Here’s to hoping that your weekend went well… mine wasn’t too bad… little boy got the first trophy of what i’m sure will be a long and storied atheletic career… this one was for participating in the Upward Basketball League… the ceremony was accompanied by puppets and a magissionary… yes… anyway, he’s extremely proud of his trophy, that’s for sure…

a few things before we dig in… first, i was stuck in traffic this morning and i read through Psalm 91… i’d like to dig into it a bit further, but not today… today, i’m just working on digesting the though of “dwelling” in God’s presence…

Next, i joined up with Technorati and unless i misunderstood, i think they’re supposed to make me famous, but it all starts with you adding me to your favorites… i think… also… well… i forget… so let’s just get going…

MARCH MADNESS

to the tune of We’re So Far Away - Mae

The big news of the weekend is that the fields have been narrowed down to just four… Davidson, the last hope for a Cinderella story, put on a spectacular show up until the last 6 seconds of their game against Kansas… which leaves us with a Final Four consisting of all the #1 seeds… this is the first time that the selection committee has gotten all four correct… this will either make it a fantastic final three games or a very uninteresting one if you like underdogs… i’m undecided, but i’m not sure i’ll even be around to watch anyway…

MOVIE TIME (brought to you by Netflix)

to the tune of Teacher’s Pet - Doris Day

two more movies this week… hopefully quickly as my time is short… first up… SPIDERMAN 3… i finally got around to watching this, even though i’ve had it for a while… as expected, the special effects and the fight scenes were spectacular and the storyline was pretty well done as well… i enjoyed seeing the cocky Peter Parker strutting around the streets… very nice touch… the notion of forgiveness was nicely done and relayed to the audience in a powerful and entertaining way… bottom line… i give Spiderman 3 an A…

next up, i dig deep into the archives of Netflix (actually, my wife picked it)… and we come up with TEACHER’S PET starring Doris Day and Clark Gable… obviously, this is a romantic comedy, but Gable is a grizzled newspaper man and he stumbles upon a night school class teaching journalism… the story revolves around the romantic attraction between the two of them as well as a discussion about what journalism is and what it should be as well as whether or not it can be taught… it plays out very interestingly and i’m not ashamed to say that i enjoyed it… i’d give it a B+

THE WORLD AROUND ME

to the tune of Work - Jars of Clay

Well, with just under three weeks left, my GMA Week is shaping up to be pretty busy… i’ve booked somewhere between 20 and 26 interviews over the course of 2 days (waiting to hear back on a few, still) and i’ve been staring at the showcase schedules for a while, trying to decide which ones will be the most appealing… one thing’s for sure, Robert Randolph is scheduled to play and i’m going to do anything i can to make sure i don’t miss that one… it’s already what i’m looking forward too most…

Other than that and my day job, i’m working on a number of writing projects including a concert review of the Tobymac, Jeremy Camp, and Matthew West show i went to a couple weeks ago, a few, yes few issues of Left to Write, a number of album reviews, a handful of interviews, and even more… all this and my “o” key is sticking… actually, it’s been working pretty well tonight… maybe i fixed it… anyway… that’s all for now, kiddos… remember to favorite me so i can get really famous or something…

peace… love… bdg…

well, it’s Friday and you may be thinking that, hey, i guess the new schedule means that he blows off Wednesday and Thursday… well… you’d be wrong… sure, i did blow off the last two days kind of, but it wasn’t entirely intentional, it was just life… Wednesday i was in a fog most of the day and yesterday, among other things, i had to do an interview that i had pretty much forgotten about… and then amidst all the preparations for GMA Week which is now officially less than a month away… it’s just been pretty crazy around here… so i’ll try to make up for it with a fantastic post today, but be forewarned… i’m listening to talk radio and it’s kind of difficult to write while doing that… but let’s give it a go…

ONE. DOVE-ING IT

to the tune of We Won’t Be Quiet - David Crowder Band

So, they’ve announced the first batch of performers for this year’s Dove Awards and we care because i’ll be there and i’ll have to watch them… Anyway, it looks like an alright mix… we’ve got Casting Crowns, The Clark Sisters, Michael W Smith, Amy Grant, Marvin Sapp, Switchfoot, Steven Curtis Chapman, Chris Tomlin, Trin-i-tee 5:7, David Crowder*Band, Israel Houghton and Charlie Daniels with Mac Powell… i’ve bolded the ones i’m particularly interested in seeing… but, i think it’s a pretty nice variety so that most people will enjoy at least, i don’t know, maybe 5 minutes of the telecast…

oh, yeah, they’re going to be telecasting the Dove Awards live on Gospel Music Channel

TWO. BUSSED-ED

to the tune of Gypsy Flat Road - Sandra McCracken

So i kind of laughed out loud when i read this story about flattened bus tires… not because i think it’s a good idea, but because i clearly remember a time when some guys i knew did something similar during my high school days… i don’t think they were successful, and they certainly didn’t keep a secret well, because everyone knew about it by the day’s end… this case, however included other vandalism to the busses including graffiti… i’ve also, in looking for a better article about this, learned that this has become quite an epidemic across the country, with recent occurrences in Boston, Chicago, Colorado, New Jersey and probably a lot more… that’s the power of the internet, kids…

one side note… i remember when graffiti was about giving a voice to the voiceless… now it’s just about degredation of society and it really irritates me…

THREE. NEW DAY???

to the tune of Come Together - Third Day

Third Day is planning a new album and by golly it actually sounds pretty exciting… given that i haven’t heard a note of it, i’m basing this solely on the press release that i received not too long ago… here’s the gist… they’re bringing in Howard Benson (Daughtry, POOD, Flyleaf) for production and they guest list includes Chris Daughtry, Lacey Mosely (Flyleaf) and Robert Randolph…

I’m not saying this is going to be the best rock album of the year, but REVELATION may just be the best Third Day album in many, many years…

FOUR. Syncast

to the tune of The IV - Braille

consider me a somewhat late whistle-blower, but if you dig hip hop and you do the whole podcast thing, you’ve got to check out The Syncast… i guess it’s once a month, but it’s generally packed with good tunes a brief interview or other feature and it really rolls along well… They’re on #37 and i’ve listened to the last three (they’re about a half hour each) and i’m definitely recommending it right now…

Check it out in iTunes now or figure out how to subscribe other ways at TheSyncast.com

