Blossoming Cherry Blossoms

A couple of weeks ago we took a weekend-long excursion to our nation's capitol. The impetus for such a getaway was a much needed intermission from the daily grind, as well as to visit the National Cherry Blossom Festival. If you are not familiar with the festival, it is the oldest and largest of its kind, going back to 1912 when the city of Tokyo gave the city of Washington, D.C. 3,000 cherry trees. The trees are planted on the Tidal Basin which surrounds the Jefferson Memorial. The result is a dazzling display of pinkish-white blooms which drape the shores of the Basin. Here are a couple photos from our trip.

It's Time...

"Wherever you are, wherever you may be, IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!" ~John Ward

Happy Birthday Christina!

Since July 15th is a special day in the Graham family, I thought it would apropos to have a little party for the woman of the house. It was 29 years ago today that Donna went through the pains of labor to give birth to little Christina. In light of this miraculous feat, an eclectic group of friends gathered at "Cafe Barcelona" in Chestnut Hill to celebrate the birth of the woman we all love...Christina Oliver Graham. Happy Birthday Christina! We love you!

The Fourth, Friends & Que

Christina and I spent the 4th over at the Watlington’s. As we pulled into their driveway, we immediately noticed Alex Watlington carrying a plate of Memphis-style dry-rub pork ribs, seasoned with the “Rendezvous” rub. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Alex’s shared passion for good que made me ponder a deep and profound question: Which restaurant has the best barbeque?

Of course, there is difficulty in trying to answer a question like this. It is tantamount to asking which college football team has the most storied tradition. Or, if you are a Westminster student, and have never heard of football, it’s like asking who the better exegete is: Gerhardus Vos, or J. Greshan Machen? A highly subjective question.

Barbeque itself is also incredibly varied. There are different types of meats (pork, beef, & chicken), cuts (shoulder, brisket, & ribs), sauces (mustard, tomato, & vinegar), and regions (Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, Carolina, etc.). So how could one possibly decide with any degree of accuracy which one is the best? Well, like college football, discussing the issue is part of the fun.

Thus, here's my top five barbeque restaurants.


1. Rendezvous, Memphis, TN
(Simply the best pork ribs in the world)

2. Cooper’s, Llano, TX
(Specializing in beef, voted #2 in Texas but it’s #1 on my list)

3. Corky’s (the original), Memphis, TN
(Only the original, rivals the Rendezvous for dry rub ribs)

4. Dreamland, Tuscaloosa, AL
(This is a rib joint. The sign reads: “No beans, no slaw, so don’t ask!”)

5. The Beacon, Spartanburg, SC
(Come for the “hash-a-plenty,” and the blind guy who takes your order)

Soccer: How does it compare with American sports?

Stop…take a deep breath and smell the soccer in the air. Yes, it’s that time of the decade again, and the World Cup is in full swing. After a four month hiatus, the Graham’s are back in the blogosphere. You can thank my good friend Luke Evans for awaking me from my cyber-slumber. Luke posted a delightful little piece which reasons for the inferiority of soccer over against traditional American sports. In what follows, I would like to share some of my thoughts regarding the subject.

1. Pele once called soccer “the most beautiful game.” Soccer is a simple game, and there is beauty in simplicity. Soccer is an easier game to play than football, baseball, hockey, or basketball. All you need is a few blokes and a round ball. You don’t need hoops, helmets, hats, gloves, pads, sticks, goggles, mouthpieces, or even a court. Simply a knobby pitch will do. If you don’t have a goal, you can easily fashion one with a couple of shirts—if you dare to take them off.

2. Soccer is the most popular game in the world. This might be an argument ad populum I admit, but the sheer number of soccer fans is pertinent to the discussion. Currently, an argument could be made that soccer has become the most popular game in the United States, since for the last 10 years more children in America have played soccer than any other sport. One might even argue that soccer is now more American than baseball!

3. Soccer requires creativity. Much like basketball, or hockey, soccer is a game that requires quick thinking and spontaneous coordination. Aside from free kicks, there are no set plays. In addition, soccer is a fluid game that has no time outs, no play stoppage whatsoever. No water breaks, no sixty second intervals between plays, no dugouts where you sit for 50% of the game. You play the whole game from start to finish with only one break at half-time—talk about mental toughness!

4. Without soccer there would be no football. Football (which is probably my favorite sport, Go Vols!) was invented from rugby, and rugby was invented from soccer.

5. Soccer requires much more skill than most American team sports. The top soccer players in the world can do things with a soccer ball that would make the Harlem Globetrotters envious. Likewise, it is much more difficult to score a goal in soccer than to hit a major league fastball, score a basket in the NBA, or even score a touchdown in the NFL. If you don’t believe me, then simply check out how many times these things typically occur in the above mentioned sports, and then compare this number to amount of goals scored in soccer matches. The evidence speaks for itself.

