A meaningless word that is used very often, not just by newbies, but also by several industry insiders is on-demand publishing. On-demand publishing really does not mean anything. It is the printing that is done on demand. Self publishing is not the same thing as print on demand. This excerpt from our self publishing guide explains the same. It also talks about the two printing options available to publishers in the form of Print on Demand (POD) and Offset Printing.

If you have not already done so, you may want to read the following articles from this series before reading this one.

• What is publishing?
• What is self-publishing?

–

Self Publishing and Print on Demand (POD)

There is a difference between self publishing and Print on Demand. The two terms are often used interchangeably by most of us since POD is the most prevalent technology used by self publishers. But the two are not the same.

Publishing is the entire process of preparing the manuscript, editing, designing the cover, printing, distribution and marketing. Printing is only one step in the process of publishing. At the printing stage, the publisher has to choose between two technologies – offset printing and POD. If the publisher is confident of selling a large number of copies (500+), then he may opt for offset printing. If the sale is not expected to be in large numbers, then even a normal publisher may prefer POD. In short, publishing is the entire process whereas POD is a technology which can be used by a full-fledged publisher as well as a self publisher.

POD versus Offset Printing

POD is a relatively new printing technology where the cost of printing does not depend on the number of copies being printed. This is essentially digital printing, where each copy is printed independent of the other.

POD has its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of POD

• Flexibility to print even a single copy at a time. The unit cost of printing one copy and 1,000 copies does not vary much.
• Each copy can be personalised. You can even dedicate different copies to your different bosses or friends and earn brownie points, for instance.
• The content can be updated over time at no cost since the printing is done directly from a soft copy.
• Since one can print exactly the number of copies ordered for, with no significant addition to costs, there is no need to maintain dead inventory (unsold copies).
• The entire process is faster.

Disadvantages of POD

• The cost per copy is slightly higher as compared to bulk printing done by offset.
• Although black and white/grayscale printing quality is now at par with offset, accurate colour reproduction may be an issue in some cases.

Offset printing is a more prevalent and older technology. This involves setting the book in certain specialised software and cutting a plate of the image. The inked image is transferred (or ‘offset’) from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. The plate making process is costly and once made, the plates cannot be corrected or changed. Revision in the book requires cutting new plates. But once you create a plate, you can use it to generate a large number of copies. Therefore, one needs to print a large number of copies (typically 1,000+, minimum 500+) to distribute the cost of plates over all those copies. As a result, printing just a few copies is not cost-effective with offset printing; the cost per copy decreases with increase in the number of copies printed.

Offset printing too has its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of Offset Printing

• Per copy cost is low if number of copies is high. Works well with the current distribution setup in the industry.
• Quality may be better, especially for coloured printing/photo books.
• Wider choice of printing paper and other production options are available.

Disadvantages of Offset Printing

• Large upfront investment in bulk printing. Because of high setup costs, short print runs are not feasible
• Need to maintain the inventory and logistics

If you’re new to book publishing, you’ve no doubt heard and read about the POD printing process which is commonly used in today’s industry. However, many first-time authors don’t fully understand what POD is, what POD stands for, and why the POD process is, well, so common.

Actually, it quite simply. The letters P-O-D stand for the phrase “Print On Demand.” This is a printing process born from today’s digital technology, in which books are printed “one at a time” on a computer-operated press. And much like you’re able to print a document on your home PC and print in any quantity you want — ranging from one copy to, oh, let’s say, 200 copies — the POD process allows printing companies to produce books in any number desired. Including one single copy . . . if that’s what is ordered.

The beauty of POD printing is obvious. It’s quick and easy, for starters. Once a printer has the files for a book’s cover and interior pages loaded into its computer system, it’s essentially a matter of that printer hitting a “print” button to produce a book.  Next week when three more orders for the book comes in, the files can be uploaded and three more copies can quickly be printed and shipped. And in three months, when the author wants another order of 50 copies, those are printed and shipped right then and there. Simply, the books are printed only when they’re ordered. And in the specific amount requested.

What’s more, the POD process keeps the publisher and the author from having to take on the cost and hassle of keeping a large inventory of unsold books lying around collecting dust  in a warehouse or spare bedroom. For a publisher working with many authors, it’s extremely costly to warehouse boxes and boxes of books that may or may not ever be sold. And while authors certainly enjoy having some of their books around the house to show off and give to folks, most writer’s don’t want to have stacks of boxes of their hard work taking up space in their house or garage.

And if you’re wondering about the quality of POD printing, there’s no need to worry. To most people’s eyes, there is virtually no difference that can be detected between a book that been created in a POD process and one that was printed using the industry’s other printing option: offset printing. Today’s digital technology has advanced to the point where printing quality is rarely an issue.

One last benefit from POD printing is that most publishing houses, as we do at Zone Press, can afford to give authors substantial discounts when ordering their books via POD for themselves. So with each sale of a book from their own inventory, the author gets his/her initial investment back while also making a nice profit that usually is  more than they’d receive from a royalty.

Here at Rack Attack we take pride in the level of service we can provide due to our extensive product knowledge and installation experience. Our Rack Experts will be able to assist you through your entire rack buying experience.  From explaining each option available for your vehicle, Installation services and or Tips for the “do-it-yourself-er”, as well as maintenance and upkeep tips. At our 4 US locations we offer a wide range of installation services which include custom permanent applications on vehicles where other options would either not exist, or would not provide the most flexibility in terms of accessories, highest weight rating, and the widest spread between the front and back cross-bars.

For today’s showcase install we have chosen an application for any Nissan Cube. For this application the customer wanted to mount the most secure and most convenient system possible on his Cube, while not having to deal with the time comparably time consuming removal and installation fount with systems that mount to the factory mounting points.

The best, and most flexible solution, in terms of accessory application, bar spread, and convenience in installation and removal, is a permanently installed set of Thule or Yakima Tracks that will allow the mounting of  a 430 Tracker II foot pack system. For this application the customer opted to go with the Yakima 54 inch tracks, which is designed Specifically for Sheet Metal Roofs. Which in turn allows the mounting of most every Thule or Yakima accessory, such as Roof Top Bike carriers, Ski carriers, Water-sport carriers, as well as cargo bags, baskets and Cargo Boxes, and it is removable in seconds.

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- Rack Attack Boston - (888)399RACK

So now, you have chosen your POD sites and you have your images up for sale on various products but no one is buying your stuff. Well that is because no one knows that it on the POD site, like I said in my last post to sell in the market place you need to get visible and to get visible you need to have sold a lot, it is catch 22. Do not get me wrong, some people do make it from the start in the market place but they are usually very good at SEO for their store and very good at tagging their work.
Therefore, as the title of this post suggests you need to advertise your store and work. The three big points of the type of advertising you do is,
A) You have to find it easy to do.
B) You have to like doing it.
C) You have to test your advertising.

