Penguin Point Review - Hot Dog

I'm experimenting with a lovely picture of the Penguin Point hot dog before I stuffed it into my gaping maw.
According to their calendar el Hot Dog was on special on Monday for a buck. I got everything on it that I could have without paying extra, which means onions, ketchup, mustard and relish. It took way too long after ordering to get the doggie, like four minutes or more. It's just a stinkin' hot dog! But it came in the paper holder that could probably double as a coffee filter, if times are hard, and a foil wrapper. There was nothing fancy about the bun. Just a bun. It wasn't even steamed or warmed which definitely detracted from the experience. The hotdog itself was on the skinny side but was nice seasoned instead of those pale greenish dogs you often get at restaurants.
Overall, well worth a buck but next time please do something about the bun!

New Series - Penguin Point!

For those not in the secret club, Penguin Point is a local chain based in Warsaw, Indiana, about an hour north-west of Fort Wayne. Growing up I would often beg to visit the Penguin Point when we visited grandparents in Wabash, about an hour south-west. How long to get those glasses? About an hour. I see a trend.
There used to be two locations in Fort Wayne but now there is just one, oddly surviving for decades on a semi-rural corner, flanked by a Dairy Queen and a Mexican restaurant. For me Penguin Point used to be a destination eatery in that I would have to drive way out of my way to patronize the establishment but now I drive by there twice a day most days of the week, each time resisting its siren call of fried chicken, tenderloin sandwiches, burgers, chili dogs, and crinkle cut fries. They pretty much have a little bit of everything, even ham and beans with cornbread which is a nice alternative to chili. Plus you can pull up outside and they’ll bring it to your car, though I haven’t attempted such a feat in the sub-zero temperatures we've been having.
I checked out their official web site and calculated that I could have one of everything on their menu for about eighty bucks. Eighty bucks over a year or two isn't much, especially since I now get their coupons at the new abode and they have daily specials. So I reckon I'll try everything off their menu and write about it. I'd take pictures but you don't want to see me eat. I could take pictures of their food but it's the same as everyone else. It looks amazing on the menu but once unwrap the sammich it looks yummy but not like the perfection previously postulated.
The other issue is that I'm not much of a foodie. I eat food and either it's yummy, yucky, or somewhere in between. There shant be any nuances with these stunted taste buds!
So far I've made three visits to this outpost of food stuffs.

Big Wally
How could I resist a Big Wally, especially with a coupon? If you've had a Big Mac then you've had a Big Wally. The secret sauce could be different but it was song mind of mayo-derived glob. Service was friendly.

Tenderloin
Oh how I loves me a tenderloin sandwich! Two for five bucks but oddly not very filling as I was hungry later in the afternoon. They were nice and crunchy with a meaty center, just like they should be. Some kind of goop was on top, either mayo or tartar sauce or hair cream, but it was minimal in amount and covered over with an ample portion of vegetation. Possibly shredded iceberg lettuce but it was big and chunky and had a crunchy texture so it could have been flavorless cabbage. And don't forget the slice of cheese. And the obligatory bun.

Vanilla Milk Shake
This thing was so thick that even an hour later I had to scoop it out with the straw. I'm sure the ten degree weather had something to do with that. Good flavor, good texture. I'm not sure if its a chemical shake like McDonalds has but I wouldn't be surprised if it's real either. After all, their Ham N Beans only had ingredients you can find in your kitchen, or your mothers kitchen if she's into beans. Hey, Penguin People, why not list the ingredients on your web site?

The Spirit of Giving

For the last couple of years my wife and I have been praying about and doing a lot of reading and thinking about what exactly constitutes our faith in Christ. Is it just me or does the western version of Christianity not strike one as impressive? The kind of believer I’ve seen in most of the churches we’ve visited the past few years are nowhere near the ones who set the ancient world on fire after Pentecost. I’m no different. In most cases, where you hear statistics on how Christians differ from the general populace (divorce and porn use being the ones that comes to mind) there’s often very little difference. “But everyone’s a hypocrite. I’m saved, not perfect,” you say. I’ve said it too.