FIVE. BIG BEN

to the tune of Bad to the Bone - George Thorogood

So Ben Stein has gotten behind and in front, center stage of a documentary about evolution, creationism and the suppression of free thought in the scientific world… the trailer, despite the loud, blaring music and the silly outfit, makes the movie look pretty interesting… i got a leaders packet a couple weeks ago about it, but unfortunately not a screener, so i can’t tell you if it actually is as good as it looks or if it’s just the magic of creating a captivating 3 minute trailer… either way, it’s an interesting concept and maybe, just maybe, it will get some people realizing that everyone who believes in the Creation isn’t a complete imbecile…

HAPPY WEEKEND

and that’s that… i’ve got a new Walk TRu posted for those that are interested… Ampersand EP by Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken… hopefully i’ll have some more for you soon… ’til then…

peace… love… bdg…

i’m back and i’m without bandaid today, which will hopefully allow me to keep up with the live blogging of tonight’s top ten performances of American Idol… i’m running behind now and they’re already introducing Remy, so off we go…

AND THEN THERE WERE TEN

to the tune of Alone - Heart

Ramiele (ratatouille): you’re darn right you’re lucky to have made it this far… singing Alone by Heart… i think someone sings this every year… Carrie did it, right?… well, she’s starting off pretty well, but it’s a safe beginning… here comes the tough part… and… oh… she’s flat… and she’s not as good as her background singers… and she’s not moving at all… why would you just stand there… oh well… Randy says that it was too big for her… Paula says that she’s brave for singing sick… Paula sounds sick actually…. Simon says it wasn’t so bad…

Jason (Castor Oil) Castro: oh, it’s songs from the year of their birth… and slow jason talks about how cute his eyes have always been… he’s singing Fragile by Sting and playing guitar… i guess that means he won’t be slithering across the stage during the song… i bet he makes eyes at everyone again though… go Jason, it’s your birthday… whatever… he’s not terrible… his vocal is actually pretty good, not spectacular, but pretty decent… solid performance i’d say… extremely safe, but solid… and Randy says it was alright… Paula says he’s true to himself and he played it safe… Simon says he needs to take this competition seriously and stop trying to get free subway fare… the ladies shriek…

Sayesha (a.k.a. Cry-esha): she did the baby cry again… she seems like a fun person… these intros seem like a waste of time… she’s singing If I Was Your Woman by… Gladys Knight? she can’t be that old, can she?… someone must’ve covered it… anyway… she’s belting out some nice notes here and her presence on stace, though not captivating is alright, because her voice keeps her there… solid, solid chorus there… i actually have to say that i loved it… Randy says she’s a new competitor… Paula, after the echo, says that it was fantastic… and Simon says welp, it was the best so far, but what of it… he thinks that she stretched her limits vocally…

Chikezie (like Sunday morning): talking about song selection… how fun… okay, he’s singing a ballad despite warnings against it… did they say love monkey?… If Only for One Night by Luther Vandross… certainly no surprise that he went for a Luther song… and he’s doing his best to sound exactly like Luther and he’s doing alright with it… this song reminds me of Hello, by Lionel Richie… i guess it’s alright, but it feels kind of sleepy and too much like the original… he’s much better with the upbeat, creative songs… Randy says it was old fashioned… Paula says it was fabulous or something to that effect… Simon says that it was sung well, but it was cheesy… Chickezie argues and that’s never good… Simon continues to say that it wasn’t original and you shouldn’t just be copying the original…

Brooke White (The Piano Whisperer): okay so at least the intro gave me a nickname for her… i hope that she’s not high tonight like last week… she’s back behind the piano to avoid the painfully awkward exposure of the stage, singing Every Breathe You Take by The Police and she’s off to a rough start, but after the fault, she’s out of the gates nicely… she’s taken some liberties with the arrangement and i’m not sure it’s really working… it’s kind of interesting and she’s done alright with it, but i’m really starting to lose my confidence in her… she was so good before… and now she’s just alright… Randy says it was just alright and the arrangement was a little odd… Paula says it was much better than last week, which doesn’t say much at all… i think Paula has a cage fight scheduled following the show… Simon says that it was fantastic, but fell apart and even still, better than last week…

And we’re back with another shameless plug for coca-cola… starting off with two of the contestants that initially looked like the best bets, but haven’t completely panned out that way…

to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

Michael Johns (JacobsJingle…): singing Queen again… he did a great job with Bohemian Rhapsody in the early rounds, but this time he’s doing, what? a medley… oh… i see… interesting… i didn’t realize that was on the table… i guess they might have released this as a song… well, i’m going to say it again… Michael can’t sing upbeat songs all that well… he’s done alright, but mostly on the We Are the Champions section… the We Will Rock You portion of the song was pretty rough… Randy says it was his best yet… Paula says it was his shining moment… and Simion says that he’s finally seen star potential…

Carly (Harley) Smithson: always knew she was going to be an entertainer, eh?… okay… Singing Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler… this is a pretty cool song, but i’m not sure it will translate well in a shorter format… the big strength of the song is that it builds up to a climax… without enough time to grow, it might not work… she’s pretty solid vocally and i like the arrangement overall… terrible ending though… what the heck was that… Randy says it was the wrong song choice and the last note was bad… Paula says that she would buy it and that she could do no wrong… Simon says it didn’t quite work and he didn’t enjoy it as much as he thought he would…

{Little) David Archuleta: he almost looks like he can pick a song from last year… oh, the truth comes out… his parents have been pushing him into this career for his whole life… he’s missing prom so that he can sing You’re the Voice by Johnny Farnham… another kind of activist song from him and he’s really singing it alright… he’s a bit quiet, and i don’t really enjoy this song… i rememberthis song vaguely and i remember not really liking it too much… he’s simply just doing fine… i’m not too impressed and i think that it’s a forgettable enough performance… Randy says it was an odd song choice, but he can sing anything… Paula says he can sing the phonebook… and Simon breaks the lovefest with a dose of reality, calling it a theme park performance…

Kristy (Leave) Cook: she may not annoy her family, but now she annoys millions of viewers each week… oh dear… Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA… at least it’s a country song which is within her grasp, but ugh… it’s just been covered to death… i remember when it came out and it was quite a powerful tune… Oh, that run was terrible and the key change left her in the dust… the pitch is all over the place… and i don’t think it’s going to go well for her… she may finally be done here… Randy says it was pitchy in spots, but it was good… Paula says it wasn’t the best performance, but her voice is stronger… Simon says it was her best performance by a mile… i guess they love some Kristy Lee, eh?