Every thing in life has a learning curve and I believe in spending the time and not the money to get things done (at first anyway), if you are doing business on the internet then it helps to be a bit internet savvy. If you can still not get your head around the problem then by all means outsource the work but by then you will have gained some knowledge that will help you know if they are trying to rip you off for the work.
Advertising needs to be done day in day out. Think of how many adverts you see every day from world famous brands, from fizzy drinks to cars. They spend billions to stay in people’s consciousness, so if you look forward to doing it the you are more likely to do it every day rather than if you thought of it as a chore that you had to do.
You may be getting results with what you are doing now but you have to ask your self how long will that last and can you do better? This is in every area from the style of your copy to how often you post. This also means keeping an eye out for the next big thing, just on the social side of things think about myspace, your tube, facebook and twitter, each of them appeal to different types of people but which one has your target buyer? Some of the people that got in early on in these sites managed to gain market dominance when everyone else joined.
So what do you need to do? Well I like to think of it as “link love” but the links have different value in them self’s, if you have a link to your funny dog T-shirt site from a Viagra blog it will have less value than a link from a Scotty Dog owners blog. In addition, if the owner of that blog only post once every six months rather than every day then your link is not as good. Now you have to keep in mind that the better your contribution too the blog or forum the more likely that people will click your link to see what you have on offer.
The more links you have on the internet the more chance you will have of people coming too your store to buy. In my next post I will go through some of the places that you can post your links and if you want to leave a comment with a link to your store, I have no problem with that as long as you are not a porn site or a spammer, if I am a member of your POD site then I will send you a PM to let you know that I have approved your comment.

În podul casei Io
n-ai voie să urci
niciodată

sunt lucruri ce
trebuie să rămână aşa
neştiute de nimeni

dar să ştii că în podul casei
păpuşile nu mai sunt păpuşi
nici bicicleta tatei nu mai e bicicletă

dacă păşesti pe prima treaptă
simţi deja un mâncărici în talpă
dar Io, să nu calci niciodată prima treaptă
a doua scârţâie şi tresari
iar la treia te ameţeşte o ceaţă plină
ţi se face somn şi nici nu mai ştii
că ai ajuns acolo
Io tu să nu începi să uiţi
să cobori treptele înapoi cu spatele
să nu te ţii de balustradă

dar Io, să nu mergi niciodată în pod
căci dincolo de uşă e Păzitorul
şi nimeni, niciodată
n-a trecut de el.

 

Psalm 52

(as read by Jenny)

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For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has come to Abimelech’s house.”

52:1 Why do you boast of mischief, mighty man?
God’s loving kindness endures continually.

52:2 Your tongue plots destruction,
like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

52:3 You love evil more than good,
lying rather than speaking the truth.

Selah.

52:4 You love all devouring words,
you deceitful tongue.

52:5 God will likewise destroy you forever.
He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent,
and root you out of the land of the living.

Selah.

52:6 The righteous also will see it, and fear,
and laugh at him, saying,

52:7 “Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches,
and strengthened himself in his wickedness.”

52:8 But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in God’s house.
I trust in God’s loving kindness forever and ever.

52:9 I will give you thanks forever, because you have done it.
I will hope in your name, for it is good,
in the presence of your saints.

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If you find these resources helpful to you, please do prayerfully consider making a donation. You can support via PayPal, the universal and most secure way to donate money online. You do not need to be a member of Paypal to use their facilities and all major credit cards are accepted. Thank you

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Psalm 51

(as read by Anne A)

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For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51:1 Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.

51:3 For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me.

51:4 Against you, and you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight; that you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.

51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me.

51:6 Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

51:8 Let me hear joy and gladness, That the bones which you have broken may rejoice.

51:9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities.

51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.

51:11 Don’t throw me from your presence, and don’t take your holy Spirit from me.

51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit.

51:13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners shall be converted to you.

51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

51:15 Lord, open my lips. My mouth shall declare your praise.

51:16 For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.

51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

51:18 Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.

51:19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar.

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If you find these resources helpful to you, please do prayerfully consider making a donation. You can support via PayPal, the universal and most secure way to donate money online. You do not need to be a member of Paypal to use their facilities and all major credit cards are accepted. Thank you

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1. WordPress.com has stopped working in Google Chrome. After contacting WordPress about this, they said it’s a known problem. I am a bit torked off about this, because of the way I Use The Interwebs. Firstly, I am torked off because it had worked fine until they “improved” something. Grr. Second, I am torked off because now I have to open Firefox in order to post. I know, I know, this is a trivial gripe. It’s still a gripe, though, because the only computer I have is an Asus Eee PC 904. It’s a wee little thing, with wee little Ram. If I run Zune in order to update Lockheed, I close all my other windows. I can run Twhirl and Google Chrome with about six tabs open, as long as I don’t try to stream video. To watch Hulu, I close Twirl and I turn off Google chat — they use too many resources. So, to be in Chrome, checking Google Reader and writing and glancing at LiveJournal, and to see something I want to blog about, I have to go boot up Firefox.

I’ve gotten used to Chrome, dammit. Firefox seems horrifically slow and clumsy to me. And let’s not even discuss the paroxysms of rage that I undergo when forced by my job to touch an IE browser. They are all so damnably slow.

So here I am, in Firefox, writing this. Meh. WordPress? Fix this, please?

2. Did anybody else see this article about the new Knx.to service? Here’s the key paragraph:

“To enable the application, you sign into your Twitter, Gmail, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr accounts via oAuth, Facebook Connect and more. When a friend calls you (or you call a friend), the technology will automatically scan all of your social networks, identify if the contact is a friend, and will pull all the most recent photos, Tweets, status updates, and more into its search pane. The idea is to give a social context to all of your contacts, which is definitely useful information for both professional and personal contacts.”

So, you are a professional recruiter or headhunter. So you add in to your 17 social networks the names and i.d. information of every resume you get, everyone you are scouting at colleges, all the employees in your specialty at other companies. And you plug in all into Knx.to. And you contact them — which gives you an instant picture of the things they are saying about theirs lives, jobs, and friends at the moment of your call. Wow. That’s a tool.

I can’t say I’m shocked or surprised. And . . . . and I’m not even really opposed. I mean, the difference between what we had available eighteen months ago in terms of social stalking and what we have now strikes me as the difference between the illegal mix tapes everyone made when I was in college and the illegal downloadable mixes people send via SendSpace. It’s a matter of degree, not kind.

3. Ariana Osborne is delivering a lecture series on the Get Excited and Make Stuff Movement. I highly recommend it.

4. Warren Ellis is putting a human face on the internet. Photos of people who read his board, get his email newsletter, and follow his blog. Hundreds of people. Because, as he says, the internet is made out of people. Behind each comment, each photo, each torrent, each blog entry, there is a person. And they all have faces.

5. M is over his cold, but K now has it. We’re hoping she’ll be well enough by tomorrow to do her two flamenco performances.

6. M lost his third tooth! One of the top front ones, so he now looks EXTRA goofy and cute.

[Update, 11/22/09: It was pointed out to me this weekend that this page did not originally include the disclaimer found on my home page. The template now includes the disclaimer, and in case you don't want to look to the sidebar: This post does not necessarily represent the opinions of Harlequin.]

My computer crashed on Tuesday, and I have been culling together random moments of very slow access via the public library and the handmade-by-my-brother-in-law, Linux-run, back-up machine that doesn’t allow me to do anything I normally do on-screen.

I’m about to gnaw my fingers off in frustration!

What a week for my little laptop to go belly-up. First, I come back to the office on Wednesday (not having been able to check my email on Tuesday, see above) to find an announcement about Harlequin Horizons, Harlequin’s new self-publishing initiative. All well and good.

