What’s up world… what is up?… well, i’m trying to get the ball rolling here and over on the front page andit’s no small task… i’ve been thinking through a lot of how i do things and what things i should focus on and what dreams and goals i should pursue and which should be left flopping on the floorboards of the fishing boat or tossed back into the lake…

today, though, there’s some new content on the front page, a conversation in the making, some movie thoughts, book thoughts, and… are you ready for some football?… and more… so let’s get going…

FAVRE AND AWAY
to the tune of Trade Winds - Frank Sinatra

Stop me if you’ve heard this before… an athelete retires after one of his best seasons ever and then… wait a minute nope… heeeeee’s BACK…. okay, this time it’s football and this time it’s Brett Favre… after much speculation immediately following his retirement at the end of last season, Favre is back, ready to suit up in the familiar green jersey… as excited teammate Donald Driver said, “He’s back in business”

but wait… something’s different… there’s more to the story… in fact, that green looks like it’s a different shade… oh… Favre’s a Jet… didn’t see that coming…

THE FATE OF THE DANCEFLOOR
to the tune of Dance or Die - Family Force 5)

i meant to do a quick look at this album earlier, but now that it’s only a couple weeks away from releasing, time is even more of the essence… well, i’ve been listening to this one for a while now and the most obvious thing to say about it is that it’s totally different from their last album… different label, different style, different everything…

Well, that’s the easy button… and i’ll pass on that… remember that time that Family Force 5 kept saying over and over how they wanted to bring the party back into the music scene?… well, their last album really rocked out and gave plenty of people fits as they tried to categorize the group and this time around… well, it’s just a non-stop party… you’ve got much less classic, southern rock, much more synth, much more euro-pop, much more volume and they’ve cranked the crunk way past eleven… it’s certainly a fun ride, but i’m sure that it’s not for everyone…

THE PEARL
to the tune of Love’s Done Something - Casting Pearls

So we watched a rather odd movie last night called Girl With a Pearl Earring… i did not pick the movie, it picked me… well, enough of that… but here’s the thing… Colin Firth of Pride and Prejudice fame stars as Johannes Vermeer, the famous Dutch artist and Scarlett Johansson stars as one of his house maids, Griet… as the story unfolds, it was interesting to see how the two interacted with each other… Scarlett is obviously an attractive gal and has gained the notice of some nefarious characters in the film and Vermeer takes her in and allows her to assist him with painting… it seems that he’s actually protected her from rape by agreeing to paint her and then, by the end, Vermeer’s wife who has a rather creepy countenance about her finds out about the painting and throws Griet out of the house…

Afterwards, we were talking about the movie, because it wasn’t perhaps the best film we’d seen, but a question about the relationship between Vermeer and Griet came up… whether or not he liked her inappropriately or not… and there’s a scene when the wife is yelling at Vermeer, asking why he would paint Griet and not her which is pivotal to the movie… his response was that she understood… and in that moment, i got a picture of Jesus responding to the guests at a certain banquet who were pretty ticked off about Mary washing His feet with expensive perfume…

“Why would you let her do this Master? It’s seems like such a waste!”

“She gets it. She understands what’s going on while the rest of you - even my closest companions - are clueless.”

i don’t know, it was just an interesting picture of an artist preserving beauty and innocence and rewarding someone who honestly tried to follow and understand art… i don’t know that i’d recommend the movie, but it was interesting in that way at least…

PRINCE CHARMING
to the tune of The Kings and Queens of Old - Harry Gregson-Williams (from Prince Caspian)

Prince Caspian
by CS Lewis

Okay, it’s about time that i start catching up on these reviews, right?… first up is Prince Caspian, which continues the Narnian saga… and it’s easy to see why they chose this book to continue the big screen adventures of these zany kids and their wild escapades… seriously though, it was better than i remember from the days of my youth and it’s got all kinds of intrigue and adventure… tweaks the farthest reaches of your imagination and finds the right moments to poke you back to reality…

The standout jab for me came from Lucy, i believe, as she was talking with Susan as they trudged through the thick woods… she asks a rather poignant question about what might happen if humankind resolved themselves to the basest of existence over time as the animals of Narnia had given up talking and acting appropriately… it’s a stark glimpse at what the world might look like as our collective conscience continues to erode… great book though… i wish i had gone to see the film while it was in theaters, but now i can’t wait for the DVD to come out…

THE READING ROOM
to the tune of Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog) - Iron & Wine

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club…

Okay, so i still have two more reviews to go to catch up… well, scratch that… i just finished another book today… that’s right… i’m on FIRE… Searching for God Knows What has officially been added to the completed pile… i have so many thoughts about that book that i’m going to let it stew for a bit before i offer any formalized thoughts on it… anyway, this is the updated list… i fully expect to be finished with House of Wolves this weekend as i can’t hardly bear to put it down…