David (Daughtry the 2nd) Cook: oh how fun… he did not look like a very pleasant baby… David is singing Chris Cornell’s version of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean… Chris Cornell’s version because he can’t sing anything out of that style… he’s got no soul, he’s got no rhythm, but daaaaaaang… he knocked that mark through the roof… i liked that performance… even though i’m still not sold on him as a whole… he’s winning me over… Randy says he’s the most original contestant EVAR!!!! LIKE 4 SURE or something… Paula says he’s very smart… Simon says it was amazing…

so this is a tough week to pick i think… hmm… i think the bottom three will consist of Remielle, Brooke and Jason with Jason going home… i wouldn’t be surprised to see Chickezie in the bottom three either though, but he should be safe…

MOTHER

to the tune of If I Was Your Mother - Bon Jovi

How I Met Your Mother was fantastic this week… hilarious… key moment… “Ted: You sabotaged my second to last chance with this woman for ten bucks? Barney: Yes! I totally would’ve done it for free!… You owe me ten bucks by the way.”

i also like how this comedy has become somewhat of a mystery as we try to figure out who the actual mother is… the writers have certainly restored the show back to its first season hilarity and added the intrigue of knowing? that we’re close to discovering the real identity of the mother… one interesting thought i had the other week was that Ted might actually be “Uncle Ted” or something like that and we may not be looking for someone that he’s romantically involved with… that would be a neat little twist, but i’m not sure if they’ve already said that he’s their dad… i don’t always pay the closest attention to the introductions when they’re on the couch…

Anyway, ’twas a good show this week and last… and, despite the red flags waving with the desperate guest appearance of Britney Spears, i think they’ve righted the ship…

JERI…. OHHHHHHH…. NOOOOOOOO!

to the tune of End of the World - Blake Lewis

so, this week, we learned that CBS cancelled Jericho again and that this time they mean it… apparently the ratings just weren’t strong enough to keep it going any longer… i’m not sure that nuts will save the show this time, but it really should serve as a notice to the television industry that times have indeed changed… they need to adjust their expectations, revise their business models and move on…

As for the show, it took me a while to get into it last season, but when i did, i thought it really picked up and was one of the better shows on… not exactly an upbeat show as it takes place in the wake of nuclear destruction, but it’s very compelling and i enjoyed it each week… i was glad to see it revived and i’ll be sad to see it disappear this week… i’m watching the finale right now actually and i don’t see how they’re tie this all up effectively in the next few minutes… oh well… it was a good run…

TELEVISION TUESDAY

to the tune of Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles

in case you missed it, as per my new schedule, i talk about TV on Tuesdays… no time or much else for now… so i must get this all posted and hope for a more productive tomorrow… good night and good luck…

peace… love… bdg…

I’m a finger down… playing hurt… fighting through it… yeah… here’s the deal… i was rationing off a chocolate bunny on Saturday… by the way, i didn’t get a chocolate bunny this year - very disappointing - i’m going to have to raid the clearance aisle or something… anyway, i’m rationing off this bunny, which is a nicer way of saying that i’m lopping off the ears to help manage the resultant sugar high… and i also managed to lop off a chunk of my left index finger… since then, i’ve been bandaged and i feel rather gimpy… you wouldn’t think that the left index finger is all that important to a right-hander, but yeah… you do notice…

Anyway… i’m trying some new things starting today… we’ll see how they work… let me know what you think…

EASTER

to the tune of Mighty to Save - Hillsong

So our Easter went pretty well… i mentioned earlier that we went over the Easter story a few times with the littles and they seemed pretty taken by it… so that went well and we did the church thing… the littles and i all wore full-out suits and they totally showed me up as they were supremely handsome… Before church, though we did a treasure hunt which involved eight treasure maps that led one to another until the big payoffs which were the Easter baskets… they LOVED it, but apparently, i could’ve drawn the maps a little better… shows what happens when you scrawl things out at 1 in the morning…

We had hoped to bring our neighbors to church as well, but that didn’t work out for a variety of reasons that i’m not completely aware of and some that i am… so, after church, we had a laid-back lunch, sent the littles to their rooms for some down time and i watched a movie which i’ll talk about later… and then, when they came back down, we did the egg hunt thing and shared a splendid lamb dinner… all in all, a very nice Easter Sunday and i think we covered all the traditional bases…

THE OTHER MARCH MADNESS

to the tune of CrushCrushCrush - Paramore

So there’s also this little business of the NCAA Tournament going on in the background… and i performed my duties as a guy and filled out a bracket and joined a challenge group… and on Thursday, i watched a couple games via the online video players… and caught some games on Friday and Saturday as well… and it didn’t take too long into the process to remember why i never put money on these things… outside of the NFL, i’m so disconnected from the sports world these days… i enjoy occassional games from pretty much every sport, but i don’t follow it nearly like i used to… so, despite a strong early showing on Thursday, my picks all died away rather quickly and i’ll be lucky to finish in the top 7 of the 7-person pick ‘em group i joined…

It is sad for me to see Georgetown, UCONN, Duke and George Mason get booted so early, despite my bracket, but that’s life… from what i’ve seen of the tourney so far, it seems to me that UNC is going to run over everyone the rest of the way through and probably win in the championship game by 15 or 20 points… then again, what do i know…

MOVIE MONDAY

to the tune of Ratatouille (score) - Michael Giacchino

So one of the first things i want to do to change things up is to get on a better schedule… so, depending on the day of the week, there will be some regular “features” to look forward to… the first that i’m unveiling is Movie Monday… since i happily subscribe to Netflix, it seems that i always have a movie to talk about, and this week, i’ll talk about two…

first up is Horton Hears a Who, which we took the littles to see on Friday… yes, it’s in theaters and no, it’s probably not worth seeing before it’s available on DVD through, say, Netflix, perhaps?… anyway… most everyone is familiar with the gist of this story, an elephant discovers a speck of dust that contains an entire civilization and he vows to keep it safe… Horton faces a number of challenges, in this case Carol Burnett’s mean-spirited kangaroo… on the flipside, the mayor of Whoville has to convince a world of people that are so caught up in their own comforts that they need to take action or see their world destroyed…

There’s a number of themes that can take you in a myriad of directions… on Horton’s side you see the importance of imagination, loyalty, and faith as well as facing persecution and defeating “the man”… and in Whoville, you see the question of God’s existence as well as the intentional disregard of the world around you… common themes betweeen the two worlds seem to be faith, character, ridicule, and being brave…