One issue that has gotten under our skin is the issue of tithes and giving to “the church.” Not how much one gives but to whom. I’ve heard many pastors say from the pulpit that we should be giving our tithe to the church and if you want to have a World Vision sponsor child or support some radio ministry then that should be over and above our tithe. I’m not finding that in the Bible. It’s almost like they are trying to make sure people continue to give to their coffers so they can have enough funds to pay for the budget that was decided upon by themselves and the elders. I’m not saying that nothing good is being done with this money but it seems overly stuffed. Am I the only one who checks how much is taken out for administration expenses when giving to some ministry? 10-15% seems an average number with the rest of your donation going directly to some need.

Consider the average church. You’ve got salary and insurance for the pastor (and often multiple pastors... my current church has at least three). Then there’s all too often a mortgage for the church building, insurance on the building, heating and cooling for the building, all the audio-visual equipment, telephone and internet service, electricity and water, and who knows what else I’m not thinking of. Then you have a special offering ABOVE AND BEYOND YOUR TITHE for the visiting missionaries. I would seriously be surprised if the average church has administration expenses below 50%.

When we started “shopping” for churches I found it very liberating not to feel guilted into giving all of our offering to one local body so that they could meet their weekly budget, as seen in the bulletin each week (along with year to date in case you feel compelled to give extra). We were able to give to struggling ministries, super-duper-small congregations and even individuals.

Talk about joyful giving (2 Corinthians 9:7)! At this time of year we give gifts to each other and it brings us joy to be able to give presents to friends and family. Perhaps God meant giving our tithe to bring joy and encouragement to our hearts in this same way. In giving we are also blessed. What do you think gives more joy: dropping a check into a plate as it is passes (“I hope the people around me know that I get paid every other week and that’s why I’m not putting anything in this week.”) or putting cash in an envelope and anonymously leaving it in the door of someone who is struggling to both pay medical bills and put food on the table, imagining their joyous reaction as you drive off? James 1:27 mentions visiting orphans and windows and in Matthew Jesus talk about visiting those in prison, clothing the naked and feeding the hungry. I wouldn’t be surprised if The Message Bible adds single moms and out-of-work outsourced middle-aged men.

That’s it. I have no concrete answers, just questions.

Music Review - Kim Hill - Brave Heart

Time for a retro review! Somehow my copy of Kim Hill’s Brave Heart went MIA but thanks to some friendly and completely legal web site out there, I have it back. It’s been nearly twenty years since I’ve heard the album and many times when I’ve dipped back I hear cheese and/or music that has not aged well. However in this case the music has held up remarkably. Brave Heart being her third album, Hill had proven her ability to sell records enough that the executives stopped trying to mold her into whatever flavor they thought she was and let her be herself. I’ve noticed this on many other Christian artists where the first two albums are bland and generic and if they survive the gauntlet they are finally allowed to fully express themselves on album three. Or maybe it’s that the Kirkpatrick-Kennedy writing team (who seemed to write 90% of the songs published by Word during that era) takes two albums to fully pick up a singers vibe. In any case, the album is a home run!
The album kicks off with “Words,” a solid rocker with enough slight twists to keep your attention but not so much as to offend radio fans. Lyrically this is an exhortation to watch your words. In fact, many of the albums from Word in this period are filled with such instruction for holiness. Then, mid-song, strings and horns enter and it’s a kind of parade. Different! And they’re the real deal instead of the midi-junk so you know the record company has high expectations and are willing to open their pockets a little. “Satisfied” is more relaxed with a tinge of country to go with artful evangelical lyrics. I think “Mysterious Ways” as the radio single but if it was it’s an odd choice. It’s very quiet, almost spooky, and very sparse. “Round and Round” follows this dark(ish) song and I had forgotten how much I like it. The song totally rocks and Tommy Simms goes all out with noodley bass parts. Plus they shake things up with the rhythm in the verse to keep things fun. The bridge of “It was in my head then / Its my heart now” sums up the song and the changes we go through. In hearing the chorus I’m realizing that the album is half over and I haven’t heard any mention of Jesus or Christ, just generic references like “Only your sweet love was gonna save me.” Hmmm. It was something I probably thought was “edgy” back then but the older me thinks that you should give credit where it’s due.
Side two. “Stop My Heart” is a great song about not giving your heart away with a cool drum pattern that I now realize was heavily influenced by “Time of the Season” by the Zombies. “Gotta stop my heart / Before it runs away with you / And takes me farther than I think I’d like to be” and “I thought that you were the one that I could give my love to / But now I’m not so sure” … great, encouraging stuff for any teen finding themselves sucked into a breakneck romance. “She’ll Come Around” is a semi-story song about a young woman building a wall of anger that can be torn down with a little love. But again, no mention of the source of said generic love. “Don’t Face The World Alone” has an 80s keyboard sound that is almost bagpipy but not distractingly so. “Even the bravest heart needs help sometimes” is the encouraging theme of this simple song that wisely was placed on side two, even if it is the “title track.” The final two tracks on the album are solid but not stellar.
Okay, so it's a wimpy ending but 2/3 of the songs are very strong.

