Perhaps the last update on The Beach Picayune...

So I'm leaning towards not updating The Beach Picayune anymore.
Here's perhaps the last thing I'll post on here.

December's Brew is here. I just posted the 'Sacred' editorial on The Brew.

Get Divorced For The Kids on The Brew

I just posted the last Divorce Brew tonight. Yet another new author Steve Konet wrote "When Not To Get A Divorce" on The Brew. It's a different take on when parents should get divorced.

Growing Up With Divorce on The Brew...

I just posted another new author, Shaun Zempke's, article "Divorce II: Son of Schism" on The Brew. It's a look at youngsters growing up with divorced parents and the effects divorce can have on kids.

No More milkmanskid ?

So I'm thinking not keeping up this blog anymore. I've got three others still and it's getting time consuming to keep up 4 blogs.

If anyone reads these regularly, let me know. Or start keeping up with me on Xanga, Myspace or Facebook.

Fearing Divorce on The Brew...

I just posted new author Kacie Mann's "A Healthy Fear of Divorce" on The Brew. It's a good way to think about divorce, if you're married.

Another Specialty Brew...

I just posted The Brew's Creative Editor Libby Parker's Specialty Brew "There Are Things."

New Specialty Brew,,,

I just posted new author Kelley Thielen's Specialty Brew, "A Long Road, Bleak or Bright" on The Brew.

Be watching closely this week, as there will be a new piece posted every day. We had many submissions and not as much time to publish them all.

Thanks for reading.

That Lovin' Feelin' on The Brew

I just posted Dan Burnham's article "When You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" on The Brew.

It's a great look at...feelings.

Headline News

I like this format of giving just headlines of what's going on so I think I'll stick with it.

I went to both the counselor and the chiropractor this week. I'll let you all draw the spiritual applications from this.

I discovered how great SuperTargets are today. You can buy individual bottles of beer there, as well as frozen corn dogs and cheap six packs of Lever 2000 soap.

I'm constantly amazed at The Brew. I've already had two new writers referred to me this month(one by my brother and another by the biggest cheerleader The Brew has: Mishraile.) The Brew truly is a dream come true and perhaps the culmination of so many other life experiences that didn't necessarily make sense until now.

Had such an encouraging conversation with a grad school student who wanted to run by me how much to share about his life during a discipleship group that we're both in at my church.

My grocery shopping trip to SuperTarget made me love being a bachelor. Here's what I bought: three apples; a bottle of Pete's Wicked Ale; a bottle of Sol (a Mexican beer); baked potato chips flavored with chicken, thyme and lemon; a six-pack of frozen corn dogs; some healthy whey protein shake flavored like cappuccino; Cheerios and a can of soup.

Interpol is the perfect soundtrack for this moment of blogging.

For some reason, I found it funny to look hrough my shelf of the food pantry in my apartment. Here's what made me laugh (this being before my grocery trip): Foreman grill; coffee grinder; French press; 1/4 lb Arabian Mocha Sanani coffee beans; 1 pound of organic, Peruvian coffee beans; 1/2 jar of Jiff; 1/4 a bottle of Crown Royal.

What To Do After Divorce on The Brew

I just published Lonnie Smith's article "What Do You Do After The End?" on The Brew.
It's heartbreaking but also offers a different take on what Paul has to say about divorcees in I Corinthians.

That Video..

So I mentioned a SNL skit with Natalie Portman and Jamba Juice in my last post. YouTube had to get rid of it but it survives on MySpace Video.
Here it is.

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=578939

Funny...

So I went to get my hair cut at a Sports Clips chain. This is chain of stores meant for men, with TVs at every chair and all kinds of sports memorabilia around. I've gotten good haircuts here in the past. This is probably the middle of the road spot between Great Clips and Knockouts, another men's barber shop that transplants Hooters waitresses here and has them cut your hair instead of serve you wings.

So I go in to a newer location and a frumpy, middle-aged woman cuts my hair. I was a little worried at first because she had a lazy eye. Some could say this would be comparable to having a one-eye pirate cut your hair, but that seemed to me be a little much. The hair cut was great but during the process I was a little uncomfortable. Mainly because this hair stylist was...um...a...um...little...um...buxom. So whenever she had to reach up and over to cut different parts of my hair... um... her ...um ...buxomness was right in my face.

Something else that I found was another SNL clip where Natalie Portman works the counter at a Jamba Juice. All the jokes are so easily transferable to the Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless. ...Well, I was going to but the vid got pulled off YouTube and it's not readily available at NBC.com either. If anyone can find it, let me know.

Single Guy and Divorce

I just posted my article "My Generational, Somewhat Committed, Apathetical View on Divorce" on The Brew. It's what a Millennial, single male might think about divorce.

