Jon Swerens: Folk piano

Go to the blog, you sluggard

2007-03-10T16:22:00.000-05:00

You now must go to the new and improved Jon Swerens web site. Click anywhere in this post to see it!

My new blog!

2007-02-20T09:31:00.000-05:00

In an effort to consolidate my blog and my web site, I'm building a new blog over at jonswerens.com.

I still have a good amount of work to do over there, but it'll allow me to concentrate on one web site, rather than two.

Check it out at www.jonswerens.com/blog!

Award-winning photo!

2007-02-13T20:34:00.000-05:00

This photo won us a pizza! Mary sent it to a local TV station, and they chose it as their Sunday Snapshot and put it on the air!

Click here to see all of our sledding photos.

Jiggin' my tunes

2007-02-09T21:59:00.000-05:00

A neat new online service called iJigg lets people upload their own music and then easily share it.

Here are a couple of songs from my CD, "Wordlessly." Enjoy!

Next gig: March 23

2007-02-03T11:50:00.000-05:00

And here's the poster, suitable for framing.

UPDATE: Now, why in the world did I put "piano folk" on the poster instead of "folk piano"?

"Yup, we're pianah folks! Garsh!"

Look for an update soon.

UPDATE: Updated!

No gig tonight after all

2007-01-26T11:59:00.000-05:00

Well. The manager of the cafe at The Anchor Room told me this morning that he accidentally double-booked again. So that means I am bumped from the schedule tonight.

Sorry if you were planning to come out. There's really no excuse forthcoming from The Anchor Room, except that they goofed.

Please remember me in March!

Listen to 14 "Wordlessly" songs

2007-01-23T22:04:00.000-05:00

Now you can listen to all 14 songs from my recent instrumental album, "Wordlessly." Plus, you can still download two songs free of charge.

Just go to my downloads page. Be sure to set your browser to allow popups.

When you're done, you're welcome to buy a CD or buy downloads from iTunes!

Buy from iTunes:

Each song is 99 cents, or you can download the entire CD for $9.99. Click on the button below to find my album on iTunes, if you have iTunes installed.

Click below to download iTunes, which is free and available for both PCs and Macs.

Buy a CD:

Wordlessly is $14 a CD. If shipping is necessary, it's $2 for 1 or 2 CDs and free for 3 or more.

Go to my online store to purchase!

Play the Super Bowl in Fort Wayne!

2007-01-23T21:55:00.000-05:00

As Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy said after Sunday's heart-stopping game:

It's a shame we have to go to Miami. We should just go to Fort Wayne and play it off there.

Woo hoo! Fort Wayne, home of Super Bowl XLI!

Fort Wayne: Most affordable city in six countries

2007-01-22T18:49:00.000-05:00

That's right: Countries, not counties.

A study done by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy ranks Fort Wayne as the most affordable city for housing among the countries of the United States, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. This is extraordinarily good news for Fort Wayne.

Get the rest from Fort Wayne Observed.

PLUS: My friend Scott has posted a JPG of the rankings.

Today's math lesson

2007-01-22T18:36:00.000-05:00

From the Swerens homeskool:

New gigs for 2007!

2007-01-08T11:10:00.000-05:00

I've arranged with The Anchor Room (not this Anchor Room) to perform there five times in 2007. Here are the dates:

Friday, January 26
Friday, March 23
Friday, June 15
Friday, August 17
Friday, November 30

More details and directions are on my engagements page. Hope to see you there sometime!

Apologies for ugliness

2007-01-02T00:10:00.000-05:00

I've just converted this blog to some sort of new layout thing that Blogger is doing. All that means is that I need to reconstruct some elements in the sidebar, and stuff like that.

So, sorry if this page is a bit ugly for a while.

What I didn't get for Christmas

2006-12-28T22:36:00.000-05:00

OK, it's not the worst case of Jesus Junk I've read about, but this review of the Left Behind: Eternal Forces video game puts it in the Top Ten.

It's a real-time strategy game, but, as the game's web site FAQ says: "The difference is that our game features fictional battles set on the stage of an apocalyptic world. Our game includes no intestines, no blood spatter, no severed limbs, no vulgar language, no sexual conduct, no morally reprehensible conduct – such as cop-killing, prostitute-bashing, or other criminal behavior ..."

An excerpt of Kamp Krusty review:

Does Left Behind: Eternal Forces let you kill people?

Yes. But only in self-defense.

With a tank?

Yes.

But you're protecting others, so it's morally good, then.

No, it costs you Spirituality Points. It's still bad. But sometimes, you have to kill bad guys, but it's still morally bad, but you should do it sometimes, but it's morally bad, but sometimes you just have to, you know? But it's bad.

Hat tip: Letters from Kamp Krusty

Sundry links and excess bloggage

2006-11-26T15:09:00.000-05:00

Here's what I've been looking at on the Internet lately:

Someone's mocking, Lord, kumbayah! Why is "Kumbaya" the designated silly-song to represent phony or ineffectual friendliness? Hat tip: Get Religion
Why Christians should love "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip": This article's kinda old, but still explains why I'm stuck watching the show every Monday.
Where's my invitation? I missed the monthly Fort Wayne "geek dinner".
Fun and challenging and semi-educational, too -- Whizzball!

Our trip to Chicago: Day One

2006-11-26T14:52:00.000-05:00

Hi! Hey, you can check out photos from the first day of our family's recent trip to Chicago at my Shutterfly page.

Pictured at right: Street view of the Sears Tower.

New 'River' lyrics

2006-11-25T09:55:00.000-05:00

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything, but November is Birthday Month here at the Swerens household, as some of you know. So we've been busybusybusy with birthdays for Sarita and Caleb plus that surprise party for Mary.

She was surprised.

But here, I want to post the new lyrics for my song "River." Thanks to the ministrations of my dear Mary and of the fellow songwriters who met at Mimi Burns' place the other night, I've amended the lyrics. And here they are:

River
By Jon Swerens

River, you carve the valleys in two
River, you bring new life into view
River, you prove your promises true
River, o River

River, an island stands in your way
River, you simply wear it away
River, even the rocks must obey
River, o River

CHORUS:
Flood my walls and flood my ceilings
Flood my reckless thoughts and feelings
Soak me through like laundry in the rain
Flood my cellars, flood my rafters
Flood all my befores and afters
Leave no place where dryness can remain

River, bleach me whiter than snow
River, until my heart overflows
River, take me wherever you go
River, o River

CHORUS

River, sweep me far from this place
River, to an ocean of grace
River, where I can look on your face
River, o River

©2006 Jon Swerens

Best local campaign ad

2006-11-07T13:52:00.000-05:00

In honor of election day, listen to this short radio ad put on the air by a local candidate:

That's John McGauley, who's getting my vote.

Free music (and good, too)

2006-11-04T19:38:00.000-05:00

Now here's a deal for you, and there are very few strings attached. A talented Christian folk-pop singer by the name of Derek Webb -- formerly of Caedmon's Call -- is offering his new album, Mockingbird, for free.

Why? He simply wants to make sure people can listen and take part in the conversation he's starting. As he says on his site:

one of the things that excites me most about the future of our business is how easy it is becoming to deliver music to people who want to hear it. i heard a story once about keith green caring so much that people were able to hear and engage with his music that he gave it away for free, which was a very difficult and expensive thing to do at that time. it's actually never been as simple as it is today to connect music with music fans. and i want people to have a chance to listen to mockingbird and engage in the conversation.

The catch? You just have to list five emails of friends who you think may also be interested. That's all.

So, if you have five friends (heh heh!), click on the little birdie link to the right or just go to freederekwebb.com.

PLUS! Perhaps you've heard me mention and rave about Andrew Peterson. Well, he's set up a place online where you can listen to two entire albums free. He's not giving them away, but it's a great way to try before you buy.

Click on the following links to listen to 'em!

The Far Country
Behold the Lamb of God (his Chriatmas album)

Off to Angola

2006-11-04T16:01:00.000-05:00

Well, we'll be leaving for the gig up in Angola in a little bit. If you want to join us, we'll be at Cahoots Coffee Cafe, at 218 W. Maumee Street right in Angola.

