Christmas Came Out Of A War.

I wrote and recorded this song in December of 2007. At the time, the Iraq war was in my thoughts. This year the "occupy" movement, and accompanying discussion, has led me to listen to the song again with slightly different ears.

There were a few little lyrics mistakes in the singing which I just corrected. I like it better now!

For those who have heard this song enough already, I shall try to scratch out a new Christmas song soon (since, you know, there are clearly not enough of them....)

Special thanks to Beth Swales for beautiful harmony vocals!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Came Out Of A War (unmastered) by stevenstarkmusic

Get A Job!

‎"They need to get jobs. They are annoying. They just enjoy shaking things up for its own sake. They are dirty. They need to do something productive."

- an imagined discussion between Roman citizens concerning Jesus and his followers.

The Cherokee Strip - a Tale of an Oklahoma Boyhood by Marquis James

The Cherokee Strip: A Tale of Oklahoma Boyhood by Marquis James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you grew up in Oklahoma, and particularly in Northwest Oklahoma, and even more particularly in Enid, OK - then this book should interest you greatly.

James recounts his boyhood living on the claim his father staked in the Land Run. Later, his family moves to Enid as he attends Enid High School (originally housed in a downtown building alongside an opera company!), and he begins his career in journalism working as a reporter, a subscriptions manager and a printer in Enid's various papers.

The most remarkable part of this book is the amazingly quick change that the town of Enid undergoes. At the beginning of the story it is a frontier, wild-west, tent city complete with saloons. By the end of the story, a scarce 10-15 years later, it is a brick-building town with a $"100,000" courthouse at the center. It has essentially transformed into the town it is today.

James is an entertaining personality, precocious and energetic. Enid's two-time Pulitzer prize winning author is a wonderful narrator throughout.

View all my reviews

Blog Adventures - Good or "Good"?

I am getting into a bit of trouble over here in the comments section of Baptist pastor Wade Burleson's blog. Wade leads Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, OK.

I realize many readers of this blog question Christianity, particularly conservative Christianity, in terms of epistemology. People often judge their religion's truth by different methods and standards than they do many aspects of everyday life - this is called compartmentalization. This is an essential topic to discuss. But I am even more interested in moral compartmentalization, where some believers attribute actions to a "good" God that they would never consider good for themselves or for others. When this happens, when the word "good" is divorced from what we consider to be good, then the word loses its meaning.

As a former Baptist who grew up in the town of Enid, this is the angle I take when occasionally dipping my toe in here. Wade is smart fellow, a historical scholar, and a nice guy, so he, and the other fine folks folks commenting, are fun to interact with.

The Goat Rodeo Sessions

Don't you just ADORE stringed instruments?