{Music Review} "Miss Smith To You!' by Lavay Smith

Lavay Smith is sadly a rarity today. You will be very hard pressed to find another singer of her caliber anywhere. She brings you back to the day of Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, when clubs and concert halls where filled when a songstress, backed by a big band could take a song and real make it her own and make you feel it, make you want to get up and dance to it, be it slow of fast.

“Miss Smith To You!” is Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet-Lickers third album, and it matches if not surpasses previous the previous efforts with a great selection of songs, superb performances, and quality production. The songs range from slow ballads to medium tempo swings. Through it all Miss Smith is able to show off her voice and personality.

So in conclusion, if this is a style of music you enjoy (Big Band/Vocal Jazz), I do not think this album will disappoint you. It has a great selection of classic songs, the music of a talented group of musicians and the voice of one of the few who can really pull it off. To me this album really is a complete package, and I hope you can enjoy it as much as I have.

{Book Review} Pax Romana by Jonathan Hickman

Very Fun & Interesting Read, Disappointingly Short

I took up this graphic novel at the recommendation of Blair Butler. And I am happy to report I was not disappointed. The pages contain an original story, compelling artwork, and a tale filled with interesting characters. My only complaint was that I found it painfully short. I finished it in a few hours and I was left desperately wanting more. But in the grand scheme of things, I suppose that is a good thing. Better to be left wanting more at the end of the story then to be sick of it and just want it to be over.

Most likely you already know the basics of the story, in the future the Catholic Church funds research and discovers time travel and decides to send a force of people back in time to right the wrongs of the church and other. Hilarious high jinks and frivolity ensue….okay not really, but we do get an interesting at an alternate history and how the human condition shapes the destiny of man. In between wonderfully composed panels you have the occasional page or two of written transcript that is used to reveal characters motivations and feelings in long form, but fear not, for even that read is quite fascinating.

So if you are look for a remarkable story that will get you thinking and you don’t mind a concise (If not short) telling of that story then I believe you will thoroughly enjoy this book, as did I. After this introduction to Jonathan Hickman I plan to read his other works very soon.

{Book Review} A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Feels like It Was Thrown Together

This book that I just finished reading wasn’t originally what Donald Miller had in mind when he started writing his new book. However while in the process of penning his new book things weren’t working out, he went to his publishers told them that and what we got was “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years”.

Now don’t get me wrong I really enjoy Donald Miller. I like the fact he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Most of the time his essay style works quite well and makes for easy reading and he can be quite funny. He has good observations and he really can speak to the Millennials of this generation. But, I just feel like this book was thrown together.

This book is organized in Miller’s typical essay form. And centers on few central topics: The writing of script for the movie “Blue Like Jazz”; the idea of story, what makes a good story ,and the fact we are all living stories and should try to live good ones; and the Donald dealing with his issues with his Father who was missing from his life. In between these central topic s he peppers various essays about different topics and relates them to his “Story” and how he is trying to live a great “Story”.

I did like the book, I don’t feel bad that I read it, Don is still a heck of a writer, but I just felt like this book was all over the place and that the theme he used to hold it together “Story” was rather week. Also Miller would jump from one essay where he would be joking and not taking himself seriously at all and then move into a subject that you could tell he really cared about and it just didn’t flow well. So while this is an enjoyable read it is not one of Miller’s best and I really think he can do better, and I just think he kind of had to force this one out, and you can tell he did.

{Product Review} Logitech Wireless Desktop MK 300

The Logitech Wireless Desktop MK 300 appears to be another quality product from Logitech at a relatively good price.

The keyboard has all the basic functions you would need and expect plus a few programmable keys. One thing the keyboard does not have though is lights for things like caps lock or num lock. I realize this is to save battery power, but it is a minor annoyance as most word processors tell you things like this on the screen.

The keyboard is also pretty thin and relatively quiet, both of which are nice. The response to the keyboard is also very fast. Every now and then I think I catch it sleeping and it takes an extra half second to connect to the computer and follow my commands, but other than that it always seems ready to go.

The mouse is optical and feels like any standard mouse, it uses an invisible laser so no worries about children burning out there retinas by staring at the mouse. There is a small switch underneath the mouse to turn it off and on; which makes sense to have, for battery saving issues. Both keyboard and mouse take two battery's each and have lasted over a month of moderate usage, Logitech I believe says they should last 8 weeks, so that fits.