Thanks for your support! And northern Indiana fans: Hope to see you there!

Diagnosis ...

2006-11-01T06:51:00.000-05:00

Went to the doctor because of my cough. I've had it for a few weeks.

He look in my throat and listen to my lungs and, before a minute was up, diagnosed bronchopneumonia.

Not as fun as a broncoburger, I'll have you know.

So now, big time medicine for me, including horse-pill antibiotics and stupor-inducing cough medicine.

But I should be better in a few days.

Mocking the devil

2006-10-30T18:23:00.000-05:00

This is a repost from about this time last year.

Soon after my wife and I became Christians, the first holiday out the window was Halloween. It was obviously devilish, and we wanted our children to have nothing to do with it.

Back in the '80s and early '90s, Satanism scaremongers like the now-discredited Mike Warnke saw nothing but evil in the celebration of Halloween, and American Christians, steeped in the belief that the end times were upon us, were all too eager to believe the worst about any subject.

As my wife and I grew to understand more fully the sovereignty of God, our views on Halloween relaxed. But we were never completely comfortable with the idea.

Until (2004). Funny how one well-written article can dismantle all manner of faulty prejudices.

You must read the whole article. For one thing, it's short. Well, kinda short. For another, it's rare to find someone with this opinion of what is so commonly believed to be a Satanic holiday co-opted by the church. The truth may very well be the opposite:

(M)any articles in books, magazines, and encyclopedias are written by secular humanists or even the pop-pagans of the so-called "New Age" movement. ... These people actively suppress the Christian associations of historic customs, and try to magnify the pagan associations. They do this to try and make paganism acceptable and to downplay Christianity. Thus, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc., are said to have pagan origins. Not true.

Oddly, some fundamentalists have been influenced by these slanted views of history. These fundamentalists do not accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of Western history, American history, and science, but sometimes they do accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of the origins of Halloween and Christmas, the Christmas tree, etc. We can hope that in time these brethren will reexamine these matters as well. We ought not to let the pagans do our thinking for us.

Read the entire article. (This is a slightly different link than what I had last year.)

BONUS: Carve your own online pumpkin.

Apple Store update

2006-10-28T20:17:00.000-04:00

Fort Wayne student (and former News-Sentinel intern) Andrew Welfle left a post down below telling me that, yes, there do seem to be plans to open an Apple Store right here in Fort Wayne, at the somewhat-chic Jefferson Pointe shopping mall.

(Photo is of the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.)

King Tut photos online

2006-10-28T20:01:00.000-04:00

No one is allowed to take photos of the King Tut items. Sorry 'bout that.

But instead, as you wait for us to post our own photos from our trip to Chicago, you can see many of the items we saw at the Field Museum's own web site. Check out the wonderful photos of the traveling exhibit.

Tutankhamun and The Golden Age of the Pharaohs

It's in Chicago only until January 1. After that, the exhibit visits The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, so if you're reading this from out east, you still have a good shot at seeing these priceless pieces before they return to Egypt forever.

We're back from Chicago!

2006-10-27T11:54:00.000-04:00

Hi! Our trip to Chicago and The Field Museum went great! We left Wednesday morning and got back Thursday night. Wow, we were tired by the end of it. The drive back seemed to take twice as long as the drive there.

This is our photo of the Sears Tower. I'll post much more later, but we have a busy day today, with me meeting a friend for coffee this afternoon. Plus, we're going to be carving pumpkins with another family this evening. Then, I work tomorrow morning, and Mary has a craft show tomorrow, too!

So, stay tuned for more photos, maybe in a few days.

New song: 'Still Beautiful'

2006-10-21T15:46:00.000-04:00

And here is another song that I intend to perform at The Anchor Room on Novermber 3.

Still Beautiful
By Jon Swerens · Sept. 30, 2006

What if no one believes? What if no one perceives?
What if everyone leaves at the sound of His voice?
What if nobody fears? What if nobody hears?
If they plug up their ears like it’s nothing but noise?

The Word of God is still beautiful
The Word of God, still beautiful

What if everyone hates? What if everyone fakes?
What if everyone takes just the parts that they like?
What if they break the rules and establish the schools?
Teach a nation of fools that darkness is light?

The Word of God is still beautiful
The Word of God, still beautiful

What if every setback were an utter defeat?
Could we rest in the promise it’s all under His feet?

What if Christians behave as if Christ couldn’t save
Unless they become slaves to the law that oppressed?
What if grace were passé and a shackle the way
To show how we obey and deserve to be blessed?

The Word of God is still beautiful
The Word of God, still beautiful

©2006 Jon Swerens

Photo by Steve Linsenmayer

New song: 'We Simply Forgot'

2006-10-21T15:43:00.000-04:00

Here a new song that I intend to sing at my next gig at The Anchor Room on November 3.

We Simply Forgot
By Jon Swerens · September 2006

We promised our lives, we promised our gifts
And everything short of the moon
We entered the race then slackened our pace
It seems that we rested too soon
Father, remind us how quickly we tend to forget, with little regret
Father, forgive us for giving ourselves incompletely, and so weakly
I guess we got hooked on a fat pocketbook
And the treasures and trinkets it bought
We heard what You said but we’ve been so well fed
That it seems we simply forgot

With lips that tell lies and with covetous eyes
And with hands over unbroken hearts
We pledge to obey and in less than a day
Our faithfulness crumbles apart
Father, remind us how often we sink in defeat and beat a retreat
Father, forgive us for thinking we still deserve credit, we don’t get it
We tend to lose track ’cause we’re not looking back
At the parables You always taught
The stuff we ignore when we’re keeping the score
Are the things we simply forgot

So Father we thank You for telling us frankly
That thoughtlessness mars all we do
The only things You have forgotten
Are all of the times we forgot about You

You laid down your life, You laid down Your gifts
And you captured each one that You sought
We’re acting like squatters but we’re sons and daughters of You
We simply forgot

©2006 Jon Swerens

Photo by Steve Linsenmayer

Starbucks takes over Fort Wayne

2006-10-18T21:10:00.000-04:00

Just to prove how much corporate hipness Fort Wayne has, we now have 10 Starbucks locations in town. With two more opening soon.

Starbucks in Fort Wayne

That counts one apiece in our two Targets, which also adds hipness, come to think of it.

Let's hope that rumor that we're getting an Apple Store is true. We'll be so hip we won't be able to stand ourselves.

But to mitigate, we have four Wal-marts, with two more to be built over the next year or two.

How I spent my last two evenings

2006-10-14T00:17:00.000-04:00

Creating posters for my next gigs:

I think they turned out well -- after I figured out how to print a color photo on my ink jet printer.

It snowed today!

2006-10-12T15:45:00.000-04:00

Jack Frost likely to make first visit to NE Indiana tonight

But today's snow was by no means the earliest Fort Wayne has received snow.

A trace fell Sept. 25, 1942, according to the National Weather Service. The snowiest October was in 1989, when 8 inches fell.

link to News-Sentinel story

Miso soup update

2006-10-11T23:03:00.000-04:00

The verdict:

Two country miles beyond gross. Salt water with a delicate bouquet of Spic and Span.

original post

"Thy Word is a light..."

2006-10-11T21:06:00.000-04:00

This is not a parody.

When was the last time your class saw how "HOT" God's Word is? Open this authentic looking "bible" and begin to share the scripture for the day as real flames are seen coming from your "bible". This full size book comes with a battery operated ignition system. All you supply are the batteries, lighter fluid and composure as your class gets excited. (special note: Fed-Ex shipping is available if you absolutely have to have the Fire Bible for this Sunday!)

Only $44.95!

"Wow, the preacher was on fire this mornin'!"

HT: Between Two Worlds via Blog and Mablog

"The Play"

2006-10-11T20:07:00.000-04:00

Have you seen those ads for a Sony HD TV with "Lo-Def" sports? It featured what's called "The Play," the shocking, unbelievable ending of a football game between Stanford and University of California in 1982.

Here's a seven-minute video of the ending of the game. If you like football at all, you'll love this:

A comic for my dad

2006-10-10T13:13:00.000-04:00

The cultural critic: Where my dad and I are way too alike!

