Ringing in the New Year - A Fantasia for Youth

As I prepare to attend a New Years Eve party, I am faced with all the traditional elements of an adult ring-in-the-new-year event. Is this a formal engagement? Should we bring a side-dish, hors d'oeuvres, a bottle of wine? Are we going to stay late, stay the night, or chance driving home through precarious city festivities and overly-skeptical authorities?

Music For the End of the World

With 2012 quickly approaching, the likelihood of apocalyptic destruction seems to be imminent. Whether you believe the Mayans, the fundamental Christians, or Kirk Cameron, it is going to be a busy year for all of us as we brace for the coming of Jesus, asteroids, zombie epidemics, or whatever other form the end-times may take.

There are a few things that are crucial for any doomsday survivor to have in their emergency kit. Mcgyver always recommended keeping a few paper clips, chewing gum, and a pocket knife on hand. Indiana Jones was never far from his bull whip. Sherlock Holmes used naught but his common sense. And Nostradamus prophesied that the most important item to have as the world came to an end was a mysterious machine called a "Walkman".

So here are a few songs that will get you through the end times. Mix a tape, burn a CD, or Upload it onto your MP3 player, because this is the playlist for the end of the world.

Thoughts on the Role of Ritual in our Lives

A few weeks ago, in the frosty haze of a brisk Southeast Iowa Sunday morning, I awoke from one of the most solid slumbers that I'd enjoyed in a long time. I donned my best blue jeans and, with my wife and my grandmother in tow, cruised down the sleepy, two-lane highway bound for Sunday mass.

TurkeyScratch - The Christmas Sweater

Happy Holidays from Franklin and the gang...

To Do it Yourself or To Pay the Man - The Eternal Struggle

I grew up in a society of do-it-yourself, self-sufficient agrarians who refused to pay someone for a service they could do themselves. I serviced most everything on the beat up old vehicles I drove in high school - the brakes, the tires, oil, anti-freeze. You name it, I could probably find a way to do it myself. I pulled the engine, replaced the gas tank, fuel lines, and carburetor on my pickup, all with the help of my grandfathers and a book.

Observations from 20 Years of Iowa Life - A Different Take on the Same State

University of Iowa Professor Stephen Bloom wrote an article for the Atlantic online last week that has scores of Iowa natives up in arms. The professors inflammatory words about the state that boasts the first Republican primary in a matter of weeks have created quite the cacophony among bloggers, facebookers, and Iowans of all make, model, and color.

Boxing Day - Not Just for Canadians

This week I took a giant leap into the unknown and signed up for boxing lessons. Many people, upon reading this may be thinking,

"Boxing? What in Hell is the matter with you?"

Let me explain.

Christmas Time is Here - The Music of the Season

Christmas is upon us and the top 40 stations have been piping the same dozen auto-tuned Christmas songs into our brains since late November. I love the holidays, but if you are like me, I get pretty scroogey when all I hear is "Santa Baby" and "All I want for Christmas is You".

So here is a list of alternative albums for everyone who wants to save their sanity and their love of Christmas this holiday season. You'll find old favorites and discover new loves. As always feel free to share your favorite hidden holiday gems.

Bowlin' is Hard Work...

Today my staff is celebrating the holidays in true professional style - We're going bowling.

Although I am not at all a good bowler, I love the sport. It may be because of the great bowling movies that have inundated my youth. So here is my list of influential movies that at least mention the great ten-pin sport.

Passion for Coffee - Fuel for the Soul

As of seven o'clock this morning I had already notched two hours of productive morning under my belt. As I stepped out into the waning darkness, the crisp air that accompanies the first snow of the year slapped my freshly shaven face like a forgotten lover in an old Cary Grant film. I drove to work in the chill of a sluggish car heater, surrounded by commuters who looked similarly drowsy and equally frozen.

Mixtape to D.C. - A Congressional Compromise Playlist

Sometimes you cannot express in simple words the way you feel about a person. In this case, it is the five hundred thirty five members of congress who need to get their heads out of their special-interest groups. When words are not enough, a mixtape is the way to go.

