LeftyBrown's Corner

If I get more time later today I have some thoughts on Bono and Christianity. Until then, here's this week's Top Ten:

1. Test Drive Unlimited (Xbox 360)

As my 360's blog will tell you, I've become just a tad obsessed with this fun game. It's a little bit like a MMORP but it's a driving game....and it's all kinds of fun. It's interesting how it easily moves from single player to multiplayer, and for the most part the players I've run into (sometimes really run into) have been very nice. You literally have a whole Hawaiian island to explore in your vehicle, and there are several types of events to earn money to buy more vehicles, houses, or various items like clothing. Right now I'm having a blast on a Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle.

2. Deadwood Season 2 DVDs

My wife and I are about halfway through season 2, and I still feel like this is one of the best series to ever hit television. I'm enamored with the depth of the characters and the complexities of some of the plots. I hope to wrap up season 2 early next week.

3. Rockstar Supernova (CBS)

I'm purposely avoiding reading my musical guru and friend Ed Stewart's blog for the next two days so I don't find out who is left and who wins the front man gig for Supernova. The wife and I plan on watching the final two episodes on Thursday, and right now I'm pulling for Magni.

4. Easy Star All-Stars "Radiodread" and "Dub Side of the Moon"

I only have a few more days to use up my current month's allotment of downloads on Emusic, so I finally decided to download these two albums from reggae group Easy Star All-Stars. They do an awesome job of taking great concept albums and Dubbing them up. Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon I think was the easy one to do, since the album already had the jammy feel to it. The Radiohead's Ok Computer was a little harder to do it seems, but they pull it off wonderfully. Fun albums to listen to.

5. Justin Timberlake "FutureSex / LoveSounds"

Ok, okay. Yes I downloaded the new Justin Timberlake album from iTunes. I had some money left on the last iTunes card we had purchased and for the past few days I've been annoying Mrs. Lefty by out of the blue announcing that I was bringing sexy back. Well, I overcame my sense of being publicly ridiculed after I read Justin give a shout-out to one of my favorite soul singers Donny Hathaway. Hmmm, maybe there's more to Mr. Timberlake than just having Timbaland weave their magic. I've really been enjoying the disc. Yeah, just a reminder before you say something in the comments section about this purchase; remember the colloquialism about living in glass houses.

6. Chromehounds (Xbox 360)

When I'm not playing Test Drive Unlimited, I'm usually playing this game featuring Mechs in a battle between various imaginary nations. It's a lot of fun, even weeks into having played it.

7. "Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas"

I should probably wrap up this fascinating collection of interviews this week, just in time for seeing a really cool U2 cover band, Zoo Station, play at a local Irish pub on Saturday. I have really liked the inside look at the mechanics of the band, but what has floored me is Bono's worldview and how much of it is influenced by his faith in God. For me this has been a profoundly revelatory book in my own faith journey.

8. Black Crowes "By Your Side"

I've have very much been in a Black Crowes listening mood. In early October I get to see them at the Fresno fair, and in a couple weeks they release their "Lost Albums". For some reason I always paid little attention to "By Your Side" as an inferior album by the group, but I have been listening to this album tons in the past week and a half. This album really does have some incredible tracks on it. My favorite track at the moment is "Virtue and Vice", but "Only A Fool" has lately been giving it a run for its money.

9. Alan Moore's "Lost Girls"

Yes I picked this up, and yes it's definitely as it’s advertised. However there is much to be admired in the 3 volume tome. The art is simply wonderful, especially the coloring. The story does a good job at questioning what is more horrific and immoral, war or sexuality. Yes I bring my own Christian worldview into it, and a lot of the stuff depicted in the books clashed with it, I did appreciate the ideas in the work. Using the characters of Dorothy (Wizard of Oz), Wendy (Peter Pan), and Alice (Alice in Wonderland) and their stories as archetypes for sexual dysfunctions and awakenings was inspired. But yeah, it's a nasty nasty book, which so happens to also fall into the category of "art".

10. The Gym

I have been spending a LOT of time at the gym recently. After an uneven summer of dieting and exercise, I noticed that it was it was September and so far this year I've only lost 50 lbs. Sure 50 lbs. is an achievement, but I have been trying to see if I could double that by years end. My original goal for this first year back in January was to drop to 300 lbs, so that more realistic goal leaves me with 38 more pounds to lose this year. So I've started getting to the gym at 5 A.M....yes there is a 5 in the morning, and by 5:15 I'm sweating up a storm....and I'm feeling good. I do my hour routing or a vigorous 4 miles on the elliptical. The best thing is after working out in the morning, I've found myself heading back to the gym in the evenings for a lighter workout of 30 minutes on the elliptical and few weight machines. Right now the most challenging thing is making sure I eat right (which is sometimes hard when Mrs. Lefty has a sweet tooth), and my portions size. I'm still right at 50 lbs, so it's been a little frustrating, but I have been feeling really good.