Click to see a larger version:

UPDATE: I neglected to mention that this comic is called Arlo & Janis, and is a favorite of mine and my wife's. The cartoonist, Jimmy Johnson, also has his own web site that he updates a few times a week with comics from his archives.

The industrial organic complex

2006-10-09T19:05:00.000-04:00

Organic food is better, bucolic and just the right thing to do, right?

BusinessWeek begs to differ in its story: Exposing the organic myth.

(Stonyfield's) main facility is a state-of-the-art industrial plant just off the airport strip in Londonderry, N.H., where it handles milk from other farms. And consider this: Sometime soon a portion of the milk used to make that organic yogurt may be taken from a chemical-free cow in New Zealand, powdered, and then shipped to the U.S.

I feel somewhat sorry for the purveyors of organic food, because it seems they're the victims of their own success, with too much business and not enough organic food:

For some companies, it means keeping thousands of organic cows on industrial-scale feedlots. For others, the scarcity of organic ingredients means looking as far afield as China, Sierra Leone, and Brazil — places where standards may be hard to enforce, workers' wages and living conditions are a worry, and, say critics, increased farmland sometimes comes at a cost to the environment.

It seems the term "organic" is about to become even more slippery.

Making a (wee little) living

2006-10-08T11:38:00.000-04:00

Since I'm home nursing a head cold -- feels like an ice pick in my ear -- it's a good time to get all philosophical on y'all.

But first, if you haven't done so yet, go over to my MySpace page and listen to the first song there, "River." It should open in a new window and start playing the song automatically. Note that you can read the lyrics there, too.

Then come back here.

I'll wait.

...

Now, what if I made such home recordings available for free downloads, with the request for a donation if you like the song? Would you give up a buck or five for the starving musician?

Or do you think more old-school? Do you need to have a CD in your hand for songs to have real worth?

Because, face it: I will likely never even be offered a record contract, nor would it be a sure thing that I'd accept one if offered. But technology has made a contract increasingly obsolete.

I can now record music, including vocals, on my little eMac computer, create cover art and such on the same computer, send the music files and art files through the Internet to a CD printing company, and get my CDs in the mail in a couple of weeks.

Then, I can set up a Web-based store though which I can sell my wares via credit card or PayPal.

Plus, I can send my songs to iTunes and other online music stores and sell them there. (Not that I've actually *sold* any songs on iTunes, but still.)

And then I can sell related merch for exorbitant prices.

I'm not trying to figure out how to make gobs of money with this hobby/calling of mine -- although if anyone has a spare gob, ask for my mailing address. But I am trying to figure out how to make this perhaps pay for itself a little more. (The monitor speaker we just bought? $300.)

So anyway, don't be surprised to see me try some stuff online in an attempt to raise awareness of my music and to raise some cash to support it. Let me know if you have any ideas or comments along the way.

Michael Card, in concert

2006-10-02T16:32:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has paid attention to my list of "musicians who have influenced you" would see Michael Card at the top of the list. So when we found out Michael would be performing here in Fort Wayne, Mary and I knew we would be there.

I have ten of Michael's albums on CD, plus another one on cassette somewhere. So I am not just a casual fan. But I haven't kept up with some of his more recent CDs, like his album on the life of the apostle Peter, or on the book of Revelation, or on the book of Hebrews. His songs are intensely biblical and he brings an intense level of scholarship to them.

The concert was a celebration for local church Wallen Baptist's new sanctuary. So Michael brought his album of new music -- full of songs of lament.

But although Mary and I were afraid the concert would be full of music we didn't know, he put everyone at ease very early in the evening by performing perhaps his most well-known song, "El Shaddai." The two-hour (!) concert was a pleasing mix of older and new material. He was even unashamed to play the first song he ever wrote.

Needless to say, we bought his newest CD, which considering the subject matter, has a more bluesy-jazzy flavor to it in parts. Michael natural melancholy now has a home -- especially now that he's not a major label telling him things like he has to follow up a dark song with a happy-snappy song, which happened on his "Poiema" album. Gah.

OK, I've rambled on a bit, but it was a sweet and funny and sad and moving concert. Well done and thank you, Michael.

I can sing in key!

2006-09-30T14:00:00.000-04:00

Hey, the gig at The Anchor Room went pretty well, in my humble.

Not only did a good number of people show up, which is a nice change. Also, my dear wife says my vocals sounded better, and we think it's all thanks to the Galaxy Hot Spot PA5X140.

Simply speaking, when you're performing on stage with amplifiers, you can't hear yourself very well. You can hear the echo off the back wall just as well as the original sounds from your amp. So you need an additional speaker pointing back at yourself so you can hear all of the music at the right time and the right key. A monitor helps a vocalist not go out of tune.

Thanks to everyone who showed up! Next gig on November 3.

433 photos in 45 seconds

2006-09-24T13:47:00.000-04:00

My friend and coworker Steve Linsenmayer came over Saturday morning, and we went around the neighborhood, taking pictures of me. I needed some professional shots of myself for flyers and posters and stuff like that there.

Instead of picking a few photos and posting them here, I thought, why not show them all? But who has the time to look at 433 photos?

Well, you do! Here are the photos, all in less than a minute.

433 still photos as a 45-second video on Vimeo

Thanks to Steve for the great photos. Thanks to Apple's GarageBand for the groovy music loops. Thanks to Vimeo for hosting the video. (Fort Wayne native Zach Klein is one of the guys who created Vimeo.) And thanks to Scott Greider for, unbeknownst to him, giving me the idea to post video.

Also, you can click here and download a high-quality version!

Our trip to the zoo

2006-09-23T15:20:00.000-04:00

I've been having some fun with Shutterfly, and here are some photos from our recent trip to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.

To see our photos, just click on the alligator -- if you dare!

What is happening to me?

2006-09-18T23:28:00.000-04:00

Honestly, this is what I brought home from the store tonight:

1 package Kikkoman instant tofu miso soup
2 Thai Kitchen rice noodle bowls
1 300ml bottle Aji-Mirin sweet cooking rice wine
1 bag Beneful dog food. The kind with salmon and rice

What kind of yuppie list is that?

P.S. I planned on posting some photos tonight, but instead my wife and I watched "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." Because "that TV remote is a crack pipe!"

UPDATE: The Thai rice noodles were delicious!

Really rough 'River'

2006-09-12T19:04:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally did it. I recorded a song with (shudder) vocals and have posted it online. So you can hear it.

You can go to my MySpace page to hear "River," my newest song. The lyrics are slightly rough in a couple of places, but you can hear the song with what I think is the right emotional timbre.

And don't forget my next gig, coming up at The Anchor Room. Get the details.

'Busco gig on Saturday

2006-09-07T19:36:00.000-04:00

Come check out the new coffeehouse in Churubusco and hear me play and sing! La la!

It's called the Mountaintop Coffeehouse. I believe the mountaintop refers to the coffee, not to the location.

I'll begin at 6:30 p.m. Hope you can make it.

Gig tonight in Auburn

2006-08-26T10:16:00.000-04:00

Here's your reminder: I'm in Auburn, Ind., tonight, playing at the Cupbearer Coffee House. (Strange... some of the links on their web site, like More Upcoming Events and Special Drink of the Month, don't work. Hm.)

The directions are easy peasy: Get off the interstate, drive toward Auburn, turn left on Grandstaff, find said coffeehouse on left.

If you don't show up, you won't get to hear my new song, "River," with lyrics right below this post.

For more information, you know the drill: Go to my engagements page on my web site.

New song: 'River'

2006-08-20T23:22:00.000-04:00

Here are the lyrics of the song I wrote this afternoon and performed this evening at the Concert at the Campground in Fremont, Ind., sponsored by Lake Area Christian Church.

River
By Jon Swerens

River, you carve the valleys in two
River, you bring new life into view
River, you prove His promises true
River, o river

River, you smooth the rocks and rough planks
River, and so I stand on your banks
River, I offer my humble thanks
River, o river

CHORUS:
Flood my walls and flood my ceilings
Flood my reckless thoughts and feelings
Soak me through like laundry in the rain
Flood my cellars, flood my rafters
Flood all my befores and afters
Leave no place where dryness can remain

River, bleach me whiter than snow
River, until my heart overflows
River, take me wherever you go
River, o river

CHORUS

River, sweep me far from this place
River, to an ocean of grace
River, where I can look on His face
River, o river

©2006 Jon Swerens

Concert in Churubusco

2006-08-09T23:05:00.000-04:00

I'm happy to announce I have yet another gig to put on the schedule. I received a phone call from the folks at Mountaintop Coffeehouse in Churubusco. 'Busco is northwest of Fort Wayne in the next county.

