janradder

1. If you are a God-loving/fearing man, you and your family will wind up shipwrecked on an island that combines animals from at least four of the seven continents (if not more), such as lions, elephants, monkeys, agouti, kangaroos, tigers, bears, panthers, donkeys, parrots, birds of paradise, eagles, boar, pigs, walruses, alligators, crocodiles and boa constrictors large enough to eat a large farm animal.

2. Said island will also contain every necessary plant and mineral needed to recreate all the comforts of European life (like cotton, sugar cane, gourds, fullers clay, porcelain clay, pineapples, cinnamon, vanilla beans, etc.).

3. In spite of the variety of wildlife and all the natural resources, the island shall be completely uninhabited by humans.

4. Even though you already have three domiciles, you should always build at least one or two more. Likewise, though you have plenty of sea-worthy vessels you've built, it's always best to have another. And even if you have no practical use for them, make sure to domesticate as many different types of animals as possible.

5. It is possible to make anything that you've read about even though you've never actually seen how the object is made or have only read a description of what it looked like, and often better than the "savages" who first made the thing you are now building.

6. If you see a beautiful creature you've never seen before, shoot it, even if you've already stockpiled enough food to last the next ten years.

I just finished reading Mark Anderson's book Jesus Sound Explosion.  It's a memoir about growing up as a preacher's son in an evangelical Baptist church during the late sixties and the seventies.  Mark writes about being a part of that world while at the same time yearning to also be a part of the world outside -- the world of "jazzy music," his mother's name for rock.

The narrative alternates between experiences at Bible camp, balancing life in the church with life in a secular public school, finding the "groove" in music when the Sure Foundation -- the choir at Central Baptist Church in St. Paul -- introduced a drummer to their mix, exploring the world without in the music of Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, and jazz, and producing the soundtrack with his college band, Rockamole, to the Dance Revolt at Bethel College.

Whereas most works about evangelical Christianity seem to either wholly embrace and glorify  or completely reject  and demonize that world, Mark's book, as a former insider, does neither.  He really provides an interesting look into the world of evangelicals by honestly writing about his own life and his experiences.  Oh, and the book can be quite funny too.  If you can find a copy, I highly recommend it.

(In the interest of full disclosure, Mark is a friend of mine and haddayr's but don't let that count against him -- it's not really his fault.)