On a somewhat related note… Mark Lee recently celebrated the birth of his new daughter, Katherine Marlow Lee, so between that and touring the new Third Day album, he’s been a bit tied up… Congrats to him and his family…

Completed…

Working through…
- Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Bell / Golden) [about 130 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- House of Wolves (Bronleewe) [about 150 pages left]
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 pages left]
- At the Crossroads (Peacock)
- Deliver Us from Evelyn (Wells)
- The Two Towers (Tolkien)
- Quiet Strength (Dungy)
- UnChristian (Kinnaman & Lyons)
- My Name Is Russell Fink (Snyder)

FULL LIST HERE…

DON’T GO AWAY MAD
to the tune of Moving On - Needtobreathe

Oh, jeepers… i just realized i forgot something… one second… ah, never mind, i’ll do it here… on the front page… we have a pretty interesting interview with Erwin McManus, pastor of Mosaic and author of such books as, Wide Awake, which is on my completed pile… we talked largely about the book and dreams and things of such nature, but we also had a few laughs and veered off topic now and again… i felt like it was one of my better interviews though, so, you can say yay or nay after you’ve read it…

Also littering the front page is a brand new Walk TRu… but it’s unlike any other walk TRu i’ve ever done… i think… it’s based on this new album that Starsong put out this week that names what they considered to be the thirteen CCM songs that most changed the church… now, i know “change” is vague and “church” is vague and “CCM” is kind of vague, for that matter… but i’m asking you to get involved… tell me what 13 CCM songs YOU think have had the biggest impact on the Church… hopefully that rewording has made it clearer… but, yeah, tell me why you agree or disagree with their choices and tell me what should’ve made it… you can leave your thoughts here in the comments or email them to TRuMoments [at] GMail.com…

my thoughts are coming soon… let the discussion begin…

peace… love… bdg….

i’m getting so bad at this… it’s like i never know what’s happening because i’m too busy doing stuff all the time… sometimes i don’t even know what i’m doing… that’s when it gets nice and crazy… anyway… had a nice little breather at work, but things have kind of swollen back up and i’m far more than knee deep again… it’s going to be a trying time the next few months at least and i’m sure it’ll be a while before everything is aright… and i’m sure that i’m gonna be extremely tired when it’s all said and done… i’m already at least halfway there…

Anyway, how about some TV talk, music chatter, and a little bit of other stuff…

CLEAR EYES… FULL HEARTS… CAN’T LOSE….

to the tune of Game On -Disciple

we’ve been going back through and watching FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS on DVD… we had watched Season One while it was happening, but by the time Season Two came on, i’m not sure what happened… i guess our DVR was overbooked or on the fritz or something and we ended up missing a bunch of the episodes and that coupled with the far-reaching murder subplot really turned me off to the show… Now that season two is out on DVD, i thought it was a good time to give it a second chance… and, thanks to good old netflix… it’s pretty much risk free…

Anyway, i’m very glad we did because the writing (other than the whole murder thing) is just phenomenal… and it’s reminded me of the most fascinating character on television… Tim Riggins… yeah that’s right… and by fascinating, i mean that whenever he’s on the screen, it’s worth watching… he’s easily the most complex character… and his reactions to life’s problems, which tend to be numerous in his case, are always memorable… as easy as it would’ve been to make him a stock character with stereotypical reactions, i’m so glad they put more thought into him than that…

FASCINATION

to the tune of Fascination - Lester Lanin

Yeah, that’s right…. Big Band… that’s good stuff…

Anyway, since i’ve gone and declared Riggs as the most fascinating character on television, i thought i’d go ahead and list a few others that always grab my attention when they’re on screen… Despite being numbered, this is my official, unordered list of last year’s most fascinating characters on television…

• Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)
• Michael Westen (Burn Notice)
• Chuck Bartowski (Chuck)
• Brenda Johnson (The Closer)
• Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
• Robert Hawkins (Jericho)
• Peter Petrelli (Heroes)
• Sylar (Heroes)
• Robert Goren (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)
• Adrian Monk (Monk)
• Benjamin Linus (Lost)
• Daniel Faraday (Lost)
• Michael Scofield (Prison Break)

I’m sure that i’ve missed plenty… i don’t watch every show obviously and, in some instances, i don’t even watch the cool ones… You may also notice that there’s no one from The Office on the list… trust me, that’s still my favorite comedy by far, but i think as far as characters go, each character draws far too much strengh from how the entire ensemble acts and reacts… though, if forced into a corner, i’d probably be deciding between Toby and Creed since they have two of the smaller roles, but can, with a single line completely define the scene that they’re in…

WIDE-EYED AND DIGITIZED

to the tune of The Invitation - downhere

Downhere has partnered with MusiChristian.com (who i used to use as my primary affiliate partnership) and they’re giving away Wide Eyed and Mystified for the price of an email address… the album has amazingly been out for two years and the group has apparently mined it completely of all it’s monetary value (what with a B-Sides and an acostic remix version among other things) and they really want you to remember their name when the release their next album, reportedly titled Ending is Beginning and may be released in late September… (currently, they’re planning for the 23rd)…