So, a roundup of my out-of-town gigs:

August 20, Fremont, Ind.
August 26, Auburn, Ind.
September 9, Churubusco, Ind.
November 4, Angola, Ind.

Plus all of my gigs here in Fort Wayne at The Anchor Room Cafe, including my next gig on Friday, August 18.

Check out my engagements page for all the details!

New gig in Aubun

2006-08-02T17:31:00.000-04:00

Hi! There's now a new gig for me at the Cupbearer Coffee House in Auburn (not Angola). It'll be Saturday, August 26, starting at 7:30 p.m.

More details are on my engagements page.

If you're in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by.

Auburn gig canceled

2006-08-01T18:56:00.000-04:00

Hey, everyone. My gig that was scheduled for this Saturday at the Cupbearer Coffee House in ~~Angola~~ Auburn has been canceled. I'll be working on rescheduling sometime later this year.

A quick thanks

2006-07-23T14:21:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to publicly thank Mitch Harper of Fort Wayne Observed for his link to my blog. He speaks about my CD and baklava video here.

"Wordlessly" on iTunes!

2006-07-18T20:57:00.000-04:00

Hooray! Now you can download my entire instrumental album, "Wordlessly," from iTunes! Just like all other albums on iTunes, my album costs 99 cents a song or $9.99 for the entire album.

Click on the button below to find my album on iTunes, if you have iTunes installed.

Click below to download iTunes, which is free and available for both PCs and Macs. (Of course, when you buy music, that's when you pay!)

Three gigs in August

2006-07-18T20:55:00.000-04:00

Check out my engagements page to get the scoop on my gigs in Auburn, Ind., Fremont, Ind., and right here in Fort Wayne.

Jon's music on the radio

2006-06-30T14:24:00.000-04:00

Exciting news! The local public radio station will be playing a couple of cuts from my CD, "Wordlessly"!

The songs will be played a little after 3 p.m. Saturday (July 1) on WBOI, 89.1 FM. It'll be played during WBOI's "All That Jazz" show.

If you live somewhere other than Fort Wayne, and you have a decent Internet connection, you can listen to the radio station live online: Go to http://www.nipr.fm and click on the little WBOI logo in the black bar near the top of the page. Or just click this link.

And remember: if you know of anyone who would be interested in receiving these occasional emails, just direct him to my website at www.jonswerens.com, and follow the simple link, "Sign up for email newsletter." Or just click this link! And you should get no spam!

And thanks for your interest!

The CDs are here! The CDs are here!

2006-06-22T11:22:00.000-04:00

I heard the familiar rurr-rurr-rurr of a diesel engine. I looked through the upstairs window and, behold! A UPS truck was trying to negotiate the tricky corner at the end of our street. (Why did he even try that alley?)

Are there any songs about the UPS truck coming to your house? I think I could write a couple about now.

And don't think I'm too weird. In the musical "The Music Man," an entire song is sung about The Wells Fargo wagon a-comin' down the street.

And by reading the lyrics, you can also find out how exciting it was in the not-that-distant past just to get unusual produce via wagon.

Unusual stuff like grapefruit and raisins.

So I took the 18-pound box from my friend, the UPS man, and of course opened the box right away.

(There were three smaller boxes inside the big box, in case you think that the small box to the left could possibly weigh 18 pounds.)

I've gotta hand it to the folks at TuneCore, who reproduced the CD for me. The CDs look awesome. I am stoked, as the kids say. (Not my kids. Other kids.)

I am right now listening to the CD, keeping my ears open for technical glitches. I'm up to track 9, "Conner Prairie Air." Everything is fine so far.

I just really want to thank everyone who has been in any way supportive of my music. It was your support, even in little way like with comments after I played the hymns at church, that gave me the confidence to even attempt this project.

And certainly thanks to my brother Jeff who asked for this music for his wedding reception. I think you will like.

Oh, and of course, I'm looking for venues to play, especially in Northeast Indiana. For example, I'm trying to find a place to play up in Angola, Indiana, but the coffeehouse I've played before has moved and no longer can host musicians. Write me if you'd like me to come to your neck of the woods!

Baklava to the future

2006-06-22T11:11:00.000-04:00

This is a strange post, only because it has nothing to do with my CD.

But it does have a lot to do with my first video voiceover.

Photojournalist Steve Linsenmayer at The News-Sentinel put together a great three-minute video of local women putting together baklava for the Greekfest. But it needed some descriptive audio to go along with it. So yesterday at work, I cajoled information from coworkers, took a crash-course in iMovie, spent 60 minutes writing three minutes of yadda yadda, recorded the voiceover and saved it in some QuickTime-friendly format.

You can see and hear the video here. Opa!

The CDs are coming

2006-06-22T08:45:00.000-04:00

Sometime today, a box of 75 "Wordlessly" CDs should arrive on my front porch.

If not, well then, I'll get them later, I guess.

Details as events warrant...

Waiting for Minnesota

2006-06-08T22:24:00.000-04:00

The "Wordlessly" CD is out of my hands.

I shipped a CD from my own computer yesterday to a company in Minnesota to press the CDs, print the tray cards and booklets, pack 'em together, shrink wrap them and ship them to me. Hopefully, all before my brother's wedding on June 24.

This has been a fun, but tiring, project. There was a real rush at the end to get finished because of my total lack of experience in mastering a CD. That's the last part of getting a CD ready to get pressed.

And now, all there is to do is wait. I'll let everyone know when the CDs arrive!

'Wordlessly' CD cover

2006-05-28T13:29:00.000-04:00

There are hundreds of little details that need to be ironed out when putting together a project like your own CD. One of them is the design of the CD cover.

Here is the front and back of my upcoming instrumental CD, "Wordlessly." With photos and typography by little ol' me.

The songs just keep on comin'

2006-05-10T14:31:00.000-04:00

Edging closer and closer to the end of recording...

Three more songs have been recorded:

Conner Prairie Air
Lilies of the Field (working title)
A Girl With Root Beer Eyes

That gets me up to 47 minutes of music. But I still think I have one or two more songs in me for this project.

After that, I am still going to have a lot of work in front of me. The mixing, the burning, the printing ... wow.

In the meantime...

Gig on Friday! And my dear Mary will sing some backing vocals for a few songs, such as "Widow Moon," "Relentless Love" and "His Mercy Endures Forever." Please join us. For more details, visit the engagements page.

Great gig in Angola

2006-05-05T17:53:00.000-04:00

I wanted to thank the wonderful folks at Angola United Methodist Church for their hospitality last weekend. The turnout was wonderful, with at least 50 or 60 people in the pews. The best part was that they really sung out their part of "His Mercy Endures Forever." They didn't need much encouraging at all.

Plus, they were kind enough to take a few photos while I performed, plus the sound man recorded the entire gig, and I'll be receiving a CD in the mail pretty soon. Thanks!

Two more songs

2006-04-24T12:26:00.000-04:00

I've added two more songs to the list for "Wordlessly." Here's the countdown so far:

Still Waters · download MP3
First Frost of Autumn · download MP3
How Long Wilt Thou Forget Me
Joy in Simple Things
Gethsemane · download MP3 of early version
A Covenant Between Them
Hopscotch
Home Is Where You Are
Transfiguration
The Cascades

That's 36 minutes, 38 seconds of music, but I feel this project must have at least 45 minutes of music.

So, back to GarageBand I go!

(And be sure to check out my real home page.)

'Wordlessly' available for preorder

2006-04-19T23:23:00.000-04:00

Now you can go to my home page, find the web store, and preorder the upcoming "Wordlessly" CD!

If you order it before the end of June, you'll save two bucks. And if you order three or more, you get free shipping! "Wordlessly" would make a wonderful gift...

Three more songs complete!