6. Soccer has the most fanatical fans in the world. I thought American fans were crazy. But American fans fall woefully short of international soccer fanaticism. One example being in the aftermath of Brazil losing the ’66 World Cup, 7 Brazilian fans committed suicide! Or, when in the ’94 World Cup a Columbian defender was brutally shot to death after he accidentally scored a goal on his own team. Or take the heated rivalry between Celtic FC, and Rangers FC, in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. This rivalry, Catholic/Protestant, is so bad that you can be arrested for simply walking on the wrong side of town on game day if you are wearing the wrong colored jersey.

7. The World Cup of Soccer is the most widely watched event in the world. More people watch the World Cup than the Olympics, the World Series, or the Super Bowl. If soccer is so boring to watch, then why does this event have the highest television rating in the history of mankind?

8. To be sure, the type of athleticism needed in soccer doesn’t necessarily transfer to American sports--although, the two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash is a former star soccer player. Also, Kobe Bryant, and Dirk Nowitzki (arguably the two other best NBA players) grew up playing soccer. I guess they picked up basketball because they found it less challenging. But despite the fact that the NBA’s most dominant players are soccer players, we must be careful how we measure athleticism. Athleticism is not necessarily measured by how fast you run the 40, or how high your vertical jump is. Measuring athletic ability by these criteria is too narrowly centered on fast twitch muscles, and doesn’t account for endurance, stamina, flexibility, lateral speed, agility, etc. In these areas, soccer players are clearly superior.

Cheers!

On Belle & Sebastian

A few weeks ago we saw the Scottish band, B&S in NYC’s Nokia theatre--a setting which needs comment. Located in Times Square, the Nokia is a psychedelically sheik uber-urban theatre. Beneath the theatre's Heineken green neon trim, New York’s book loving, Che Guevara T-shirt wearing, thirty-something Woody Allen types held court. That the show was pure genius seemed to fit, since everyone there looked like a misunderstood genius. What better place to see my new favorite band?! But aside from the sideline antics, B&S’s hypnotic sound, led by their shy frontman Stuart Murdoch, was the real draw.

No less appealing is the story of the band’s humble beginning. It starts with the lead vocalist, Stuart Murdoch, who, while in his mid-twenties, was forced to move in with his parents while battling a two year stint with chronic fatigue syndrome. During this wilderness experience, Murdoch began to write music and eventually formed the band. In time Murdoch moved out of his parent’s house into a “work for rent” in a church annex building where he lived until last year. What’s fascinating is that long after B&S accumulated indie fame, Murdoch continued living in his small apartment at the church--singing in the choir too I might add!

You can listen to the band by visiting NPR’s “All Songs Considered.” Murdoch's interview is particularly interesting. Enjoy:
http://www.npr.org/programs/asc/archives/bellenpclap/

Blair Theologizes

Tony Blair’s recent reference to God has received a scornful backlash from the British press. Commenting on his controversial decision to go to war, Blair appealed to a higher authority, declaring, “God will be my judge on Iraq.”

The media’s near uniform vexation over Blair’s remarks is a barometer of sorts of the de-Christianization of British culture. The British media is generally left-of-center just like media in the United States, but I wonder if Bush would receive a similar response if he uttered an identical statement? To be sure, conservative Americans have grown accustomed to the media’s habitual thrashing of their moral-driven agenda. But the stomach for religious jargon is stronger in the United States than in Britain.

One only needs to think back to Bush’s successful union with Pat Robertson during the 2000 South Carolina primary in which Robertson slung mud in the face of Bush’s rival, John McCain. Or when Ralph Reed campaigned for Bush-Cheney at the Southern Baptist Convention in 2004--“unofficially” of course--or Bush receiving a standing ovation following an address to that same convention. A more recent example is Georgia Democrats strategically implementing “God” language in their upcoming campaign.

At bottom, the mixture of politics and faith remains a vital, if not an essential ingredient in American politics, whereas it has long left the platform in Britain. This being said, how should American Christians approach the issue? I believe D.G. Hart provides us with a helpful starting point. In his book “Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America,” Hart summarizes Machen’s understanding of the complex relationship between politics and faith:

“The admixture of public and religious interests was objectionable to Machen not just because it threatened the free exercise of religion but also because it corrupted belief itself.”

In other words, the central concern for Machen was the corruption of orthodox Christian doctrine. I suspect that Machen’s endorsement of the separation between church and state would enrage the likes of Jerry Falwell and the Christian Coalition, not to mention many red state Evangelicals! Yet, upon closer examination, I believe that Machen stands out here as the true conservative in his attempt to guard that which is most sacred.

