sprints an old man screaming and cussing at me. "What the F man?!?!"...and a lot more. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY TOWEL?!?"
I was sincerely sorry and apologized. But he just kept glaring at me with quite the stank eye. He kept cussing at me and I continued to apologize. I realize he's thinking that there's no way I did this on accident, and that i was just trying to "get him" somehow. Well, I was just an idiot.
On Monday, every news headline screamed that AIG lost $62 Billion in 3 months, and still Washington sends them yet another $30 BILLION CHECK - that's $30B ON TOP of the $150B we've ALREADY sent them - that's taxpayer money (hints "we've")- taxpayer money given by a candidate and president that vowed not to raise taxes - so how do we pay for this if not by more taxes - make any sense to you??? As of Monday night, the CNN.com poll asking if Washington should send AIG the additional $30B said, 82% NO. But the administration must know that, they promised to use technology to better understand the country and hear from its constituents, not merely the voices of Washington.
The DOW plunges below 7,000; the lowest its been in 11 years, but this bailout stuff is sure to work, and FAST (in case you didn't catch that, I was being facetious).
Obama vows NO EARMARKS (it was a highlight of his campaign promises, a highlight at his address to congress, and a constant theme in his countless speeches on tv and online), but instead signs in 8,570 of them. Here's a quote from him regarding the stimulus bill, "There are no earmarks in the stimulus bill." If he were under oath, he would be held for perjury. But quotes are lame, here's a video in case you've forgotten. (by the way, just because you say it over and over and over, doesn't mean its the truth - but somehow, everyone bought it)
Washington signs into law nearly $2 Trillion between the spending bills and TARP funds (1 trillion of which has been spent in the 1st 6 weeks of his presidency - the largest sum of money EVER spent EVER by an administration EVER), and 2 sentences later in his speech, says "shame on the governent mentality of spending what you don't have...no longer can we spend now and pay later"...he's promised to cut the deficit in 1/2 in his first term...i don't know what you call this other than delusion? But its amazing he can speak for and against the exact same thing, in the same speech, and get almost no criticism for it. I am baffled! Kate will vouch for me, I literally push pause on the DVR and ask if she just herd what he said.
Last week, Eric Holder (Attorney General) said that America was a nation of cowards based on our maintained racial prejudice. That even though the workplace is more integrated now, on the weekends and in our church congregations we continue to foster a rigid and old-school segregation mentality. But didn't Obama go to Trinity in Chicago (an unabashed and proclaimed, Afro-central, congregation) for over 20 years? I'm dumbfounded at the double speak coming from this administration and not hearing a single critical question from the media! Its a consistent stream of finger pointing, and shaming everyone except administration officials. Apparently we're too racist, we don't pay enough taxes (and by doing so we're being most patriotic), we bought homes we had no business buying...then again, I've never attended our President's church like Chicago's Trinity, I've always paid my taxes in full and on time (and yet I'm not even a contender for a cabinet position), and didn't get into a house I couldn't afford, even though President Obama when back in Chicago was the leading writer on the law that mandated banks make these risky loans.
Washington is rewarding failure and bad behavior like I've never seen; not only through the bailouts that ignore the responsible parties, but through cabinet appointments of tax frauds and those that have employed illegal housework and nannies. Its quite sad, don't you think?
Monday night a group of economists with Lou Dobbs of CNN said that the administration is completely ignoring the recession and going on with the democratic goals of the past few years.
He continues to say that by signing the stimulus, the democrats in Washington got their agenda through (fiscally and legislation), enabling hard-line, left wing, agendas to be signed into law that otherwise wouldn't have made it past the floor of congress had it not been crammed into this rushed, catastrophic stimulus bill. They went on to say that Washington is fudging the numbers to pass legislation.
This simply cannot happen. Its not right.
For the past 8 years, every Bush hater in the world said that questioning the president, protest, and debate were the highest forms of patriotism, and sadly, today, I see very few patriots.
I know he's popular. I know he's a great speaker and has all the charisma in the world. I even believe that he means well. But you cannot deny that he has lied to the American public over and over, and that the administration will do whatever it takes to market itself to push their agenda and pay homage to those that got them into office, even if it means saying one thing in one sentence, and rebutting it in the next, or completely editing out the facts ad their histories. I fear that if this doesn't happen, it might be 2012 before we experience the hope and change we were all promised.
p.s. BE SURE to check back TOMORROW! I started my news/political piece last night, and its a long one, a very critical one. You might hate it, you might agree 100% with it, but you need to read it! What the heck is going on in Washington...?
Today, U2 drops their newest album, No Line on the Horizon. Do yourself a favor and go get it! I haven't heard anything from it yet, but i'm confident in saying it'll be worth your $12. Speaking of buying stuff...
On Saturday, we took Cora to the West County Mall to play in the kids area. And despite the grim and catastrophic message coming from D.C. regarding the looming economic crisis, the place was packed. Cin-a-bon was pouring into the hall, Starbucks couldn't make a latte fast enough, the kiosks were backed up (even Croc's and Herstyles), the Apple store had a wait to get any help - you get the idea.
So what's going on here?
My perspective says the economy may be slower, but catastrophic?
Worst economy since the great depression? I've seen the picture of the soup lines, the dust bowls, the people starving.
Something isn't right here. Either St. Louis, MO is an economic annomaly, OR we're not being told the truth...and in doing so, the grim dialogue of D.C. is making the stock market plummet, which have paved the way for massive government spending bills and oversight.
What are you guys seeing? Your thoughts are most welcome...
After that we caught a quick concert from an acappella group out of M.I.T. Wow, they were not good. After that, a quick concert from the Grace Univ. choir - they were good.
5:15PM No opening bands. (There should be 2...)
10:00PM Arrive in Omaha at Grace Univ. (great school and friends that put us up sans dinero...could be money or Robert)
3:19AM I wake up freezing and uncomfortable.
'yello,
His face - like an angel. 
Couldn't that be on the horizon too? Couldn't we envision newer, better ways to accomplish the tasks we do? Or is it really all doom and gloom.
I believe in the former. A mushroom cloud and the post-apocalyptic forecast being shouted from the CNN and FOX newsrooms need not occur.
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
We grabbed a cute little bird feeder, some bird food, and a stand (just Cora's size). When we got home we set it up and put the bird food out. I'm not sure how quickly birds realize there's food present...do they smell it...see it...?
So with that type of mindset, imagine a song. It could be a smattering of lyrics and poetry set to chords that you may enjoy or not enjoy. Or, a song can be the words on your lips and the emotions and the spirit that embodies said lyrics and heard chords and melodies. It can be a congregated feeling and ushering of unity from a body of folks that agree and promise the words being sung.