(I haven’t yet posted all of the info I’ve been collecting about self-publishing and POD, but these kinds of new and changing publishing models are a current passion of mine. My initial reaction to the release, as someone working in a completely different HQ division who had no access to the information about Horizons until yesterday, was unadulterated excitement.)

But then I received emails about author reactions. I received some phone calls laced with disappointment. My Google alerts went crazy. One author called the announcement of Horizons a “Harlequin s**tstorm.”

Now, this morning, I log on to an ancient public library computer–on which I’m about to run out of time–and find that RWA has officially pulled Harlequin’s eligible publisher status. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!

I have so much to say, and yet the clock is running out. Two things, quickly:

First, the press release makes this venture sound, to me, much like a licensing agreement. Harlequin provides the “Harlequin” and Author Solutions provides the service and maintenance. As a separate division run by a partner company and distributed on a wholly separate model, Horizons is sort-of like (at least to my MBA-less mind) GE’s ownership of NBC. Related, but not by much. As such, RWA’s decision to equate Horizons with all of the thousands of Harlequin’s traditionally published books seems sort-of like deciding not to buy that nice new fridge because you don’t like Leno in prime time.

That said, Harlequin as a brand is beloved by many and known around the world. Harlequin has history; it’s part of people’s intimate lives; Harlequin–at least for me and many readers I know–was there when boys went from being icky to delicious and when love and sex were first lighting up the hormones. So, it makes me tear up a little to read the heartfelt emotions on some author blogs. There is an honest sense of betrayal here that has nothing to do with the future of publishing and everything to do with a love of reading, romance novels and the (paid) writing life.

When I can get my darned computer back together–or hack out a little more time from the public library–let’s discuss some of the issues others’ have raised:

What does Harlequin the company, which may or may not be synonymous with the Harlequin brand, already include?

MIRA and HQN, imprints that many non-category readers don’t associate with Harlequin when they see them on the shelves; manga and overseas sales that many North Americans don’t have contact with; a variety of category romances that are often misrepresented as being all one type of read (ex: everyone thinks all romance is like Presents, or that Harlequin Romance the series is the same as Harlequin romance the brand); and lots of other initiatives that have come and gone. Will a new company under the Harlequin umbrella change how readers see the brand?

Where does self-publishing stand today as an alternative to traditional publishing?

It’s growing. Lulu.com; Amazon’s self-publishing option, which they monitor for “best picks” that they then publish more traditionally in their Encore imprint; Greenleaf Book Group, which has some stellar books out now and several more in my TBR pile, calls themselves a publishing “incubator” but basically charges the author money for publishing and distribution services; Smashwords; West Bow Press–really the list keeps going.

Those watching the industry closely cannot help but see these kinds of services as a part of publishing’s future. (As a consumer, I find this very exciting. No longer are the books I want to read hemmed in by marketing guidelines. If I want it, I can probably find it published by someone.) Beyond the obvious differences in money (author advance vs. author fee), there is a huge rights difference. Authors keep all or most of the rights in self-publishing, which can offer unlimited opportunities for the right person. (The kinds of unlimited opportunities that might not happen in traditional publishing.)

Does Horizons offer false hope to aspiring authors?

This is the most eye-roll-worthy comment I’ve seen so far. Some have pointed to Horizons’ web copy, which mentions that Harlequin will monitor sales and hopefully find new authors through this program, and called it misleading. To me, the claim seems delightfully honest. Harlequin wants more bestselling authors; here’s a new way to find them. Most, if not all, of the self-publishing services I’ve seen (Author Solutions’ companies, Smashwords, Amazon, etc.) monitor sales and give special attention to the books that sell best. Harlequin is simply stating up front the hope that a few strong new voices will rise above the many. (New voices, I should add, that probably wouldn’t find an audience if forced to stay within the strict marketing plans and editorial submissions processes of traditional publishing.)

Also, when authors pay to use a service, I believe they are smart enough to do due diligence. Self-publishing is very different from traditional publishing, and anyone who chooses to pay good money for their book to be published will know the difference.

What does the rise of self-publishing in general say about the role of editors or the curation of book and author lists?

Editing is an apprenticeship skill: a little creativity, a little diplomacy, a little marketing, a little problem-solving. If everyone can publish anything they want, any time they want, is there a role for those of us who can make stories go from good to great? For those who relish the difference between a cleanly written manuscript and one that makes us laugh and cry? For those who want our favorite books in the hands of as many readers as possible? Maybe yes, maybe no. Sometimes the crowd’s choice can be much better than what is selected by the traditional model.

As an editor, as a former aspiring writer, as a voracious consumer of content in many forms, this brouhaha excites me.

It makes for a good story.

Now it’s the bozo-behind-me’s turn to use the computer. *Sigh.*

Thought I’d better pop in with an update, let you know what I’ve been working on in my little office at the top of the stairs.

Editing, mostly, with a little bit of music and sports talk radio to help ease the pain.  Aw, it hasn’t been so bad.  I’ll admit to experiencing a lot of trepidation when I decided to give my novel So Dark the Night another run-through before I published it as a print-on-demand book next year.  I posted it on this blog two years ago and since then have received numerous requests from readers that I release a “dead tree” edition of my supernatural thriller (and I do try to please my readers).  Probably a smart idea:  between this site and Scribd, So Dark has been downloaded a couple thousand times…a situation that pleases me beyond measure.

But I was worried that the interval of two years would rub some of the lustre off the book, reveal flaws, expose slipshod writing.  Fortunately, that hasn’t been the case.  The changes I’m making are cosmetic and are mainly due to how hard I was bearing down as I completed my final edits.  I had been at work on So Dark the Night for three years and I wanted to make sure it was exactly right.  I think it seems too tight in places and I am trying to loosen it up a tad, enhance Nightstalk’s narrative voice.

I’ve given myself a some firm deadlines to have this manuscript polished up and the book released by a certain date (more on that later).  Delighted that the book is holding together very well (thus far) and that my faith in it, my love of the two central characters, is more than justified.

I’m also pleased that both my cover artists, Ado Ceric and Adrian Donoghue, have agreed to allow me to use their art when I release So Dark the Night and Of the Night in 2010 (likely through Lulu.com).  The books have each been assigned ISBNs and we’ll soon finalize cover design and jacket copy.  Feels good to be an indie publisher again–it’s been more than ten years since we released The Reality Machine and that’s too long.  Gotta make up for lost time.

Stay tuned.  2010 is gonna be a busy year.  Gotta celebrate my 25th year as a professional writer in style.

Break out the bubbly, string up a pinata…hell, folks, let’s have ourselves a party!

 

Psalm 49

(as read by Anne A)

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For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah.

49:1 Hear this, all you peoples.
Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,

49:2 both low and high,
rich and poor together.

49:3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom.
My heart shall utter understanding.

49:4 I will incline my ear to a proverb.
I will open my riddle on the harp.

49:5 Why should I fear in the days of evil,
when iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

49:6 Those who trust in their wealth,
and boast in the multitude of their riches—

49:7 none of them can by any means redeem his brother,
nor give God a ransom for him.

49:8 For the redemption of their life is costly,
no payment is ever enough,

49:9 That he should live on forever,
that he should not see corruption.