My Political History

I have voted straight Republican from the age of 18. I voted in every election and every primary. I even dutifully held my nose voted for the “lesser of two evils”/party pick in the November elections. Now for some time-compressed internal dialogue:

1988: “Cool! George Bush won! He’s doing some things that don’t quite make sense but I’m only twenty. It’s just politics.”

1992: “Crap! Clinton won. He’s going to destroy the country.”

1996: “Double crap! I can’t believe how stupid the American people are to vote this obviously sleezy guy back into office. But what can you expect when your competition is Dole. But hey, at least now the Republicans have both sides of congress so at least they can stop any more damage… wait… what’s going on? Why aren’t they changing anything? Why are they caving?”

2000: “Well, looks like Bush Jr. won. His dad was real wishy washy but I have hope for this guy. All the Christian radio programs say that he’s a true believer. Plus we still have both sides of Congress. TIME TO FIX THIS MESS! Reduce the budget, shrink government and finally we’ll get Roe V. Wade overturned! Wait… what’s going on? Not only are they NOT doing what they promised to do but they’re actually doing the opposite! Sure, they’re not as bad as those horrible Democrats but they’re still moving in the same direction.”

2004: “Bush won again. I’m supposed to be happy but both sides stunk, like they were almost the same. It’s like I really didn’t have an option. The Republicans talk a good game when campaigning but once they’re in office most of them are just Democrat-lite.”

2008: “Well, this is it. My children will live in a very different country. I thought Hilary was bad but this guy who came out of nowhere, Obama, has scared the pants off me from day one. The Clintons would sell the country down the river as long as it made them money but this guy will sell us down the river on principle! That Ron Paul guy was making a lot of sense but it would just be throwing away my vote which is why I held my nose and voted for McCain even though he gives me the creeps. So it turns out that I threw away my vote anyway AND sacrificed my own principles.”

[Enough reading and research to minor in Political Science. I now have a firm grasp on economics and many of the things that used to confuse me (“Why is so-and-so doing that? It makes absolutely NO SENSE!”) now fit together like a logical jigsaw puzzle.]

2012: “Obama again. I’m a little surprised but not much. After Clinton got back in I no longer count on common sense of the general public. There sure seems to be a lot of detailed, credible allegations of voter fraud in alternative media. Would it have made sense if the Republicans put forth someone with a backbone? And after how the Republicans treated Ron Paul, they have lost me for good. Simply disgraceful and childish and definitely just as dirty as anything on the Democrat side. For the first time my vote wasn’t wasted… it was my divorce decree to the oligarchy.”

2016: “I’ll probably vote for the House and local elections but I’m no longer buying into the charade of national elections. I’ll submit a vote of ‘No Confidence’ by refusing to play their game.” I had a respected professor in college who said that in politics you ALWAYS vote for character. It doesn’t matter what they say but what they do and have done. If every two years your spouse went on a months-long tirad insisting they are faithful but then continually cheated on you and didn’t even try to hide it, would you stay with them?

A few more thoughts on concerts…

I wonder if perhaps the reason I don’t care much for live music is because it so rarely is worth the time. So rarely does it hit the mark and move me. But when it does… POW!

These few times include:

The first King’s X concert. This band is known for always being “on” and they nailed every song, every part.

The second King’s X concert. Again, the band was magical. They played a song (“Static”) off an album that I didn’t really care for. In fact, the entire album was humdrum. But that night they made this song charged with energy and passion. If they recorded that entire album live instead of how they did it who knows how good it would have been?

They Might Be Giants – Masters of showmanship! They were having fun and it caught with the audience.

Adrian Belew- I went not expecting much other than I had all his solo albums and had a chance to see him for free. He was playing with “two kids”, a brother and sister drum and bass duo. Two kids. Like I said, I wasn’t expecting much. But like King’s X, this trio infused life into a number of songs that I liked but didn’t quite love. These “kids” were early 20’s and simply astounding!

