Boy or Girl? Final Answer?

We will be having a little girl in June! As you can tell in the first photo, Magnolia Grace already has my nose and Mon's sass (she's sticking her tongue out at the camera).

Man in the Mirror

In the movie U23D, U2 perform the song "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", a song that Bono wrote to his father. One line in the chorus says "it's you when I look in the mirror, it's you when I pick up the phone." He looks like his father; he sounds like his father.

I look like my father; sometimes I sound like my father. My 30th year has been full of double-takes in the mirror and staring at pictures of myself thinking how much I'm looking like my father.

And now I'm going to be a father. Mon and I joke that it will be easy to tell who they take after: light skin or darker skin, blond or black hair, green or brown eyes, short or tall. Notice I hold most of the dominant genes.

30 years from now they might be looking in the mirror amazed at how much they look like me.

A Smorgasbord of Borg

I'm going to be joining a reading group around the book The God We Never Knew by Marcus Borg. As I was waiting for that book to arrive, I decided to reread the one Borg book I have, and one of the better books I've read in the past couple of years, The Meaning of Jesus. In it, Borg and NT Wright present two sides of the debate around the historical Jesus; Borg representing the more liberal view and Wright the more traditional view (although unorthodox in some areas). I find this kind of stuff fascinating and would recommend the book. {Matt--I still want to read this together sometime.}

Although both emphasize the first-century Jewish context in which Jesus lived, Wright and Borg choose to use different language to describe what Jesus was on about. Wright continues to use Jewish language and symbols to describe Jesus where Borg uses cross-cultural descriptors. He argues that for the many for whom the church and Christianity have become stale, if not unbelievable, drawing connections between Jesus' life and teachings to other cultures and religions brings new insight and points out new patterns that make the idea of religion and spirituality intriguing again.

I completely agree; my interest in recent years has been peaked by similar ideas: Joseph Campbell, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Bhagavad Gita, yoga and others. My friend Chris and I were digging in similar areas a few years ago, but since Mon and I moved to Australia we both kept digging but in different areas. Chris has pursued Jesus' Jewish roots while I've been looking across traditions. Now the fun part is getting to share what we've learned.

I wanna go back

I love my emusic account. For a flat fee, I get 45 songs a month; I own them, keep them, burn them. But at times it can be tough to keep up with all the new music coming in. I often don't get the time to spend with some albums that I would like. If you're a music geek like me and have ever found yourself in a similar situation, then I have the blog series for you.

Noel Murray at The Onion AV Club is giving up new music this year and is revisiting his entire catalog (in alphabetical order of course). It's quite a bit to read, but if you get caught up it's just one article a week. I've already got a list of bands to try out. Wait, is that defeating the point?

Check out Popless.

Flying Down Under

The three hour layover I'm in the middle of prompted me to compose another haiku about flying in Adelaide. The title comes from the safety message that would play on Qantas flights (pronounced air-o-plane).



Subtly, Every Aeroplane is Different

Qantas flight landed
No jetway, no worries mate
Just deplane outside.

The Progeny's First Playlist

The progeny loves me. Well, I know the progeny at least loves the sound of my voice. I've been reading to Mon's belly for a couple of weeks now and without fail, we get lots of good movement as soon as my soothing baritone hits the airwaves. So far the progeny has heard articles by Bill Simmons and chapters of parenting books that Mon and I are reading to each other.

But for months now I've been trying to plan the progeny's first music playlist. One of my books for new dads claimed that infants could recognize songs that they've heard in utero. I had to try this. Obviously, choosing what the first music is that your son/daughter will ever hear, and might have a subconcious attachment to for years to come, is a big decision.

Do you choose your favorite songs of all time? Well, if you're like me they are often a little bittersweet, if not downright sad. A lot of my favorites don't have much of a beat either (e.g., One, High and Dry).

Going with your favorite new stuff is also dangerous in that it could get dated pretty quick. I'm not sure the progeny needs to be the ultimate in indie cool quite yet.

So we decided to go with four primary criteria: 1) classic/all-time band that has already proven to stand the test of time, 2) suitable subject matter for children (at least happy if not fanciful), 3) good rhythm (my dad book said that kids are drawn to certain rhythms), and 4) bonus points for a personal connection to our own childhood. Here's our list:

Brian Wilson/Beach Boys--Good Vibrations: This song hits all the criteria. Plus, Mon's favorite music growing up was the Beach Boys, so big bonus points for that.

The Beatles--Octopus's Garden: This song hits the first three criteria. The lyrics are fun and imaginative. As Mon pondered, what do the underwater effects sound like underwater?

Bob Marley--Three Little Birds: Also hits the first three. Super happy lyrics (Don't worry about a thing, Every little thing, gonna be alright). Reggae beats were also specifically noted for being baby favorites.

Turn it up to 11!

Pur vida

Mon and I went down to Costa Rica for Brett and Kim's wedding last month. It was a great trip with a perfect mix of exciting new stuff and relaxed hanging out with friends. For the exciting stuff, the guys took a surf lesson (my first time). Yes, that's really me in the picture. We also took a zip line tour through the rain forest. The progeny's first zip line--we think he/she liked it. Most of the rest of the time you could find us in the pool.

The wedding was beautiful (and hot) and the reception was tons of fun. Even the bartenders liked the music playlist.

Congratulations Brett and Kim!