So, you go to the page, enter your email address, and download a nice zip file with the full album in mp3 format complete with a 10-page that contains the liner notes and a cutout to make your CD insert and pretend that you bought a real copy of the album… and i jest, but it’s really a good album and i think the vocal work on the album is some of the best that the past few years has to offer…

ANOTHER DEATH IN THE FAMILY

to the tune of Part the Waters Lord / I Need the Every Hour - Selah

And, now on a more serious note… actually, an extremely serious note… Nicol Sponberg (Selah) and her husband, Greg, recently had their life tragically interrupted with the death of their son, Luke who was, i beleve about three months old… It’s my understanding that they also lost a nephew recently in the third hour of his life… clearly this is a difficult time for the family and prayers will be greatly appreciated… I’m told that they’ll be establishing a Luke Sponberg Foundation and I’m sure that more details about that will be available in the near future…

AND WITH THAT…

Well, i had some other things to talk about, but it hardly seems like the best time to do that, so i’ll close this out right now with a few links and a fond farewell for now…

- Third Day Walk TRu

- Phil Stacey Album Review

peace… love… bdg…

i promised myself that i’d write again before it was time to do the whole American Idol thing and yet, here it is again… Tuesday staring me square in the face laughing at my lack of discipline… mocking me with my own voice… well… anyway… it is Tuesday but it’s not time for Idol… not just yet anyway… and i’ve not been idle in the meanwhile… in fact, i’ve been so busy that i’m ready to burst…

in the past week (though it feels like one long day), i worked on building out a new site for my brother and sister in law, i transcribed a lengthy interview, i wrote two feature articles, i wrote a couple reviews, i did a walk TRu, and i sketched out some work on a few other projects i have whirling around in my head… all this on top of my day job, the duties of which have exploded over the last five days or so… this is going to be one hectic week, i’ll tell you that much… so much so that i missed out on having a sabbath this past weekend and i’m a little discombobulated… anyway… my time is probably short, so let’s go ahead and dig in…

MOVIE MONDAY

to the tune of Assets and Targets - John Powell (from The Bourne Ultimatum)

Well, i finally got around to watching the third installation of the Bourne trilogy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and all i have to say is woah… not like a Keanu Reaves, Matrix, “woah”… a serious, have i taken a single breath this entire movie, woah… i normally try to do some work or whatever on my laptop while the movies are playing, but not while Jason Bourne was on… i had a tough time taking my eyes off the screen the entire time and that’s how an action movie should be… if i’m watching an action flick, i want to be completely taken in by it… i want the little boy in me to be acting out the fight scenes for the next few days after watching it… bottom line, The Bourne Ultimatum gets a 4.5 out of 5 from me…

RETURN OF THE TALK

to the tune of Jesus is Just Alright -dc Talk

So i’ve realized that i don’t talk music enough here on the old blog, which is genuinely odd since this is primarily a music website… if i made any bread and butter, you could say that music is where i’ve made it… and since i enjoy the older stuff too, when i saw this headline… dc Talk Reunites. . . i naturally had to check it out and share it with you all… i knew we’d all be excited together… (note: yes, i realize that it is what it is)…

WHERE IS THE LOVE

to the tune of Love Is Here - Tenth Avenue North

And now for perhaps some more serious musical news… hot new band Tenth Avenue North who’s debut record is set to release next week has released a video for their lead single… the video for Love Is Here seems to pay a bit of tribute to The Beatles and U2… or maybe i’m reading into it too much… anyway, the song’s really good….

IN OTHER WORDS

to the tune of Violet Hill - Coldplay

When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg… Well, i’ve moved onto the final section of this book, which means it’s time for me to talk about Hazards (the second to last section)… the first chapter in this section jumped off the pages to me… “BEWARE, THE SHADOW MISSION” discusses what i’m far too familiar with… distractions… distractions keep you from accomplishing your mission… shadow missions seem like worthy causes sometimes… like, hey, can i really beat my previous high score in that game?… but they occupy your time and prevent you from making progress on what actually matters in the long term… it’s somthing that i can honestly admit to struggling with just about every day…

the rest of the section is good, too, reminding us that competition isn’t necessarily a bad thing… more stuff will never make us more of an actual success… and what’s really important in terms of our physical existence is how we react to, cohabitate with and most importanty love those around us… all in all, a number of good lessons in this book so far… and as i’ve rounded the last bend as they say (i have about 20 pages to go), it’s earning my recommendation more and more with each page turned… stay tuned for the finale sometime (most likely) next week…