2006-04-09T20:39:00.000-04:00

For those keeping score at home, I've now in my back pocket three more instrumental songs for my upcoming instrumental CD, "Wordlessly." The titled assigned to them are thus:

Gethsemane
A Covenant Between Them
Home Is Where You Are

Ah, but maybe you're thinking, "'Gethsemane!' I've already downloaded that from his nifty download page at download.com!" Well, you'd be only partly right, because I've completely re-recorded the song with some additional instrumentation, plus I've beefed up the song and made it along the lines of an ABA song structure.

This is not the same as an ABBA song structure.

ABA song structure just means that the song is in three basic parts: The first part is your main theme (A), the second part is a second, complementary theme (B) and then the third part is a repeat of the first part (A again), perhaps with some slight variation.

Verse-chorus-verse would be an ABA structure. It's really that simple.

So, for "Gethsemane," I took the short song as originally recorded, used that as the A part, and wrote a B part for the middle, between the two As. The song's now more than four minutes long -- like a real song.

If "A Covenant Between Them" sounds familiar to you, perhaps you attended my sister's wedding. It was one of the songs I played during the prelude of her wedding.

And if "Home Is Where You Are" sounds familiar, you're crazy, because it's brand spankin' new.

Don't forget to visit my new home page, where you can play a snippet of the song, "First Frost of Autumn."

New home page

2006-03-20T17:23:00.000-05:00

I've redesigned my original home page in preparation for my upcoming instrumental CD, "Wordlessly." Take a look!

www.jonswerens.com

'Wordlessly' CD status report

2006-03-19T17:33:00.000-05:00

How do you give a title to an instrumental song?

Except for some minor mixing tweaks, I've completed five songs for my upcoming instrumental CD, "Wordlessly." But coming up with titles for songs without words has been a challenge. All I have to go on is a vague emotion that I've attached to the song as I've written it. My fear is I'll come up with titles that are either pretentious -- "The Danse of the Foxe Hollows" -- or ridiculous -- "Minuet Rice."

But I'm swallowing my fear and releasing the names of the five songs I've recorded so far:

"Still Waters"
"The Cascades"
"Joy of Simple Things"
"First Frost of Autumn"
"How Long Wilt Thou Forget Me"

Alert fans will recognize the last one -- it's the tune I've used at Providence Presbyterian Church for our singing of Psalm 13.

And please note that a version of "Still Waters" is available on my downloads page.

So, only nine or ten songs to go!

And don't forget to click here to sign up for my email newsletter, by which I'll remind you of events and updates.

The new floor

2006-02-26T20:34:00.000-05:00

Click on the photos for a larger view.

Due to popular demand (i.e., the haranguing of my siblings) I present to the world these photos of my new laminate flooring in my living and dining rooms.

Here, our friend Cecil, in white, helps me, in orange, try to figure out how to get started doing the new floor.

The actual laying of the floor was the easiest part of the project. The hard parts were moving the bookcases out of the dining room and installing the quarter-round around the nooks and crannies of our living room.

Our cat, Violet, helpfully demonstrates the difference between the yucky old floor on the left and the fabulous new floor on the right. (That may be the first time the adverb "helpfully" was ever applied to a cat's actions.)

The old floor was what was left after we tore out the hideous, dusty carpet when we bought the house seven years ago.

But the worst part about the old floor wasn't the looks of it. It was soft and unfinishable, and we were eternally pulling splinters out of our socks and feet.

Ah! So now, when you walk in the room, here is the floor that greets you. The living room is noticeably brighter with the new, bright oak-like floor.

This is the view from the living room into the dining room, complete with silly daughter.

Here is some of the quarter-round that was especially, um, challenging to install. The pieces that were only 3/16th inch were stuck to other, longer pieces with super glue.

Music for 2006

2006-01-12T14:22:00.000-05:00

So, what's up with me musically this year?

Instrumental CD: My brother Jeff has asked me to create some instrumental music for his upcoming wedding. So while I'm at it, I will compile the music into a CD I hope to have for sale sometime this summer.

Gigs: I will continue my gigs at The Anchor Room, with my next ones on Friday, March 10, and Friday, May 12.

Three-song demo CD: Maybe after my instrumental album is done, I'll be putting together a three-song demo CD that I can send to potential venues in Northeast Indiana.

I'll keep posting updates and links to downloads as they become available.

The 'paganism' of Christmas

2005-12-21T10:04:00.000-05:00

Gene Edward Veith of World Magazine helps clear up some mythology about the so-called origins of Christmas in a pagan Winter Solstice festival:

True, the Emperor Aurelian, in the five short years of his reign, tried to start (a winter solstice festival), "The Birth of the Unconquered Sun," on Dec. 25, 274. ... But Aurelian's new festival was instituted after Christians had already been associating that day with the birth of Christ. ... Christians were not imitating the pagans. The pagans were imitating the Christians.

Read the whole article.

And Douglas Wilson helpfully tells us something about where all the pine boughs came from:

(T)he Christmas wreath custom did not come from paganism, but from a remarkable defeat of paganism. Boniface (680-754), missionary to the Germans, had chopped down a great oak, sacred to Thor. Three days later, on the first Sunday of Advent, he prevented a human sacrifice and used the sacrificial knife of the Druid priest to cut fir boughs for the people to take home as a reminder of Calvary. And of course, the inventor of Christmas tree lights (non-electric) was Martin Luther.

Wilson's article is here.

New gig! Friday, Dec. 9

2005-12-03T16:19:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is a new gig! Come out to The Anchor Room on Friday, Dec. 9, from 7:30-9:30 p.m. and hear a special, Christmas-y gig. You can sing along! You can drink mochas! You can stop shivering!

Other changes:

The gig for January 13 has been canceled due to an accidental double booking by the venue.
Another new gig has been booked for Friday, February 24, at The Anchor Room.

As usual, details are on the engagements page.

Gig today at 1 p.m.

2005-12-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

Come out to The Anchor Room today if you're in a Christmas-y mood. I'll be playing songs of the season from 1 to 2 p.m. Go to my engagements page for details.

And I'm happy to report that the medicines have pummeled my sinusitis.

Hope to see you there!

The cough-y house

2005-11-30T19:44:00.000-05:00

Well. After two weeks of having what felt like the cold that would never leave, I went to the doctor and got some antibiotics. Sinusitis, most likely. Strong medicine, too.

But now, thanks to my illness-induced asthma, I have begun to cough.

I still hope to be feeling better before my gig on Saturday. If this medicine works, I'll be able to sing for an hour, no problem.

If not, expect to hear an awful lot of instrumental music.

My Christmas songs

2005-11-28T17:49:00.000-05:00

We pause at last for Christmas past
Simplicity of Babe and creche
We sing the songs, confess our wrongs
As hearts of stone are turned to flesh

If you are looking for the lyrics to my Christmas songs, here are the links:

And God descends and calls us friends
And grants the presence Jesus gave
We eat His meal and humbly kneel
Before the Son who came to save

Come and sing along at my gig Saturday afternoon at The Anchor Room.

How I spent my Saturday

2005-11-28T15:56:00.000-05:00

But I'm not done yet. We bought a few more boxes of lights for the downstairs windows, which are still bare.

I want our house to be seen from space.

New gigs for December and 2006

2005-11-23T18:43:00.000-05:00

UPDATE: The Dec. 17 gig at The Anchor Room has been canceled. By me. I may try to get another gig on a different day instead.

The good folks at The Anchor Room are allowing me to perform a Christmas gig during December. Plus, I have three new gigs to mention for 2006.

The December gig is on a Saturday afternoon:

Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005, from 1-2 p.m.
~~Saturday, Dec. 17, 2005, from 1-2 p.m.~~

The gigs for 2006 are:

Friday, Jan. 13, 2006, from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Friday, March 10, 2006, from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Friday, May 12, 2006, from 7:30-9:30 p.m.

And and always, go to the engagements page for more details, including maps.

Two updates

2005-11-18T12:28:00.000-05:00

Some very small, but good, news:

Today, the men came to cut up and clean up the fallen tree in our neighbor's yard, and they went ahead and got all the tree in our yard, too!
I received my Behringer UB802 Eurorack 8 Input Mixer in the mail on Wednesday, just two days after ordering!

