Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Welcome to your Friday edition of Snippets and Soundbites! Be sure to check out the monthly print edition on page 38 of each issue of ec.

• If you're anything like us, you forget more than you remember. Not so for a California woman with a so-called "super-memory." MRI scans performed on Los Angeles teacher Jill Price, 43, helped doctors to identify two abnormally large areas in the the woman's brain, which they think could be the reason for her way better than average memory. The two areas are the caudate nuclei—typically used for memory when forming automatic habits—and a part of the temporal lobe that stores facts, dates and events. Doctors think the two areas of the brain may be working together in a way that's been unknown up until now. Read more here.

• The set of octuplets (that's 8 babies!) born to a Southern California mother this week are reportedly doing well. It has been reported that two of the newborns did need help breathing, but are now well enough to have the breathing tubes removed. The babies, two girls and six boys, were born 9 1/2 weeks early and weighed between 1 pound 8 ounces and 3 pounds 4 ounces (which is what ec's editor weighed when she was born). The parents have not been identified, and it isn't known if the mother had undergone fertility treatments. The eighth baby was actually a surprise. Doctors (and the parents) were expecting only seven babies. This is only the second set of live octuplets born in the U.S. The first were born in Houston in 1998. The world's first set of octuplets were born in Mexico City in 1967, but all eight died within hours. Read more about the newest octuplets here.

• A Iowa woman's failure to return an overdue library book led to more than fines. The woman was arrested recently on a fifth-degree theft charge because she had failed to return The Freedom Writers Diary, a book she'd checked out of the nearby Jesup, Iowa, library in April of last year. Since then, the library has repeatedly tried to contact her and a police officer even visited her home last September. The book is valued at $13.95, and the woman was released from jail after posting a $250 bond.

• In other news, blood apparently is thicker than water. A 24-year-old Michigan man apparently broke into a gas station and called 911 on himself. He said he wanted to go to jail so he could be with his brother who was already incarcerated. Read more here.

SNOW DAY!

In case you can't tell, it's snowing in Nashville. Well, at least it was, a little. And that made us wish for a snow day, which sadly, as working adults we don't get very often. So count your blessings!

But if you're stuck inside because of ice, snow, and otherwise yucky conditions, we do have some ideas to help liven up your day. Check them out on page 56 of the January issue of ec. Whatever you do, don't just sit around and count the hours until the day is over. And if that list of ideas isn't good enough for you, what about some of these:

• Stage a movie marathon. Pick a bunch of movies starring an actor you like, movies that all deal with a specific theme, movies by a certain director, or even movies in a trilogy or with several sequels, like LOTR or Indiana Jones.

• Cook. If you're not dealing with power outages because of the ice storm affecting much of the U.S., you might have the opportunity to make something really good or something that takes awhile to make. So get out the cookbooks, find the measuring cups, and amp up your culinary creativity!

• Games. Games. Games. You're stuck inside, but that doesn't mean sports have to go by the wayside. Check out Sportscenter on ESPN and see how your favorite teams are doing, especially your favorite college basketball teams since March Madness isn't all that far away. (BTW, Duke plays arch-rival Wake Forest tonight. Duke is the #1 team in the nation this week!) You could recruit your siblings to play video games with you or test out the Wii Fit you got for Christmas. Or just make up some sort of low-impact game you and your family can play inside. And if all else fails, when there's snow, there's always opportunity for a snowball fight!

• Read. Books aren't the enemy. Read some of the classics or a contemporary writer you like. Pick a genre or topic you usually don't read about. Ask your mom or dad to name their favorite books and see if they'll let you borrow it. You can discuss it at some later date. Or find out if some of your favorite movies were based on books. We think you'll find most of the books are better.

• Catch up. We hate to be the voice of reason, but if you're behind in your homework, a snow day could be the perfect day to catch up. Read. Do the problems, write the paper, look over your notes. It won't kill you, and it probably won't take all day.

• Bored games. If you're bored, locate some board games and enlist family members to play with you. Mandy, ec's editor, loves the game "Clue" even though it's probably meant for much younger players. “Trivial Pursuit” is fun and challenging. “Cranium” is also a good option.

Whatever you do, this is the day that God has made. Rejoice in it!

It's the last week of January. . .

which means you only have a few more days left to answer our January 2009 Question of the Month. And since you're responses have been, well, almost non-existent, we thought we'd give you one last big chance to tell us what you think. Your answer could very well be printed on page 4 of an upcoming issue of ec! Include your first name and where you live when you answer (which you can do right in the comments section of this post)! Here's the question:
What do you plan to do after high school?