And all these themes can relate to something in everyone’s life, however, the movie doesn’t completely develop any of them which is somewhat annoying, though the humor and entertainment level for children is pretty great… my main problem with the movie is the name-calling… there’s lot’s of “idiots,” “morons,” and “boobs” thrown around - in fact, i think they said “boob” about 10 times in a minute… and it’s not that these are terrible words, but i really don’t want the littles running around calling people boobs and idiots because they heard it in a movie and don’t understand that it’s not nice or appropriate… Overall, i give Horton a B/B-…

The second movie, i want to talk about is called The Final Inquiry which was apparently first released in Spain, but tells of a Roman soldier commissined to investigate the rumors of about the resurrection of a man named Jesus… there’s mystery, intrigue, some fight scenes, romance, Dolph Lundgren, cover-ups and a lot to like about the film…

It’s actually a pretty compelling movie - even with Dolph - and it’s an interesting perspective as you see the current Caesar conducting a secret investigation and you get to follow all the evidence as it comes to light… There are some conflicts of timing and such, but nothing terribly distracting from the main thrust of the film and certainly not fom the conclusion… it was particularly interesting to watch around Easter time and i enjoyed it in lieu of reading The Murder of Jesus by John MacArthur which i appear to have misplaced… Bottom line, i give The Final Inquiry a solid B+

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 6: 22-27

Promises Fulfilled and then…

God fulfilled His promise and delivered Jericho to the Israelites in an odd fashioin so Joshua, in turn fulfills some of his promises… He spares Rahab and her family and allows them to live with them as a reward for her faithfulness… and then they burned the entire city to the ground, keepinng all the silver, gold, bronze and iron into the treasury of The LORD - which i think, constitutes one of the earliest “Building Funds” in church history…

And then there’s a curse… Joshua pronounces a curse on anyone who tries to rebuild the city of Jericho… he says that whoever does so will lose his firstborn son and his youngest son… they destory the place and hope to wipe it off of the face of the earth forever… now, i think this will lead to some interesting things… in fact, someone named Heil DID rebuild Jericho, during the reign of King Ahab and guess what? his first born son died as did his youngest son… should’ve seen that coming… i’m going to rethink signing that petitiion to save Jericho (the TV show)…

IN OTHER WORDS

to the tune of The Motions - Matthew West

When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg… Prevent Regret… This is a chapter that closes out the “Setup” section of the book… it deals with the general notion that if you don’t figure out what’s important in life and act on it, then you’re going to experience a lot of regret… the opening story is touching and sad and reminds us that relationships have a lot to do with our priorities… the chapter talks about four common regrets that people face at the end of life and reminds us that life doesn’t slow down until it stops and then it’s too late to change anything… we have this point in time right now to make the most of and that’s it… Next section: HOW TO PLAY…

MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE -dAT CAVE

to the tune of The Batman Theme - Danny Elfman

a few nice pieces up at theTRu… posted my 2oo7 Year in Re:TRu piece last week as well as a long, lost interview with Shawn McDonald… plenty more to come your way… as long as i can stay awake…

MOVING ON

hope you enjoyed this slightly new format and will check back to see the rest of the new “schedule”…

peace… love… bdg…

“Thank you for Jesus and please help Him to feel better from being on the cross… He must have been bleeding a lot and it probably really hurt.”… this from my five and a half year old sage and spiritual giant… after we read through the Easter story this evening and we were saying our bedtime prayers, he hits a homerun…

However you celebrate Easter, i pray that your weekend is joyous and blessed… and that you remember all that’s been done on your behalf… He is risen… He is risen, indeed…

peace… love… bdg…

So today was a pretty stressful grind, but in the end, it seems to have worked out for the best… i get the distinct notion that i’m merely a pawn in a game of power and stategery… if that’s my lot in life, then so be it… anyway… right now it’s all behind me, i’ve got a few more days to work this week before Easter break and i have a feeling that it will be exponentially less stressful… amen for that and thanks to any and all who said even the briefest of prayers on my behalf…

Also worth mentioning is a new round of American Idol and, i think that’s probably all i’ll get to tonight, so we may as well just dive in right now…

OCEAN’S ELEVEN

And we’re back with the Beetles again… that’s not too bad… admittedly (and somewhat ashamedly) i’m not terribly familiar with these tunes as i didn’t listen to much Beetles growing up or afterwards…

Amanda: singing Back in the USSR which i think technically is impossible… i don’t think it exists actually… anyway… singing like this really isn’t going to help much… it’s really like she sings the same note over and over and sometimes she just overemphasizes it… or growls… or whatever you want to call it… i guess it’s better than last week, but i don’t see myself not ever being sick of her voice anytime soon… Randy says she needs to watch the pitches, 7 out of 10… Paula says it was sketchy, pitchy and ahead of the beat, but of course, she’s unique… Simon says, it was what it was, predictable, messy, and the same thing every week… Amanda says come see my show, i’m a cool chick and i’m fun… SImon says you’re tickets aren’t on sale yet, sister smart aleck…

Kristy Lee Cook: did she dye her hair?… maybe she’s tired of the Kellie Pickler references… here she goes with You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away and it starts out a little rocky… you make yourself so very vulnerable when you pick a song with a small band presence… and she’s really exposing a lot of pitch problems here… at least she’s not trying to dance this week… the girl seriously has no rhythm… sorry, Kristy, but you’ll probably be in the bottom two AGAIN… Randy says make it more emotional and less boring… Paula says stick to the melody you foxy foxy mama… Simon looks like he’s going to slam her… and he says… she’s like musical wallpaper… noticable, but forgettable…

David Archuleta: singing The Long and Winding Road and nervous about forgetting the lyrics again… little David steps up to the mic and does his best Josh Groban impersonation… with helium… i must say that his vocal is pretty solid and he seems to know the words this time, but gosh, is it just me or is it actually pretty boring… i don’t know, maybe it’s the song, but there’s not much to it… the crowd loves it, Randy says it’s hotness, but safe… Paula says it was the most exciting and wonderfully pure performance ever… like, for sure… Simon says last week was a mess, this week was amazing…

Random Comments speaking of Kellie Pickler… and oh dear… how cheesy was that iPhone spot, much less the Coke poses… didn’t i just fast-forward through the commercials?