49:10 For he sees that wise men die;
likewise the fool and the senseless perish,
and leave their wealth to others.

49:11 Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever,
and their dwelling places to all generations.
They name their lands after themselves.

49:12 But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure.
He is like the animals that perish.

49:13 This is the destiny of those who are foolish,
and of those who approve their sayings.

Selah.

49:14 They are appointed as a flock for Sheol.
Death shall be their shepherd.
The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning.
Their beauty shall decay in Sheol,
far from their mansion.

49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me.

Selah.

49:16 Don’t be afraid when a man is made rich,
when the glory of his house is increased.

49:17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away.
His glory shall not descend after him.

49:18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul—
and men praise you when you do well for yourself—

49:19 he shall go to the generation of his fathers.
They shall never see the light.

49:20 A man who has riches without understanding,
is like the animals that perish.

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If you find these resources helpful to you, please do prayerfully consider making a donation. You can support via PayPal, the universal and most secure way to donate money online. You do not need to be a member of Paypal to use their facilities and all major credit cards are accepted. Thank you

Click on the appropriate link to subscribe to this website

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Discover our various tastes and travel with you favorite flavor.

The coffee itself has been traditionally roasted for twenty minutes, which is the only way to develop the full range of flavours in quality coffee. Each pod contains exactly seven grams of pressed coffee grains to produce a constant level of quality expressos. 

Malongo pods are wrapped in natural filter paper, without whitener or glue; this preserves the authentic flavours of the brew. They are vacuum-wrapped immediately after being roasted, so they are always fresh and the flavours are perfectly preserved. The coffee itself has been traditionally roasted for twenty minutes, which is the only way to develop the full range of flavours in quality coffee. Each pod contains exactly seven grams of pressed coffee grains to produce a constant level of quality expressos.

Malongo pods are wrapped in natural filter paper, without whitener or glue; this preserves the authentic flavours of the brew. They are vacuum-wrapped immediately after being roasted, so they are always fresh and the flavours are perfectly preserved.

If you’ve looked your Amazon.com listing, or any title if you’re just now preparing for publishing or self-publishing your book, you may have noticed “new and used” editions of books available for sale through the what is called the Amazon “Marketplace.”

Think of the Amazon Marketplace like e-Bay; it allows vendors and bookstores the opportunity to list books for sale in a new or used condition. 99% of the on-demand books sold through Amazon Marketplace are brand new and actually, in most cases, have yet to even been purchased by a wholesaler. In fact, most haven’t even been printed yet.

Marketplace is an apt name for this portion of Amazon because these book sellers are using it to “market” their businesses. So if you see “54 New and Used” copies of a book available through Marketplace, that does mean 54 copies have sold and are now available as read-and-used. It simply means that savvy bookstores are trying to draw the buyers’ attention away from the main Amazon listing and to their listing.

Well Iowa city, I have about three Radioloveless shows left before I leave the KRUI airways for good. Two shows will consist of my favorite tracks to hear, thus the title of my post. If you listen to the show, I’m sure you’ve heard most of them. Either way, the next two shows will be filled with my favorites. The last show will be my Christmas show, which is always a fun show to do.

I’ll be moving back east next year, after living and DJing in Iowa city for the past 6. I love it here, and I love KRUI even more. Listen in at 89.7 fm or online here. Here’s the show

1. R.E.M.’s Fables of Reconstruction (1985), Driver 8
2. Sebadoh, Bakesale (1994, oh and the naked baby on the cover is Lou Barlow), Skull
(It’s my favorite track from Sebadoh along with lots of other kids my age, thank you Lou for bringing this into my life.)

3. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Pig Lib (2003), Vanessa from Queens
(Steve defines cool, even if I can’t figure out what he’s singing about)
4. Teenage Fanclub, Bandwagonesque (1991), Star Sign
(This just sounds like the 90s to me, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and little.)
5. The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground, Pale Blue Eyes
(Uhm, who doesn’t like this song?)
6. Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002), I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
This is my favorite Wilco album, I keep coming back.
7. Wire, Pink Flag (1977), 1 2 X U
8. Yo La Tengo, President Yo La Tengo (1989), Barnaby Hardly Working
9. Catherine Wheel, Ferment (1992), Black Metallic
10. Black Tambourine, Complete Recordings, Pack You Up
This track is so short and cool, it just makes me want to go out and be their groupie if they were still around.
11. The Dandy Warhols, Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia (1999), Sleep
I can’t help it, I love this album.
12. Big Star, #1 Record (1972), Thirteen
Rolling stone said it was “one of the most beautiful songs about Adolescence.”
13. The Breeders, Pod (1990), When I was a Painter
14. Pavement, Crooked Rain Crooked Rain (1994), Silence Kit (awesome request for Sutcliffe Catering Song but was having issues with my CD.)
15. Built to Spill, Perfect From Now On (1997), I would Hurt a Fly
16. Cat Power, What would the Community Think (1996), Bathysphere
17. The Church, Starfish (1988), Under the Milky Way
18. Cocteau Twins, Head Over Heels (1983), When Mama was a Moth

19. My Bloody Valentine, Loveless (1991), When you Sleep
Pitchfork quoted Loveless as the best album of the 90’s, I might have to agree.
20. The Clash, The Clash (1977), Janie Jones
21. Sleater-Kinney, One Beat (2002), Combat Rock
22. Depeche Mode, Violator (1990), Blue Dress
23. The Cure, Seventeen Seconds (1980), A Forest
24. Archers of Loaf, White Trash Heroes (1998), Dead Red Eyes
25. Guided By Voices, Alien Lanes (1995), My Valuable Hunting Knife
26. Meat Puppets, Meat Puppets II (1984), New Gods

 

Psalm 22

(as read by Katherine D)

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For the Chief Musician; set to “The Doe of the Morning.” A Psalm by David.

22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

22:2 My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer;
in the night season, and am not silent.

22:3 But you are holy,
you who inhabit the praises of Israel.

22:4 Our fathers trusted in you.
They trusted, and you delivered them.

22:5 They cried to you, and were delivered.
They trusted in you, and were not disappointed.

22:6 But I am a worm, and no man;
a reproach of men, and despised by the people.

22:7 All those who see me mock me.
They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,

22:8 “He trusts in Yahweh;
let him deliver him.
Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.”

22:9 But you brought me out of the womb.
You made me trust at my mother’s breasts.

22:10 I was thrown on you from my mother’s womb.
You are my God since my mother bore me.

22:11 Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near.
For there is none to help.

22:12 Many bulls have surrounded me.
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.

22:13 They open their mouths wide against me,
lions tearing prey and roaring.

22:14 I am poured out like water.
All my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax;
it is melted within me.

22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have brought me into the dust of death.

22:16 For dogs have surrounded me.
A company of evildoers have enclosed me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.

22:17 I can count all of my bones.
They look and stare at me.

22:18 They divide my garments among them.
They cast lots for my clothing.

22:19 But don’t be far off, Yahweh.
You are my help: hurry to help me.

22:20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog.

22:21 Save me from the lion’s mouth!
Yes, from the horns of the wild oxen, you have answered me.

22:22 I will declare your name to my brothers.
In the midst of the assembly, I will praise you.

22:23 You who fear Yahweh, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him!
Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!

22:24 For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,
Neither has he hidden his face from him;
but when he cried to him, he heard.