Joke o' the day

2005-11-17T19:02:00.000-05:00

While looking through cookbooks, Mary said:

I found a recipe for leftovers, but it takes two days to make.

This is your brain on sleep

2005-11-15T21:57:00.000-05:00

This is a repost of something I put on a former blog on Feb. 17 -- but my wife still finds this funny:

Someday, it is our hope that science will discover the secret part of the brain that gives my wife such wacky dreams.

In her dream earlier this week, a couple of close friends were arguing. Then Friend 1 accused Friend 2 of just being “hypochronical.”

Not “hypocritical.” “Hypochronical.”

Now for the funny part.

In the dream, my wife does a double take and thinks to herself, “How does a woman of that intelligence make a mistake like that? She made that word up!”

Part of me wants to make fun of my wife for having a brain that makes up weird words, broadcasts them in the middle of her dreams, and then alerts her while she is still dreaming that it made up a weird word.

But making fun of her would be hypochronical.

The Behringer UB802 Eurorack 8 Input Mixer

2005-11-14T16:03:00.000-05:00

So, why am I buying the Behringer UB802 Eurorack 8 Input Mixer?

As many of you know, I've been experimenting with doing some home recordings of some of my songs, perhaps even to be able to produce a demo CD.

I own an eMac, which is cool enough, but I also have GarageBand, an easy-to-use and dirt cheap digital recording application. I've have plenty of success recording from my keyboard -- actually, I'm recording MIDI notes from the keyboard, not its actual sounds -- and you can even listen to and download two of my songs over at my downloads page.

But I have not been able to record any good vocals. The problem is one of impedance.

Most devices you plug into your computer or stereo have high-impedance signals that need no boosting -- the sound comes in at a level that can be heard by whatever you're plugging them into. But, as the folks at MacJams say:

professional-level microphones are typically low-impedance signal devices. ... As such, if you plug a good quality mic directly into your Mac, you won't hear anything.

And I wasn't hearing anything. I needed something to boost that microphone signal so my Mac could hear it. And the Behringer UB802 Eurorack 8 Input Mixer does just that.

But it doesn't do just that. The Behringer UB802 Eurorack 8 Input Mixer also has separate EQ channels for each track.

EQ is just music-geek for equalization, which is still music-geek for the adjustment of highs and lows of sound. Simple EQ adjustments are your treble and bass knobs on your car radio. By using the Behringer UB802 Eurorack 8 Input Mixer at my gigs, I can adjust the highs and lows of my vocals separately from the highs and lows of my piano, so if my vocals are too "bass-y" and the piano is too "treble-y," I can adjust each.

Which means a better-sounding gig for you.

Fueling up, cleaning up

2005-11-07T20:31:00.000-05:00

After this spread, how can you not work in the yard all day?

Mary and the girls -- Sarita, at top left, and Hannah -- put together a great brunch for us this morning, so we men would have plenty of energy to clean up the yard all day.

(If you're wondering, "Clean up what?" check out this post about the tree that fell into our yard.)

Micah, Caleb and I were able to clean up a lot more of our yard today. We have 11 bundles of sticks at the curb and at least that many sore muscles a piece.

But what was really fun was climbing on and over all the fallen logs in the yard. Here, the girls try walking down one of the logs.

And here, the boys try to shake them off.

And here, Hannah (in green) plays cowgirl, while Sarita wields her quarterstaff.

Plenty more to clean up tomorrow.

Wind damage in Fort Wayne

2005-11-07T09:28:00.000-05:00

Click on the photos to see them larger.

Some concerned relatives heard about tornadoes in Indiana and called us to make sure we're OK. And we are. The tornadoes ravaged Evansville, which is at the opposite corner of the state, about a 7-hour drive away.

Instead, Fort Wayne received 60-mph winds Sunday morning. About 24,000 people lost power locally. And many trees were knocked down.

Including the one in the backyard of our next-door neighbor to the west. His tree is now taking up most of our backyard.

Above is the scene that greeted us Sunday morning from our bathroom window. Our neighbor's three-stories-high maple was shorn off during the winds and landed mostly in our backyards, but not before gouging a hole in the corner of his two-story garage.

At right is the tree now. You can see where the uppermost part of the tree was stripped off, like string cheese.

As far as anyone knew, the tree was completely healthy. We had a similar, but much larger, tree in our own backyard that we had taken down a few years ago because its roots were digging into our sewer line. I can only imagine was a mess we'd have if that tree would have been knocked over, too. It was enormous.

Neither house was damaged at all on Sunday, and for that we're thankful. But I feared that everything under the tree in our backyard was decimated.

For example, see the white boards in the photo to the right? Those used to be connected to one another.

Micah, Caleb and I constructed, painted and installed two grape arbors in the backyard, and Mary was training some grapevines to climb them.

So, now we're pretty sure this one will have to be replaced. (We found out later that we may be able to repair the second one.)

Also, a chain-link fence separates the properties, and a couple of lengths were smashed to the ground.

But as I looked around yesterday, we began to see that maybe damage was not as bad as we feared.

Our shed, pictured at the top of this post, was also hit by the trunk of the tree. But it seems to have received only superficial damage to a shingle or two.

But this was heart-breaking, at least at first.

Notice the two kinds of leaves in the photo. The huge maple tree crashed down around and on our little cherry tree. The smaller oval-shaped leaves are on the cherry tree.

We had planted the montmorency cherry tree a few years ago, and it was finally big enough this year to give us enough fruit for a pie. And so when I saw this, I thought that no way would this little tree survive.

But Micah, Caleb and I went to work on the yard later in the day, and with a couple of hours of work, we were able to save at least two-thirds of the cherry tree's branches. That's very good news, for that gives the tree a good chance of survival.

Someone took this photo just to prove that I did not force the boys to do all the work.

Here's a picture of what the yard looked like after we cleared some fallen branches from around the cherry tree, which is at the far left of the photo.

So today, it's more yard work for all of us.

Happy birthday cake

2005-11-06T08:51:00.000-05:00

My dear Mary has another winner for the birthday cake for church today. (Click on the photo to see it larger.)

Especially note the bears that are toasting marshmallows.

Next gig: Friday, Nov. 4

2005-11-04T18:55:00.000-05:00

Clear your calendar: I'll be playing my original songs at The Anchor Room in Fort Wayne on Friday, Nov. 4, from 7:30-9:30 p.m.

More details, including a map, on the engagements page.

Mocking the devil

2005-10-24T20:49:00.000-05:00

Soon after my wife and I became Christians, the first holiday out the window was Halloween. It was obviously devilish, and we wanted our children to have nothing to do with it.

Back in the '80s and early '90s, Satanism scaremongers like the now-discredited Mike Warnke saw nothing but evil in the celebration of Halloween, and American Christians, steeped in the belief that the end times were upon us, were all too eager to believe the worst about any subject.

As my wife and I grew to understand more fully the sovereignty of God, our views on Halloween relaxed. But we were never completely comfortable with the idea.

Until last year. Funny how one well-written article can dismantle all manner of faulty prejudices.

You must read the whole article. For one thing, it's short. Well, kinda short. For another, it's rare to find someone with this opinion of what is so commonly believed to be a Satanic holiday co-opted by the church. The truth may very well be the opposite:

(M)any articles in books, magazines, and encyclopedias are written by secular humanists or even the pop-pagans of the so-called "New Age" movement. ... These people actively suppress the Christian associations of historic customs, and try to magnify the pagan associations. They do this to try and make paganism acceptable and to downplay Christianity. Thus, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc., are said to have pagan origins. Not true.

Oddly, some fundamentalists have been influenced by these slanted views of history. These fundamentalists do not accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of Western history, American history, and science, but sometimes they do accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of the origins of Halloween and Christmas, the Christmas tree, etc. We can hope that in time these brethren will reexamine these matters as well. We ought not to let the pagans do our thinking for us.

Read the entire article.

BONUS: Carve your own online pumpkin.

'Poor mental function'

2005-10-24T19:15:00.000-05:00

More proof journalists drink and smoke too much. This headline was found on MSNBC by my 12-year-old son:

"NEW YORK - The poorer mental function seen among alcoholics, many of whom also regularly smoke cigarettes, may be partially due to the long-term effects of nicotine, new research suggests."

