Mr. Locke’s Classroom

I couldn’t resist the opportunity to blog about today’s historic inauguration of Barack Obama. If I didn’t, I might regret it later. Of course, with that said, all inaugurations are historic, just for different reasons. Anyhow, here are some of my “historic” observations… Twittering the Inauguration: Last week I was having lunch with my church [...]

For Presbyterians, General Assembly is part family reunion, part mega-convention, and part election day. It happens every two years, and decides a bunch of issues and proposed resolutions, as well as elects a Moderator (kind of like a cross between the Queen of England and Ambassador of the PCUSA). My internet friend, Bruce Reyes Chow, [...]

This morning, when my three-year-old son, Grady, came stumbling sleep-eyed into our bedroom, he said something interesting: “Dad, I dreamed about space last night.” How could he have possibly known that while he slept, Arthur C. Clarke, the man who taught the world to dream about space, passed away? If you’re not into science fiction, [...]

This is the sixth and final song for what I hope will soon become my “Hymns and Heresies” folk album. This other five songs will be arrangements of hymns. Guess that makes this one a “heresy” then… This song centers around a man who has been a mentor, pastor, friend, and inspiration to me for [...]

I went foraging on YouTube today, trying to figure out the chords and fingerings for a song I’ve waited much too long to add to my repertoire. I was pretty impressed with what I found. I think Woody would’ve been pretty impressed, too. Come to think of it, I think he would’ve liked YouTube, Web2.0, [...]

Congratulations to my sister, Emily Mae Locke, and her Fighter Pilot Top-Gun Guy Boyfriend (now fiance), Mark Jennings. By now, Em is probably somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean on her way to the middle east, where she’ll be deployed for the next two months (over Christmas) flying a large gas-station for the US Air Force. [...]

In the interest of disclosure, I should admit up front that I am unquestionably biased when it comes to my fondness for the Beowulf Epic. I have studied it extensively, been inspired by it, and taught it as well. It’s a powerful story, and I am convinced it will continue to be told for the [...]