Turkey Day Footballing - A Lesson in Pain

Thanksgiving day has always been a day of general malaise and sloth in my family. We wake up late, over-eat, and take an afternoon nap. So when my brother-in-law invited me to his annual Thanksgiving morning football game, I was both honored and a little uneasy. First of all, football is not a game in which I have ever been proficient. In fact, I have not played any sports in several years (aside from the occasional ping-pong match). This, combined with my brother-in-law's uber-athleticism, set the stage for an eventful and embarrassing morning.

TurkeyScratch - The Thanksgiving Day Massacre

With Thanksgiving this week, I thought it fitting to offer up a little turkey...

Super Bad - The Eternal Adolescence of Congress

The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, a Congressional Super-Committee charged with meting out the painful cuts and revenue reforms to the US budget is supposed to come out with a comprehensive plan to balance the federal budget this week. Six Republicans and six Democrats have been meeting behind closed doors for weeks while America waits with baited breath for some modicum of stability.

On a Frosty Morning Such as This

I woke up before the sun this morning, an unfortunate side effect of both the season and my current job. I laid still under my down comforter, frozen by the impending chill that awaited me beyond my bed. Mustering the courage to sally forth into the icy tundra of our tile-floored bathroom, I forced myself vertical and stumbled down the hall.

The Bluth Family Guide to Being a Renaissance Man

My wife and I just finished watching the second season of Arrested Development, a hilarious television series that was sadly cut short after its third season. The premise for the series is that the head of the family, George Bluth (Jeffrey Tambor), is arrested for building houses for Saddam Hussein in Iraq. His son, Michael (Jason Bateman) is left to save the family business and reign in the licentious spending habits of his dysfunctional siblings and alcoholic mother.

The show is full of awkward situations and even more unnerving characters. Amid all of the tension and out-right bizarreness, there is a certain charm that emanates from each of the characters' self destructive tendencies that don't allow you to loathe their existence. Instead, you can't wait to see how they will untangle themselves from the next family debacle.

"We Held the Day..."

I have been trying to find a way to succinctly convey my feelings toward Veterans Day. Distinguishing my dismay for the conflicts in which our nation is currently involved and the respect and empathy for the men and women who serve in the armed forces is difficult. So instead of some tired diatribe, I have chosen to let the chillingly beautiful work of Billy Joel do the talking.

Joel wrote this song as a tribute to the friends and fellow soldiers he lost in Vietnam.

Happy Veterans day. Remember those who have fallen with fondness, regardless of what you think of the conflicts, whether past and present.

~CW

In Pursuit of Protection - Surveillance & Personal Freedom

The Supreme Court Tuesday began hearing a case where technology and the first amendment collide in a very tangible way. The case focuses on an attempt by law enforcement agencies to track and monitor the activity of suspicious members of society. Police organizations have been affixing GPS tracking units to the vehicles of suspects, thereby employing a very effective, tireless mechanism for tailing.

It seems that gone are the days when a suspected criminal is followed by men in trench coats and Ford Crown Vics. Instead of intuition and gumshoe surveillance, investigators are using technology to emulate CSI or perhaps Brave New World. The implications of the latter is the source of ire among defendants in the case currently under review.

Stitch and Bitch - The Art of Craft Survival

My wife loves to craft. Sewing, painting, gluing - she does it all. Even her cooking becomes a work of art. I love the creative work that flows out of her brain and into the wood, fabric, and crock pots of our lives. But sometimes these projects go beyond the realm of creative expression and into the world of patience-testing. If you are unsure, mine is the patience that is generally being tested.

All Souls Day - Remembering a Few Impactful Souls

Yesterday, November 2nd, is celebrated in many faith traditions as All Souls Day, a day to commemorate the members of our community who have passed on. It offers a time of respectful reflection on the lives of those who've impacted our own in positive ways.

Here are a few Renaissance men and women whom I would like to pay homage to today: