okay, so the latest episode of Lost is still on everyone’s mind i’m sure… and this time around, i’ve got my episode summary typed up and i’m gonna post it sooner rather than later… i’ll get back to this topic later in the week to talk about what i think is going on and what is worth considering and there is a lot, but i wanted to be fresh and out of the gates with this week’s recap… again, it’s lengthy and filled with sarcasm and random comments, but it should help you remember what happened and point out some key moments to think about… off we go…

LOST 6.04: The Substitute (how it happened)

now playing: Centerfield – Stellar Kart

Previously on Lost… Juliet dies… Sawyer blames himself… Smokey/Locke/MIB crushes Jacob’s detail, Ben stares, MIB clocks Richard in the throat and carries him off to the jungle, disappointed in “all of you”… Ben stares… dead-Locke has something of a smirk on his face… new Locke lies to Boone about going on a walk-about before getting wheeled off the new plane…

we open to a neighborhood… a van pulls up to a house… it’s Locke’s van, wheelchair ramp gets stuck… Locke pops a wheelie then takes a header… face-first in the grass and the sprinklers come on… newLocke chuckles at what oldLocke would’ve cried about… Helen… oh, they’re planning a wedding… and they’re planning on inviting Locke’s dad… he picks a fabric while in the tub and talks about Jack’s business card… the magic word… “destiny”…

smokey is patroling the island… headed to the barracks… glass smashing… loud rock music… back out to the jungle, machete… smokeLocke cuts Richard out of a trap and says it’s time to talk…

– L – O – S – T –

newLocke heads to his cubicle… and is greeted by Randy… they’re talking about the conference… busted!… he skipped out of the conference… Randy is such a putz… oh, newLocke is fired…

SmokeLocke offers Richard some water… Richard is terrified… SmokeLocke wants Richard to be his teammate… Richard is terrified… SmokeLocke promises to treat him with respect and tell him everything… “people seldom get a second chance”… Richard won’t go anywhere with him… what? random blonde kid posing like an angel?… SmokeLocke is freaked out… Richard sees it not… “sooner than you think”

Ben creeps back into the statue’s foot… Ilana is crying and wants to know what happened to the troops… “you probably won’t believe me”… “try me”… John Locke turned into a “pillar of black smoke” and killed them all… “Did it kill Jacob as well?”… “yes”… LIAR!… “he burned away”… Ilana grabs some ashes and puts it into a little sack… Ben asks why SmokeLocke carried Richard away… “He’s recruiting”…

SmokeLocke returns to the barracks… same loud rawk music blaring from the house… “the one who’s searchin’ is searchin’ to destroy”… Sawyer is drinking and throwing a pity party when SmokeLocke walks in… “Thought you were dead”… “I am”….

Sawyer’s doing dishes? no, pouring drinks (from the bottle he was just swigging?)… shuffles back through the house handing off a glass to SmokeLocke, who doesn’t seem to know what to do with it… a toast to being dead… Sawyer’s clearly fried… “I don’t care if you’re dead, or time-travelling, or the ghost of Christmas past”… classic… he tells SmokeLocke to get out of his house… “this was never your house”… you ain’t John Locke, you ain’t scared… what if i told you why you’re on this island?… “I guess I better put some pants on”…

newLocke wheels out of the office building into the parking lot… past the handicap spot, to find that he’s boxed in by a Hummer… Vengence fails when his chair lift malfunctions just shy of scratching the heck out of the Hummer, so he sets off the alarm to alert the owner… DUDE! it’s Hugo… newLocke starts yelling and griping about not having to park in the handicap spot and don’t you know how to park?… Hurley is apologetic and Locke is framed in a weird camera angle, kind of reminiscent of when he was beating on the hatch door… Hurley has chops… cooler heads prevail and the formal introductions commence… Hurley doesn’t like Randy either, but “hooks” newLocke up with a temp job… “chin up, things are gonna work out”…

back on the beach… deadLocke with a smirk on his dead face and a smudge on his neck… GAH! it’s a giant spider!… apparently he’s ripe… Ilana comes out asking where everyone went (to the temple)… she takes command and tells everyone to mount up and move out… Sun balks, Ilana pulls the Jin card… “what do you know about my husband?”… if he’s here and alive, he’s at the temple… Sun wants to bury deadLocke…

SmokeLocke and Sawyer walking through the forest… where are all your friends? let’s not talk… random blonde kid… Sawyer sees him too… SmokeLocke is gonna catch him… Run Forest Run… SmokeLocke trips… that’s so unlike him… “You know the rules. You can’t kill him”… “Don’t tell me what I can’t DO!”…

Sawyer wondering where SmokeLocke ran off to… Richard, emerges from the shadows, whispering and trying to steal Sawyer off to the temple… no, Richard, Sawyer wants answers… Answers? SmokeLocke is gonna kill you sucka!… SmokeLocke wants everyone dead and he won’t stop until they’re all gone… *snap* Richard, terrified, flees… SmokeLocke returns… Sawyer denies talking to Richard, SmokeLocke denies seeing a kid… they “get on with it”…

newLocke is not an animal… he’s getting screened for a temp job, and he doesn’t like it… “would you describe yourself as a people person?”… clearly not… Rose is the supervisor… creepy music everytime the characters interact… newLocke wants to work construction… Rose calmly explains that he’s just being stubborn… she still has cancer…

Sawyer and SmokeLocke walking again… suddenly, Sawyer wants to talk about books… Steinbeck again… “it’s a little after my time”… Sawyer pulls a gun on SmokeLocke… “I’ve been trapped for so long, that I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be free”… “Before I was trapped, I was a man, just like you”… SmokeLocke is the ultimate manipulator…

beach… burying deadLocke…. “the people needed to see the face of what they’re up against”… can’t he change his face again?… “he’s stuck this way”… no one wants to eulogize deadLocke… Ben steps up to the plate… “John Locke was a believer, a man of faith. . . a much better man than I will ever be. And I’m very sorry I murdered him”… Sun is stunned… Ilana is perturbed… Frank is weirded out…

push the buttons the alarm is going off… oh, it’s an alarm clock… glad mine doesn’t sound like that… newLocke is getting out of bed and dressed for… work?… pulls out Jack’s card… what’s with the weird spacing? is that a heart between St. and Sebastian or a smudge?… (looks like a heart logo or something)… newLocke backs out… Helen asks him about it… saved by the doorbell… John, your knives are here… now they discuss newLocke’s firing… newLocke talks about the walkabout… and how he wants to just accept that he’s never gonna walk again… “there is no such thing (as miracles)”… (except for moving the island)… ripped up Jack’s card and kiss… black nail polish… does that matter?

Sawyer and SmokeLocke on the cliff… let’s climb down this crazy series of ladders that are bound to break at some point… SmokeLocke goes first… Sawyer follows and… oh, SNAP! it broke… that would probably be fun if he wasn’t about to die… safe again… they continue down to a cave… scales balanced by one black rock and one white rock… SmokeLocke tosses the white rock into the ocean and calls it an inside joke… but the cave goes further… and everybody’s name is scrawled into the ceiling with a number… 8-Reyes, 16-Jarrah… oh… 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42… interesting…

newLocke coaching a basketball team? teaching sex-ed… wheeling through the halls looking for the teacher’s lounge… newBen is rambling on and on about the classic rule of community: Kill it, fill it… newLocke asks for Earl Grey tea… Ben Linus, European History… John Locke, Substitute… clever…

back in the cave… SmokeLocke explains that Jacob wrote the names… Sawyer wants to know about the names… 23-Shepherd… “he’s not the only one”… 8-Reyes… “Jacob had a thing about numbers”… 16-Jarrah… (scenes of Jacob touching everyone)… 42-Kwon… Jin or Sun? 4-Locke… “we both know him”… last but not least, 15-Ford… “I never met him”… “choices that you thought you made were never choices at all”… this term “candidate” is used again… a candidate to be the protector of the island… SmokeLocke crosses out Locke’s name… this “three choices” speech will need to be revisited… Let’s get off the island together and never look back…

LOST

alrighty, that’s what happened… i’ll be back later to talk about this episode AND last episode, trying to sort out all the storylines, and figure out how we’ve moved closer to the “end game”… it’s getting interesting, that’s for sure…

peace… love… bdg…

Share on Facebook

in this entry, i’m going to talk about Bibles… but more specifically, i’m going to talk about the supplemental materials found sharing the same binding as the text of the Bible… it’s not going to be a discussion of the merits of one translation / version over another, because that’s for perhaps another time, place, and perhaps author…

in the interest of full disclosure (if you care to know), i have a small copy of The Student Bible (NIV) that i use periodically for quick reading, a MacArthur Study Bible (NKJV) that i use for deeper understanding of what I read, the littles each have a copy of the CEV Children’s Bible, and when i’m online, i gravitate towards the ESV… i have many other versions of the Bible as well, but those are the ones i use most often… and now, off we go…

A LAMP UNTO MY FEET

now playing: Flags Theme – Flags of Our Fathers (Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The American Patriot’s Bible

This is an interesting concept, though, i’m not quite certain whether the material really should be inserted into a Bible or whether it belongs as its own volume with portions of Scripture embedded within it… needless to say, people who get aggravated easily by the concept of the separation of Church and State will find plenty of items with which to be irritated within this edition…

what i find particularly interesting is the emphasis on how the Bible was viewed throughout the history of America – whether it’s the role that the Bible played in forming laws of the society, specific passages of Scripture that served to comfort or inspire prominent figures in the nation’s history, or simply the specific passages chosen by each president (well, many of the presidents) as they were sworn into the highest role of leadership, it’s all very interesting from an historical perpective…

Within these pages, you’ll find the standard “study Bible” features such as a nice concordance, pretty maps and interesting introductions to each book… Beyond that, you’ll learn about the Bible from the perspective of an American historian which, of course, carries the blessing and curse of being from a limited viewpoint and provides interesting tidbits of extra-Biblical information… if nothing else, it’s appropriate for this time of the year… oh, and it’s the NKJV Bible…

now playing: Shuffle Your Feet – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

The Chronological Study Bible

Also in the NKJV, this edition of the Bible also provides an historical perspective for the reader, but it’s more of an “as-it-happened” perspective… the introductory material includes a much better description of how it came to be than i can share here, but the gist of it is that scholars and researchers restructured the books of the Bible to more accurately reflect the order in which the overlapping events took place…

this allows for a broader picture of everything as it happens… this also allows for the Bible to be read as more of an continuous story as it unfolds… it’s a rather interesting way to look at the Scripture which is pretty much the point… along with the rearranged text, there are several insets that explain the culture of the time period, an overarching timeline that keeps track of where in history you are reading an account from and many other pieces of information that make the reading offer a better grasp of what life was actually like when this was written…

Also included are, naturally, a concordance, glossary, and maps as well as a topical guide as it relates to cultural interests… all in all very interesting, but i’ll admit that the pages stick together for me, perhaps because it’s still too new to be broken in…

now playing: Break It Out – The Rocket Summer

The Expanded Bible

i’m a bit less familiar with this one, but i feel that it’s worth mentioning here because it’s intriguing… it hasn’t released yet and when it does, i’m pretty sure it’s just going to be the New Testament that’s available for a while, but here’s the thing… all the footnotes and alternate word meanings and such have been tucked in directly to the text, making it all read inline… it takes a bit of getting used to, but it seems kind of cool to have all the possibilities [translations; word choices] laid out [L expanded] for you as you read [L while you are reading] it… get the idea?

as interesting as it is, however, i’m concerned that it will simply add to the distractions that already surround the practice of reading the Bible and help accelerate our waning attention… it will definitely change the expectations we have when we approach books…

anyway, it’s not out yet, but you can check it out in PDF format on Thomas Nelson’s website if you so desire…

MOVING ON

and that’s that… i know i had promised this entry a while back, but i’m glad to have finally gotten to it… i wonder if there have been any studies about the effects that all the extra-Biblical content has actually had on the reading of Scripture… i wonder if it distracts more than it enhances… anyway… off to face the day…

peace… love… bdg…

Share on Facebook

i don’t rant much, but i kind of feel like there’s some ranting in me that’s determined to come out… and believe me, i could tear apart all the snakes and crooks inside the insurance industry and COBRA… and regale the conversations that i’ve had with them over the past few months… no stinking wonder that the health care system is broken in America… but i won’t… i’ll simply inhale, exhale and simmer down… and start things off today with a review of a movie that i was really looking forward to, Transformers 2: The Rise of the Fallen…

TRANSFORM…

now playing: Piece of Junk Car – KJ-52

i’m really hard-pressed to think of a time when i walked away from the theater as disappointed as i was leaving the theater the other day… i’m not sure if it was my own expectations, my ideological notion that action movies can be visually and intellectually stimulating, the sheer excitement of seeing the transformers on the big screen or simply that i bought into the hype, but all the wind that filled my sails heading into the theater had long disappeared as i walked out… i had waited for the first installment the hit DVD and clearly i was wrong not to wait for the sequel as well…

i expected that Transformers 2 would build off of the first movie, which, as i remember it, was pretty amazing… i expected a lot of action sequences, a lot of sweet cars, and stunning special effects… and, to that end, the movie delivers, but because those elements were at least equally balanced out by juvenile humor, a script that felt like it was written by fifth graders, a poached plotline and way more suggestion than necessary, i left feeling very short-changed…

Surely “the twins” have been a target for controversy as there have been allegations of racism as there was towards Jar Jar Binks, but to that end, i’ll simply say that those claims are ridiculous – i felt more like they were a couple of hyper-stereotypical rednecks than anything else – but they were indicative of the foolish direction that the movie took overall…

Clearly, the crew wanted to movie to have a humorous bent, but unfortunately they resorted to the basest level of humor available… the air-headed mother getting accidentally high, the number of anatomy jokes, crass language from the transformers, and on and on… and sexual content ranging from dogs being frisky, a little robot taking liberties with Megan Fox’s leg, the “Baywatch” running scenes, and a transformer disguised as a college student that makes several advances on the lead character… (by the way, this character makes absolutely zero sense in the context of the movie since none of the other robots look remotely like humans nor is there any reference to such characters that i remember from Transformers lore)…

The plot also seemed like a big rip-off as it closely resembled that of Johnny Mnemonic and, more recently, Chuck… but even that could’ve been overlooked had the script been written with even the slightest hint of intelligence… and to top it all off, the movie dragged on and on for two and a half hours – also known as about an hour too long…

As i’ve stated before, when the movie played to its strengths – action and special effects – it was nothing short of spectacular… unfortunately it didn’t stay there… it’s also worth noting that John Turturro did a fine job as Agent Simmons… and there were actually some really good moments between Sam and Bumblebee, but other than those highlights, the movie really blew a great opportunity to further establish a franchise that could be great…

The bottom line for me is this… it felt like the producers and directors wanted to make Transformers into something other than an action movie… perhaps they wanted to be taken more seriously than your typical action movie fare… but they forgot that there’s nothing wrong with an action movie simply being an action movie… and if you want to add humor into the mix, that’s fine, but let it happen naturally – don’t force-fit it… as it was, i wanted to see Transformers 2 and i feel like i watched Harold and Kumar: Defeating the Decepticons…

… AND ROLL OUT

and that’s my take… have you seen it? what did you think? am i crazy? let me know and i’ll be back with more things to talk about soon…

peace… love… bdg…

Share on Facebook

Well, somehow, it’s Friday again… i’ve got to figure out how to make the week last… wait, what am i saying?… i need to figure out how to make the weekEND last a little longer… yeah, that’s more like it…

i also managed to make it through the week without buying the special edition DVD version of Iron Man from Target so as to acquire the nifty little Iron Man mask casing… that was a bit of a struggle for me actually… and i worked from home yesterday and today because the office was getting cleared out and recarpeted… hopefully it won’t stink on Monday… what else.. oh, yeah…

so i guess i was a little vague in the new Left to Write … if you were concerned that i may be depressed or anything, no need to fear… it’s more about the struggles i’ve faced over the last year and a half regarding my writing “career” and how absolutely odd it feels to be where i am right now in that regard…

see, we normally have this general assumption that when we buckle down and strive to achieve our goals, that once we get there, we’ll just keep going… that we’ll move on to better and bigger things… (see also, one of the causes of the mortgage crisis)… we never assume that we’ll achieve our goals and then end up back at the beginning… like climbing a ladder to find that the world has all the while been spinning and by the time you reach the top rung, it’s really the bottom rung…

so, when that happens, what do you do? turn around? go back? go up again? find a new ladder? and that’s more where that piece comes from…

but there are new things to discuss as well, such as the VP debate, football and television… and away we go…

MY RUNNING MATE CAN BEAT UP YOUR RUNNING MATE
- to the tune of Debate Exposes Doubt – Death Cab for Cutie

