Back in the olden days of my first blog (please don’t try to find it; it’s much too embarrassing), I had a regular Monday post in which I posted a 10-item bullet-list of random coolness. Sometimes, the bullets were links, sometimes they were just random updates on things, or comments on topics I found interesting. For a while, it was a weekly update of the Cubs’ record (during a bad season, sadly).
While I pretty much use Twitter for that nowadays, I thought it would be fun to try something like that here on the blog. So, starting this week, I’m introducing a semi-regular feature called The4thDave’s Friday Five. I know other blogs do this already, and do it better than I certainly could. But while my Friday Five posts may not be as spiritually-focused as Entreating Favor’s “Daily Discovery” or as particularly useful as Tim Challies’ “A La Carte” posts (and if you’re not checking those out every day, you should!), it will have my personal flair.
Basically, a “Stuff I Like” post with longer commentary than Twitter allows. Don’t expect great depth, in other words.
If you like it, let me know! If you hate it, also let me know! If you don’t care either way, continue in your apathy!
*Mario voice* Here we go!
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One: My post from February about “voting against and voting for.”
I was considering reposting this piece from February, but I figure I might as well just bump it up this way. Early voting for the US presidential election started this week. As we are now less than 2 weeks from Election Day, I wanted to make one more appeal to you, the voter–vote for something, not just against something. Vote your conscience. Vote for principles.
Two: My wife’s Etsy shop.
Nepotism and self-promotion on my inaugural Friday-Five? You betcha! But if you’re looking for a Christmas gift or something nice with which to decorate your home for the holidays, please take a look at my wife’s Etsy store. She makes beautiful handmade paper crafts, and can do special orders and custom wreaths. A brand-new item she’s just started selling: handmade paper Christmas ornaments (called “Finnish stars”). Super cool.
Three: The end-credits track from the upcoming film “Doctor Strange.”
Composed by Michael Giacchino (who wrote the music for LOST and Up, among others), this track, called “Master of the Mystic Arts,” is a trippy, swirling, operatic delight, bringing in flavors of sitar, harpsichord, and B3 organ. Giacchino has become my favorite film score composer–yes, more than John Williams, there, I said it!–because his instrumental pieces tell stories and connect to the emotions in a powerful way. So it is with this, which only makes me more excited about the upcoming Marvel film. Put on some headphones, turn this track up, and jam.
Four: My favorite musical discovery of 2015-2016.
I don’t listen to a lot of new music, even though the opportunities for discovering new (or new-to-you) music are higher than ever before. That said, my favorite musical “discovery” of the last couple of years is the Austin band “Explosions in the Sky.” They’ve been around for more than 15 years, but I just realized last year that I really dig their music (which was featured, unbeknownst to me, on both the film and TV versions of Friday Night Lights). It’s technically classified as “post-rock,” but the best way I can describe it is “perfect soundtrack music.” It’s almost entirely instrumental, emotionally evocative, and a perfect soundtrack for making whatever you’re doing seem more epic. My favorite EITS album is The Earth is Not A Cold, Dead Place, so if you want to check them out, start there. That’s the record I keep coming back to.
Five: THE CUBS, y’all. THE CUBS.
I may need to write an entire blog post to suss out exactly what I’m feeling right now about the fact that my Chicago Cubs, my “lovable losers,” the home of my boyhood baseball heroes, are in the World Series for the first time since Harry Truman was president. As of this writing, they are tied at one game apiece, with Game 3 in legendary Wrigley Field scheduled for tonight. It still seems like a dream. I’m not even the most hardcore, Fever Pitch kind of fan, and I’m really excited about this. Which is why I love stories like this: Cubs’ outfielder Kyle Schwarber collided with a teammate on April 7th (the 5th game of the 2016 season), and tore 2 ligaments in his knee. He didn’t play another inning on the Cubs’ professional squad for 6 months, as he rehabbed, worked out, and played in the Arizona fall league–that is, until Tuesday, when he started as the DH in Game 1 of the World Series. Since then, he has hit 3-for-7 in the first 2 games, with a run and 2 RBI. Awesome.
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Your Turn: Got any cool links, stories, or ideas? Share in the comments below!
The4thDave Blog 
Not my “favorite” story of the week, but definitely a “Wow” moment was the Jen Hatmaker interview in RNS and the ensuing dust-up. I expected the defensive responses of Matthew Vines and Rachel Held Evans; I was relieved by the pastoral response of Denny Burk; and I was not surprised by the scathing response of Matt Walsh. What impressed me was the response on the part of LifeWay by pulling her books from their shelves (http://www.bpnews.net/47792/lifeway-pulls-hatmaker-books-over-lgbt-views). It’s encouraging that a Christian store would still care about the views that it implicitly endorses by the resources it sells.
It was definitely an interesting development, and a change from Lifeway’s typical approach.