i’m interrupting this regularly unscheduled laziness to bring you this update… finally… it’s been quite a while since i last wrote something for the old blog… i can’t explain it entirely, but i’ve just been pulled in a number of directions and unfortunately can’t seem to motivate myself to the point of updating… anyway, i’m here to put an end to that… today, i’m going to have some fun, chatting up the latest installment from Veggietales available everywhere…

IT’S RAINING…

now playing: Flood – Jars of Clay

Well, it’s been a long time coming and it’s finally here… the sequel to Minnesota Cuke’s search for Samson’s hairbrush… and perhaps a tip of the fedora to a new branch of the Veggietales franchise?… (I’m thinking that a 2D series of Minnesota Cuke episodes wouldn’t be a bad idea)… this episode also marks the official debut of the new Veggietales logo… both are hits…

Minnesota learns about persistence, patience and most of all, the importance of following directions in this zany tale of Larry’s alter-ego and his quest to find the powerful umbrella used by none other than Noah… of course, there’s plenty of mischief, mayhem, and missteps (not to mention the numerous nods to Indy) that make the show fun for kids and parents alike…

…RUN FOR COVER

And with that, i’ll grab my sippy cup and head on out… i’ve got another new Veggietale movie queued up in the near future… but it’s about Christmas and i’m not sure when i’ll get to that… also, watch for a “political” blog entry, a “Triple-DeKker” entry, and more… many more books and many more other stuff… also, i’m completely redesigning the site… and much, much more is spinning around in my head…

peace… love… bdg…

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just a quick heads up… i posted a Walk TRu for the remix album of Dance or Die by Family Force 5… below is a widget full of 30-second previews of all the tracks…

peace… love… bdg…

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EDIT: i started writing this entry sometime last week, but was interrupted a number of times, most notably when this laptop took a header… fortunately, all the files were recoverable and i’m back up and running… most of the way…

so, i’ve had two pairs of shoes and a number of socks betray me over the last few weeks… given these shoes were 17 and 11 years old, respectively, but it’s still a sad experience for me… on top of that, a third pair is hissing at me with each step, threatening the same course of action… this may seem petty, but i really like these shoes… what am i to do?

anyway, time to dig deep and try to get some writing done… this may be a long one, kiddos, so buckle up and let’s ride…

THE NEWEST AND BESTEST

now playing: Never Gonna Be As Big As Jesus – Audio Adrenaline

the most exciting news that i have to share is that of the recent releaseof the new issue of theTRu.print… that’s right, it wasn’t just a one-time thing that i did for Christmas… it’s going to be an on-going, regular thing to look forward to…

this second issue includes the same features as the first one (Left to Write, Both Sides, Album Reviews, iTRunes Playlist, etc) as well as a few other items including a feature on HOUSE, the movie and the book, and an article about John Waller… all this and it’s free, too… just head over to theTRu and download the pdf and you’re good to go… also, if you want to advertise in the next issue, get in touch with me and we’ll work something out…

YO-YO MATT

now playing: Mad Season – Matchbox 20

well, to be quick about this – since there’s a new episode on tonight and i’m sure that i’ll be long-winded about it a little later – America finally got it right by booting Matt5 off the show… unfortunately the producers and the judges love him and decided to save him, giving him another chance to ruin a perfectly good radio single… i’m not sure why they like him so much, but i’ll predict that he and Anoop bite the dust tomorrow with Lil hanging on by singing a Donna Summers tune for Disco Night tonight… (of course, that may change after i watch tonight’s show, but that’s my preliminary picks)…

WHO’S THE LOST?

now playing: Mad Season – Matchbox 20

and now it’s time for a brief look at the latest episode of Lost… it’s gonna be rough with no new episode on this week, but i’m sure we’ll manage somehow… anyway…

episode 5.13 (love that number): Some Like It Hoth… a Miles-centric storyline which immediately makes it interesting… Miles has taken over as the sarcastic and sharp-tongued character to balance out Sawyer’s maturation process and his scenes have quickly become some of my favorites… especially when he’s bantering back and forth with Hurley who has quite the grasp on wit as well…

so the episode opens with a flashback of Miles as a young boy with his mother… both have seemingly been abandoned by his father – who we earlier expected and later are assured is none other than Dr. Chang… we learn that Miles has always had this unique ability to read dead minds and that it troubles him… we also see him in a troubling 80’s-era punk outfit and hairstyle…