Peanuts character quiz

2005-10-16T21:49:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, you take one of those Internet personality quizzes and you are genuinely surprised by the result.

This was not one of those times.

Here's what a quiz said about me:

You are Schroeder!

Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

The Katrina Chronicles

2005-10-11T09:44:00.000-05:00

If you are looking for the Blogging in Biloxi package of bloggerage, the easiest way to find it is to click on the September 2005 archive and scroll your way up the posts. My first post on going to Biloxi was on Sept. 18.

But if you're in a hurry, and I had to choose only one series of posts, I'd select my posts on Ocean Springs, Miss. Here are the links in chronological order:

Posts from Ocean Springs tonight: Introduction, with one cool photo
Welcome to Ocean Springs: Background on the town and its bridges
The bridge that outsmarted Camille: But it didn't outsmart Katrina
Out to sea: The yacht club's "remodeling"
Beauty and the Beast: Photos of the Gulf, versus what it can do when provoked
Along the beach: Meeting my tour guide, Jean
The fishmonger: Beach market washed away
Two views, one pile of rubble: My photos from the ground, compared to photos from the air
The Destruction Variety-Pak: The many ways a hurricane can destroy a beach home
Thanks a yacht: Boats seldom stay in the water during a hurricane

But I'd also want to cheat and point you to my posts on Biloxi itself:

At First Presbyterian Church, Biloxi: A study in contrasts
Photos around town: Away from the beach, the damage is less severe, but widespread
Photos from Beach Boulevard: The main road, swept clean
Devastation in Biloxi: Incredible damage downtown
Assorted and sundry photos: Bridges, boats and garages

Thanks, and your comments are always welcome.

Below the (Bible) Belt

2005-10-03T12:02:00.000-05:00

A big thank you goes out to the guys at Get Religion, who linked to my blog a few days ago:

Thanks to blogger Jon Swerens, who has found this story on Mississippi’s debate about rebuilding casinos on land, on water or at all. The story touches on the religion angle of this debate, but in a regrettable parade of characters from central casting, Bible Belt division...

Then, one of the commenters over on Get Religion said something I would have agreed with a few weeks ago:

Isn’t it possible that in Mississippi, that this is a “Bible Belt” issue and there really isn’t any liberal involvement? Unlike in some places, if you are in Mississippi or Alabama, the term “Bible Belt” is used with pride and not as some implied sneer.

Ah, but it depends on where in Mississippi you happen to live.

As the folks at Get Religion are fond of saying, the whole red state-blue state divide is too simplistic. A better divide is perhaps red ZIP code-blue ZIP code.

And the Mississippi Gulf Coast has perhaps the bluest ZIP codes in the state.

Two factors have made the Gulf Coast more "cosmopolitan," as one person called it, than the rest of the state: Tourism and the military.

Because of the, umm, rowdier elements of the military, and the look-the-other-way elements of tourism, the coast is at least culturally more liberal than the rest of the state. (The capital city of Jackson may also be culturally liberal, but I spent very little time there.)

Tourism -- now including the casinos -- and the military are both big economic engines on the coast. And now, post-Katrina, casino proponents feel they have a moral obligation to do what needs to be done to rebuild the casino economy and its 17,000 jobs.

The danger for the coast media -- including those who publish front-page editorials insisting on a tweak in state law to allow casinos on land -- is to discount the arguments against the casinos as divisive and backward. The media has an obligation to cover the opposing side of the casino issue, even if it works against its economic self-interest.

Associated Press photo of the shell of the former Treasure Bay casino in Biloxi.

'Arlo and Janis,' after Katrina

2005-10-03T11:12:00.000-05:00

This blog's favorite cartoonist, Jimmy Johnson of "Arlo and Janis," has been running repeats in the newspapers for a week. His house in Pass Christian, Miss., was damaged in Hurricane Katrina. In fact, it's estimated about 70 percent of Pass Christian was destroyed.

Today, Johnson begins running new comics again. And knowing that Johnson has shared in what the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast has gone through makes today's strip -- and I'm willing to guess, he'll keep up the theme for a few days -- especially poignant.

Go to today's strip.

Read about and see photos of Pass Christian on Johnson's personal web site.

Well, paint that nice

2005-10-02T13:33:00.000-05:00

Update: I've added a photo of the new curtains.

Here are a few photos of the great painting my family did for me while I was working in Biloxi:

With my father-in-law, I had installed new weather-resistant plywood on top of the floor of the front porch earlier in the summer. But I hadn't painted it yet.

My dear wife, Mary, says when she started painting, she was horrified: the first coat of paint looked pink. But the second coat held up a lot better.

I walked in the house, and this is what I saw.

My dear Mary and I had been trying to decided between a nice peach and a nice blue, wanted to be sure to contrast with the orange-y wood.

But Mary did some research. She read that when a room has a southern exposure -- like this living room -- then you should consider painting it a cool color like blue to cool it down. A warm color will only make such a room look and feel that much warmer.

"Paint it peach," Mary said, "and you may as well light a bonfire in the room."

Plus, Mary made new curtains.

Here's a detail shot of the white ceiling, blue wall and ~~honey oak~~. (Type of wood unknown; matter is under advisement.)

Now I just have to install the new laminate flooring.

Safely home, but 'strung up'

2005-10-01T22:14:00.000-05:00

Whew! I am now at home, resting quite comfortably with my sweet family.

How sweet? Let me tell you what I discovered when I arrived in Fort Wayne:

They displayed a big "Welcome Home Daddy!" poster
They sprayed me with can upon can of silly string, right there in the terminal (yes, yes, we cleaned it up)
They presented me with a "Buy a Dozen, Get a Dozen Free" Krispy Kreme coupon, and so we immediately drove to the doughnut shop
Upon arriving home with two dozen doughnuts, I saw that someone had painted the front porch (I soon found out that my two girls, 10 and 7, did most of the work)
And when I walked inside, I was doubly surprised to see the entire living room painted, too (that was the work of my wife and two sons, 14 and 12)

Wow! What a welcome!

Bye-bye, Gulf Coast

2005-10-01T08:56:00.000-05:00

Today I'm leaving the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I'll be boarding a jet in Jackson, Miss., this afternoon and, after a layover in Cincinnati, I'll be in Fort Wayne around 7 p.m.

As I come across forgotten photos or suppressed memories, I may yet have more to say on the Mississippi Coast. In fact, I certainly can put some sort of linkable table of contents at the top of the blog.

But for now, I'll be seeing you in Indiana.

Geographic dictionary to the Mississippi Gulf Coast

2005-09-30T16:16:00.000-05:00

A glossary of helpful terms -- and pronunciations -- for the next News-Sentinel staffer coming to The Sun Herald:

Bay St. Louis town, S Miss., pop. 8,000, across bay of same name from Pass Christian. Heavily damaged by Katrina

Beauvoir /bo-VWAH/ French, "beautiful view." The retirement estate of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. See www.beauvoir.org.

Biloxi /beh-LUK-see/ named after the Biloxis, an Indian tribe. City, S Miss., pop. 50,000, east of Gulfport. Note the pronunciation; there is no "ox" sound in "Biloxi." Official website: www.biloxi.ms.us

D'Iberville /DIE-burr-vill/ named after French settler Pierre LeMoyne Sieur d'Iberville. City, S Miss., pop. 8,000, due north of Biloxi. Official website: www.cityofdiberville.org. Read its history.

DuBuys Road /di-BEEZ/ named for early settler Peter DuBuys. Street address of The Sun Herald.

Gautier /go-SHAY/ or /GO-shay/ city, S Miss., pop. 30,000, about 10 miles east of Biloxi, past Ocean Springs

Gulfport city, S Miss., pop. 70,000, second largest city in Miss. after the capital city of Jackson. Official website: www.ci.gulfport.ms.us

Honey /HUNN-eh/ term of affection; what waitresses are likely to call you

Kangaroo A popular chain of gas/convenience stores. Official website: www.thepantry.com

Keesler Air Force Base /KEE-sler/ located in the middle of Biloxi; home of the 81st Training Wing. Official website: www.keesler.af.mil

Kiln /kill/, freq. called The Kiln /THE kill/ small unincorporated area NW of Gulfport

Long Beach city, S Miss., pop. 17,000, just west of Gulfport. Official website: www.cityoflongbeachms.com

Ocean Springs town, S Miss., pop. 17,000, east of Biloxi across Biloxi Bay.