Michael (Dons) Johns: he looks pretty odd practicing this song… i kind of like the hat though… not sure if i could pull it off… singing A Day in the Life and not all that well… it’s kind of messy, actually… this song is exposing a bit of his weaknesses here… he’s got a great voice for the slower moments, but he seems really lost in the uptempo spots… like, he can’t really do rockier songs all that well… Randy says not the best and the wrong song… Paula says that the monitor must be throwing him off… Simon says that it was a mess and he had better get it together or he’s a goner… oopsie! Paula’s excuse ends up being a moot point because Michael isn’t wearing ear monitors and Simon laughs, Paula concedes that there’s no excuse, but Michael recovers well, playing the “it’s dedicated to my dear lost friend” card…

Brooke White: well, she’s waxing poetic on last week’s performance and she’s singing Here Come’s the Sun do-do-do-do… and she’s starting out on the stairs, which as we all know kiddies doesn’t work out too well… really, what goes through the contestant’s head as they plan out how they’ll perform the song… “WOO HOO!” yeah, you don’t seem too high or anything… back to my point… do you really sit there and think, “hey, if i start out sitting on the stairs and then stand up and walk to the center of the stage, it’ll make a good impression”… i don’t get it… the performance was really strange and hippyish… good thing she can sing well… okay, i think she really is high… Randy says it was awkward and not hot… Paula says that she loves her smile and her yellow sun-like dress… Simon says that the performance was terrible… she rambles on and on like a hippie high on the flower power…

random comments (part 2) anyone else watching Canterbury’s Law? it’s pretty good… we always need new lawyer shows because they get cancelled so quickly… also, it looks like there’s not going to be a new Office this week… what the heck?

David Cook: i’m going to try and like this guy because i got yelled at for not liking him… singing Whitesnake’s version of Day Tripper… and well… um… two mics… this really sounds genaric to me… is he actually playing the guitar or is it just for show…? oh… that’s why there’s two mics… one is set up to distort his vocal… and the classic Guitar Hero commercial poses… eh, come on… you guys really like this guy?… Randy says it’s another solid look at David Cook… Paula says he’s ready to sell records… Simon is playing with his microphone… and he says that it wasn’t as good as David thought it was and that it was predictable… THANK YOU…

Carly (Harley) Smithson: woah… that’s a scary face that you’d never want to have had frozen on screen… Paula mumbled something as she tried to make fun of Simon and Carly is singing Blackbird… and it’s a song that seems to suit her… she’s got a great range of vocals and she’s showing off some great control here… oh, that was a misstep… did she swallow some saliva and start choking or did she forget a lyric there?… mysteries… no, that was a good, nay great, performance though… Randy says heavy on the cooliosis factor… Paula says it was beautiful… Simon says it was indulgent and she argues that she’s trying to break the system… i’m really confused about this banter… remember though that Carly released a record that sold about 400 copies… and she tatooed her contestant number on her finger…

Jason (Caster Oil) Castro: yeah… really, i think he is pretty slow… anyway… singing Michelle… my bell or ma belle… or Ma Bell… a song about a telephone… how weird… to love, love, love your telephone… okay… so i like this guy… and he’s doing a pretty good job here strutting around the stage a bit with a confidence that has the crowd all into it… the vocal is pretty nice too and i liked it overall… Randy says good choice, but it was subdued… Paula says that “these girls” are falling in love with him… Simon says that it may have been a bad idea to retread the Beetles theme again… that Jason was charming, but mostly just his looks…

Sayesha: oh she does have a last name… singing Yesterday… wow… this should be interesting… scrambled eggs, eh?… i’ve gotta say that i love this band dude… i don’t think that the band gets enough props… so here’s the thing… she’s sitting there on a stool, dude’s playing acoustic guitar and it’s a very slow, very drawn out version of this song… wow… she woke everyone up with that piercing note out of left field… very soulful… i think it actually worked pretty well… yeah… yeah… i’m down with it… maybe top 2 of the night for me… Randy says very, very, very good… Paula says that it was vulnerable and she gives Paul the band guy some daps… Simon says it was probably her best… not incredible, but enough to get her through…

Chikezie (like Sunday morning): how funny to have an old dude plug the iTunes… not really, but hey… here comes Chikezie… singing I’ve Just Seen a Face… and he’ll be doubling as Boxcar Willie on the harmonica… okay, maybe this is my own fault, but it doesn’t seem to me like his vocal is in step with the band… it’s solid and all, but it doesn’t seem to be paced properly… and the harmonica didn’t really work for me… Taylor Hicks! i should’ve gone with that… i like this fast part… it’s very engaging… there’s something though… i just can’t put my finger on it… Randy says he didn’t quite get it… Paula loved it… Simon says the harmonica ruined it for him and it was gimmicky

Ramiele (ratatouille): they’re running short on time, so she probably won’t get many comments from the judges… well she’s shaking it up and singing I Should’ve Known Better… yeah, i don’t like that outfit and she looks extremely awkward on stage right now… she’s moving around as if she has a wooden leg… she doesn’t have a wooden leg, does she?… i don’t want to be insensitive… but… yeah, nah… i’m not really with this… this looks very fake and not just the leg… i’m putting her in the bottom three again i think… Randy says he didn’t like it that much, Paula said she was too safe… Simon says don’t let Chickezie play harmonica for you… it is what it is…

I’m picking… David Cook, Ramielle and Kristy in the bottom three with Ramielle going home…

OUT OF TIME

And that’s that for now… the heat is apparently off for a little bit and i think i’ll be able to update a little bit more later this week… maybe tomorrow even…

peace… love… bdg…

So, my head is kind of spinning… it’s spring break for the littles, but i’m still working most of this week… Friday i have off for Good Friday, but i’m probably under enough stress right now to overcompensate for the day off… i’ll be going in early tomorrow and i have a meeting with the Bobs… well, technically, there’s just one Bob and his name isn’t really Bob, but it’s better for me to keep my sense of humor…

I tend to not get too concerned about these things, but this time it’s gotten quite out of control, quite fast… besides the Bob, i’ve got pretty much everyone above me in the chain of command coming in for this visit… best case scenario, it’s a low-key, blown out of proportion how do you do… worst case (more of a possibility), i’m interviewing for my job, the job that i’ve had for over eight years… it’s not much fun and whatever happens, i’ll be happy when it’s over and i’m sure that it will work out…

In the meanwhile, i don’t think that i’ll be able to update much this week with work and Easter preparations, but i do hope to share some things later in the week…

peace… love… bdg…

Part two of this ever-so-exciting entry begins with my commentary from the DVR replay of last night’s American Idol program…