Meanwhile, back on the island, Miles gets recruited into the circle of trust, earning him the honor of transporting a cadaver from what will become “the hatch” and what will become the Orchid… of course, Miles wants to know what happened and he finds out that a filling from his tooth shot through his head, killing him… initially, i thought this meant that someone shot him, but then it dawned on me that the magnetic source of the hatch’s power could easily pull someone’s metal filling out of their tooth and react in such a manner…

anyway, Hurley manages to tag along, break into the circle of trust, and meddle with the relationship between Miles and Chang… perhaps the most interesting item from the episode for me was during the polar bear poop exchange between Chang and Hurley… Chang refers to the experiments on that part of the Dharma initiative as “ridiculous”… i’m getting a sense that Chang is so obsessed with this magnetic research – and apparently time travel if he’s gotten that far in his studies – that it will consume him, causing a rift between him and his family, him and the rest of the Dharma Initiative, him and the others and, most consequentially, him and the island…

ADIOS

with that, i’ll head off for now, the weather is nice and warm, and it’s a good time to go hide out in the basement to try and get cooled off… i’ll be back later for Idol, more TV talk, and some book reviews…

peace… love… bdg…

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yep, so i promised to come back and chatter about Heroes… i DID watch the episode today, but i got sidetracked with a bundle of other things, so the entry “Back or BLECH?” will have to wait… i will say that i’m staying with the show for a few more episodes if that tips my hand at all…

I’ll also say that Sawyer jumping into the well was one of the best LOST moments of all five seasons so far and, even though i said i wouldn’t get into theories, and even though i can see a lot of arguments against what i’m about to say, i think we just witnessed the birth of Jacob… i’ll talk more about that later…

Also coming soon, another book review (the one about the lions), a shout out to Burn Notice as it leaves the air for a while, a glance at a handful of mid-season shows coming into view this month or next (or last), and some other nifty things… for now though, check out the front page to see a fairly new (about a week old) In RE:TRuSPECT and two-parts of a four-part series that discusses the Dove nominees… i’m sure that more will be coming there soon too, but i’m somewhat preoccupied…

’til later… goodbye to you and good riddance to T.O….

peace… love… bdg…

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one day left in the year 2008… and i’ve kind of been coasting to the finish line… i have things to write about i’m sure, but i’m still kind of in cruise mode… we traded illnesses over the last few weeks and i’m still a little bit beat… fortunately, i’ve got an oasis of time off here in the middle of the week and maybe i’ll get some stuff done during that time… (or maybe i’ll just play some golf on the wii)… anyway, here’s a book review and some chatter about that last post of mine…

WE WANT… THE TRUTH!!!
- to the tune of What I Like About You – Everlife

My biggest qualm about this book is the packaging. It’s a big block of a book with compartments built in for the notepad (er, reMemo pad) and the DVD, but the text itself is dwarfed in all this cardboard. I’d have much rather seen the book come out of the packaging as a separate entity as well, but that’s just my preference i suppose.

Cracking into the shiny silver packaging and digging into the actual book, though, i found it to be full of interesting tidbits, thoughts, suggestions, and ideas worthwhile for the hearing. A tad repetitious and playing simply to common sense, but definitely a thoughtful topic and one I’ve been working through personally over the last few months, so it was very timely in that regard.

It doesn’t tell you what to do with your life, but it does help you realize whether or not you’re doing what you should be doing if you hope to maximize your potential and actually (*gasp*) enjoy your work.

There are a lot of books on this topic and many of them have similar advice to offer, but this book – with the accompanying DVD – stands out a little bit in my mind. Seems to make more practical sense than, say, The Dip.

