99x:

We lost you last night and I didn’t even know it. I’m broken-hearted.

You’ve been my favorite radio station since I was 11. You introduced me to my favorite bands. You’re where I first heard Weezer, Ben Folds, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Eels, Radiohead, REM and lots of other bands that mean a lot to me. 

Through you I also met personalities like Barnes, Leslie, Jimmy, Axel, Jay, Toucher…people who feel like friends, even though I’ve never met them.

99x, I loved you super-much.

And, in dying, you face a horrible indignity. One you didn’t deserve: They replaced you with Q100. 

Not that Q100 is so terrible (although I kind of think it is). It’s just the opposite of what you stood for. Where Q100’s playlists are based on the whims of the masses, yours were lovingly crafted by your DJ’s, people who loved music just as much as we did.

It’s hard to talk about how much you meant to me without sounding silly. You’re a part of me, a part of my identity. When I tune in to 99.7 and you’re not there, I feel like a part of me isn’t there. I have a feeling that there are a lot of other people like me in Atlanta who feel the same way. 

Goodbye, 99x. You were great, and we’ll miss you.

Great podcast/blog.  Check it out if you’re into this kind of thing:

Apple Phone Show 

This is without a doubt the coolest app I’ve seen on Facebook to date.  Friend Wheel is a visualization tool that show all of your friends and how they’re connected.  Check out the full-size image here.

Thanks to Marko for pointing this out.

Link

My first post on this blog was about my friends Loyd and Christy moving on from CORE. I’m sad to be writing another one of these so soon after.

For those of you who don’t know, Todd has been asked to step down from his position as student pastor at CORE.

I’d like to share some thoughts with those of you who are involved in the situation.

• Process this however you need to – If you need to mourn for a long time, do it. If you don’t feel sad, that’s ok. The entire leadership team is in agreement that everyone in the CORE family (parents, students, leaders) has permission to work through this however they need to. CORE has always been a safe place to deal with pain and we intend for that to continue.
• Encourage one another – The first thing that I learned from Todd when he came on staff was the amazing power of encouragement. He never lets a day go by without telling me that he appreciates me. Let’s honor that in the coming months by lifting up one another.
• Avoid unnecessary negativity – It’s ok to feel sad, hurt, angry, confused, betrayed, lost or abandoned, but lets not make this worse for ourselves or each other than it already is. I have decided that I have enough to process without adding anything to the pile. Focus on the positive whenever you can.
• Dont let yourself grow calloused – When you’re hurt in the same way over and over, its easy to become jaded or calloused. Don’t do it. Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it. I know that it seems safer to start expecting the worst, or to close yourself off, or to decide not to trust people again, but by doing that you’ll miss out on so many wonderful things. I personally have decided that I am going to continue to make myself vulnerable no matter what. I would rather hope, trust and expect the best of people, even if it means that I could be hurt deeply again.
• And finally, CORE is a still a safe place - Todd and Trina are leaving. But Joel, Lisa, Ash, Sara, Wayne, Heidi, Chris, Tami, Paul, Tyler, Elaine, Julianna,  Jarrod, John, Sam, Leah and I are still here, and we still love you. You can still bring your pain, doubt, questions, joys, sorrows, triumphs and failures to CORE and be accepted just as you are, and I can promise that that is not going to change.

I’m taking Monday through Thursday off. (No working at the office, no guitar lessons). It isn’t really a full-blown vacation (I’ll get one of those in October), so I’m not quite sure what to do. Here are my limitations:

1. I’ve got to stay in town. I have a few family obligations scattered throughout the week, so I can’t just take off.
2. I’ll be by myself for the most part, since everyone else I know works during the days.
3. That’s all.

Any ideas on what I should do?

Sammy Stevens from Flea Market Montgomery (“it’s just like a mini-mall”) hangs out with Family Force Five and dances on stage at one of their shows.

read more | digg story

first, beacuse of the whole hd-dvd crack, digg goes insane (every story on the front page is currently about the code).  they even killed the submit page!

then my new wordpress blog youthhacks.com disappears, and apparently i’m not the only one.

as my friend john said, “its y2k for the internet!”

Outdoor cams with free-roaming wildlife, high-res images and lots of video feeds. It’s free to watch, and has tons more content in the brand new members section. Cool way for outdoor enthusiasts to watch undisturbed wildlife behavior

read more | digg story

I’ve started a new blog called Youth Hacks.  I’m using it to share productivity tips, tools and ideas with a slant towards the needs of youth workers.  Check it out and tell me what you think!

i just hopped on the itunes store and saw that john mclaughlin’s “beautiful disaster” is the itunes free single of the week. (get it here).

a couple of summers ago i played with micah and 3rd and lindsley in nasheville on the same bill as john.  he and his bandmates were our also houseguests last summer, and i can say that john, his wife and all of the dudes and the band are genuinely quality people.  definitely check out the track, as well as his other stuff (if you’re not into this tune, still check out the record.  alot of his stuff is billy joel/ben folds type piano-driven stuff)