THE FINAL TWELVE

Sayesha: singing Gotta Get You Into My Life… oh that’s a cute hairdo… kind of a Claire Huxtable look going on… i’m not so much big on the song… i guess this is more Earth Wind and Fire than Beatles, and she’s doing fine, but i guess i just don’t like the song very much myself… nice horns from the band… overall not bad… Randy says, Earth Wind and Fire, right?… pitchy, but alright… Paula says she’s a good singer, and she found her zone somewhere in the middle… Simon says it was better than alright, but she looked nervous…

Chikezie (like Sunday morning): lives outside of LA, looks like a Celtics fan… that’s odd… singing “She’s a Woman” with his own little funk… funk apparently means fiddle… oh dear… that’s something special… i didn’t think he was the rocker, but he’s got it going on right now… oh yeah, buddy… i like this… little bit of Prince, little bit country, little bit rock and roll… yeah… that’s a hot one… Randy says, Dawg, I was thoroughly entertained… you SMASHED it… Paula said… O Brother reward paid I knew it, brother, something something something… Simon says terrific… Ryan fires everyone up…

Ramiele (ratatouille): she’s singing “In My Life” and dedicating it to her close friends who are already cut from the show… she’s facing the wrong way… she’s FACING THE WRONG WAY… SOMEBODY TELL HER TO TURN AROUND!… okay… phew… now she’s off the stairs and on the stage and she’s the other side of Chikezie’s magnet… the slow, boring, uninspired side… no wonder she was facing the wrong way… she’s got a killer voice, but this is very slow and boring… i said that already… this is showtunesy… Randy says… pretty…. BORING… Paula says “my darling, you look wonderful tonight”… pretty? try pretty, safe… see what we hear… Simon clarifies that seeing and hearing are two different senses… and reminds us that she was very boring… MORE LIKE BORE-APHYL!…

Jason (Fidel) Castro: he seems a little slow when he talks… he’s singing “If I Fell“… you know, if Ramiele fell down the stairs, it wouldn’t have been so boring… Jason’s got himself a little geetar… i think he’s making eyes at me… i’m not a fan of that thankyouverymuch… this is kind of slow too, actually… i guess it’s a little less boring because it’s a better song and he’s got a guitar… eh, though, it’s alright… nice tone… Randy says… liked it, didn’t love it… Paula says… ohmy GAWSH you’re so SPECIAL and UNIQUE… can I FEEL YOUR HEART?… now he’s rethinking the whole goo goo eyes thing… Simon says… you sounded like a student in a bedroom at midnight clipping toenails chewing stale twizzlers drinking flat coca cola… okay i made some of that up…

random thoughts: i like the new stage and i think i want to see that new movie, 21… Carly and Amanda screaming at each other… interesting… hmm… just realized that the results show isn’t recording… better fix that…

Carly (Harley) Smithson: singing “Come Together“… oh, a Third Day song… oh, no… i’m kidding again… that’s a pretty odd top there… clearly she wanted to make sure everyone saw her uniqueness in that scary looking tatoo-ed arm… points to her for mentioning Coca-Cola in a song… here’s some sponsor dollars… she’s got a really good voice… and this is an interesting arrangement… i liked it, but maybe it’s largely because the last two were so boring… Randy says that felt amazing, right? it was stellar… Paula says she already looks like a star… Simon says she finally picked the right song… and she reminds him of Kelly Clarkson…

David Cook: i don’t particularly like this guy… but here goes… he’s singing “Eleanor Rigby“… and he’s giving me more reason not to like him… what a genaric drunk-rocker vocal… sounds a bit like he had some dental work done earlier today and the novacaine hasn’t worn off yet… he’s turned it into a rock song for sure, but it’s so not a rock song… yeah… not feeling that one, dawg… Randy says… check it out… you can rock out… it was rocking… you got this… Paula reminds him of his name and then goes off on some stange horse rambling… frontman, front frontman something… Simon said it was brilliant… i don’t know why SImon is so in the tank for this guy…

Brooke White: man, i’m only halfway done?… this is a lot… i like Brooke, but i think she looks at least ten years older than she is… good grief, she’s only 24??… she’s singing “Let It Be” which was released 14 years before she was born… okay… anyway… she’s at the piano and i like that… she has a great quality to her vocal… i do like this song… the camera is making me dizzy, but she’s doing a fabulous job… just a straight up, no frills version which works… and i think she’s crying… she IS… she IS crying… Randy says it was heartfelt and he’s a fan… Paula says this is her niche and she started talking about emotional heart feeling connections again… Simon says it was one of the best of the night… brilliant choice of song…

David (yeah, THAT guy) Hernandez: pizza bistro, eh? is that what they’re calling it these days?… he’s singing “I Saw Her Standing There“… he’s working the crowd… i don’t like the outfit… no, i’m not implying that he should take it off… maybe he should just get off the stage… he doesn’t have the vocal for this… seems like all the guys got together and decided to all try and rock out… this guy just fell flat in my opinion… Randy says it was too overdone… Paula says he kind of overdid it… wait, i heard that before… Simon says (Paula go to rehab, she said) no no no… corny, verging on desperate… david is fast talking and he’s clearly holding back tears… or something…

Amanda: Oh, i definitely want to see Leatherheads… JIM! Yes! the office comes back next week!… oh dear… what is that look, Amanda… “You Can’t Do That“… she’d never heard this song before this week… Amanda-spin = tye-dye to death… holy smokes… this is terrible… these lyrics are all incoherant… seriously, dear… take a cue from the lyrics… you CAN’T DO THAT… man… i know she’s gonna be around for a while too… how annoying… Randy says the true mark of a great song is apparently that you can butcher it and it still is a great song… Paula avoids the question and says it’s the most talented year ever… Simon says it wasn’t as good as last year and he couldn’t understand the lyrics… three more to go…

Michael (Porta) Johns: singing “Across the Universe“… you know… The Beatles aren’t available on iTunes… i bet they’d have sold a lot last night if they were… the Across the Universe soundtrack is #2 on Amazon… i’m not really a big fan of this song actually… but he’s doing a pretty good job with it… very safe, very subdued, but very good… Randy says it was a little sleepy… and Paula says nah, he’s brave and brilliant… Simon says nah, it was boring, don’t listen to the crazy love-struck chick next to me…

