The Happiest People
Posted by Troy | Filed under Culture, Thoughts
The happiest people I’ve ever met in my life are people who were struggling in some way.
—Pete Seeger
If you can find a way to see the documentary Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, it just might change your life.
Tags: pete seeger, quotes
No Fear
Posted by Troy | Filed under Beer, Cancer
One of the biggest truths I’ve been learning about myself recently is how I allow fear to make my decisions.
I have a lot of fear, usually irrational feelings about the imagined trajectory of my life.
Of course, when I get a call from my doctor like the one earlier this week…
those fears are justified I think.
So at the end of a long day and dealing with a really scary phone call and imagining a really scary future…
It was nice to get this message in a bottle.
Thanks, Magic Hat.
A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall
Posted by Troy | Filed under Cancer
So I just got a voice mail from my doctor saying “something is showing up in your chest x-ray”
I’ve gotten a few of these calls.
Today was the first time in over three years since i’ve had anything but good news.
The weird thing is that it didn’t really surprise me… lately i’ve been feeling that something like this might happen…
that one of these calls was in my near future…
I don’t know why i’ve been feeling that way, i just have.
Maybe i’m a prophet.
Whatever I am, I’m not sure I’ve got enough lives left to endure another battle.
Tags: Cancer, original illustration, self
Turkey Burger Throwdown
Posted by Troy | Filed under Last Night's Dinner
Southwest Salsa Ranch
vs.
Kalamata Mayo Pepperjack.
GO!
Illinoize: Sufjan Mashed
Posted by Troy | Filed under Music
I’m a sucker for collaborative music.
I haven’t watched any MTV awards shows for years, but I remember they always used to include at least one collaboration per event… usually between a big-time pop star and a music legend.
Sometimes they’re lame, sometimes they’re good, sometimes they should be good but end up lame…
but I always get choked up at the key change.
I’m kind of a sucker for mashups and remixes too…
but a good remix is hard to find.
Pretty much anything with Sufjan gets me excited though and so far I’m enjoying the chill vibe on this one.
I’m always looking for cool remix albums… got a recommendation?
Don’t forget to follow Strong Odors!
Tags: hip hop, Music, remix, sufjan stevens
I Love Rob Bell
Posted by Troy | Filed under Faith
I love Rob Bell.
Velvet Elvis is definitely one of the most important books I’ve ever read.
I could have read Blue Like Jazz first, but I didn’t.
You see, I’d emerged from a culture that valued piety over honesty (of course no one was honest enough to ever say so)…
and to read a book that was so honest written by a pastor? well…
It really changed me and the way I view myself, God, the church, and the world.
Honestly though, I was writing in fragments before he made it popular.
Way before.
Anyway…
I enjoyed an interview with Rob over at Burnside Writers.
a few of my favorite excerpts:
On concise writing:
The first century rabbis were not praised for going on and on and on and on. Great rhetoric has never been about how many words one can fill the air with, it’s always been about how clean and uncluttered and lean an idea can be articulated.
On unity and cooperation:
The center of Jesus’ teaching is “Love your enemies.” Making enemies isn’t interesting. Fear isn’t interesting.
Fear is great for fund-raising. It’s great to raise money on talk radio that way. Create an enemy and you’re set. But we’d prefer to have a meal with the enemies. That’s more interesting.
Haunted State Hospital
Posted by Troy | Filed under Art/Design, Traverse City
It is starting to smell like winter outside.
So I took advantage of some unusually nice weather and shot some photos at Grand Traverse Commons.
The old state mental hospital.
Some say it is haunted.
Tags: ghosts, original photo, Traverse City
No Headlines when a Black Girl Dies
Posted by Troy | Filed under Art/Design
I love Canada, but I’d never really considered looking beneath the veneer of the friendly, relaxed world with which I had grown so familiar.
This illustration is inspired by a Kathleen Edwards song that challenges the listener to do just that:
Tags: kathleen edwards, Music, original illustration, social justice, wealth
Guess the Smell
Posted by Troy | Filed under Family, Humor
One weekend my parents were nice enough to treat the whole family to see Grossology.
It is a travelling experiential science exhibit based on the popular children’s books and is a lot of fun…
I mean, what couldn’t be fun about bodily functions?
One station was called “Guess the Smell”…
4 small openings in a table… bend down, flare nostrils, whiff, select answer…
guess which of the multiple choice answers I was lucky enough to inhale:
- feet
- armpit
- bad breath
- anus
Tags: education, kids, original illustration, science
No Backup Plan
Posted by Troy | Filed under Cancer, Film, Music
I discovered Rogue Wave a couple years ago… they just happened to play on my internet radio station.
They immediately became one of my favorite bands.
I had no idea at that time that their drummer Pat Spurgeon was enduring treatment for a life-threatening illness.