PEEP INSTEAD OF SLEEP

okay and there are a few things to check out over on the main page… first, a Walk TRu of WOW Hits [1]… part two of my GMA Reflections and Responses… and an album review of Meredith Andrew’s debut album, The Invitation… right around the corner, you can expect some more reviews, 2 interviews (Salvador and Stephanie Smith), an iTRunes playlist and a handful of other things…

peace… love… bdg…

So, it’s another Idol night already and that means i’ve not updated in a week… what a jerk… anyway… i’ve been trying to readjust to life and a bunch of other excuses that you don’t care about, i’m sure… and man, have my allergies been driving me nuts lately… my eye has been twitching for about a month and my nose has been twitching on and off as well… the littles are starting to struggle with the pollen counts, too, which really makes like fun… anyway… lots to get to, so let’s get getting…

MOVIE MONDAY

i meant to go post this yesterday, but i didn’t post anything so, here it is now… i finally, (read: FINALLY), saw Oceans Thirteen… and for me, it was goooood… i really like the series and i thought this one fit very nicely into the mix… you gotta love crooks who steal to make other people happy… and they’re all just the epitome of cool… a couple odds and ends notes… as expected there were a number of twists and turns in the plot line… i say expected because it seems like every movie now has to have these crazy twists at the end nowadays… i think that eventually, we’ll get to the point where a straightforward movie - one where what you expect to happen actually happens - is going to be the new suspense thriller… just a thought… Also, and i’m not one to force spiritual meanings into things, but at the end of the movie, all i could think about was that verse in the Bible about man making all the plans that he wants, but it’s only God’s plans that actually matter in the long run… yeah… i should figure out where that’s from exactly… i’m guessing Proverbs…

FOUR MORE (A.K.A. THE AI COMMENTARY)

to the tune of Roll over Beethoven -Chuck Berry

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame night… i… wanna rock and roll all night…. and party every day… okay… so i’m not going to guess the songs this week, but anyone wanna bet that Brooke tries to crash the stage and sing Piano Man or something… anyone? anyone?… okay… the show’s underway after Ryan specifies when the judges are allowed to speak…

David (Daughtry the 2nd) Cook: Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran… i remember the video for this song more than anything else about it… i think some dude was wandering around the woods trying to catch a girl dressed up like Little Red Riding Hood and he’s wearing a wolf skin… i remember that video more then i expect to remember this performance actually… Randy says it was just okay… Paula says she’s hungry for some David Cook and then she rambles on about something odd… Simon says it’s probably good enough, but nothing special…

Syesha (a.k.a. Cry-esha): Syesha’s dress has been designed by Kristy Lee Cook… or something… oh, i like the hat… Tina… i thought she might sing some Tina or Aretha, but i don’t know who’s in the HOF… wow… she’s trying to look like Tina… she’s definitely working it… she has the clear advantage of being the only official girl left in the competition… and this song is alright… her vocal isn’t that great, but the performance is very strong indeed… she knows how to use the stage… Randy says she was in the zone… (no, i didn’t just copy that from last week)… Paula says she looks like a star… Simon says he has to put a slight damper on it… shrieky, bad impersonation of Tina Turner… the song was Proud Mary, by the way…

Jason (Castor Oil) Castro: i think Carley’s drunk… so, go figure, Jason Castro is singing a Bob Marley tune… I Shot the Sheriff… props right off the bat to the band… they’re fantastic… he’s alright… well… i mean, this really… well… um… he looks the part at least… he needs to take into account the dynamics and meaning of the song… Randy plays the karaoke card… Paula says he played to the crowd… Simon says it was utterly atrocious and he has no idea what Jason was thinking…

{Little) David Archuleta: singing Stand By Me… and he actually looks like the kids walking on the train tracks during this movie… i remember singing this song in like fifth grade or something… i think i sounded about the same… well, i didn’t sing it solo or anything… but come on… if anyone deserves the karoake card, it’s him right here… that’s just… bah… Randy says he broght the hot man vocals… or hot mad vocals… or something like that… Paula says she admires that he kept his eyes open… Simon says whistling would’ve been better than Jason’s song, that he struggled a little bit, but it was the best performance so far…

REALLY? YOU WANT MORE?

to the tune of A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke

So far i’m not really impressed with any of them (surprise), but as of halfway through, Archy and Jason seem to be battling for the boot…

David (Daughtry the 2nd) Cook: singing something from The Who… Baba O’Riley?… i never listened much to The Who… it seemed really short, which isn’t a baad thing… i’ve decided that he sounds like Todd Agnew… slow build and now he’s screaming up the end of the tune… whatever… it’s alright… Randy says it was really good, the David Cook they like… Paula says she wants a happy meal with a David Cook toy to hug and squeeze and hang from her rear view mirror… Simon says welcome back…