Kristy Lee Cook: “Eight Days a Week” in the style of country… what is with the shoulders?… um… oh dear… i don’t think this is country per se… i think it’s just a little bit hyper… okay, maybe a lot a bit hyper?… what has she done to this song… that run wasn’t too bad, but this song is way off… way way off… boo… oh, that close wasn’t good… Randy says it’s a half and halfer… Paula didn’t enjoy it and i think she’s about to cry… she didn’t get it… Simon says it was horrendous… Dolly Parton on helium… HA!…

more random comments the last performer is coming up but first, some more Amazon numbers… The White album is #23, Sgt. Pepper is # 25, 1 is #64, Abbey Road is #67, Rubber Soul #79, Love #82, Revolver #87, and Let It Be is #91 that’s not too bad i guess… 9% of the top 100 sellers… also worth noting is Jeff Buckley is at 69 and Dolly Parton (minus the helium) is at 83

David Archuleta: is his mom a gypsy?… anyway… “We Can Work It Out,” the Stevie Wonder version?… bad choice to cover Stevie… i’m just saying… again with the stairs?… um… what were those words? is this American Idol or Don’t Forget the Lyrics?… where’s Wayne Brady?… aw… poor little kid… it’s not even that great of a version… his voice is breathy and he’s not really hitting his notes… it’s probably not the worst, but it’s certainly not good… and yet, they’re all cheering like mad… Randy says it was not on point… you can’t do stevie better than stevie… Paula says i love you… remember the lyrics next time… Simon says that was a mess… and that’s that…

Chikezie was my favorite from the night… scary, right?… for the record, i had blindly picked Remie to go with Syesha and David Hernandez rounding out the bottom three… i think i’d pick it a little different now, but it’s all good…

ROCK IT…. YEAH

This weekend, they announced a new batch of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and they included Madonna, John Mellencamp (the “Cougar” has a few more years before it’s eligible), Leonard Cohen, The Dave Clark Five and The Ventures… everyone has been covering Madonna and Mellencamp, but for me the big deal here is Cohen… he’s good and he wrote some phenomenal songs… anyway, what on EARTH was Justin Timberlake doing there introducing Madonna?… wack, yo… let’s DANCE…

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 6: 15-21

The Payoff

It’s day seven… they get up early and start marching around Jericho seven times in one day… then a trumpet blast, which is quite symbolic and some shouting because The LORD has given them the city… and in turn they are to devote it entirely to Him… there’s a warning here in verse 18 about taking things that you shouldn’t take, they’re defined more clearly in verse 19, but the warning is pretty severe… destruction and trouble…

and here’s the payoff… the trumpets sound, the people shout, the wall falls down and they all charge in, destroying pretty much everything in sight… so, this land of promise is now in ruins… but wait.. .there’s more… oh yes… there is more…

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK

i know that i skipped some things, but time is short… and my list is long… hoping to get some more things done soon… ’til then…

peace… love… bdg…

I’m happy to report that i’m feeling better… the last two and a half days actually, have shown steady improvement in my congestion and other ailments… i’m entirely done with coughing up phlegm (yes, that IS how you spell it) and blowing my nose until all the skin comes off… to balance things out, however, my email has been pretty screwy as of late… long story short, the client that i normally use has been compromised and as such, disabled for use, leaving me with a back-up program that is really lacking in a lot of ways… so if you’ve sent me an email since, say Friday and i’ve ignored it… i might not have gotten it… or i might have ignored it…

normally, i’d have a write up about last night’s American Idol performance, but in fact, i didn’t watch it last night… i’ll be watching it tonight and i’m sure that i’ll briefly comment on it, but maybe no one will care since it’s a day late… and by no one, i mean moreso than normal… so that’s that on that… i need a haircut, so i’m going to try to get through this in time to go get one before the day ends… so let’s move on, shall we?

THROUGH THE WORMHOLE

This weekend included Daylight Spending Day and we were supposed to lose an hour, but i’m gonna tell you a secret… i think i managed to come off of the island in tact and in fact, i may have gained an hour’s sleep… see, i woke up late, thinking that i had slept in until eight… however, i quickly learned that i had actually slept in until nine… by my math, i’ve beaten the system and gained an hour, but i still feel a little tired which doesn’t make sense…

THE EIGHT DEPRESSION???

so, our economy is really in some rough shape right now… and there are a lot of folks saying that we may be in a recession or that we may be headed towards recession, but not too many people have mentioned the “d-word”… well, i’m going to… i mean, we’ve recently gone through a pretty booming, one might say “roaring” time period where all of our industries and businesses were booming… it wasn’t that long ago that i was hearing reports of the stock market reaching record, previously unfathomable highs… yeah, it was just about a year ago…

and now… well, now the housing market stinks… gas prices are outrageous… inflation is out of control… and it simply doesn’t look good… this nation of credit is, as far as i can tell, on the verge of going bust… i realize that the Fed just pulled the stock market up yesterday and i’m certainly not a financial guru, but it seems to me that all they’ve done is throw a bucket of water at the gaping hole in the side of the ship… i could be wrong, and i hope that i am, but i think we’re in for some tough times…

CHARACTER FLAWS

speaking of tough times… and ironically enough, Van Morrison’s “Your Cheatin’ Heart” just came on in my iTunes… Governor Spitzer of New York, well, former Governor, is in the midst of a pretty rough scandal right now… apparently, he’s spent something close to a hundred thousand dollars on prostitutes over the last couple years… this, from a guy who’s made a living chasing down the bad guys and breaking up prostitution rings… they say that most of the time, you suffer from the same character traits that bother you most in other people… they also say that whoever exalts himself will be humbled…

this is obviously a sad story to watch play out as this man has all but ruined his life… (and for what?)… but interestingly enough, three books that i’ve recently begun reading or/listening to in audiobook format deal directly with character… they are:

- Deadly Viper Character Assassins by Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite

- Character Makes a Difference by Mike Huckabee

- Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy

It’s always so interesting to note the timing of things…

AND THEN….

okay, i’m cutting this short… i’ve got more to talk about, including the Ortberg book, Joshua and the battle of Jericho, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and probably American Idol, but i really need a haircut… i’m going to see TobyMac, Jeremy Camp and Matthew Wests tomorrow and i simply can’t have them laughing at my hair… back later…

peace… love… bdg…

So there are reviews i could be writing… there is a Left to Write i could be working on… there’s a few features that i could be putting together… there’s a lot that i could be doing right now… but, since i’m currently caught up in listening to Tesla’s Great Radio Controversy which is one of my all time favorite rock albums… and since i’ve promised to write more here this week… i’m here, right now, working on that… i’ve got a lot to cover in between my coughing fits (what’s up with that?)… so i suppose we should get to it… off we go…