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

• President Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States and the first African American elected to the post on Tuesday. The inauguration of the U.S. president has been on January 20 since 1937. In other inauguration trivia, Thomas Jefferson was the first president to take the oath in Washington, D.C., and the only president sworn in by someone other than a judge was Calvin Coolidge, who was sworn in by his father, a notary, the then-Vice President was visiting when he learned of President Warren G. Harding's death. George Washington's second inaugural address was the shortest, while William Henry Harrison delivered the longest. Since 1953, it's customary for the newly inaugurated president and vice president to attend a luncheon held by the United States Congress. It is one of the few times the president, VP, and both houses of Congress are all in the same place.

• In other presidential news, President Obama will be the first sitting president to use e-mail. President Obama is an avid user of his Blackberry, which was a constant companion on the campaign trail. Former presidents had chosen not to communicate via e-mail for a mixture of legal and security reasons. E-mail can be supoened by Congress and courts and are subject to public record laws. Obama's e-mails will be perserved as part of his presidential records. Obama will limit his use of the Blackberry and extra security measures have been taken. Read more about it here.

• A contractor helping to clean up from Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas, may be using e-mail to find the owner of the "buried treasure" he recovered from the sandy beach. Michael Pate found a green steel army ammunition cannister full of keepsakes, including a 1863 Confederate $50 bill, war medals, and diamond earrings, among other things. Because a drivers' license and Social Security card were included in the watertight treasure trove, Pate is hopeful he can and will find the rightful owner. Read more here.

• A streaker was arrested during the Australian Open tennis tournament this week when he interrupted a doubles match involving the Williams sisters. Security staff quickly caught up with the man, who had run onto an outside court during the doubles match between Serena and Venus Williams and Ayumi Morita and Martina Mueller. Streaking is just not a good idea. Ever.

Music Minute

Hey there! Jen here with another Music Minute to show you what's hot off the presses this month in Christian music. As always, don't be afraid to take a chance and listen to something a little outside of your comfort zone. You might like it!

What's new: This year of music is just getting started, but there's new stuff from Fiction Family you really ought to check out. So I'm highlighting that!

What we like about it: Maybe you know this already, but the entire music business is really being rewritten and re-formed before your eyes. The iTunes Music Store has revolutionized music delivery (a fancy way of saying that CDs are no longer your only option). All over the country there are people making records in their basements using Mac laptops and Pro Tools, and they won't need record labels to launch their careers. Like many of the acts from the last year, they can use a combination of MySpace and iTunes to get things going. So changes are coming, and this reviewer thinks we'll see a return to the single-based record market of the 1950s and '60s. (Right now, everything is album-based. Do you see it?)

Fiction Family is a new band made up of Jon Foreman of Switchfoot and Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek, two friends-since-high-school from San Diego, CA. Their mutual friends kept encouraging them to work together, but it wasn't until they kept running into each other over and over at local coffee shops that they finally decided to write some music. And boy, are we ever glad they did! These two serve up sparkly, jangly, brilliant pop tunes with just a smidge of retro. The album is called Fiction Family. But if you're in the market for a single, we really like "What's Near."



What we're looking forward to: Southern rockers (as in, they are from Georgia *and* they play Southern rock) Julian Driverelease their debut album this month, My Coming Day. You can already find their EP at the iTunes store and their songs on MySpace. For its solid rock melody, soaring vocals, and great lyrics, we like "Cry," and hope the rest of the album is as fun to listen to.

What we don't like: abandoned Christmas trees by the side of the road, stale cookies, and having cold toes.

Crisis Averted

Well, ladies and gentlemen, Mandy didn't end up needing our little list of activities we posted yesterday. That's because she got a 10:10 a.m. flight out of Dallas (nearly 12 hours before her scheduled flight!). She wheeled and dealed her way out of what was surely to be one of the longest days EVER. OK, wheeling and dealing isn't really Mandy's style. What she did do was politely ask the guy at the ticket counter if he could get her on an earlier flight. BINGO! With a few pecks on the keyboard and a $15 checked bag fee, Mandy was on her way to Nashville, where she got to spend her afternoon with her parents, who'd traveled from Missouri to keep her dog. So all in all, I think Mandy would say that yesterday turned out to be a good day! And I guess we'll just keep our list of time-passing activities for the next time an ec team member has an extra-long layover.

In other news, we'll have a new president today. For current coverage, go here.