So who won the VP Debate last night?… well, it depends who you ask… i’ve heard both VP candidates declared the winner by various media outlets… and of course, it seemed like most people came out of the debate supporting whoever they supported before the debate… a classic case of hearing what you wanted to hear… seeing what you wanted to see… believing what you wanted to believe…

what i saw was that both sides made their mistakes and made their points… Gov. Palin was charming, disarming, fiesty and well put together, but she did have some moments when she stumbled, avoided certain questions and looked a little uncomfortable… overall, i thought she was great, however… Sen. Biden also did a great job overall, but he did make a few blunders and mistakes himself… one big difference, which actually scores points in a debate, is that Gov. Palin called Sen. Biden on his missteps, but the opposite wasn’t the case… Sen. Biden was on the defensive for a lot of the debate, but he battled well with his back to the ropes…

So who won the debate?… technically, if each side retained the support that it had before the debate, then it was a draw… however, in one sense, the Democratic ticket was looking for this to be a big win and since it wasn’t, that’s almost like a loss… anyway… my support was and still is with McCain and Palin…

LEATHERHEADS
- to the tune of All Star – Smash Mouth

I’m actually watching this movie as i type up this entry, so that’s one more way that my mind is on football tonight… anyway, it seems as if my teeter-totter theory has extended to my picks as well… i lost on all fronts this last week, though… lost both leagues and went 6-7 with my picks which brings me to 34-26 over the first 4 weeks… at least i’m not in the negative… and i’m certain to bounce back big time this week, especially in fantasy since i have an extraordinarily EASY matchup against sir Janke… and my picks… i’ve got a good feeling about them…

Ravens, Panthers, Bears, Falcons
Colts, Chargers, Giants, Redskins
Bucs, Bills, Cowboys, Patriots
Jaguars and Saints…

i haven’t checked to see which games i’ll get in my area, but the best games to watch will be Colts/Texans and the Redskins/Eagles for the early game, and the Bills/Cardinals, of course, for the late game… Sunday Night looks better than Monday Night yet again, but if the Vikings actually show up, it might prove otherwise… however it works out… it’s going to be another great week of football matchups…

BOXED UP
- to the tune of Welcome Back (Theme from Welcome Back, Kotter) – John Sebastian

So, i’ll try to get into some of the TV Shows that i’m watching this fall… i’ll start with Sunday… that’s right, Sunday…
MAD MEN: the duo at the Steelehouse Podcast (which i listen to and recommend) talked me into giving this show a trial… and it turns out that it’s a darn good show… there is a bit of mature content, but the characters are developed better than most every other show on television…

and on to Monday…
CHUCK… i think this was on the verge of being cancelled last year, but i’m very happy that it’s back in what appears to be full force… it’s a pretty absurd premise and all, but it’s a fun one to watch…
HEROES… also back in full force with an entirely new premise that makes more sense than any of the other seasons as far as i’m concerned… the first three episodes have aired and there’s already so many questions that have been raised and so many new plotlines that have great potential…
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER… the new Friends… episode one started out a bit slow, but episode two finds the group back in stride with some nice lines…
BIG BANG THEORY… eh… kind of a throwaway show at times, but there’s plenty of decent jokes thrown in to make it worth watching…
PRISON BREAK… so, i’ve already talked about this one, but i will say that if i didn’t already feel invested in the show, it would’ve lost me… i mean, they’ve painted themselves into a corner because the crew has to succeed, no one can die, so the real suspense is completely gone…

Tuesday brings two new shows that have some potential…
FRINGE… JJ Abrams brings us another elaborate conspiracy-based show that has started out slowly, but has a lot of potential to become a must see… it’s kind of like X-Files on crack… though, i never really watched X-Files…
THE MENTALIST… yeah, it’s kind of a blah show, since it’s basically a rip-off of Psych, but it may be alright…

and more… another day… that is the bulk of my shows, however… next time i’ll talk about Wed-Friday, which is about five shows and then the next time after that i’ll talk about new shows that are still to come or that i haven’t decided on yet, which is also about five shows…

ON OUR WAY

well, time isn’t on my side, but if you’ve still got some to spare, check out the brand spanking new Walk TRu on Switchfoot’s Best Yet and/or the first of a series of 25 Words or Less looking back on the album releases of 2008… (this one’s January)…

peace… love… bdg…

Share on Facebook

time just doesn’t stop moving forward, does it?… perhaps it isn’t as long between entries as it seems, but it feels like i’ve been slacking… and i probably have been, but when it actually feels that way, then i know something’s up… anyway… i’ve done a little tweaking on the front page, trying to tidy things up, make them look prettier and such and there’s plenty more of that to come, but one step at a time… i also began work on some new ideas for content and hopefully they’ll turn out pretty well… and hopefully they’ll be up in the next day or so…

this morning, i started working through a devotional with little boy… he had gotten this devotional at backyard Bible club last week… and the first lesson was about Martha inviting Jesus and his disciples over to her house and all that went with it… and, being a devotional, it asks questions of the reader… and one of the questions was, “If Jesus came to your house, what would be the first thing you would say to Him?”… and, i kid you not, but i was floored by little boy’s answer… the first thing he would say? “I love you, God”… theology from the mouth of a five year old…

now, to be fair, i’m pretty sure he’d follow that up with “What did you bring me?”, but hey, it’s still an awesome bit of child-like faith…

HOWLING AT THE MOON
to the tune of Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog) – Iron & Wine

House of Wolves
by Matt Bronleewe

You may be shocked to learn that i’ve finished this book already… that’s right, the whole 315 pages or so only took me about a week… and that’s mainly because i could hardly put the thing down… the binding is laced with super glue so, it sticks to your hands… seriously, though, Matt Bronleewe spins a fantastic tale of adventure and intrigue, suspense and action that i was anticipating each new chapter… now, i’m anticipating the next few promised books in the August Adams series…

I don’t want to give away the plot or anything, but House of Wolves deals with an ancient book with powerful mysteries, a secret society seeking world domination, riddles, mysteries and spear… i did have a minor gripe with the story in that it seemed to abandon a plot line that i thought it would continue, but it doesn’t really detract from the story at all… i’d say that it’s along the same genre lines as the National Treasure franchise, the Indiana Jones franchise (at least the original trilogy) and the like… but don’t think for one instant that being in a similar genre makes the August Adams series a ripoff by any means… this is a great, original book and it’s clear that a lot of research went into it…

in fact, i was reminded of when The Da Vinci Code was hot on the market and spurring on boycotts and such and i couldn’t help but think that this was the appropriate response to such a book/movie… rather than more Christians coordinating protests, we need more folks like Matt Bronleewe creating media that rivals whatever the latest controversy is…

House of Wolves hit the shelves yesterday and it’s got a full-force recommendation from me…

THESE FIVE RINGS
to the tune of Olympic Fanfare and Theme – Boston Pops Orchestra & John Williams

okay, i have to talk a little bit about the Olympics since it’s pretty much everywhere you look… i heard something ridiculous like NBC and company are broadcasting five times the amount of coverage as hours in the day… i suppose that includes commercials and commentary and such, but yowsas… that’s a lot of coverage… and it’s still unbelievably frustrating in my opinion…

anyway, before i get started with any specifics, is it just me or does anyone else expect a TIE Fighter fly-over whenever you hear the Olympic theme song… just reminds me so much of the Star Wars theme… okay, so, i’ve watched my share of the Olympic events thus far and it’s enjoyable as ever… i don’t think there’s ever any other time that i could actually enjoy watching things like gymnastics or kayaking… the swimming has been really fun to watch as well – some incredibly close races and, of course, lots of golds for Mr. Phelps… hmm… i wonder why no one’s played on the Mission Impossible theme with him and his quest for the most medals ever…

which brings me to my point… what the heck is wrong with the Olympics these days?… i remember when it was about nations coming together, laying down arms as it may be and celebrating atheletic achievement in various disciplines… maybe i’m naive, but i don’t think it even mattered so much as to which country won, but it was a time when our common interest – that of bettering ourselves as humankind… the five rings of the emblem stand for passion, faith, victory, work ethic, and sportsmanship… the design represents a unity, a joining together of all nations…

Somewhere along the lines, it all became about the medal count… one more chance for “my” country to be better than “your” country… one more way to exert some sort of power over someone else… certainly those competing still have a sense of comradery, but it’s really just resolved down to one thing… did “we” win more than “you”… and i think that’s a large part of why i have a hard time getting excited about the Olympics these days… why i think people don’t really care as much any more… it’s not quite as exciting as it used to be… it’s not quite what it used to be…