Yet, isn't Machen's concern double-sided--equally applicable to both sides of the government/church divide? In other words, if it’s hazardous for the government to involve itself in religious practices, is it not equally destructive if the church involves itself in political concerns?

Back From Dallas

What a year it was! From our engagement on New Year's Eve to a Wedding in Charleston, to moving to Philadelphia...it has been a whirlwind.

Alex and I spent New Years with friends and family in Dallas. Special thanks to Paul and Laura for hosting yet another great get together. What a wonderful time to catch up...it seems like no time has passed since our move last August. During our week long journey back to Texas we tried to soak up Dallas and the warm weather as well as all the mexican food we could stomach. A quick trip to Austin allowed us time with my sister, Susan, and her husband, Chad. As I write this they are traveling to their new home in Maui, Hawaii!





We also had the opportunity to hang out with Alex's cousin Derek Phillips. Derek moved to Dallas from L.A. about a year ago and is an actor/producer with Second Thought Theatre.

Merry Christmas!

Last night we were fortunate to have Yoshi Kato over for Christmas supper. Yoshi is a seminary student from Japan. Afterwards, we went to 10th Pres for the annual Chrismas Eve service, where we heard Stuar Neill sing--one of the world's best tenors according to Pavarotti. It was spectacular.

I awoke this morning to the smell of freshly made cinamon rolls. I jumped out of bed and found Christina to be the culinary culprit--fast at work in the kitchen like a little Christmas elf. Enjoying our first Christmas together as newly marrieds we are still carving out our own traditions, but filled stockings and wrapped presents seem to be shared alike. We are off to church, an ironically unusual event for Christmas morning, but one all the more important.

Merry Christmas and God Bless!

New Hymn for Advent

The following is a new hymn entitled “Grace Carol.” It was recently written by Phil Graham Ryken, the pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. What a breath of fresh air it is to find a worship song written by a pastor/theologian. Listen to the words as they exalt the Lord Jesus....Merry Christmas everyone!

Joseph, see the Holy Child,
Born to Mary, mother mild;
Call him Jesus, Adam's son --
Now in Christ our God has come;
Call him brother, close of kin --
Human nature, without sin.
Born to us, a fallen race,
God Incarnate, gift of grace.

Shepherds, run to Bethlehem,
Seek the babe outside the inn;
Shepherd in the manger lies,
Born to comfort all your sighs;
Unto you the Savior lives,
For the sheep His life He gives.
Born to save our sinful race,
Jesus leads us by His grace.

Eastern kings, your glory bring,
Royal treasure for the King;
King of all, the Son is giv'n,
Destined for the throne of heav'n;
Raised on high, the Christ will reign,
Conquer sin and death and pain.
Born to govern Adam's race,
Jesus rules, the King of grace!

Jesus--Brother, Shepherd, King,
Sinners, let your voices ring!
God made flesh, the Living Word,
King of Kings and Mighty Lord,
Faithful Shepherd, David's Son,
Christ, Messiah, Holy One--
Born to save His chosen race,
Jesus gives us grace on grace.

Happy Birthday Dad!

What so special about today? Of course, on this day 64 years ago a swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes descended on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. December 7th is, as FDR put it, "a day that will live in emphany." But December 7th will always be historically significant for another reason. On December 7, 1945, my father, Alex Graham, Jr., was born. So, here's to you dad! Happy 60th birthday!

Some megachurches cancel Sunday services

Sunday is for opening presents...

According the Philadelphia Inquirer, the country's megachurches will not gather for corporate worship on Sunday, Dec. 25th, because it inconveniently falls on Christmas day. However, David Wells, a professor at Gordon-Conwell, provides the Inquirer with a telling comment about the situation. Here's the link to the article Philadelphia Inquirer

Turkey Day Delight

Greetings friends and family. The Graham clan has recovered from its inaugral turkey-day banquet, and, apart from a minor oven FIRE, which was speedily extinguished thanks to baking soda and Christina's cat-like reactions, the evening was delightful. We had the pleasure of entertaining four guests: Dr. Barron Ellebey, my parents, and John Ferguson. The following day, we decided to burn off some calories, so we drove to Geno's in south philly for some cheesesteaks. I'm not sure what makes Geno's so good, but after standing in line for 45 minutes in the freezing cold--not to mention heartburn and a pint sized injection of artery plaque--I was ready for some Pepto.

Saturday we ventured to the Big Apple (F.Y.I., NYC is named the "Big Apple" after a dance with the same name, which originated in Columbia, SOUTH CAROLINA). I forgot how breathtaking Manhattan is, especially for bumpkin-folk like myself. While there, we stopped by Broadway and caught a play, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrals," starring John Lithgow. It was funny, but Lithgow is forever typecast in my brain--he'll always be an alien!