Airport Fun

ec's wonderful and much-loved content editor Mandy is stuck in the DFW airport. For the whole day. (It's a really great story how that happened. Ask her about online travel sites. They're her favorite.) But anyway, she was in Dallas for a friend's wedding this weekend and is now exploring everything the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport has to offer. In an attempt to make the day go by a little faster, the ec team (and the rest of the folks in our department) put together a little list of things Mandy can do today to keep herself occupied. And now, dear readers, we're sharing them with you!



Things Mandy can do on her 12-hour DFW "layover:"
1. Read
2. Return stray Smart Carts (for a refund?!)
3. Flirt
4. Look for creative ways to make people laugh
5. Play chicken with the people movers (we hear they're particularly aggressive at DFW!)
6. Count the number of times your gate changes.
7. Pretend you're from another country and ask people to tell you about America and its history
8. Rent a car, go to Southwestern Seminary, and have some Blue Bell ice cream
9. Get a massage
10. Evangelize your seat mates at the gate.
11. Learn to knit
12. Audition to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader
13. Greet and thank any members of our military
14. Sample all the restaurants in your terminal
15. Count the number of cowboy hats/boots

Got any more ideas for Mandy? Leave a comment with your airport tips. And check in tomorrow to see what Mandy ended up doing to pass the time in Texas.

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Special guest writer Hannah Wakefield has the scoop on all the odd news from around our nation. Check out the following, which you may not have even known happened. Take it away, Hannah!


• Where do you picture yourself getting married? I don’t know about you, but Taco Bell is not high up on my list. For one couple, however, it was apparently the ideal location. Paul Brooks married Caragh Brooks (same last name, but thankfully, they’re not related) in a booth at the Taco Bell in Normal, Ill. (ironic that such an abnormal wedding would take place in a town called “Normal,” huh?), surrounded by friends and employees with “Will you marry me?” sauce packets. Find out how much the fast food wedding cost here.

• A bus driver in Montana decided to stop for alcohol en route to middle school one morning in December. The driver allegedly even asked a student to help hide her, ahem, purchases when the cops pulled over the bus. I guess she didn’t think that the bright yellow bus would seem a little out of place at a liquor store . . . Read more here.

• Now this is a case of extreme sports loyalty. The mayor of Pittsburgh legally changed his name from Luke Ravenstahl to Luke Steelerstahl to support the Pittsburgh Steelers in their big game against the Baltimore Ravens. He said he made the name change to "eliminate the Ravens just as the Steelers will on Sunday." Details here.


Thanks, Hannah! And from all of us here at ec, have a GREAT weekend! :)

Give your mom the PERFECT gift!

Moms are cool, most of the time. They take care of you when you're little, try to teach you the right things, sometimes admit they've been wrong, and are some of the most important people in our lives.

Take my mom for example. That's a picture of us from about two years ago. My mom is my mom. She and my dad worked hard to teach me the truth, raise me in a way that would bring glory to God, and correct me (even when it hurt them more than it hurt me) when I was in the wrong. She's been a constant source of advice, an example of serving others, and she's always good for a laugh. My mom wasn't my best friend when I was your age (and she shouldn't have been, I don't think!), but I can tell you that she's one of my best friends now. I admire her love for others, her willingness to serve, her steadfastness, and her kindness. I like that I get to watch her as she walks her journey of faith and is still growing in her relationship with Christ. I feel blessed every day that God chose my mom and dad for me.

So, what do you think about your mom? What makes her special? What do you admire about her? The perfect gift might be telling her those things. And we have the perfect way for you to do that: in the May 2009 issue of ec! Tell us all about your mom, why she's special, why you admire her, or even a special Mother's Day you've already shared. Just comment and tell us! You could (and probably will) see your quote in the May 2009 issue of ec. But hurry! Time is running out! :)

We need your help!

Hey, readers! We're working on a special Mother's Day story for our May 2009 issue. And for it to be all it can be, we need to hear from you! So share some quotes with us about what makes your mom extra-special, why you like her, how you plan to show her you appreciate her, and so forth. Leave your suggestions in the comment section. Who knows? We may use them in the May issue! I can't wait to hear what you have to say!

Your Winter Wonderful Tips

On page 56 of the this month's issue of ec, we offered a top 10 of our ideas for how to make your winter a little more interesting—or at the least, chase a few of the winters blahs away. There were ideas about games to play, things to do, suggestions of movies to watch and books to read.

But now, we'd really like to know what your favorite winter diversions are. How are you spending the extra time you have these days? What movies are you watching? What books are you reading? What are your favorite things to do on a day off or a snow day? Let us know in the comments!

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

We're back! Snippets and Soundbites took a break over the holidays (just like the ec staff), but we're back at work and back to bringing you your weekly doses of all things random. Are you ready? Here we go!