End of Summer

As summer nears to an end (to which my wife would say that it never really got hot enough for it to have begun) I'm nearing the end of my Miscellaneous Classical Music listening. I discovered some new favorites (Stravinsky's "Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra" comes to mind) and trudged through a few that were, well, mere drudgery. Right now, though, it's Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" so I'm happy. By September I'll be onto the next form and I'm sure all two of my readers are at the edge of their seats. I know I am, and not because there's some unknown stain at the back of my seat.

But on to other things.

This past Saturday I went with a guy from church and our collective daughters (no, we're not sister-husbands) to an outdoor Christian music festival. This led to a discussion on the drive up as to the concerts we had each been to. I was surprised at my own number, not that it was huge but because I don't really care for live music (too uncontrolled and often disappoints compared to a carefully crafted studio album). So upon our safe return I started writing them down. Here is my result. Feel free to make your own list and post it. Feel free to copy my list. Feel free to disregard everything I say.

I included artist name, album the tour supported (if I remembered), year I saw them and the venue. And finally, I put them in chronological order 'cause I'm just that way.

Van Halen - 5150 tour - 1986 - At Ft. Wayne Memorial Colesium

Alice Cooper - Constrictor - 1987 - At Ft. Wayne Memorial Colesium

Alice Cooper - Raise Your First and Yell - 1988 - At Ft. Wayne Memorial Colesium

Rich Mullins - 1988 - First Assembly

Steven Curtis Chapman - 1988/1989/1990 - First Assembly

Deliverance - 1989? - At Sunset Music Hall

Vengeance Rising - 1989? - At Sunset Music Hall

Amy Grant - Lead Me On - 1988/89 - At Ft. Wayne Memorial Colesium

Phil Keaggy - 1990? - At First Assembly - solo

Adam Again - Homeboys - 1990 - At Sunset Music Hall -- one other band also?

Michael Card - 1990 - Anderson Unversity

The Choir - Wide-Eyed Wonder - 1990 - At Mainstream

King's X - Faith Hope Love - 1991 - Elkhart

Eric Gales Band - 1991 - w/ King's X

John Fisher - 1991 - Fort Wayne Bible College

Rich Mullins - 1991/1992 - First Assembly

Lost Dogs - Scenic Route - 1992 - Cornerstone Music Festival

77's - 1992- Cornerstone Music Festival

Adam Again - Dig - 1992 - At Cornerstone

At The Foot of the Cross - 1992- Cornerstone Music Festival

Phil Keaggy - 1992 - Cornerstone Music Festival

Kemper Crabb - 1992 - Cornerstone Music Festival

Margaret Becker - 1992 - Cornerstone Music Festival

Dig Hay Zoose - 1992 - Cornerstone Music Festival

The Choir - Circle Slide - 1992 - Cornerstone Festival

The Choir - Circle Slide - 1992 - At Heartland Church

Adam Again - Dig - 1992 - At Heartland Church

Raspberry Jam - 1992 - At Heartland Church

Phil Keaggy - Crimson and Blue - 1993 - At Taylor University - full band

Phil & John - 1993 - At Taylor University

Galactic Cowboys - Space in Your Face - July 4, 1993 - Pier's

They Might Be Giants - Back to Skull - 1994? - Vogue in Indy

Rich Mullins - Brother's Keeper - 1995 - At Ft. Wayne Memorial Colesium

Daniel Amos - 2000 - Cornerstone Music Festival

77's - 2000 - Cornerstone Music Festival

Terry Taylor - Avocado Faultline - 2000 - in Indy

Phil Madeira - 3 Horse Shoes - 2000 - in Indy

They Might Be Giants - early 2000s - Wooden Nickel In-Store show

King's X - Manic Moonlight? - 2002 - Piere's

Dio - 2002 - Piere's - w/ King's X

PFR - Disappear - 2002 - At Anchor Room

Alice Cooper - 2002 - At Verizon Music Center

Terry Taylor - 2009 - my living room

Adrian Belew - e - 2009 - At Sweetwater

Mike Roe - We All Gonna Face the Rising Sun- 2010 - Pint & Slice

Alice Cooper - 2013 - At Embassy

Switchfoot - 2013 - At Pulse Festival

Audio Adrenaline - 2013 - At Pulse Festival