Syesha (a.k.a. Cry-esha): oh no she isn’t… she’s singing my boy Sam Cooke… Change is Gonna Come… look, if you can’t mess with a Bob Marley song, i’m not sure you can mess with Sam… well, this is an entirely new arrangement… and she’s belting out the words here and there… that’s a strong finish, but i’m not sure that the whole thing was that great… not as much soul to it as the original… Randy says he didn’t like the arrangement and you shouldn’t mess with Sam… Paula says she did a great thing with her vocals… Cry-esha is still reeling from Randy’s harsh comments… Simon takes pity and sides with Paula, noting that Randy got it entirely wrong…

Jason (Castor Oil) Castro: oh gosh… Jason didn’t shoot the sheriff, he shot himself in the foot, head and heart… BOB DYLAN???? and we don’t know the lyrics… somebody call Wayne Brady up on stage… i don’t even know what to say… sort of like Jason… wah wah waaaah wah wah waaaaah…. well, needless to say, it was terrible and he’s going to get trashed… he might not get voted off though… Randy just kind of giggles… Paula is smelling her feet… Simon tells him to pack his suitcase…

{Little) David Archuleta: oh… good grief… he really IS trying to beat Jason for the lamest performance… Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley… and he’s, well, he’s saving himself quite nicely actually… the vocal is pretty solid… why does the dude who can sing really well have to be so annoying?… Randy says he was carressing the lyrics… Paula says he’s so sweet… Simon says he CRUSHED all those who oppose…

Well, i’ll say that the Davids are safe and Jason will go home despite the possibility of pretending to forget the lyrics for the sake of getting sympathy… Syesha will probably be left on stage with Jason, but should be safe…

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

So, lots of new stuff to peep over on the main page… first up, a Walk TRu of the Jars of Clay Greatest Hits project… part one of my GMA Reflections and Responses… an interview with Poems (formerly Sharlok Poems, Sharlok P, etc from LA Symphony)… and an album review of Salvador’s latest, Aware… and there’s plenty more to come…

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 can’t believe it’s Wednesday or that it’s so late on Wednesday… i’m going to cover a bit and cover it quickly so let’s get getting…

THE ICE STORM COMETH…

well, last night it took me over two hours to get home and i passed by an accident count in the double digits… these silly people driving too fast in icy rain… what are you thinking? so many cars on the side of the road… i sincerely hope they’re alright and that they remember not to do that again… this morning everything seemed pretty much resolved even though it was still below freezing outside and icicles adorned pretty much everything in sight…

OVER AND OVER AND OVER

at least that was pretty… the results from last night’s voting also hung like the icicles as the pundits described the life of my boy Mike’s chances dripping away… in fact… McCain’s camp actually send a memo over to Huckabee’s camp asking them to give it up, citing mathematical impossibilities… i heard people in the media call Huckabee “a professional irritant”, “an annoyance” and many other non-flattering terms, but, as silly and unprofessional as that all is, at least they’re talking about him somewhat…

IT’S ALIVE!!!!!

Bill O’Reilly, someone i can handle in small doses (usually the 3 minute Talking Points podcast), was pleading the case of Hillary Clinton the other day… yes, that Hillary… addressing the Senator’s complaints that the media has turned against her and has been unfairly representing her and her family… she was also concerned that the media outlets had already handed over the Democratic nomination to Obama despite it continuing to be a tight race… sounds to me like the monster Dr. Frankenstein built in years past has come to life and turned on its master… and, might i add, how hypocritical of O’Reilly, not only to chime in on Hillary’s side, but also to complain about “secular” media doing to Hillary exactly what he and Fox News have done to my boy Mike for the ENTIRE CONTEST…

CHEESEHEADS, ROLL OUT

Next up for my boy Mike is Wisconsin… i think he can take the state and gain some momentum going into the big block of contests on March 4th… as far as whether or not he should give up and leave the election, i say, in the words of General Anthony McAuliffe, “Nuts!”… later this week, i’ll talk more about why i like Mike…

NUTS!

speaking of which… Jericho is back on the air and i missed the premiere yesterday… i’ll watch it online or on demand later this week… pretty bummed about missing it though…

CLEMENS…. SEE?

The Rocket testified in congress today and it’s really not looking too good for Clemens… i said before that i lean towards the side of believing him over McNamee, but there is this nagging notion of motive… and then Pettite reportedly said that Clemens had admitted it to him… i just don’t know… i did work out a scenario where McNamee has motive though… it involves years of blackmail, a bluff, and a battle of wills… regardless, now that they’ve both testified to opposing accounts under oath, one of them is pretty much screwed… and Clemens never had a very good screwball…

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 6: 6-11

Day One

I’m not sure how the conversation entirely went, or if Joshua really explained the full battle plan to his people, but he managed to convince them all to follow him… and they set out on day one of the week-long plan of attack… i’m sure that everyone was pretty antsy and i imagine that there was a lot of whispers after they got back to camp that night as they all tried to figure out what happened… and why they didn’t yell at all, why they didn’t attack at all, why they were sitting back at camp again…

IN OTHER WORDS

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

Chapter 6: Master of the Board… again

the next section of this chapter hits you like a cold wet sock across the face… or, like the reality it’s asking you to face… the reality that you’re not actually the master of the board… we’re not in control of our lives and by pretending that we are, it’s more than a lie, it’s more than disillusionment, it’s even more than sad… it’s dangerous, it’s destructive, it’s really, really depressing… this chapter is something of a downer so far… ha!

