AI-generated sermons have no soul

I came across an interesting article shared by Steve Baker, who I have featured on the Gone Newclearpodcast. The emphasis of the article was on how artificial intelligence is being utilized by pastors, rabbis, etc. to write sermons for them. You can read the article here, it’s an interesting read. The consensus among men and…

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Being okay with being “un-okay”

One of my commanders in the Army band once told a story about a fellow he was serving with playing a solo in a concert. I guess this person had been around the block a few times, judging by how he described this scene. Apparently this guy played the solo well enough, but made a…

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Finally, an honest tennis interview!

**This email was originally written and sent in the summer of 2021, while I was residing in Vietnam with my wife Sana. I liked it so much I wanted to share it again. One of the unforeseen benefits of living in Vietnam is the TV coverage of the major tennis events. Tennis is one of…

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A two-year trek down I-95

A couple of months ago I picked up a terrific book titled “Blood and Treasure.” It’s a biography of the great American frontiersman and explorer, settler, etc. Daniel Boone. Something that I read in this book that really stuck out to me was how Boone’s family relocated from Pennsylvania to North Carolina when he was…

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Get In Line

Things don’t happen when we want them to, do they? We’re often told by the Universe, by way of our circumstances in life, to “get in line”. Wait your turn. The results that are meant to happen will happen. But we need to worry about our mind, body, spirit; as well as our connection with…

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Singers in the hands of an angry mob

A couple of years ago, I heard about the plight of Daniel Elder, a composer of sacred music who was blacklisted by his peers, not to mention the entire music publishing industry for one single Instagram post. The setting was the summer of 2020, which if you recall was a quite dark place generally speaking…

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You need the minors to excel in the majors

Back when I edited Ben Greenfield’s podcast, I would occasionally get approached by people who want themselves or someone they know to be on Ben’s podcast. If you’re not familiar with the name, Ben Greenfield is a legit guru in the world of health and fitness, and his show is listened to by tens of…

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We’re not in college anymore, Toto

These emails can be pretty difficult to write. Not necessarily the actual action of writing. I mean, we’re talking 300 words max. That’s how long my discussion board posts were in college, and I could pound them out like it was no one’s business. But sharing things on your mind, personal things, with the intent…

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1 in 8 billion

A common objection to getting into podcasting is “there’s just so many of them, so why bother getting into it myself?” I’ve heard that before I got involved with the craft in 2015, and many times since and it has always struck me as a bit of a cop out for not putting in the…

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Proof that musicianship is intensely personal

Good morning. I just released a new episode of the Trumpet Dynamics podcast yesterday. Actually, it’s a very old interview that was repurposed into a brand new episode. It featured Denver Dill, who is a very fine trumpeter with the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point. In addition to playing, he also teaches a…

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