There is a USB based antenna you do have to plug in. It has a decent length (3+ feet) cord and a little button on the end for when you initially sync everything up to the computer. You do need to install Logitech's software to make it all work it is not plug and play. I didn't have any problems with installation or software. And as far as range goes I have gotten up to 25 feet without any problems, but your mileage may vary, do you apartment/house construction materials and what not.

So in conclusion if you are looking for a budget priced wireless keyboard and mouse with decent to good performance then I think you will enjoy this setup.

{Music Review} Here with Me by Holly Williams

Great Voice, Unimpressive songs.

The album “Here with Me” is my first exposure to the country music artist Holly Williams. I was surprised to find out she is the granddaughter of Hank Williams, daughter of Hank Williams Jr, and half sister of Hank III.

On first exposure it is clear she has a really great voice, very similar to Faith Hill, although not quite as bright, but with more depth. In terms of the musical style the album is comprised of typical light country, it could almost pass for pop in most cases if it weren’t for the slide/steel guitars in the background. The music could be similar to a Shania Twain album in that with a different backing band it could pass for regular old pop music.

The songs themselves were nothing special; the two songs that stand out have already been released as country music singles “Mama” and “Keep the Change”. On the whole the songs range from slow ballads to average mid-tempo songs, but nothing stood out to me or had a hook that impressed me and made me want to listen to a song again and again.

Holly Williams obviously has a great voice, an even better pedigree, a good backing band and nice production values, but this album failed to “Wow” or excite me in any way. I finished listening unimpressed, perhaps you will enjoy it more than me?

{Music Review} Danyew [EP] by Phil Danyew

Good not Great

There is no doubt in my mind that Phil Danyew is a very talented songwriter, instrumentalist and overall musician. But I listened to this EP several times and not once did my ears perk up. The musical style of the artist is similar to much of the over-produced audio effects laden music we heard during the late 90’s and early 00’s. For me it didn’t do anything. Now don’t get me wrong the quality of the production itself is great, but I start to listen to the music and shortly after it just blends into background music. I really don’t enjoy saying this, because even when I read the lyrics to the songs on the CD insert they come off as really great God centered poetry, but set to his music they don’t resonate with me. Now I realize that this is just my opinion, I respect that musical tastes are very subjective, but Danyew just kind of left me flat, perhaps you will enjoy it more than me?

{Product Review} Caselogic Security Friendly Laptop Backpack

The only problem I have with this backpack is that it is a little dorky looking. Very plain looking, all black with matte silver zippers. Other then that, this is a great backpack! As someone who lugs around a decent sized widescreen laptop, this is exactly the kind of laptop you would like to have. The rear portion of the backpack contains a padded area for you to store your laptop. Padded as to not damage the computer and to not cause you any discomfort also the lining of this pocket is soft as to not scratch any of the surfaces of your laptop. The bag features a zipper that basically allows you to split the backpack in half and lay it down flat for scanning through the x-ray machine at airports. This of course is nice since you aren't pulling out your laptop and tossing it in one of those dirty gray bins and getting it scratched, etc.. The front half of the bag contains three other pockets, a smaller one on the front, a slightly larger one behind that which contains smaller pockets for pens, business cards and other small items, then you have one larger pocket which has room for things like power adapters, Cd's, etc.. A couple of other nice features: The bag is designed to hold it's shape and stand up right when set down. The shoulder straps are padded and curved, making them very easy and comfortable to use. And a nice little touch the adjustable straps that normally dangle after you adjust them, these straps have nifty little Velcro pieces that allow you to roll them up and keep them from getting dirty when you have the bag on the ground or getting caught on stuff as you walk around. Suffice to say, the bag may not be the coolest looking backpack out there, but you can tell that a lot of thought was put into it design, the designers remembered the little things that annoy you about backpacks that you wished you could fix. Glad I have it!

{Book Review} The New Christians by Tony Jones

“The best primer available for the emergent movement”


If you are even interested in reading this book I guess you may be one of three people. One, you could be an “emergent” and you are just wanted to learn a little about the movement you are involved in. Two, you have heard about “Emergent’s” and the “Emerging Church” and you wanted to learn more about what it was all about. Or third, you have heard about these heretic emergent devil worshippers and you were looking for a book that could reveal all the heresies and non-orthodox practices. Well I am glad to report that this book will satisfy the needs of all three people.