AND IT JUST DON’T STOP

Okay, here’s the links from last time… the Mr. J Interview and a walk TRu of How Great Thou Art… looking at the old calendar, i see that i have some more interviews coming up with Kevin Max, Poems, and more including some year in re:TRu stuff too… also tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and they’re announcing the Dove Nominees, so i might talk about that, too…

peace… love… bdg…

It’s a whole new ball game as they say… some big news headlines today to talk about but, if you’ll indulge me for a brief second… i’m excited that i was on the radio today… kind of… i sent in a letter to the Tony Kornheiser Show yesterday because they, like many othe media outlets, are completely dismissing Mike Huckabee and, actually, more than dismissing… they’ve pretty much marginalized him as the one person in the WORLD who can stand up on two legs, speak and yet still believes that evolution is a farce…

Despite having opposing viewpoints on a lot of things, though, i love the show and thought i’d take a second to write in and defend my boy Mike a little bit… sure enough, at the very end of today’s show, my letter was read and, it went over alright i guess… they liked the joke i broke the ice with and i think i made as much of a point as can be expected from a letter on the radio… it was just cool to hear that i “made” the show… i was seriously like a little kid with ants in my pants waiting to see if i’d get quoted…

okay, on with the show…

ROMNEY’ED!!!!!!!

the huge news today is less than an hour old as i write this… Mitt Romney exited the race today while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC (not to be confused with Tupac)… clearly there’s a hidden agenda here or something… taking some parting shots, Romney noted that hanging in the race would merely weaken the Republican party and delay a national campaign that will be needed to defeat the Democrats who are still knotted up in a hotly contested race for the nomination…

Funny, i thought that the strength of any party was the diversity and the freedom to evaluate and choose for themselves which candidate was best… clearly, these statements were barbs at my boy Mike, as an effort to get Huckabee to do the “honorable” thing and quit as well… after all, staying in the race makes you “a part of aiding a surrender to terror”…

I had planned to take some time today to talk about why i don’t like Romney, but since that’s something of a moot point now, i’ll just list some bullet points that i’ll revisit later if necessary…

1. Romney sounds more like a Democrat than any of the other candidates, screaming for change while launching attack ads

2. It seems to me that the Presidency is just another goal. I want a candidate looking to “marry” the job, not one who’s just looking to notch his bedpost.

3. He seems entirely insincere, like a slick-talking robotic snake oil salesman… (this is further cemented in my mind by the fact that he’s “suspending” his bid rather than quitting… this means he gets to keep collecting donations and holds onto his delegates which i expect him to use as poker chips further down the trail…)

anyway… the big question is, NOW WHAT? will Mitt’s supporters jump over to Huckabee’s camp, or will they split their loyalties between Mike and McCain or will they all go to McCain?… well, kids, i sure hope they check ou tmy boy Mike and that they start taking him a whole lot more seriously… i’m voting in five days and i’m voting for my boy Mike… you should too…

THE PAT*STERISKS

speaking of sore losers and bad role models… How about them Pats?… a week or so after filing for trademark rights to the term “19-0″, the Pats are licking their 18-1 wounds… while the Giants were partying in the streets of NYC, the Pats were throwing pity parties…

First Coach Bellichick spends the last play of the Superbowl in the tunnel sulking and brooding, then the two biggest stars, Tom Brady and Randy Moss, immediately withdraw from the Pro Bowl… talk about being a bad loser…

in related thoughts, the 2007 Patriots can no longer be considered the best football team ever, because they didn’t win the Superbowl and that means that technically, they weren’t even the best team of the year… a lot of people think that this is unfair, but it’s the same standard of measurement used for all claims of greatness… it’s what keeps Dan Marino out of contention for the greatest QB ever and it’s always been that way…

SUPER GREAT AWESOME REALLY COOL

and now, speaking of greatness are the greatest Superbowls of my time… as i’ve said before, i feel pretty confident that this year’s game will rank in my top three soon, but i’m still processing it right now and i’m not sure exactly where it will land, but these games are the games it will needs to beat…

NUMBER THREE: Superbowl XXII (1988)

Redskins 42, Broncos 10… i know what you’re thinking… dude, it was a blowout… how was this a great game?… well, you start with the Broncos jumping out to a quick lead… like the first play is a deep pass for a touchdown quick… then you look at the Redskins facing a 10 point deficit in the 2nd quarter and dropping 35 points on the Broncos in one quarter… that’s still a record, by the way… and you add in the fact that Doug Williams (WHO?) led them at QB and Timmy Smith (WHO?) ran for over 200 yards and that, my friends is a great game…