PUT THAT IN WRITING
- to the tune of Absolute – Thousand Foot Krutch

so, if you didn’t catch the gist, theTRu.print is a brand spankin’ new concept that is going to become a recurring theme… i originally came up with the idea of making my own mini-magazine way back before i was able to do any writing in actual magazines… then, the idea kind of got lost in the mix of writing for HM, taking over the helm at CMCentral and later writing for CCM… since all that’s gone bust for the most part (and i’m pretty much finished with my pity party), i’m back to square one and hey, i can do my own little mini magazine again…

So this first issue, a Christmas issue, was the introduction to what will be something that you’ll see more of in the coming year… i’m already planning the second issue, but i’m not sure if i’ll shoot for a January or a Jan/Feb deadline… i don’t want to overcommit my resources, but i also don’t want to ease up on the throttle unnecessarily because i fear that i’ll just let time and opportunity get away from me… what i want to see is for this to be a supplemental piece to theTRu that can also include advertising and maybe generate a little pocket change…

thanks to everyone who has given me feedback on the first issue, i’m taking it all into account and am excited about slowly progressing this new addition to theTRu… if you have thoughts or ideas as to what i should cover in the next issue, or if you’re interested in advertising, get in touch with me directly and we’ll see what we can see… ads will be pretty cheap to start, believe you me…

WHAT’S MORE

i’m going to try to finish up some more of the 25 or Less features, buzzing through the months of 2008 and touching on all the albums that i got my ears around as well as a few other features and such to help keep the site looking balanced and fresh… and in the distant future will be some Year in RE:TRu pieces… yee ha…

peace… love… bdg…

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(click the cover and it should download a PDF of this grand new mini-magazine)…

peace… love… bdg…

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A few things off the top… and speaking of the top, check out the new header… it may change again as i continue to tweak a few things and act out my discontent with the way things are… also, Happy Birthday Billy Graham… the honorably Reverend turned 90 today and to celebrate, i posted a walk TRu based on the soundtrack of the new movie Billy: The Early Years, which unfortunately didn’t long enough in the theaters to be showing today…

also, i noticed some bumper stickers this morning asking to impeach Obama… come on, at least give the guy a chance to prove himself… i’m sure that we won’t agree on all (maybe not any) of his policies and actions as President, but good grief… let’s not be petty about it… if you really care about it, make sure you participate more in the political realm next time around… help campaign, spread the word, whatever… don’t start acting disrespectful and rude… let’s be bigger than that… i firmly believe that partisanship is crucial during the election cycle, but once the votes are counted, we’re all simply Americans… we may have disagreements and differing opinions about how best to run the nation, but we need to address those differences appropriately and work together for the good of the country…

okay, i’m off the soapbox and i’m going to head to bed… tomorrow i’m heading to see the Veggietales live show and perhaps i’ll take a crack at a book or two…

peace… love… bdg…

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okay, now i’m ready for some football… hopefully you are too… let’s get to it…

SPORTS: WEEK NINE

to the tune of Cruella De Vil – Hayden Panettiere

Oh… i blew it with my picks last week… i was cringing at the sight of the scoreboards all day… and when it was all said and done, i ended up with my first losing record for the season… 6-8… bummer… the totals are now 66-50… at least my streaks are still in tact for both fantasay leagues… i think i’ve got a shot at another strong finish…

anyway… the winners this week (i promise this time, but don’t bet and blame me) are as follows:

Bills, Bears, Jaguars, Ravens, Bucs, Texans, Cards, Packers, Broncos, Giants, Falcons, Eagles, Colts, Redskins…

and that’s all that i have time for…

DON’T FORGET

two new items up for peeping… a new Left to Write that actually talks a bit about elections and such… and a new 25 Words or Less that covers ten albums that released in February as i continue to try and dig out of the reviews hole that i put myself in… as always… more later…

peace… love… bdg…

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i just finished reading another book yesterday and one particular quote that really stuck with me from it follows:

“That was when I experienced a moment of stunning understanding. Popularity had nothing to do with the truth. If these kids took a minute to ask themselves where Cap got off writing thousand-dollar checks, they’d be rioting, not applauding. But what really mattered was image. The eighth grade president was a star now. Nobody questioned it when he did something wonderful because that’s what was expected of him.”

Now, the book is called Schooled, by Gordon Korman and it’s about a group of eight-grade students, probably intended for a much younger audience than i gave it, but i think the point of that quote is downright chilling, considering the current presidental campaign that ends in four days… Karl Rove touched on it recently as well, in a brief article titled, Obama: Polls over Policy? (may not be the top article)…

Another chilling quote comes from across the pond…

You have to pinch yourself – a Marxisant radical who all his life has been mentored by, sat at the feet of, worshipped with, befriended, endorsed the philosophy of, funded and been in turn funded, politically promoted and supported by a nexus comprising black power anti-white racists, Jew-haters, revolutionary Marxists, unrepentant former terrorists and Chicago mobsters, is on the verge of becoming President of the United States. And apparently it’s considered impolite to say so.