22:25 Of you comes my praise in the great assembly.
I will pay my vows before those who fear him.

22:26 The humble shall eat and be satisfied.
They shall praise Yahweh who seek after him.
Let your hearts live forever.

22:27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh.
All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.

22:28 For the kingdom is Yahweh’s.
He is the ruler over the nations.

22:29 All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship.
All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him,
even he who can’t keep his soul alive.

22:30 Posterity shall serve him.
Future generations shall be told about the Lord.

22:31 They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born,
for he has done it.

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Psalm 21

(as read by Richard A)

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For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

21:1 The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh!
How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!

21:2 You have given him his heart’s desire,
and have not withheld the request of his lips.

Selah.

21:3 For you meet him with the blessings of goodness.
You set a crown of fine gold on his head.

21:4 He asked life of you, you gave it to him,
even length of days forever and ever.

21:5 His glory is great in your salvation.
You lay honor and majesty on him.

21:6 For you make him most blessed forever.
You make him glad with joy in your presence.

21:7 For the king trusts in Yahweh.
Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.

21:8 Your hand will find out all of your enemies.
Your right hand will find out those who hate you.

21:9 You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger.
Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath.
The fire shall devour them.

21:10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from among the children of men.

21:11 For they intended evil against you.
They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.

21:12 For you will make them turn their back,
when you aim drawn bows at their face.

21:13 Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength,
so we will sing and praise your power.

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“You can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself” Ricky Nelson, ‘The Garden Party’.

Last night I took my Dad – or rather he took me – to the O2 to see Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam. Billed as Cat’s (let’s call him that to ease confusion) first gig in Ireland the concert promised a trip down memory lane for the oldies in the crowd. Indeed, as we observed, the crowd was composed mainly of people in their 40s and older. Though it might be wrong to assume, there was definitely an air of expectation in the concert that this was a Greatest Hits tour, a chance for the paying Irish public to finally hear the songs that coloured their past, live.

Stevens, on stage © Ciara Norton

And from the outset it looked like this was what it would be. Cat began his set strolling onto the stage, guitar in hand. He was shortly joined by two more guitarists and together they entertained with the kind of folksy music Cat became famous for. There would be no dancing to this music but the crowd were happy, perhaps full of expectation that soon a Cat Stevens hit would make its voice known. After a few slow songs the stage opened to reveal keyboards, bass and drums and it was then that the show really got going. For about ten minutes, that is.

At this point Cat started talking about the “surprise” in store for the audience. I knew, as I had paid attention, that this meant a preview of Cat’s new musical Moonshadow. I presumed that as it had not been the opening act (a much better slot, no?) it would be little more than a few minutes of the second act, not close to the entirety.

Cat Stevens and Band, o2 Dublin, © Ciara Norton

The interval ended and the real fun began. Cat ambled on stage, sat on a box and with his guitar sang an unfamiliar song while two children played on stage. Their voices – the irritating sing-song kind – interrupted the song to talk about a land of no sun or too much sun or something like that and it was at this point that I began to grow nervous and the crowd started to shift their weight in the plastic seats.

This was as close to a full-blown musical as you could imagine in the middle of a concert. Plotlines developed, characters formed, children grew old and old people grew tired of the rebellious youth. It was hard to stomach, hard to watch a musical the majority of the crowd didn’t seem to know was coming when Cat Stevens was obviously wandering about backstage. Oh yes, he had left the stage after the first song and his cast took over the singing duties. This meant, in case my point is not clear, that the audience DID get to hear his hits, but these were the hits sang by cast members of a West End musical, their every syllable enunciated through grinning, gurning mouths.

Nobody in the audience paid to listen to an actor sing ‘Father and Son’, nobody wanted a female cast member to twist ‘Wild World’ into a lament for her lost son and nobody wanted to see ‘Matthew & Son’ turn into a dance routine. It was hard. I hate to see people on stage boo-ed, I understand that the cast members of Moonshadow were merely doing their job and I suppose they were doing it well, or as well as can be expected in the face of a hostile audience.

Then it was over. People were still walking out when Cat reappeared to tell us he’d be back in five minutes, that he hadn’t left us, that he hoped we hadn’t left him. So we stayed and hoped that a hit was somewhere in our future, a familiar song to heal the hurt of the unexpected musical. But it wasn’t coming. Cat introduced songs from recent albums, he thanked us for coming and spending “so much money”* and smiled his way through his second, shorter set. Even ‘Moonshadow’ was ruined by the addition of the lead from the musical returning on stage to falsetto his way through the classic. At this stage everyone was uneasy, Cat affirmed that he would not be playing some songs like ‘Hard Headed Woman’, presumably not in keeping with his current outlook on life. For his encore Cat began with a new song ‘All Kinds of Roses’ from Roadslinger. The crowd screamed blue murder and he replied “Now I know what Dylan felt like”. Not that this was comparable to Dylan’s electric moment, in any way.

I left during the second song of the encore, a reimagined version of ‘Lilywhite’. By then it was too late for me and I had to leave. Anyone know if he ended on a high note? EDIT: Apparently I missed Ronan Keating and Cat sing Father and Son together. That I can definitely live without.

To conclude, for I know I’ve rambled on  long enough,  I am usually in giving any performer the benefit of my doubt. I don’t like to boo (I didn’t last night) and I don’t like to hear others do so. I respect a performer’s right to play his recent songs, not concentrate on hits from 30 years ago. I do have issue with the promotion (POD and AEG in association with the Irish Times and 2fm were the promoters) of a concert that used Cat Steven’s hits to entice people into the O2. The preview of the musical was not billed as the major part of the show it was. I knew about it but I believe myself to be in the minority of people there who were aware it was part of the show. I respect Cat Stevens but I do not respect last night’s show or the promoters who allowed what happened to happen. As he might have learned last night “it’s hard to get by just upon a smile”.

*DISCLOSURE: my tickets were free, not that this prevents me from being angry on behalf on the thousands of others who paid €80 and upwards for the privilege.

EDIT: The Daily Telegraph’s reviewer had this to say about last night. I can’t say that I agree with calling the people in the crowd who registered their disapproval loudly “churlish and mean spirited”. Brian Boyd’s four star rating and my own differ widely, especially when it comes to Moonshadow.

]]> http://feinegastro.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/whitepod-urlaub-in-den-schweizer-alpen-mal-ganz-anders/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:00:46 +0000 gutesessen http://feinegastro.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/whitepod-urlaub-in-den-schweizer-alpen-mal-ganz-anders/

1.500 Meter über NN, keine Menschen, keinen urbanen Lärm

igluartige Zelte in den Alpen

Whitepod - Urlaub in den Schweizer Alpen mal ganz Anders

Die perfekt wärmeisolierten Iglu-Zelte begeistern neben dem Raumgefühl auch mit einem Holzofen. Die Verpflegung für die Gäste ist mit dem in der Nähe gelegenen Chalet wunderbar “gesichert”. Niemand muss hier frieren oder hungern, sondern erlebt die Alpen in einem nie dagewesenen Flair. Spa Feeling kommt auch nicht zu kurz!

Alpen Feeling Pur!

Das Camp ist mit dem Responsible Tourism Award ausgezeichnet.

whitepod.com

 

Psalm 7

(as read by Richard A)

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A meditation by David, which he sang to Yahweh, concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite.