NUMBER TWO: Superbowl XXV (1991)

Bills 19, Giants 20, Norwood Wide Left… 1991 was going to be the year for Buffalo Bills’ fans… the K-Gun was in full effect and they were pretty much unstoppable on offense… unless of course they didn’t have the ball… i remember laying on the floor watching this game, still halfway thinking about the winter retreat that i had just come back from with my youth group… i couldn’t believe that he missed that field goal…

NUMBER ONE: Superbowl XXXIV (2000)

Titans 16, Rams 23, Kevin Dyson 1 yard short… This was the first Superbowl i was married for and i remember having my two closest college buddies over to watch it in our apartment… it snowed pretty well during the game, too… well, in Virginia… this was such a great game though and it came down to the very last play and the very last yard… amazing drama and will always be one i remember…

So there you have it… i’ll admit that some games are tainted in my opinion because of outside circumstances and other games, before, say, the Bears/Patriots game are beyond my memory… i would love it if the NFL released a DVD set of all the Superbowls, but i’m guessing that will be outrageously priced and even then, i’d be watching the games out of context, so the rankings wouldn’t be as true as these are… anyway… that’s fun, what are your three best Superbowl games/memories…

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 6: 3-5

A plan?!

okay, we’re all so familiar with this story that it almost makes sense to us… but think about it for a second or two… imagine if General Petraeus were to announce that the new strategy to end the war in Iraq was to pull out the troops, march around the Iraqi border, blow some tumpets and start shouting… you would think that he was absolutely insane… so you see? God’s plan sounds pretty insane… knowing how to fight, understanding strategy and preparing to lead his troops into battle, Joshua had to be scratching his head after hearing this… there’s a new paragraph starting with verse 6, but i like to think that it was a long, dramatic pause…

IN OTHER WORDS

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

Chapter 6: Master of the Board…

this chapter is actually about resigning as master of the board, but the first bit here is a tale of Caesar Augustus and his rise to power… and the extent to which he controlled the entire world… Ortberg mentions that the concept of “Pax Romana” which is the global peace that was born out of the supreme domination of the Roman Empire and i think that there’s a lot of people who see the US as trying to fill that role… unfortunately, at least as of yet, there hasn’t been and Pax de America or anything like that… and, of course, if you know any history or logic, you understand that it only lasts for so long…

ON WE GO WITH THE SHOW

i interrupted the work i was doing elsewhere at theTRu to get this post typed up, but later tonight, there will certainly be some more new items to peep over on the front page… specifically a Walk TRu and a bonus interview with Mr. J Medeiros… i say bonus, because i did it via email… okay… later folks…

peace… love… bdg…

Have you missed me?… i’ve been pretty tied up with work and errands… and i’ll tell you what, i love holidays and all, but it really screws up your sense of schedule… anyway, with all the illness going around, it’s added to it all to of that and made me perform at like half speed… in fact, it looks like i have a writer’s strike beard going on and i think i’m going to have to get shaving soon because it’s all itchy and stuff… eh, don’t mind me, it’s the congestion talking…

So the big news during my absence has been that Fred Thompson dropped out of the presidential race and i guess some people are now reporting that he was only really testing out the waters so that he might be picked as a running mate… sounds like a career underachiever to me… why would you brag about that?… anyway, the other big news is that Heath Ledger is dead… no joke, or recurring joker character in the new Batman movies… the questions surrounding his death include whether or not it was a drug overdose and how Mary-Kate Olson ties into the whole thing…

yeah, i’m doing no good here, so why don’t we move on…where did i leave off last time… that’s right disillusionment…

RON-PAUL-UTION…?

so it seems like everywhere i go these days, there are Ron Paul banners strewn about on the side of the road or banner ads everywhere or even worse, the moronic online militia posting negative comments about every other candidate, talking conspiracy theories and basically being a nuisance… now, keep in mind, i don’t think that everyone who supports Mr. Paul is a moron, it’s just those who refuse to accept the strengths of other candidates and the weaknesses of their own…

In fact, Ron Paul has a lot of good things to say and it’s no wonder that he’s been able to amass such a following… when it comes to the economy, he certainly seems to know his stuff… and with the recent shift in focus at the debates to key in on economic matters, it looks to favor Paul for as long as they let him talk…

However, Paul seems to be one-dimensional in that regard and is more like Bill “It’s the economy, stupid” Clinton than the Ronald Reagan persona he tries so hard to embrace… if it is just about the economy, then Ron Paul is probably a great choice… but it’s not just the economy… people listen to you when you talk about the economy and people like it when you promise to fix the economy because the average person becomes short-sighted when it comes to money… we, as a nation, are so willing to sacrifice ethics, safety, moral responsibilities, our family, and just about anything on the promise of prosperity…