• Remember that judge who sued a dry cleaners for $54 MILLION over a lost pair of pants? Yeah, he's back in the news. Apparently, he's not giving up. Roy Pearson filed a petition with the D.C. Court of Appeals, requesting the case be reheard—this time by a nine-judge panel. He's basing his case on the dry cleaners' promise of "satisfaction guaranteed." Is this fight ever going to end? Wouldn't it be easier to just go buy a new pair of pants and find a new dry cleaner? What would you do? Weigh in in the comments section. Read more here.

• Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on January 20, but did you know he's also a food critic? Well, sort of. Apparently before Obama ran for president and was living primarily in Chicago, he and his wife were well-known for dining in some of the best restaurants. Presumedly, that's why he was asked to appear on Check, Please!, a Chicago public television restaurant review show. Obama praises the Dixie Kitchen restaurant, a down-home food eatery. The episode was one of the first taped and never aired. Clips from the show have recently appeared on the Internet. Read more here.

• Sure, the Beatles are popular. Sure, they revolutionized rock music. But we're not sure any of us realized just how popular they are in . . . Norway. Yep, Norwegians seem to be big Beatles fans, which was why it was so disheartening for fans when a Norwegian public radio network was forced to scrap plans for 200-plus episodes due to contract issues. Each show would have centered on one Beatles' song and detailed the history behind it. Even though the Beatles' music company, Apple, has yet to release the band's catalog for download, the Norwegian network thought they had found a loophole that would allow them to air the podcasts. Sadly, they hadn't and Norwegian fans will have to wait a little longer. Read more here.

Music Minute: 2008 Recap

Jen here, with a look back over the best of Christian music released in 2008. Here are my Best of 2008 Awards:

1. Best album: Capital Lights, This Is An Outrage. I started listening in July, and I haven't stopped. This power-pop record full of hooky anthems and soaring vocals will make you fall in love with music all over again.

2. Best band name: Definitely The Classic Crime, though we still don't know what the crime was or who committed it. These Seattle boys know the secrets of making good music...

3. Best hair: Chris Sligh, duh. And he's no slouch in the vocal department either! If you haven't already, give his album Running Back To You a spin.

4. Best band photo: Showbread. Love the red pants.



5. Speaking of photos, we had the opportunity to work with some great Christian artists this year. But Shane and Shane take the cake for being Best band performance at a photo shoot:



This happened shortly after we asked them to do some kung-fu poses. Apparently it kind of hurt. :o)

6. Best girl rocker: There are a bunch of standouts this year, but I've got to go with Francesca Battistelli. Her power-pop songs are Feist-y, contagious, beautifully produced, and make me happy. Give 'em a spin!

7. Crossing over into magazine territory, I'm awarding Best article to make you stand up and cheer to the November 08, ec article on Britt Nicole. This girl has her heart in the right place. Go back and read it again! We also liked the December 08 article about The Afters' Josh Havens. His honest talk about his brother's addiction and recovery made us even more sure of God's grace and goodness.

8. Best album cover: Joel Augé, On the Blue. Check out the link for a picture.

9. Best mainstream Christian band: From their outspoken commitment to abstinence to their catchy riffs in Camp Rock, The Jonas Brothers and their skinny ties take this award home. These boys give 110% every single time. PS, is it true that Joe's hair has its own fan club?

10. And finally, Best in show - the award to the best live Christian performance we saw in 2008. Out of a ton of great performances, we give our vote to Group 1 Crew. Check them out live for a solid, great show complete with cool hair and lots of danceable tunes. And don't miss Family Force 5 - we hear they are really awesome in concert!

It's a new year!

Here at ec, we like the idea of fresh starts. It's what Jesus did when He gave Himself up to ensure our salvation: gave us an opportunity for a fresh start and new way of life. We're intrigued by the idea that God wants us, that God knows all the dark places inside of us, and He still loves us and gives us opportunities to be a people called by His name. That's powerful stuff!

So, this new year is a special time for us. It's an opportunity to evaluate the last year of our lives and discover ways we can grow in deeper relationship with Christ. It's exciting to think about all the possibilities and opportunities to live for Christ that will be coming our way. It's exciting to realize that no matter what our past is, it's over and God is writing a future we can't even imagine.

So spend some time pondering these things this week. Dig into the January 2009 issue of ec, especially the devotions. Week 1's devos (the week of January 4) are all about letting God be the focus of your life. Let His Word challenge you; let it change you.

Welcome to a new year. Hold on! It's going to be a wild ride! :)