stay cool

Yesterday was a research day at Wildesign.

Bands I'm just hearing about:

Olivia the Band. Whoa. If you're a pop-punk fan, these guys are for you. In a big way. I think they sound like New Found Glory got saved; Timothy doesn't think so, but I think that's just 'cause he likes Olivia and he's got something against the NFG guy for his bad teeth. You can listen on their MySpace page. I like 'em. It takes me back to the summer in high school when I met punk.

The Glorious Unseen. You can get these guys on MySpace or Pure Volume, whichever you prefer. They're a little more melancholy, but I'm sometimes melancholy myself so we get along. I like 'em because they're obviously Christian, but they don't call themselves a Christian band. Some bands are Christian bands and they don't call themselves a Christian band because they're afraid they'll never become "more" than a Christian band. I read an interview with these guys, though, and I really believe they don't call themselves a Christian band because they don't believe Christian music should be quarantined. They're getting out there.

This is a live video, so the sound is bad, but it's the title track from their new album Tonight the Stars Speak.

As seasonal music goes, they're polar opposites. Get into The Glorious Unseen now, and get Olivia in the spring.

Other coolness:

Rice Bowls. Rice Bowls are piggy banks made to look like a full bowl of rice. The idea is you give them out, people fill them up, and you send the money to Rice Bowls, who uses it to get rice to children orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the name of Jesus. AND they provide the cute rice bowl piggy banks for free (in boxes of 50).

Buy Shoes. Save Lives. This is a couple Americans in Iraq who decided they wanted a pair of traditional shoes (klash); one thing led to another ... Now they're selling klash (all handmade by poor shop owners in Iraq) at $100/pair to fund heart surgeries in Iraqi children. The really cool thing is that the kids get sent further east to Jewish heart surgeons. Shoes, heart surgies, and peaceful relationships.

XXXChurch. (It's safe.) This is a ministry run by a couple of young pastors who want to see God move through the porn industry. It's pretty amazing. The website is full of information, and you can watch videos of people testifying about how the industry affected their lives. It's sad. What's not sad is that they've printed the Message New Testament with this cheesy, '70s-porn-looking cover that says, "Jesus Loves Porn Stars." They set up "booths" at erotica shows and porn conventions, and hand out thousands of New Testaments. Of course there are those in the Christian community who don't like the idea of printing "Jesus loves porn stars" on things, but ...

There you have it. That's what's been distracting me lately.