7:1 Yahweh, my God, I take refuge in you.
Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,

7:2 lest they tear apart my soul like a lion,
ripping it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

7:3 Yahweh, my God, if I have done this,
if there is iniquity in my hands,

7:4 if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me
(yes, if I have delivered him who without cause was my adversary),

7:5 let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it;
yes, let him tread my life down to the earth,
and lay my glory in the dust.

Selah.

7:6 Arise, Yahweh, in your anger.
Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries.
Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.

7:7 Let the congregation of the peoples surround you.
Rule over them on high.

7:8 Yahweh administers judgment to the peoples.
Judge me, Yahweh, according to my righteousness,
and to my integrity that is in me.

7:9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous;
their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.

7:10 My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.

7:11 God is a righteous judge,
yes, a God who has indignation every day.

7:12 If a man doesn’t relent, he will sharpen his sword;
he has bent and strung his bow.

7:13 He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death.
He makes ready his flaming arrows.

7:14 Behold, he travails with iniquity.
Yes, he has conceived mischief,
and brought forth falsehood.

7:15 He has dug a hole,
and has fallen into the pit which he made.

7:16 The trouble he causes shall return to his own head.
His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head.

7:17 I will give thanks to Yahweh according to his righteousness,
and will sing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High.

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It’s not that I’m an idiot (although, in the spirit of full disclosure, I sometimes am), it’s that I’m sometimes clueless. Or, forgetful. Or, mentally misplaced. You see, there’s a lot of shit floating around in my cranium. Some numbers, some interesting data, some bullshit ephemera about what episode of what season in what obscure TV show a character walked down the wrong hallway to go to the bathroom, tons of music, a few memorized beautiful things I’ve seen in my days, some horrors I’ve always memorized, and a collection of all the breasts I’ve come across and been mesmerized. Yeah, there’s a pun there. A bad one, at that.

This morning, I woke up and smiled that kind of smile that only happens on a day off. I got up, stretched, did the various things I do when I wake up alone, the scratching of places and releasing of certain human fluids, then went to the internet and began absorbing facts. A typical day. There’s “significant amounts” of water on the mother fucking moon!

from here.

And I was reading some stuff about the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which I knew I was a few days late to, but it’s still fascinating, right?

I even put on some music as I did this. Made myself a little playlist in my music player and put it on random/shuffle, and you know what song came on several times? My favorite song by the Cure, that’s what. This one:

That’s “The 13th,” and I just adore it. Not the video so much, but the song, definitely.

There was a commercial on TV for a Friday The 13th marathon. And I thought, “Huh, that’s interesting.” Thought about 2012, the batshit crazy stupid but fun looking Roland Emmerich movie that came on today that I’ll probably see tomorrow with Conrad Noir, who tells me he’s not all that interested because he was let down by The Day After Tomorrow. Well, no shit you were let down by The Day After Tomorrow, right? Anyway, that’s most likely on tomorrow’s agenda.

Long story short, it took me until like noon or later to actually fucking realize that it was Friday the 13th. I probably shouldn’t be bragging about that.

It happened at some local coffee shop that I went to, and, well, it was embarassing, but interesting. I live in a small town, the kind where it’s hard to not get to know everyone and their quaint little stories. And all the Southern gothic ghost stories that goes along with it. So I do my best to avoid people as best I can, but today I felt like getting out of the domecile for a bit and going for a run and experimenting with various Pandora stations on my smart brilliant phone.

The search for the perfect Pandora station is man’s constant crawl towards enlightenment, nirvana, and the fingerbanging of God. The pleasure is in the quest, not the capturing because the goal is unreachable, but we still try. That’s the beauty of the humans, or something. Regardless, I’ve been bouncing back and forth, trying to find a good station while running/walking, and I took a chance on an 80s station.

Not bad, but you know what? As great as they can be, Duran Duran and Frankie Goes To Hollywood and “The Safety Dance” just felt a little too gay for this job. I needed something less festive, so I figured I’d shift a decade forward and did a search for an appropriate 90s station. Came up mostly zero, no joke, except for a fascinating station that played 80s music stars trying to make a comeback in the 90s:

Okay, that’s the lovely Bryan Adams song from the Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves soundtrack, which is fantastic all on it’s own (except when it’s used for a Dawson’s Creek fanvid, sorry), but in actuality, the first song that came on that station was Adams’ “Run To You,” which isn’t bad. And following that was some Tom Petty, which is always good in my book, and some Bon Jovi, which is atrocious (though old Bon Jobi works appropiately in some bar settings, I’m loathe to admit), and a whole fucking lot of Guns N’ Roses. It was weird, but I guess it did the trick, workout-wise.

Then I got to the coffee shop, got something to eat, something to drink, and meant to hide myself in the corner with some headphones and devour my meal and some more internet on my phone. Also with me were some printouts of various things I needed to revise and a copy of Warren Ellis’ new POD book, Shivering Sands, which had just come in the mail today. I feel like I’ve read most of it previously (it’s a collection of various writings of his from the internet of the past few years), but still, I was excited.

But as it sometimes can be when interesting people are in the vicinity, and frightfully true when there’s less than interesting people buzzing around you, I got sucked into some conversation. Found out it was 13th day of the month coinciding with the fact that it was also a Friday. Also absorbed some recent gossip. And, because of the recent anniversary, got involved with a conversation about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.

You see, the conversation got even more interesting when it turned out that one of the women there was German, a former resident of East Berlin, who had been 18 when the wall came down, and moved to America shortly after. I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with Germans in the past (and no, I’m not referring to World War II, though that was no picnic either, ha ha!), but every once in a while, I have a good experience with their women.

The woman and I talked for some time about the Berlin Wall, and primarily what it was like for her growing up in East Berlin. Essentially, it was bleak, but fascinating. And we had one of those conversations that always pop where she mentions that she was feeling uneasy today because she had left her cell phone at home and she just feels like she’s naked and out of touch, but growing up poor in Germany, they didn’t even have a phone in their house til she was 16. “How did we live in that ancient, strange world?” she asked with a laugh.

She had just seen The Lives Of Others a few weeks ago, she told me, and we talked about the movie, which is really quite good if you haven’t seen it yet, and about the Stasi in general. She told me that the movie scares her because back then, when she was growing up, you just always knew you were being watched, being monitored. You always suspected who was a Stasi man, but you never really knew for sure. And it didn’t hit you until later that it wasn’t so much agents of the Stasi you had to worry about, but those around you because everyone was informing on each other to get ahead.

Could’ve been worse. He could’ve thrown up in her lap.

From there we went into little aspects of German history, talking about “The Iron Chancellor” and how the Prussians united the country a hundred years before the Wall fell, and we even talked a little about Merkel, or “Angie,” as she called her, and told me what a fan she is, being that they’re both East German girls. She told me how it was so weird for her to come to America in her twenties and get a more full view of her own little world up til then and to compare it to growing up in communist Germany, where history was repainted with a propaganda slant. She mentioned that as a teen they were never allowed to refer to the Wall as just “the Wall,” it was always as the “tool for anti-fascist defense” or something like that.