THE READING ROOM
to the tune of Saint and Sinner – Derek Webb

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club…

So, i’m getting to a point where i may have a dry spell from finishing any books for a week or so… hopefully, i can get caught up on the reviews… (i still have three to do, i think)… Also, i just today got a copy of Sinner by Ted Dekker… i’ve never read a Ted Dekker book… and this is why… they’re all tied into each other and i have to start back at the beginning, but i haven’t gotten the Circle Trilogy yet… this book is like the ninth in the Book of History series, apparently and Ted says that it stands on its own… perhaps we’ll see…

Completed…

Working through…
- Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Bell / Golden) [about 50 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 pages left]
- Quiet Strength (Dungy) [about 280 pages left]
- My Name Is Russell Fink (Snyder) [about 280 pages left]
- At the Crossroads (Peacock)
- Deliver Us from Evelyn (Wells)
- The Two Towers (Tolkien)
- UnChristian (Kinnaman & Lyons)
- FlashBang (Steele)
- Sinner (Dekker)

FULL LIST HERE…

TH-TH-THAT’S ALL FOLKS

okay, my time is up… i’m sure there’s Olympics on or something… coming soon are some new features, new tweaks and my list of the songs that changed the church… i’m still waiting for some of your lists… come on now, people… let’s get cracking…

peace… love… bdg….

Share on Facebook

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….

Share on Facebook

Well, i’ve been a bit out of it lately, haven’t i?… can’t really offer anything spectacular by way of an excuse other than i’ve been distracted… today, though, i’m trying get through some topics even though there are plenty of things that i should be doing… i’m hoping this will maybe get me a little more focused, but we’ll have to see…

i managed to do an interview with Erwin McManus last week and hopefully i’ll have that ready to go soon… i also had the pleasure of an enjoyable office mate yesterday when little boy came into work with me… (littler boy gets to come in tomorrow)… and the most curious thing for me was that he kept requesting soundtracks to listen to… and by soundtracks i mean original motion picture scores… so, with that in mind, the songs today will all be from various movie soundtracks…

BI-POLAR DISORDER
to the tune of Why So Serious? – Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard (from The Dark Knight)

well, i have to start this out with The Dark Knight… went to see it last night with a few guys with stomachs full of Five Guys and anticipation eating away at us… i’m going to try to talk about it without giving anything away, though based on the box office records, everyone’s already seen it… it was phenomenal nothing less than everything advertised plus some… easily the most intense villainy in a superhero movie that i’ve seen and so many ideas and one-liners to chew on and really think about…

i’ll finish by mentioning what was my favorite aspect of the movie which was the mind-bending blurring of lines between good and evil… the clearly defined black and white life that i’m used to seeing presented is fine for younger audiences, but the line they came back to a few times, “you either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain” is rather thought provoking as well as the exploration of whether or not everyone is capable of corruption… another key line – “You have these rules that you think will save you…” – had me immediately thinking of the Pharisees and realizing the depth of the human experience that is presented in the Bible…

anyway… very good movie… very intense… if you’re of age, i recommend it…

NO MAS
to the tune of Ants! – John Williams (from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)

i don’t complain much… okay, maybe i do, but today, i’m going to complain a little bit about things that have been really driving me nuts lately… besides the ants that refuse to give up on my house as a source of food, shelter or whatever the heck they’re looking for…

1. CAPTCHA: Seriously, it’s a shame that we’ve gotten to the point on the web that just about every form needs to have a CAPTCHA box… if you don’t know what that is, it’s those silly images that have sets of letters or numbers that you have to read and type in order to compete your order, post a comment, or whatever… half the time i can’t even read the stinkin things… and i’m not a machine

2. ACLJ: i used to listen to Jay Sekulow Live every day when i was in a big talk radio stage and just let the Christian talk radio station play in the background all day… and i’m supportive of Christians doing important legal work and all that, but the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) has been calling my house at least three times a day and as early as 8 in the morning… they need to get off my case and work on their case load… they’re DRIVING ME CRAZY…

3. TYPOS nothing distracts me when i’m reading a book – a final, retail copy of a book – more than typos… i can understand one or two but when i was reading through Boys Should Be Boys, i was interrupted by no less than FIFTY… i just have to wonder why i should trust the authority of someone who doesn’t know the difference between their, they’re and there… and the next gripe is big enough for it’s own category…