GOOD LUCK, HUCK

So it is official, my boy Mike has left the building… the campaign run has ended… the GOP is flooding my inbox with requests for donations to the McCain campaign… All that’s fine and well… i will support McCain over either of the Democratic nominees… but since this is the first time that i really got behind a candidate, much less followed the election progress this early in the process, it’s pretty sad to see this result…

Don’t get me wrong, i’m not one of those one-issue, my President must be a devout Christian who can recite the Apostle’s Creed and the Lord’s Prayer forwards and backwards or else our country is doomed forever… i like Mike’s stance on family values, i like Mike’s stand against abortion, i like that Mike isn’t afraid to talk about Creation vs. Evolution even though it has nothing to do with the office of the President… i like all these things and more, but that’s not entirely why i supported him and would’ve really liked to see him become President…

I was more impressed by his attitude of humility, his commitment to character, his persistence, his practicality and his ability to balance hope and reality… Look at the remaining candidates: Obama is running on the platform of hope… audacious hope to be exact… and that’s great, but the problem is that he’s so far skewed towards that sense of hope (at least the character he plays on TV is) that he and the media are completely ignoring the reality that surrounds him… this makes him naive and vulnerable… on the other side of things you have Hillary and McCain, both seasoned veterans in politics and life (i think that’s a nice way to say “old” actually, but it’s more than that)… they’re both running on a platform of experience and realism… which is important, but somewhere along the line, they lost their sense of hope… the sense of wonder that draws people by the millions to this nation… they’re so skewed in the direction of realism that they struggle to inspire others around them… if it comes down to the two of them, it’ll be like a civil cold war (Hillary of course would represent communism in that analogy)… Mike exhibits both a sense of hope as well as a recognition of reality… that allows him to both inspire others as well as effectively handle the problems facing the day…

As far as policies, i agree with the idea of a fair tax… i agree with his desire to restore the US military and make certain that it is always seen as an honorable force to be reckoned with… i agree with his commitment to education and more specifically encouraging that the arts aren’t pushed out of the educational experience… i love how, despite constantly getting skewered as a anti-science kook for believing in Creation, his policies on energy independence call for loads of scientific research and implementation in order to relieve the strain of rising oil prices… i mean, man, there’s a lot that i agree with… reflecting on all this just makes me sadder, but even more than policies, i appreciated that Mike presents them all not as a politician, per se, but more as a fellow citizen, because truly, our president is first and foremost a citizen just like you and me…

So, rather than being depressed about this, and at the risk of being called one of those Bible-thumpers, i’m just going to drop in a bit of Scripture here, which came to mind on the day i voted in my state and has run through my head during the better part of this entire process…

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.“
- Romans 13:1-2 (NIV, emphasis mine)

BARGAIN OF THE DAY

here’s a TRu-light special for all you iTunes shoppers… Fresh Tunes - Winter 2008… seven songs from Sparrow Records including new songs from Shawn McDonald, Delirious and Starfield as well as current singles from Brit Nicole, Daniel Doss Band, Robbie Seay Band and Josh Wilson all for less than a buck… okay, so it’s one penny less, but still, 99 cents for 7 songs isn’t bad… better than a kick in the teeth…

WHAT’S (HHH) BEEF?

So, my attention was drawn to this article by Wut Metaphysical about the rift within Christian hip-hop (a.k.a. Holy Hip Hop or HHH) circles… basically, there are two “sects” of HHH - those who preach to the choir in a sense and those who reach through the fire, maybe… i might’ve stretched that a bit to make it rhyme, but you have groups like Cross Movement, Timothy Brindle, and a host of others with the primary intention of edifying believers through their music… the other side of this “civil war” consists of groups like Deepspace5 and LA Symphony among others that focus more on creating the best art possible with lyrics that speak more about life experiences than Biblical teaching… i think that’s a decent way of putting it…

While taken at face value, it doesn’t seem like this should be an issue, since we are all gifted in different ways and that’s Biblical…

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.”
- 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 (ESV)

However, it is an issue since insults and accusations have been lobbed back and forth between camps and it seems like it won’t ever be resolved… this article is a good background on the subject, pointing out some of the hypocrisies from both sides and offering a nice plea for reconciliation…

i would add, however, that it’s not an issue that’s exclusive to hip-hop… it exists within the Christian rock community, within all of CCM, and within the whole of the collective Church… it just seems like hip-hop is easier to focus on because it’s already got a bad reputation and these types of disputes or “beef” sell well in mainstream hip-hop… (mainstream hip-hop., by the way, faces this same rift, in a sense as there’s quite a difference between the likes of Mos Def, Common, etc and the likes of 50 Cent, Young Jeezy and others… )

as Talib Kweli says in a recent single “Hip-hop’s the new WWF, what do you rap or do you wrestle?”… i suppose HHH would add the line, “and against whom are you wrestling?”

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 6: 12-14

Days 2-6

As if the first day of craziness wasn’t enough for the members of Joshua’s army… you have to wonder what was going on in the camp during these 5 days… it’s a very short little section of Scripture with a lot of room to speculate… very similar to the account of the tower of Babel in my mind… but, the pattern is established… Joshua leads his troops in submission and obedience to God’s commands… still, i wonder why sone repetitive passages are drawn out in the Bible and others, like this one, are quickly brushed over… anyway…

IN OTHER WORDS

When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg…

It seems like this book is taking a long time to get through… i’m further along than i’ll be writing about today, but i’m still short of halfway through… i think i’ll change this section up a bit and it’ll be less details in the future… hopefully it’ll help me get through more books…

Chapter seven is about taking your turn… it’s not so much about sharing and waiting in line, but it’s about making sure that when you get the call, you’re rolling the die and not phoning it in as they say… Ortberg holds up Daniel as an example of someone who took as much control of his life as was possible while remaining in submission to God…

Chapter eight reminds us that all this stuff is just stuff… it can’t make us happy, we can’t take it with us when we die, it’s not going to pet our cat… and there’s a really interesting section contrasting the richness of having and the richness of being… i liked that a lot…

DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU…

okay, so i’m moving on for today… i’ve got some more things to talk about including some more about politics (but not too much on that subject)… probably some more TV talk… some music talk because last week was pretty big as far as album releases go… and a bunch of things i’m working on for theTRu…

BUT BEFORE I GO…

it’s almost time for Gospel Music Week down in Nashville where i head down and watch a lot of shows and conduct a lot of interviews… here’s my question for you, the people who read things that i write… who do you want to me to interview? what do you want me to write about? let me know please…

peace… love… bdg…