She told me how when she was in school, it was a mandatory field trip for the kids to be taken to the concentration camps and shown all the gross details, the rooms with human remains permanently staining the walls, with the empty shoes of little babies that were turned to dust, the lampshades made out of flayed skin featuring Jewish tattoos. She told me how the physical evidence of the darkest corners of history would never leave her mind and part of her was glad that she was forced to see that shameful part of her country’s past, but that it’s something she knows kids don’t go to see anymore.

I don’t want to use the word “fascinating” again in this post, but that’s what it was. A fascinating conversation, and a fantastic one, informative and insightful. I thanked her for her time and being so patient with my curiousity, and of course for letting me know that it was actually Friday the 13th. Then I left, since I had been there for quite some time and it was starting to look like it might rain. I wasn’t interesting in listening to sad old men with hair plugs crooning bar anthems into my ear, so I just walked in silence, my head heavy with thoughts about everything we discussed.

“Komm rüber!” Hans Conrad Schumann defects, from here.

It did start raining before I got back to my front door, of course, but my mind was elsewhere and I didn’t actually realize it until I was pulling my key out to let myself back in and realized I was shivering there as the water dripped off of me.

And how did you spend your Friday the 13th?

I’m a huge music lover. My bread and butter is rock but I also love Reggae, R&B, Blues, Classical, Vocal music, and even Jazz and Bluegrass in small doses. As mentioned though, I love Rock the most; hard-driving, intense, hacked-off, loud rock.

I never really liked Heavy Metal growing up. Some of my favorites  were: Jimi Hendrix, The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Little Feat, Led Zepplin, and Sly and the Family Stone. In the 80’s I inexplicably fell in love with Disco, then Rap and as Rap became increasingly vulgar, I slowly turned back to Rock. As I and  most of my peers started listening to Classic Rock and turning their nose up to the new Rock  a funny thing happened. Kellye’s cousin Preston, a few years younger than myself, ( he and I had always sent each other music), sent me a cassette tape (yeah) of Pantera. He said in the  accompanying note; that it would seem extremely heavy but to give it a chance. It was and I did,  it slowly grew on me, and before long I was listening and enjoying all sorts of thrash, hard rock, and Metal.

Then I heard POD and everything changed.

Before that a  friend of mine was always ragging on me and saying; how could I listen to the music I did ( Sevendust, White Zombie, Godsmack, Slipknot, etc.) and be a strong Christian? My standard comeback was that I just enjoyed the music, and that I didn’t listen to the lyrics, most that you couldn’t understand anyway. He did cause me to start feeling pangs of conscious however. I heard about a good music edit program that I downloaded  and  started editing all the bad stuff out of the songs. I did that for a couple of years, drawing much ribbing from Raleigh for my  pitiful editing skills, butchering to pieces songs like House of Pain’s Jump, and Manson’s Mobscene. Anyway, back to POD.  I got into them and others: Blindside, Living Sacrifice and  realized that there was tons of good music out there where I didn’t have to listen to a bunch of cussing, dark lyrics, devilish subject matter, and just plain darkness.  Matter of fact, the more I investigated and searched , I found there was absolutely a barrage of  such music out there.

Below I  have listed my favorite bands. I hope, if you haven’t heard some or any of the them, you’ll check them out. Their MySpace sites are a good place to sample, or  ITunes.

I’ve listed first the group, a brief description, Hardmeter (10 would be the heaviest possible and 1 would be peaceful, chilled out, devo music), my favorite 2 songs by the group, the best line or the best part, the CD it comes from, and then a few songs that are really good but didn’t make my top 2.

Caveat #1. My definition of a Christian band. Most of the bands are not “Christian ” bands, i.e. that would be on the top 10 Christian sellers for the week or up for Dove awards. I don’t think any on the list are, maybe with the exception of Pillar. The MO for these bands is that most or all of the band members are Christians and their songs are about God and/or living the Christian life. There lyrics range from bold, in your face, calling you out Christian lyrics, and testimony ( Sleeping Giant) to very vague lyrics that you wouldn’t even know were about God unless you were a fan of the band (Underoath).

Caveat  #2:  Bone up on your internet lyric -finding skills because you’re going to need that with most of these bands.

Sleeping Giant

Every song  SG does is about God’s Kingdom, every one. They’re not vague about it either. Hard meter 8 on the hardest stuff but they have several chill-type praise tunes; O Praise Him, He Will Reign. If you want to get revived in your faith and like this kind of music, these guys are the ticket.

Whoremonger Scripture: Proverbs 7: 6-27  Best part/Line ” Hell  relinquish your hold on my Sons”  CD Dread Champions of the Last Days

Descending Into Hell Scripture: James 1:27  Best Line “You know what’s unbiblical? It’s Jesus sitting in some blackened room.” CD Sons of Thunder

Honorable Mention: King of Kings, The Streets Don’t Lie

Norma Jean

NJ’s CD’s have gradually got less hard with each successive one.Their absolute hardest, brutal, math core-esque was their 1st 2 cds which feature the top 2 most played songs on my ITunes account: Memphis Will be Laid to Waste, and Face: Face. Their CD Redeemer is still hard but the most blatantly Christian. Hard meter: 8

A Small Spark vs A Great Forest Scripture; James 3:1-12  Best Line : “Oh how we curse, tongue is a flame, let there be Grace”  CD Redeemer

The End of All Things Will be Televised Scripture: Revelation 21  Best Line: ” Out comes the Mercy, shutting down Hell”,” Captain, the ship is sinking, Have Mercy”. CD Redeemer

Honorable Mention:  Face Face, Memphis Will be Laid to Waste, Amnesty Please.

War of Ages

Wonderful band. So sincere. Check out front man Leroy Hamp’s testimony. Good,  Pennsylvania, power metal/christiancore with some serious guitar work and real praise of God. Very inspirational lyrics. Hardmeter 7

One Day Best Line: Chorus:  “God save Me”  CD: War of Ages

My Solitude Best line: ” my life is not in vain, proved by the stripes on his back” CD War of Ages

Honorable Mention: Guide for the Helpless, Stone by Stone

POD

There 1st 3-4  CD’s were their most in your face Christian: Snuff the Punk (my all time favorite cover art), Brown, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown,  and Satellite. All those are still frequent visitors in my CD player.

Hard meter 5.5

Run Scripture: Psalm 13 (word for word)   Best line “I will sing to You, my Lord, for You have been so good to me”  CD Snuff the Punk

Tribal Warriors Best Line “Holding the stars, is the man who carries my scars”. CD The Fundamental Elements of Southtown

Honorable Mention: Southtown, Outcast, Anything Right, Portrait

As I Lay Dying

Very hard but just as with just about all Christian heavy music, it has a goodness, a wholesomeness that non-Christian bands noticeably lack. You would think that would be true huh? You definitely need the lyric sheet with these guys and it makes it all the more awesome when you find out what they’re saying alongside such monster guitar riffs and frenetic drum runs. Hardmeter 9

Collision Best Line:” I want you to know, how much it means to have you in my life. I could never forget You. I will never be the same”. CD Frail Words Collapse

Distance is Darkness Best Line: How quickly I forget, that this is meaningless” CD Frail Words Collapse