Look back at Bill Clinton’s time as president and you can see what happens when you just focus on the economy… by the end of his term, we as a nation had experienced the most publicized and morally bankrupt trial of a man’s infidelity… our military was depleated and, despite rolling with the good times throughout his presidency, the country was in a recession… the point is not that we shouldn’t focus on the economy - because i think that we’ve overlooked basic, common sense business practices as a nation for far too long - but the tunnel vision can only last for so long before everything collapses…

Ron Paul’s statements about foreign policies and other practical issues really show a lack of depth and understanding that’s necessary to be in such a high position of authority which outweighs his positive statements about the economy… bottom line, it’s more than just the economy, stupid…

FOOTBALL

Another set of good to great games last weekend… the Patriots managed to shut down the Chargers pretty well… even with Darth Vader trying to manipulate the force from the sidelines… and the rootin’ tootin’ Green Bay Packers, led by Yosemite Brett Favre couldn’t overcome the elements and knock off the Giants, who are apparently sponsored by Franks Red Hot, hot sauce… of course i’m disappointed that the Pack didn’t pull it off, but they were totally outplayed for the whole game and it’s only fair that they win…

this means of course that the Patriots and the Giants will be in the Superbowl down in Arizona and it’s going to be…. eh, an okay game at least… i’ll talk more about it later on…

MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY

Monday was Martin Luther King Day and i have a few things to say about it… first is that there was apparently an MLK patio sale at a local store… i know this because The Tony Kornheiser Show is back on the air and Tony was ranting about how inappropriate it was to advertise a patio furniture sale and attach the name of someone who assassinated to it… His argument was that of all the things that Martin Luther King Jr stood for in his life, patio furniture sales shouldn’t be his legacy in pop culture… which is fine, except he continued to say that it would be okay to have President’s Day sales, Christmas sales, etc… if i’m not mistaken, Lincoln was assassinated and that guy they named Christmas after, too…

Anyway, little boy, who is in Kindergarten, learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. in school… now, i’m not sure all that was said during the lesson or lessons, but he told me that King was a good man, who told people to love everyone and that he had a dream before he was “killed by the bad white man”… interesting to say the least…

i guess my problem overall is that he’s in Kindergarten… he doesn’t have any concept of race… and he shouldn’t… he’s innocent in that regard… as he should be… i see this as a subtle attack on innocence and maybe i’m just being a little overprotective - again, i don’t know what the lesson was about - but i have a dream where kids aren’t taught from an early age that race is an issue only to be taught later on that race isn’t supposed to be an issue… it’s already not an issue… just let us all be neighbors… i’m probably rambling…

GHOST IN THE MACHINE (part eleven)

Long time readers will appreciate this… this time, it’s my laptop… my trusty, faithful, german shepherd of a laptop… except that it’s been acting up in most every way imaginable… first it started acting slow… i figured that it was because i hadn’t shut down in quite a while… well then i got it all rebooted and such and my browser kept freezing… and freezing… and freezing… so i ended up having to uninstall, reinstall, shop around and now i’m splitting time between different browsers… in the meantime, i’ve gotten my email migrated and lost my filters and address book… so i’m still in the process or rebuilding all that… my other computer is actually acting worse, but i’ll save that for another day…

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 5: 1-12

This is a difficult subject to talk about… but it’s part of the covenant… they’re across the Jordan, God’s been faithful and they’re all in good spirits, preparing to start battle against all the countries that lay ahead… and at the big pep rally, Joshua says, it’s time to get circumcised… then it explains that this was the next generation and that they hadn’t been circumcised in the desert because of all the disorganization and disobedience… now they’re all caught up with their end of the bargain, recovering from the surgery during the time that is afforded by the fear of the Amorite kings… and, having been cleansed, they can celebrate passover and enjoy the food of the land…

IN OTHER WORDS

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

Chapter 4: Master the Inner Game…

This chapter talks about the two distinct games that we are playing… an inner game and an outer game… the outer game is what we get credit for, but it is simply an outpouring of the inner game… Ortberg says that the possibility of mastering the inner game is the biggest reason that we even play the outer game… everything external is wasting away despite our efforts to stave off the effects of aging, but i think we need to recognize and embrace the relationship between external and internal, physical and spiritual, temporal and eternal… doing that isn’t easy, especially in a world that likes to compartmentalize everything… props to Ortberg for the Dorian Gray reference… great book there…

BEFORE YOU BREAK MY HEART

Here’s the stuff from last time… a concert review, an interview with Chris Rice and aWalk TRu for Night Owls 4…

Newer postings include an interview with Ronnie Freeman and a new iTRu-nes Playlist…

COMING SOON

the weekend… man, writing in the blog really winds the clock down… but yeah… i’ll shave, i’ll get better and i’ll talk about more stuff… on theTRu, i’ve got a WalkTRu, Left to Write, and more in the works…

peace… love… bdg…