A little about Tony Jones, Tony has been at the forefront of the emergence for most of its existence and until recently was the national coordinator for the emergent village. He went to seminary at Fuller Seminary and is getting his Ph.D. from Princeton, he writes like a down to earth academic. Speaking to the normal everyday Christians who have never had a class in theology class, but every now and then he likes to drop his knowledge and you will have to break out your dictionary to look up a word or you have to scribble down the name of some obscure theologian so you can look them up later. Basically I am trying to say that Tony comes across as an everyman’s theologian. A guy you could go have a beer and talk baseball just as easily as you could discuss the early church father’s views on the doctrine of atonement.

As I mentioned above I see this book as being the best primer on the book shelf to the emergent movement. In fact if you want the full treatment, get Phyllis Tickle’s book “The Great Emergence” to tell you why the emergent movement is here and then get this book to fill in the details of what the movement is.

In the book Tony starts off by giving some background on his own personal story and where he is coming from and how he got where he is now. Then Tony gives his take of the story of how the emergent movement evolved and began from a few young pastors and theologians. Then we get a description of the kind of people that are drawn to the movement and why they are attracted to this new form of Christianity. Next Tony really shines as he lays out much of the theology of the emergence, and while it is no way a doctrinal statement or comprehensive description of what the movement believes, it is more like what they don’t believe and what they are open to. He also spends a good amount of time addressing the idea of truth and dispelling the idea that this is just relativism dressed up in trendy clothing and cool haircuts. Finally we get an inside view of several church’s that Jones feels fall inside this movement, a nice cross section of what is going on in various emergent churches across the country.

All in all I really enjoyed this book. I came in as a person who has had the thoughts of an emergent for the past few years I just didn’t know it. This book helped me see the others who feel/think about Christianity the way I do and understand how others got to this place. So if you are interested in this movement, (Although I don’t think “Movement” is a good word for it) or are just looking for something new in Christianity then I think you may like this book.

{Book Review} Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

“A Bit Much for a Newbie”

To be honest I have never been much of a reader of fantasy books. I read a little bit of science fiction here and there, but typically my interests lie in other fields. I was interested to read this book because first, from what I have heard and read Sanderson is a fairly well respected new author on the fantasy scene. And secondly I was interested in this book in particular because it was being released in drafts on the web for free before its final publication. Knowing that I was reading a relatively unfinished product interested me, to see if it affected the author’s process knowing that rather than keeping his work isolated from the public until completion, instead we have more of an open progression.

In saying all that I am happy to say I was pleased with, and did enjoy reading this book, even though it got to be tough by the end. Many have called Sanderson Tolkien-esque, in that he created whole new worlds full of new physics, myths, legends and laws. I have to admit any author I see do that deserves some credit, because it takes a very creative mind to do that, and then to be able to articulate that word on the page, I have to give Sanderson credit he does his job here.

Without getting into the plot (I mean you can read the book online) Sanderson does a great job of creating this magical new world and all of the things that make an interesting canvas on to which paint his story. But there is just so much to explain that half way through the story you are taking some things for granted even though you don’t really know how or why they work. The plot is decent, and kept me interested, but it all just got to be a bit much by the end. I would think if you are a fantasy fan you could really find a lot in here to enjoy, but as for me it was just a bit too laborious to really allow me to really love it, but I did enjoy the book, and hoe you will too.

{Music Review} Ingrid Lucia, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

Take Billie Holiday’s voice, add some New Orleans vocal charm, mix in a great collection of musical standards and finish with some great native New Orleans musicians and you have the latest from Ingrid Lucia, “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” Most likely you have never heard of Ingrid before, which is a shame because she has a marvelously unique voice that she knows how to use very well. The story of her growing up, is alone an amazingly interesting tale for which I don’t have time to address her, but you can research yourself online. As far as her current album,
I can say that it is a true joy to listen to.


Interestingly this album was financed by her fans. Since you will be hard pressed to find a major music label that supports vocal jazz artists who retain dedication to jazz standards and pieces from the great American songbook, I suppose this is one of the few ways an album like this could get produced.


The “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” features fourteen songs, with “Le Vie en Rose” getting a double billing as a Latin style arrangement with her full band on track six, and then a ballad arrangement with piano accompaniment on track twelve. Other songs included are “We’ll Meet Again”, “I Cover the Waterfront” and others. Despite what I am sure was a tight budget, each recording comes to life with the crisp clear vocals Ingrid is known; and as far as the band goes, not enough could be said about the quality musicianship that backs her on every track. Suffice to say if you enjoy Vocal Jazz with a New Orleans flair, you would love this album.