Honorable Mention: 94 Hours, Through Struggle, Meaning in Tragedy

Life in Your Way

Jordans favorite band. They, even though scream-rock, have a very wholesome quality which exudes goodness and love ( see songs below) We’ve seen these guys live several times and have been very impressed with them off-stage. They have a holler-guy and a sing guy like a lot of hardcore bands these days. Hard meter 6.5

Salty  Grave Best Part: The Hymn, I Love You Lord halfway into the song. CD: Waking Giants

Threads of Sincerity Best Part: “Everywhere I go, everywhere my feet take me, Your compassion never fails me“ CD: Waking Giants

Honorable Mention: The Beauty of Grace, We Don’t Believe, Reach the End

Blindside

These guys went from really screaming, hardcore on their 1st CD: A Thought Crossed my Mind (HM 9) to a lot less harsh , commercial-friendly singing style on Silence (HM 5). After that, they’ve gone too commercial, and lamed out. Those 1st 2 CD’s are good though, especially Silence which is packed with great stuff. Hardmeter See above

Cute Boring  Love Song is About: Lust  CD Silence

Act Best Line ” Shift into a higher gear, place a brick on the gas. On what I left behind, I won’t shed a tear, My rear view mirror has got broken glass”. CD A Thought Crushed My Mind

Honorable Mention: Pitiful, Sleepwalking, Caught a Glimpse, King of the Closet

Underoath

These guys are probably the most commercially popular of anyone on my list, their CD’s going high up the Billboard charts, Grammy awards, and Gold records. My favorite cd is Define the Great Line which is really good, packed with killer songs. My next favorite is They’re Only Chasing Safety. Their earlier stuff is  Hardcore Screamo which I don’t really love. These guys headlined the Warped Tour when it was in Nashville a few years ago.They’re the real deal musically. Hardmeter 7

In Regards To Myself, Casting Such a Thin Shadow  CD: Define the Great Line

Honorable Mention: Returning Empty Handed, A Moment Suspended in Time,Young and Aspiring

Living Sacrifice

I bought this CD early in my Christian Rock evolution,unheard, on the recommendation of some 13 year old hardcore/Christian kid at one of Jordans soccer games when he was about 10. I got home with it, cranked it up, heard the Living Sacrifice version of the devo-song I am Not My Own and freaked out. It was about the most awesome thing I had ever heard! Praise to God in absolutely SLAMMING, breakdown, monster riff, stop-start beats, with absolutely no commercial ambitions, only to crank as hard as possible and to glorify God. Wow. Hardmeter 9

Not My Own Best Line ” Born again, born again, LIFE. Born again, born again, PEACE. Born again, born again, LOVE , I am not my own”. CD The Hammering Process

Reborn Empowered: Best Line:Reborn empowered,All strongholds broken,Old ways have died,Given new life.CD In Memoriam

Pax 217

This band is broken up now.Their music is a really good; So-Cal, optimistic, blend of rock,rap with a little reggae thrown in.Their name “Pax” is Latin for Peace, and 217 stands for Ephesians 2:17.They sound a lot like the old rap/rock band 311. I wish they hadn’t broken up. The song No place Like Home breaks my heart. Hardmeter 4

No Place Like Home. About: Divorce. Best Line: “Mom and Dad come back around” CD Twoseventeen

I’ll See You  CD Engage

Honorable Mention: Prizm, Engage, PSA, Move On This.

Oh Sleeper

One of Raleigh’s favorite bands.Wow.These guys are like listening to a hard rock representation of the book of Revelation.You’ll just have to check them out to see what I mean. Their music is a little too intense for over a couple of songs at a time for me personally.Their guitar-virtuoso rating is very high,with ex-Between the Buried an Me guitarist Shane Blay leading the way, shearing off monster riff lines. Raleigh has met these guys and says they appear to be the real deal, really friendly, accessible, humble, and God fearing. 

Vices Like Vipers  Best Line: (hard to decide) Like the Viper, I kept when You said “Let Go”.  “Take my lust, this world’s love. Great Counselor, take what’s left, Great Counselor, take what’s left…..of me.” CD When I am God

To Flagship  Best Line: “As the Sons of the first King, the Sons of Flagship” CD When I am God

Honorable Mention Son of the Morning,We are the Archers, Building the Nations

Pillar

Fireproof is my favorite with their preceding cd, Above, my next favorite which was pure rap/rock.Pillar is now more pure rock as in Where do We Go From Here, another good offering from start to finish. They’ve kind of went the commercial route and sold out since. Hardmeter 4

Fireproof Best Line ” I tried to tell you but you wouldn’t be quiet, I am FIREPROOF.”  CD Fireproof

Live for Him  Best Line ” We’re battle soldiers caught in spiritual warfare , fighting’ for the souls of the lost in this dark nightmare “. CD Above

Honorable Mention: You Should Know, Frontline, You Simply Loved

Sophia

A local band, now broken up, they are actually a few Belmont guys.This is very good stuff, especially for a local band. I saw them a couple of times. Their front man had a penchant for jumping off really high places during their performances. I always see their little bearded guitarist in the pit at local shows. Check out the history of their band name Sophia. Hardmeter 7

Suffocating the Magpie  Best Part: “I called you my Daughter, I called you my Mother, Forgive us, my sister, I am the curse“. CD My Morning; Migration

Prison Epistle Abridged Best Part: ” I am the poorest one if I give all I have to follow You Father” CD My Hands, My Greedy Hands

Honorable Mention: The Dove’s Solemn Hymn, Desertification

The Showdown

These guys are from Elizabethtown Tn. Their 1st CD A Chorus of Obliteration (HM 9) was really heavy but their 2nd Temptation Comes My Way (HM 6.5) is more Southern Heavy Rock, way, way more melodic with very little screaming. Great guitar work.

Head Down,  I Victim   CD Temptation Comes My Way

A Monument Encased in Ash This song is about the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah. Yes, awesome.

Haste the Day

This group has a good mix of screaming (almost a screech) and singing, and really good guitar driven, breakdown, hardcore rock. They are one of Raleigh’s favorites. He saw them, and As I Lay Dying at one show. Wow. Their name comes from the lyrics in the Hymn It is Well With my Soul. I read this: they asked a band member to leave the band because he no longer believed in Christ and they didn’t feel that worked with their purpose as a band. You wouldn’t think of that type commitment when you hear these guys because they are so hard but that’s  why we shouldn’t judge by appearances. ;0) Hardmeter 8.5

Walk On, When Everything Fails,  CD When Everything Fails

American Love  CD Burning Bridges

Honorable Mention Pressure the Hinges, Chorus of Angels

The Best of the Rest

August Burns Red

Bloodlined Calligraphy

Devil Wears Prada

Gwen Stacy

A Plea For Purging

I Am Terrified

Get Your Guns

Once Nothing

Demon Hunter

Project 86

 

Psalm 12

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For the Chief Musician; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

12:1 Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases.
For the faithful fail from among the children of men.

12:2 Everyone lies to his neighbor.
They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.

12:3 May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts,

12:4 who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail.
Our lips are our own.
Who is lord over us?”

12:5 “Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy,
I will now arise,” says Yahweh;
“I will set him in safety from those who malign him.”

12:6 The words of Yahweh are flawless words,
as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.

12:7 You will keep them, Yahweh.
You will preserve them from this generation forever.

12:8 The wicked walk on every side,
when what is vile is exalted among the sons of men.

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