Pass Christian /PASS kris-tchi-ANN/ town, S Miss., pop. 6,500, just west of Long Beach. Heavily damaged by Katrina

Pass Road The "old" main road from Gulfport through most of Biloxi. Orig. called Pass Christian Road

Saucier /so-SHURE/ or /SO-shure/ town, S Miss., pop. 1,300, about 15 miles N of Gulfport

Sun Herald newspaper for Gulfport-Biloxi area, circ. 50,000. Official website: www.sunherald.com

Sweetheart /SWEET-art/ term of affection; what hotel housekeepers are likely to call you

Tegarden Road note spelling

Waffle House Ubiquitous 24-hour diner featuring breakfast foods at every interstate offramp. Official website: www.wafflehouse.com

Waveland town, S Miss., just west of Bay St. Louis. Heavily damaged by Katrina

See a map of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The casinos

2005-09-30T12:18:00.000-05:00

There is one industry that people here are saying must be rebuilt, and must be rebuilt on land instead of on the water:

The casinos.

And there is one industry that the state legislature may or may not allow to build on land, because of pressure from conservative Christians:

The casinos.

The Sun Herald stakes its claim on the side of the casinos today with a huge, front-page editorial: "Mississippi must decide its future."

The members of the Mississippi Legislature have a choice to make. They can either enable tens of thousands of their fellow Mississippians to rebuild their lives and livelihoods, or they can turn the worst natural disaster in the history of this nation into potentially the worst economic disaster in the history of this state.

Read the accompanying front-page story: "House panel OKs onshore casinos."

The need continues

2005-09-30T12:02:00.000-05:00

I'll be leaving Southern Mississippi tomorrow, and unlike so many people here, I'm going home to an actual house.

The stores are open, the curfew is lifted, the restaurants are bustling, and in this one sense, things are getting back to normal.

But so many people are still without places to live, and still unsure what they will do next.

Among those helping is the American Red Cross. It has set up one of the largest kitchens in the South: It's outside, in a parking lot.

This truck delivers 600 to 700 lunches a day. And it is one of 15 trucks. I'll do the math ... umm ... that's more than 10,000 lunches every day.

The need is enormous, and of course The Red Cross is asking for donations and volunteers.

This truck is delivering lunches to volunteers around the area, including those at First Presbyterian Church of Biloxi. And speaking of First Pres:

Darlene, a missionary to Ecuador who is in the States on furlough, has been volunteering at First Pres.

Here, she points out the items on the huge chart the church is using to keep track of the stuff coming in and out and to keep track of the volunteers.

It seems that every time a certain supply runs low, a truck pulls up with those very supplies. Supplies were getting low on Thursday, when this picture was taken. One reason was that Tuesday was an extremely busy day. In eight hours, the church distributed supplies for 686 people.

With grocery stores open, the actual food distribution will not continue for much longer. But there is plenty of other work that needs to be done: Roofing, clean-up, construction, office work, counseling. The church staff has been working very hard, and can use a break, too.

The folks at Mission to North America, the PCA organization that is running the relief operation, say the work on the Gulf Coast will continue as long as three things remain:

The church continues to sponsor it
The volunteers keep coming
The work is here to do

Since there is no chance the work will evaporate anytime soon, and the church is likely to continue housing visiting helpers, the rest is up to volunteers.

Can you help? Can you send money? Can you take the time to come and work? Anyone with the willingness to help can be of help.

You can go to the PCA Relief web page to offer your assistance.

The dark is darker now

2005-09-30T11:55:00.000-05:00

Cartoonist Jimmy Johnson, resident of Mississippi Coast town Pass Christian, speaks eloquently about walking around his town after nightfall.

Read his words here. Plus, read his archived "Arlo and Janis" comics.

P.S. Pass Christian is pronounced /PASS kris-tchi-ANN/.

The question

2005-09-30T11:51:00.000-05:00

"How'd ya do?"

Two acquaintances meet each other for the first time at Winn-Dixie. After the standard, "Hi!" and "How ya doing?" the next question has become standard etiquette.

"How'd ya do?"

It's the universal ice breaker. We all went through Katrina, it says. We all suffered in some way, even if it was just seeing what happened to other parts of your own town.

All that is a given. Now, I should ask about you personally. And Southern manners has come up with the phrase for all of us to use:

"How'd ya do?"

A group of us from The Sun Herald went to a Chinese buffet on Wednesday. Behind us walked in a woman who evidently was some kind of regular customer before the storm.

Within five seconds, the proprietress had asked the customer, "How'd ya do?"

The customer had lost her home. And the proprietress was able to inform her about her efforts to reopen her business.

This morning, an older gentleman in line with me at P.J.'s Coffee in Gulfport turned around and, after a couple of pleasantries, asked, "How'd ya do?"

I told him I wasn't here, nor did I even live here.

"Well," he drawled, "that's good for you."

"How'd you do?" I asked.

"My house is somewhere in the sound," he said.

The man was retired and in some way well-off. He had a good amount of money in stocks. But of course, that might be everything he has to live on for the rest of his life.

And now, his house is in the sound. And he's been trying to get a FEMA trailer delivered to his plot of land, close enough to the beach "you can hit a golf ball into the water from my front yard." But, he'll survive, he says.

Everyone wants to talk about what he has had to go through. But no one wants to be so impolite as to just start blabbing about his own difficulties.

So, when you visit, and you start meeting a few residents, remember that they all have a Katrina story. But they won't tell you what it is unless you ask:

"How'd ya do?"

Time to pack my bags

2005-09-30T11:08:00.000-05:00

First thing tomorrow morning, I step into my rental car -- a Subaru Outback, a nice ride -- and drive to Jackson, Miss., for my flight home.

I also have some things to pack onto this blog before I go. I hope to offer an update of the ministry of First Presbyterian of Biloxi, and a handy glossary for future visitors to Biloxi-Gulfport and The Sun Herald.

Who needs FEMA when you have NASA?

2005-09-30T00:05:00.000-05:00

In case you don't know, ScrappleFace is a satirical news site.

And here's some "news" I missed from last week:

NASA Promotes Hurricane-Free Moon Villages

Fort Wayne in the news

2005-09-29T23:06:00.000-05:00

So, I tottled over to The Sun Herald home page, clicked on the More Photos link, and scrolled through to find ... Fort Wayne!

Photo by The Associated Press

Caption: Dave Anderson, left, and Kent Rybolt of Ft. Wayne, Ind., sell Hurricane Katrina T-shirts along a highway in Gulfport. Reaction has been mixed.

And I'm told some residents are actually wearing them.

Read the story, "Free enterprise at work: Katrina T-shirts amid the rubble."

You know what's funny?

2005-09-29T23:02:00.000-05:00

Blogger.com, which hosts this weblog, has a spell check.

The word "blog" is not in its dictionary.

The waiting

2005-09-29T22:51:00.000-05:00

Over supper, I met Batch and Holly -- Batch is the guy responsible for the Latin-rific Simul Justus et Peccator blog.

It was never intended to become Katrina Central for the PCA, but there it is.

(And I took my camera with me and never took a picture of them. My brain sometimes.)

Batch and Holly lost their house to Katrina. That of course was very difficult and draining.

But now they're in a new difficult and draining portion of the disaster: Trying to figure out what to do next.

Do you stay? Do you rebuild? Can you afford to rebuild? Do you really want to live in the same spot? Can you find a job? Can you afford to stay and find a job? Should you move to find a job?

And all the while, you're calling and meeting with representatives of layer upon layer of government and insurance bureaucracy.

This is a time when prayer is most needed for patience through this particular trial.

Read more on his blog.

Sign off

2005-09-29T15:20:00.000-05:00

I understand that this sign on Pass Road just west of Keesler Air Force Base was one of only two original McDonald's signs in the country.