Middletree

.   Les Misérables comes to us in many formats: The Victor Hugo novel, the stage production, and the various movies and TV miniseries. In 1998, I got my first exposure to the story by watching the non-musical film version starring Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush. I was blown away. What an amazing story.  A skilled pastor could base an entire series of sermons on Les Mis. I recently saw the new version, directed by Tom Hooper and starring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and Russell Crowe.  It was fantastic.  Here are a few unorganized thoughts: 1. Many have commented on the story and talked gushingly about how it's an illustration of Grace vs. Law, with the logical conclusion that grace is superior. But let's tap the brakes and take a second look. Javert (the police Inspector) existed because society needs someone to uphold the law. Likewise, both Law and grace are equally important components of the Gospel. God is a just God, and demands justice. If sin is c...

Reading about the mass killing of kindergartners at Sandy Hook was heartbreaking for me, as I am sure it was for you.    On a different level, I was also saddened while reading comments on Facebook and at the bottom of news stories, calling for changes to keep such massacres from happening.  The tone of many of such comments was that they couldn't understand why people couldn't see that the clear cause of these incidents is _______________ (fill in the blank).  Unfortunately, many who believe there is a clear-cut answer to this problem have very different views of what the main problem is.  Additionally, once you do focus on that one problem, then you find that there are people who disagree very strongly about how to address that one problem. For example, let's take the availability of assault rifles and handguns.  For some, common sense dictates that everyone carry a gun, to either prevent a shooting in a public place, or to stop it quickly once...

If any cry of anguish is universal across generations, it's this one, said by kids in Algebra classes throughout the land: "Why do I have to do this stuff? Am I ever going to use it in real life?" Kids and adults alike acknowledge that we use elementary-school math in real life on a daily basis. We add, subtract, multiply and divide quite frequently. But when teachers start replacing the numbers with letters, and are introduced to terms such as "variable" and "polynomial", then those instructors meet resistance from students, and their protests often center around the idea that this kind of math will do them no good in the real world. A lazy adult will simply affirm the students' suspicions by admitting that complex algebraic problems don't make their way into everyday life. It's an easy thing to say, but the truth is that life is full of situations in which formulas are required or at least helpful. Here are some math formulas tha...

Sit back and let me tell you a story: One day a couple of years ago, I made a trip to my local supermarket. I encountered 4 different people during this single trip; together, those 4 individuals confirmed for me what I always suspected:  people can be very selfish, and have no idea that they are.  1. When I arrived in the parking lot, I wanted to turn into one of the lanes so I could park, but the car ahead of me had to go forward or somehow get out of my way. Alas, that driver didn't see things my way, so he just...kinda...stayed...where...he...was for a while. He didn't seem to care that someone might be behind him. 2. When he finally moved, I drove toward an empty parking space that I had spied on the way in. It turned out to not really be empty, because another person in another car in the adjacent space went wayyyy past their yellow line and effectively took up two spaces. And they were in a smaller-than-average car, I might add. There was no need nor excuse to t...

I'm going to post a few links to Youtube clips of my favorite tunes that have been criminally unknown or underappreciated. This is Part 5. click here for Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 In no particular order: Sam Moore, from 60's R&B legends Sam and Dave, showed in this late 80's recording that his voice was as strong as ever. He played an R&B singer in the movie John Cusack/Tim Robbins comedy "Tapeheads" and was featured singing this song in a sparsely-populated nightclub. While the movie is extremely funny, this song is as serious as it gets.  The powerful lyrics, combined with incredible vocals and a nice sax solo by Junior Walker, make this one irresistible. "The Flame", by Spyche Technically, we can't say this song is unknown, as it was a big hit for Cheap Trick. But this version, by a local Dallas musician with a day job, is a big improvement over the original. Take away the Cheap Trick over-emotive vocal, and strip ...

I'm going to post a few links to Youtube clips of my favorite tunes that have been criminally unknown. This is Part 4.  Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 In no particular order: "Old Habits Are Hard To Break" by Ronnie Milsap John Hiatt wrote it and recorded it, but no version can compare to this one. Milsap's vocals here are as good as anything he's ever done. If you didn't know he had done syrupy ballads before, and heard him here for the first time, you'd swear he was a lifelong bluesman. This story of a man appealing to his female friend to get out of a destructive, soul-killing, relationship grabbed me the first time I heard it. It may be my favorite recorded song ever.  "Only Human" by Rosanne Cash Many years ago, I noticed a consistent theme in Rosanne Cash's music: it's extremely important to her how people treat each other, and when someone is less than considerate to her, she's going to say somethi...

I'm going to post a few links to Youtube clips of my favorite tunes that have been criminally unknown. This is Part 3.  Part 1   Part 2 Part 4 . In no particular order: "It Ain't Real If It Ain't You" by Mark Gray Mark Gray was a country singer who never caught on, but this is a gem. His vocals are as soulful and meaty as it gets. Sadly, country fans probably ignored this song in order to pay attention to some line-dancing nonsense. I still have the 45 for this one. "Nail It Down" by the Meat Puppets I may be wrong, but believe that Dwight Yoakam's friend Pete Anderson produced this one. Straightforward rock and roll.