Today we drive 2 hours to Des Moines for the youngest daughter to get senior pics at the Iowa state capitol. Then 2 more hours on to Nebraska to move the middle kid back to college. Middle kid is basically moving out for good this year. My heart is not ready for this.
It’s always a good day to support a Ben Shive Kickstarter campaign. www.kickstarter.com/projects/…
The Cubs with a nice W against the Nationals and the Brewers get swept by the Padres… suddenly the Cubs are only 3 games back in the NL Central with a lot of baseball left to be played. Should be a fun last 6 weeks of the season! #MLB #Cubs
OK, that’s kinda cool: just saw that I got my first patent issued ! It’s obscure, unlikely to be used for anything substantive, and belongs to a previous employer, so I probably won’t even get the plaque for it. But it’s my idea, with my name on it. Neat.
A good chuckle at church this morning as a sweet older lady from the vestry stumbled over the church picnic announcement and said the vestry would be providing the meat and the condoms. (Why is “condiments” such a difficult word, anyway?) ⚓️
2026 Reads: Mrs. Dalloway (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Virginia Woolf 📚
2026 Reads: In the Beginning was the Spirit Science, Religion, and Indigenous Spirituality by Diarmuid Ó Murchú 📚 Well, that was a hand-waving mess. Bleh.
So apparently last night was a good Caleb Thielbar night, and tonight he’s trying to give up the game again. Wish the #Cubs could just have him pitch on his good nights. #MLB
2026 Reads: Homebound - A Novel by Portia Elan 📚
Amazing how much the temperature affects my running. It’s been rough the last couple weeks, but today we had rain and the temps stayed in the 60s. Got out after work and ran 8 miles at a 9 min/mi pace, and felt good doing it. Needed that.
Wanted something to liven up my podcast queue. Realized there are feeds full of old time radio shows from the ‘30s and ‘40s. I used to listen to reruns on AM radio late night when I was a kid. Looking forward to revisiting them.
Two hours later, in tears at the end of Glen Hansard’s funeral. Not so much for Glen, but for seeing that community. What do you do in mourning and loss? Get together, pray, and everybody brings their instrument to sing and make music. Powerful.
Watching the stream of Glen Hansard’s funeral being held at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. Somehow hearing the reading from Revelation in an Irish accent just hits different. Phew. glenhansard.com
2026 Reads: The Fortunate Fall by Cameron Reed 📚
At the local blues festival tonight, observing that for middle aged men who want to give off a certain artsy vibe, the headwear of choice is a fedora, usually paired with a bowling shirt. I’m… uncertain about the wisdom of this trend.
Some Cedar Rapids Gazette readers gonna be disappointed when they turn the page.
2026 Reads: Lost and Found in the Cathedral of Cinema A Spiritual Journey by Jeffrey Overstreet 📚 Wonderful book.
While it has by no means rained the whole day, when it has rained it has really dumped. We’re up to almost 5 inches since about 3 AM. #iawx
RIP Glen Hansard, dead in a motorcycle crash at age 56. Once will be in my heart forever. stereogum.com/2506606/g…
Really appreciate Brian Zahnd’s foray into political theology today . It’s not our job to change the world. Jesus is the Savior of the world, not us. (The buoyant hope that sustains me in dark days is my conviction that the world really will be saved because Jesus really is the Savior of the world. Apokatastasis, baby!) Changing (or saving) the world is a task belonging to the Son of God.…
Just got back from seeing The Odyssey . Nolan knows how to make an epic. Loved Hathaway. Damon and Holland were fine. Leguizamo was unexpected and perfect. Found myself left just a little cold to the whole thing by the end.
2026 Reads: We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine by Alissa Wilkinson 📚
A very happy birthday to our oldest daughter, who isn’t on any of these socials and so won’t see this. Still, 22 years old today, a recent college grad with a new job in her field… an adventurous spirit and a lovely artistic streak to go with it. Couldn’t be prouder. HBD Laura!
On a whim went with my wife and 17-year-old daughter to see a local community theater production of Newsies. It’s one of the kid’s favorites. It was quite good. There’s just something about musical theater, man… ❤️
2026 Reads: The Hero of Ages Book Three of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson 📚 Enjoyed it. Also happy to be done with it and to get on to something else.