Archive for February, 2010
Etcetera — 2.4.10
The Etcetera Crew Circa 2006
Etcetera brought the pain again yesterday with another stellar show. Many thanks to our callers from coast to coast and way up in Canada. Great to hear your voices again.
Click here to download the show and be sure to leave your feedback in Comments!
- Matthew Porter
PS: See you here next week for Great Quote Monday
PPS: My Super Bowl Prediction: Colts 31, Saints 17
Etcetera’s Back
Etcetera's Back!
Waaay back in 2004– before the advent of the word ‘podcasting’– I joined with my good friends Sharon and Erik to create a weekly one-hour online radio show called ‘Etcetera.’ I think we’ve since done a couple hundred of these shows, though for the last couple years, Etcetera has largely been on hiatus.
Happy to report, we’re getting the band back together.
Here’s the skinny…
Etcetera — Thursday, February 4th at 4pm EST.
We’ll stream live and later post it. Best of all, you- yes you!– can participate in the show by giving us a jingle at 1.888.547.8383.
See you on the radio!
- Matthew Porter
PS: Never heard an Etcetera show? Love it, but missed a few episodes? Check out the online archive here.
Hey Porter! — January Roundup
Hey Porter! -- January Roundup
January has come and gone and thus the first full month of Hey Porter! is in the books. Missed any articles? Not to worry; here’s a summary of what we discussed…
It’s A New Year: Time To Lose Our Big ‘Buts’
Pee Wee Herman… is there anything he can’t teach us?
Welcome to Hey Porter!
That’s right, I made the welcome the second entry, not the first.
I Don’t Like Big ‘Buts’ (And I Cannot Lie)
Three ordinary dudes who accomplished extraordinary things.
Great Quote Monday — Alvin Toffler
Don’t know what the ‘futurist’ gig pays, but Mr. Toffler earned his keep with this quote.
Matthew’s Big ‘But’
No, I spelled it correctly. Seriously. Stop laughing.
Found Comedy — Lost In Translation
Still don’t know if this was on purpose or not…
Great Quote Monday — Abraham Lincoln
Whether he said this or not, Lincoln is the man.
Better Writing In 2 Minutes (Or Less) — Seriously
Results guaranteed or your money back!
Great Quote Monday — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Sometimes the quote’s so good, you don’t need a setup or dissection.
Rock Music vs. Proper English
Don’t know if I made it clear in my approach, but I think the songs are better with the wrong grammar.
Conan O’Brien — Vaya Con Dios, Coco
My eulogy to the brief, shining comet that was Conan’s tenure as host of The Tonight Show.
Great Quote Monday — Ronald Reagan Library
Mr. Reagan, we miss you more with each passing day…
Love From CA #8 — Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Matthew + crappy smartphone video = AWESOME!
Help Haiti Fast
The Merry Monk goes all in again, this time for a really great cause. Please join him.
- Matthew Porter
Great Quote Monday — J.M. Barrie
James Barrie -- Author of 'Peter Pan' and a quote that's been haunting me for more than ten years.
This week’s Great Quote Monday comes to us from Scottish novelist and playwright Sir James Matthew Barrie. Barrie is best known as the creator of Peter Pan, a truly archetypal character that has transcended every medium of entertainment. However, nine years before the first appearance of ‘the boy who refused to grow up’, Barrie published a book titled ‘The Little Minister’:
“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.”
- J.M. Barrie
Chapter 1, The Little Minister (1891)
When I first came across this quote in college, I found it bracing; an out-and-out dare to live your dreams. But as I got older, the truth of Barrie’s words began to sink in: there is indeed a gap– a chasm at times– between the life you promised to write for yourself and the life you find yourself in. In this context, Barrie’s was not invigorating at all. On the contrary, it felt like Marley’s chains.
But I’ve come to appreciate Barrie’s quote again in a new way. Life is largely comprised of two things: who you are and what you do. While related to each other, they are separate things. We have a great deal of control over the latter insofar as our accomplishments. But for the former, who we are, it’s all on us.
As far as becoming the person I believe God wants me to be, I don’t have to strive anymore to win His approval because as a Christian, I’m forgiven. But because I’m forgiven, I do want to try hard, out of gratitude.
As far as accomplishments, I believe in the end there will be a stark difference between what I thought I would accomplish in the beginning and what I tallied up by the end of the race. Thank goodness, too, because for a while I thought I wanted to be an actor. So when I compare those two volumes, yes, there will be a contrast and– with all due respect to Sir Barrie– that will be just fine with me.
So, what do you think about Barrie’s quote? Inspiring challenge or ponderous maxim? Leave a reply and let us know.
- Matthew Porter
