I.M. Notatruthteller

I love Kathy Griffin.
My affection for her began three years ago when I saw her stand-up special "The D-List" on Bravo.
All of her subsequent specials, and her reality show, have become must-see tv.
I don't fully understand why I love her so much, but one reason is because she is so unafraid to tell the brutal truth.
I have always known, on some level, that "show business" is one elaborate mirage; a large gaggle of entertainers who desperately attempt to tout themselves as kind, approachable and decent, when most of them are in fact spoiled, snobbish nightmares.
One such example is this (two-part) story that Kathy tells about her encounter with the media mogul known as Ryan Seacrest:

A sonnet about your Easter bonnet

Engaging in serious contemplation and then attempting to explain it is not always a good idea.

I run the risk of sounding pretentious. Or worse, schmaltzy.

But as I plodded through the rituals of Easter, weighted thoughts flitted about in my headspace, tugged at my spirit.

I spent most of my youth chasing after feelings to supplement my faith, as though feelings would somehow make it more tactile, more genuine. And often, they did. I was an abundantly emotional teenager, after all, as most are.
As I grew older, I began to feel callous and hopelessly desensitized when I no longer cried when confronted with stories or images of the crucifixion of Christ. It no longer caused emotional anguish or sorrow.
I no longer wept at the depth of my gratitude, or the passion of my love for a God who would become human, only to be tortured and brutally murdered.

What I have ultimately realized is that God never really asked for me to have passionate emotions toward Him. Feelings are transient by nature, of course. Their job is to ignite and flee, engorge and deflate.
It seems as though God asks for much more sturdy, difficult offerings: Devotion. Obedience. Humility. Sacrifice.

Perhaps I chased feelings for so long because they were much easier to catch.

Haircut of the Year

My friend Rob emailed this to me:




Hilarious.

And the list goes on...

Things to Do Before I Go, goals 26-50...


26. Spend a night in a five-star hotel
27. See Over the Rhine in concert
28. Take voice lessons
29. Own an Apple computer
30. Throw a big party for no particular reason
31. Learn to play chess
32. Try surfing
33. Play a key role in a community theatre production
34. Visit the Blue Lagoon in Iceland
35. Go on a road trip in a motorhome
36. Lay in a hammock on the beach in Fiji
37. Fast for all 40 days of Lent
38. See a Bunraku performance
39. Take a really good photo of the Eiffel Tower
30. Say a prayer in a cathedral
31. See the Mona Lisa
32. Visit the Van Gogh museum
33. Swim beneath a waterfall
34. Learn to play guitar
35. Have dessert at Serendipity 3
36. Visit L.A./Hollywood
37. Volunteer at a women's shelter
38. Own a purebred Saint Bernard or Newfoundland
39. See a show on Broadway
40. Go to a gay pride parade
41. See dolphins "up close and personal"
42. Devote a vacation to the exploration of the Smithsonian
43. Live in a warm climate
44. Be a foster "parent" for an animal shelter
45. Learn to play the hammered dulcimer
46. Go on an African safari
47. Live in a big city 
48. Write a book and get it published
49. Go skydiving
50. Ride in a rickshaw

Bundles o' Joy

So, my friends Paul + Becky had a baby boy yesterday afternoon.

I cried when I saw him.
And when I held him.
When my niece or nephew arrives in August, chances are I will be a wreck.
But I'm fine with that.
The miracle of life just moves me; always has, always will.







Grant Thomas Finkle
7 lbs 14.5 oz
March 10, 2008

Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies - `God damn it, you've got to be kind.'
~Kurt Vonnegut

"The Bucket List"

Inspired by my friend Tiffany, I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and make a list of 100 Things to Do Before I Go.
Here are goals 1-25...

1. Visit the United Kingdom -- perhaps even live there
2. Go to graduate school
3. Get some of my poetry published
4. Visit all 50 states
5. Lose a lot of weight
6. See all of AFI's 100 Greatest Films
7. Eat pizza in Italy
8. Visit the set of a film
9. Fall in love
10. Visit Annie in Utah
11. Hold babies in an orphanage in an impoverished country
12. Learn how to ballroom dance
13. Serve at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving or Christmas
14. See the Sistine Chapel
15. Reconnect with my college roommate
16. Go to the circus
17. See the giant Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center in NYC
18. Get my hair cut short
19. Work full-time as a photographer
20. Try on a pair of Manolo Blahniks
21. Go to a wax museum
22. Volunteer at a children's hospital
23. Take a pilates class
24. Visit Rob Bell's church (Mars Hill) in Grand Rapids
25. See the Grand Canyon

More coming soon...feel free to join the fun :)

You don't really care for music, do ya?

Jason Castro - who is cute and has cool dreads and a decent voice but cannot seem to speak in full sentences - just sang Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah on American Idol.

I was immediately reminded of my favorite rendition of the song, performed by one of my favorite artists, Over the Rhine...

Don't talk back to Darth Vader...

This girl understands Star Wars about as well as I do.
But I think the cuteness overload may have killed me.