Camping

So over the weekend, I took seven college students to work at a camp near Tyler, TX. We worked in the kitchen at the Bluffs camp at Pine Cove and did meal set up and tear down. It was pretty cool.

I hadn't been to a camp since high school, and the camps I remember back then don't leave a good taste in my mouth today. What I grew up with were more fundamentalistic/legalistic type camps that I might even blame for my own legalism in the past.

But naturally, this camp was different. Or at least it was different working there rather than being run through the programs. There were various women's groups (usually middle-aged) that we served this weekend. I probably made one too many comments about feeling like I'm still at The Coffee Chain That Shall Remain Nameless when some of the older ladies had annoying or involved requests ('Do you have cranberry juice?'). But I enjoyed the weekend, in spite of this small, piddly stuff.

Something I never thought I'd do again is sit around a campfire and sing worship songs. We had some S'mores and then I made some kind of transitional comment to lead into how everyone should use this weekend to reflect a little bit. I asked someone to bring a guitar for the weekend, knowing that this would be part of the camping trip experience. And there I was singing three worship songs around a campfire.

No one threw any rededicational sticks in any recommitmental fires or had any shattering revelations of how sinful they were. We just sang a couple songs. And I think this was good for me. I can look at it and see it as perhaps how worships songs at a campfire can be good. No drama or tears, just a little time to remember why we were serving that weekend. Maybe I've matured past all my cynicism to see the good in all that I think is bad about evangelicalism.

A highlight was getting to ride some horses on Saturday. I did a trail ride on 'Goliad,' a slow and steady horse who was pretty obedient. Later on, we did some trotting practice in an arena. For this, I rode 'Pistol,' a spunky, stubborn horse who would stop moving altogether just to try to show me who's boss. I did a lot of kicking and squeezing to get Pistol to trot a few times and had to turn him in circles just to try to show him who's boss.

November Brew - Divorce

I just posted November's editorial on The Brew.

Headline News

I know it's been a while but here's the long and short of it:

I began going to counseling again this week. It knocks the wind out of me (luckily I'll only be going twice a month).

I'm taking seven of the college group members from my church to a camp to serve in the kitchen this weekend.

I made a peanut butter and jelly frappuccinno at work tonight (minus the bread). Good stuff.

I went to a wedding this past weekend but I couldn't stop thinking about divorce (only because I have to write about it this month on The Brew, not because of any opinions I have about the couple getting married).

I had three shots mixed with a little eggnog before starting work today (beginning tomorrow you can too). Good stuff.

Had a conversation with one of my roommates that ended up with us both saying how we had told our friends what a blessing it was to be living with the other one.

I flipped the bird to Dallas and it's 'Must Drive Everywhere Mentality/City Setup' when I walked to Wendy's one night for a burger that kind of sizzled.

I 'bought' Radiohead's new album off their website, which lets you pay whatever you want for the album. 'Reckoner' is an amazing track.

Last Election on The Brew

I just posted new author Scott Duplisea's article, "Mudslinging and Straw Polls in Junior High" on The Brew.
It's great stuff.

Old Brew is New Again!

I reposted the May and April Brews over the weekend.
It's great to read back over what makes The Brew so good.

For example: Dan Morgan's "From Love To Lust" article from April's Two by 4 issue. Or Jon Reisinger's "The MySpace-ination of Community" from May's Space issue.

Single Guy Adjusts, Becomes Token Person

I went back to the chiropractor today after getting rid of one intern at the chiropractic school who was messing up my back rather than fixing it. The new intern (gives adjustments for about $25 a pop) was great. She took the wind out of me with the first crack of my back. The other adjustments were just as shocking but also soothing after the initial pain of the adjustment went away.

I came out of the office feeling a little euphoric. There was one adjustment (somewhere in the neck region) that's famous for making people feel high. "We'll ease into that one," the intern said. They also want to do some test to find out if I'm diabetic. This would mean me fasting for 12-14 hours, sucking down some glucose and then testing my blood six times over three hours to see what happens.

Yeah, I'm bring a book for that one.

Over the weekend, one of the small groups from my church asked me to be the emcee for a "Newlyweds Game." I felt honored until I realized that they had already asked my roommate (one of only a few single 20something guys in my church) already. But I already knew half of the couples in the group well so I went for it. And as usual, the token single guy comes home with half of the desserts from whatever meal they had (though I'm not complaining).

The Oldest Election on The Brew

I just posted Kevin Schwartz's "The Oldest Election" on The Brew. It's a not so obvious look at the idea of election in the Old Testament.

Thanks for reading and being patient as we continue to work out the kinks on The Brew.