So, since I don’t do favorites here’s my list of the top ten great things about 2008 (These are both things released in 2008 as well as things that I discovered in 2008, lest there be any confusion)  Also of note are the “Given Greats,” Reese’s peanut butter cups, Coffee, Sofia Coppola, Walt Disney World… these are all manner of greatness no matter what decade you dress them in and belie any additions from this year.  Enjoy.

10.  Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Yes, The Dark Knight was a better movie and maybe it should have made the list… But I hate hype (and really I already knew that Batman was the coolest comic book hero) and this movie was a fantastic sleeper film that I didn’t expect all that much from.  That and it’s one of my favorite book series of all time. (though Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my favorite installment)  Bonus points for the fact that it ended with  Regina Spektor song as well.

9. Tea. I guess you could say that I drank tea before this year, because I did.  However this was the first year that I really embraced all of it’s un-sweet, non-lipton varieties.  Rather, this was the first year in which I spent more on tea then I did on Chick-fil-a… As of right now I prefer whites and oolongs.

8. Eureka Seven. Really obscure anime for most of you but a great fantastic series that Cara stumbled upon.  Basically it’s like mixing Transformers, flying/surfing and Speed Racer.  Confusing but ultimately filling that all-spark shaped hole in my heart.

7. Batman: Year One. In lieu of the movie this Frank Miller classic makes the list at a strong #7.  Major plots in TDK originated from this, and several other, collection of Batman comics.  I lean towards this as the definitive Batman comic steering away from Miller’s earlier The Dark Knight Returns as it’s a bit too dark and (IMHO) poorly illustrated for me to completely enjoy.  The best written and arguably most important of all batty stories.

6. Fleet Foxes. This band, with their heavenly blend of vocals and Dylan-esque folkiness had me at E Minor.

5. Mercy Ministries. These folks are awesome!  I only recently became aware of this organization but have been completely awed by what they are doing.  Basically they run a free rehabilitation program for young girls dealing with life changing situations.  It’s headed by some incredible people who focus on practicing what they preach and practice a Christ-centered approach on issues that can cause so much damage.  Highly Recommended.

4. Honey Crisp Apples. I tend to think that this variety was that found in the Garden of Eden.  Yes, THAT apple.  I’ve never been able to turn one down.

3. Pandora. One of the best things on the web.  It’s like having your own personal DJ, who knows cooler bands then you do and has a music library that puts most college radio stations to shame.  Just type in the name of your favorite group, vote on a few similar groups and start picking up K-Billy’s super sounds of the 70’s.

2.Scooters. Both my wife and I made the decision to go “two wheeled” this past summer.  Despite the inevitable bad hair days and a lack of AC on the most sweltering days of the year, I’ve never looked back.  Until Chesterfield (the heartless municipality in which I live) outlawed them… Grrr, on the bright side we are now outlaws, one step closer to being pirates (think Depp not Somalia)

1. iPhone. No one device has changed my world so drastically.  There are iPhones and there are simply “other” phones, there is really no comparison.  Add that to the fact that my life has been Mac based since elementary school, throw in an iCal and address sync, and top it off with a full touch screen.  I’m sold

I pray that all of you have a great 2009!

For the last week or so (actually 5 days) I’ve been reveling in my Christmas past.  Sorry for the blogging absence.

For most of my childhood my family celebrated Christmas at my grandparents’ house in Meridian, Mississippi (My mother’s side)  Almost every year I can remember a family road trip down I-55 from St. Louis to Kosciusko, where we would detour on back roads to the city of Meridian. (I’m not sure if this was ever faster* or just the “way” it was done)  I’ve memorized the major stops and even developed preferences based on tastes, “Let’s stop here since the next two exits only have Shoneys’ and that one run down gas station, you know, the one with the red sign?”  Needless to say these annual trips stir up memories all across the board.  Take that and times it by the fact that nothing in my grandparents house EVER changes, in a twilight zone kinda way, I found a McDonald’s toy from 1982 in a drawer in the bathroom probably where I had left it ten-thousand showers ago.  Cara and I were looking through photo books, saw a picture of the room we were sitting in, she exclaimed “Wait! Nothing has moved, even that basket is in the same place?!” (the picture was taken when my mom was in high school)

This year Cara and I got the chance to fly down as I was working until the 23rd, missing the road trip down (but catching it on the way back)  After arriving in Jackson we ate some late night fast food and took a two hour car ride before catching some well deserved shut eye.  The rest was a blur, but there were two items that need attention:

First was the Bigfoot inspired golf cart.

Sadly there isn’t any reference point in this photo but those tires are two feet tall!  There’s a winch in the front, a dual(?) gun rack in the cabin and shotgun style rear seating.  It’s pretty much the coolest golf cart I’ve ever seen, though the concept a golf cart dedicated to “hunt’n” more than alarms me.

Second was the “antique store.”

Yes.  A building busting at the seams, and there were 3 more “attached” buildings that looked exactly like this one! Basically take several hundred homes worth of stuff and pile it in one central location and you have this place.  It was awesome, scary and sad all at once and almost too much to take in.  Simply put it was a beautiful disaster.

In fact, it was so good I had to video the trip:

One of the biggest struggles in my life has been ego

Far too long I tried, no, was determined to be right, and if you didn’t think I was right,

you were wrong

I spent my time collecting thoughts and facts and even bible verses that proved it.

Proved that I was right.

Proved that you were wrong.

In a recent conversation I’ve been having on the blog-sphere the concept of beauty and truth was in question.

What is beauty?

What is truth?

Do they exist outside of observation or are they defined by the observer?

The bible speaks of us living in a fallen world, does this mean that beauty and truth cannot be found here?

Are we meant to treat this world purely as a brief experience in “the fallen” only to give us perspective on the perfect?

Is truth and beauty only found in the text of the bible?

Is nothing intrinsically redeemable?

I am reminded of Atreyu battling The Nothing in The Never Ending Story.  Even as the world around him is crumbling away he finds friends, beauty and truth around him.

Is it simply the reader’s perspective?

Can we choose beauty and truth?  Can we deny it?

What are your thoughts?  This has been weighing heavy on me recently, so thanks for sharing