Ouch. Well, let’s get to the quick and finish up this political chatter i left hanging last time…

POLITICS: CHARACTER

A lot of folks don’t think that character really needs to come into play when it comes to picking the President or other leaders… they may cite the need for seperation of church and state or something silly like that, but they’re wrong… a leader must be a person of character… why do you think the Bible is so particular about who can lead in the church? it’s important… we have a choice between two men, one man has taken stands for his beliefs, his country, and for others… one man has become very popular, but hasn’t exactly taken any stands on anything… in fact, all he’s really taken is money from questionable sources, including the mortgage companies that where instrumental to triggering this economic crisis…

it seems to me that if you refuse to take a stand on anything then you really don’t subscribe to any real system of beliefs… of course, that’s exactly what Obama has argued on his own behalf, ironically… Think back to the whole Rev. Wright incident… Obama attended that church for a long time and looked to Wright as a mentor, but then, once it became a hinderance, he abandoned the whole relationship, stating that he never really heard anything hateful spoken from the pulpit there and that, of course, he didn’t believe in all that was presented… basically, he had spent his entire churched career giving lip-service to the church… it’s hard not to think that he’d do the same as preisdent…

POLITICS: VOTER FRAUD

well, this certainly falls inline with the whole question of character, but this is an issue that’s really sprung up in the last few weeks with the ACORN scandal and what not… i get kind of angry, though, by how it was brushed aside and swept under the rug for the most part… one case involved 1800 registrations of which only SIX were valid… now, these individulas involved were charged, but it’s been pushed aside largely because it’s “voter registration” fraud and not actual voter fraud… the problem though, and why none of these reporters would be very good chess players, is that if you were planning to commit voter fraud, the first step would have to be voter registration fraud… this is clearly step one of a process that could easily result in actual voter fraud and it should be treated as such…

HANGING CHAD

there’s more that i can talk about – i’ve been so absorbed by the atmosphere of this election push, but i don’t know that it has to do with the actual election so, i’ll just leave it at that before i get completely swept away in politics… later today, i’ll do a post about football and after that sometime soon, i have a couple books to review… and after that… who knows…

but before i go, here’s my plug for the front page… two new items up for peeping… a new Left to Write that actually talks a bit about elections and such… and a new 25 Words or Less that covers ten albums that released in February as i continue to try and dig out of the reviews hole that i put myself in… as always… more later…

peace… love… bdg…

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Well, this is a last minute, mad dash entry because i was working on something and it took a lot longer than i expected it to and it’s Saturday and i don’t like to work on Saturday, but i’m checking in with my weekly football picks and whatnot… i’ll try again to get on some sort of schedule next week… anyway, off we go…

GRIDIRON MADNESS

to the tune of All Star – Smash Mouth

So, i was a fair 8-6 last week bringing my totals up to 42-32… not too bad… and, i managed to win out in both fantasy leagues… and, i expect to do the same this week as well… i’ve definitely hit a number of snags along the way, but it’s been a steady course… now on to the picks for this week…

Bears, Dolphins, Colts, Vikings

Saints, Jets, Panthers, Redskins

Jags, Cards, Eagles, Packers

Chargers and Giants

I’m actually glad that the Bills have the week off as it will give Trent Edwards some time to keep the cobwebs from reforming in his head… i’m looking forward to watching both the Skins game and the Colts game, but i think that the dramatic early games will be the Panthers/Bucs and the Bears/Falcons games and the late afternoon games go to Cowboys/Cards and Packers/Seahawks… once again, Sunday Night trumps Monday Night and to be honest, i haven’t watched a single Monday Night game this year, mainly because the schedule doesn’t work out, but also because the matchups have been so very poor…

hopefully next week, i’ll get a chance to share my updated hierarchy of teams for which i will root…

ON OUR WAY

oh yeah, so what i was working on is a splendid little inTRuview with Matt Bronleewe… check it out, yo…

peace… love… bdg…

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