PROFITS OR PRAISE
to the tune of The Sales Pitch – Danny Elfman from The Kingdom

Okay, so everyone already knows about the whole Testa-mints thing and we can all see the tee-shirt slogans that mimic beer tee shirts and stuff like that… and just when you think the “money changers” have reached their limits, they push the envelope a little bit further… the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) was a few weeks ago and as always, it served as the epicenter of “Jesus Junk”… i didn’t attend the show, but i’ve been hearing about some of the items heading to market…

not surprisingly, one of the items showcased at ICRS was Guitar Praise which is a Christian music only version of Guitar Hero that’s due out in September… it plays on your computer, independent of any video game systems and plans to feature 52 songs from all over the map… i don’t particularly have a problem with this to be honest, since it makes sense on some level… i do have a problem with the tag line there…. “Spirit-Filled Guitar Game for PCs Lets Anyone Live Their Rock Dreams” since no game can be spirit-filled, but hey, why not rock out to your favorite CCM tracks, right?

and then it got ugly… allow me to introduce you to 1 in 3 Trinity Energy Drink… that’s right, a Christian energy drink… one that vows to “Energize your mind and your body”… it could be the flavor of your life since it’s “fused with Fruit of the Spirit”… one thing i’m pretty sure of is that it probably tastes better than the puke that just bubbled up into the back of my throat as i read that…

THE READING ROOM
to the tune of The Kings and Queens of Old – Harry Gregson-Williams (from Prince Caspian)

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club…

so i’ve got three books finished and waiting for reviews, but i don’t particularly have time to write those up just yet… i also updated the Amazon store with reviews and such, re-ordered the items to put the ones that i finished up front, and added some new books to reflect some of the latest additions… i was overjoyed to receive a pre-release of Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden and i also got a copy of Matt Brownleewe’s new book which hopefully won’t leave me confused for having not read Illuminated yet… i was going to ask for advice in that regard, but it turns out that House of Wolves isn’t out yet either… oh well, i’m probably going to start that one tonight…

I also requested a copy of The Shack, since it’s such a hot topic book it seems, but i haven’t heard back from them yet… i suppose if i find it cheap enough sometime next year or something, i may pick it up… otherwise i guess i’ll just miss that boat…

Completed…

Working through…
- Searching for God Knows What (Miller) [about 125 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Bell / Golden) [about 160 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)
- House of Wolves (Bronleewe)
- My Name Is Russell Fink (Snyder)

FULL LIST HERE…

BEFORE YOU SAY GOODBYE
to the tune of Wish We Had More Time – Trevor Rabin (from Get Smart)

i am working on a few things, but nothing’s quite made it to press yet so i don’t have any special links to throw in here at the end with an obligatory plea for you to peep them… perhaps another day, but you can start dreaming about stuff i’m writing including some interviews (Erwin McManus, Warren Barfield, Chris Sligh), reviews, Left to Write and more… also next time out, i’ll talk about purpose, family force five, one or two or three books and eventually, i’ll get back to that whole best in the world thing… thanks for playing!

peace… love… bdg….

Share on Facebook

Happy Sunday… i’ve been doing a little bit of work and such here as i try not to melt away in the heat, but i thought i’d take a quick time out to chat up the two books i finished reading yesterday… hopefully, i’ll have a chance to talk about a few other things tomorrow or the next day – we saw Wall-E and there’s plenty to talk about – but today it’s all about the books… off we go…

CHARACTER

to the tune of Instead of a Show – Jon Foreman

Character Makes a Difference, by Mike Huckabee

I had been looking forward to reading this book for a while now and once i started, it was hard to put it down… a large part of the book talks about how Gov. Huckabee became the governor of Arkansas and it appropriately begins in the midst of the action which is where character is revealed… it also talks a lot about the factors that effect and tend to squash the development of character in the world today, as well as Huckabee’s thoughts and policies regarding them…

I’d say that the book is a cross betwen a biography and a societal self-help book and it proved to be enjoyable and easy to read… reminded me several times of why i supported the Governor’s bid as a presidential candidate…

SPREADING THE WORD

to the tune of Word of Mouth – John Reuben
The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II, by Dave Balter

This one is more of a nerdy book, but since it was a free PDF download and since i seem to have marketing and advertising in my blood somewhere, it piqued my curiosity and i feel somewhat rewarded for having read it… It did seem at times as though the author was simply trying to prove that Word of Mouth Marketing really is a viable form of marketing, and that he was trying a little too hard to establish himself as a pioneer in the field, but there were plenty of gems tucked away in the pages including a nice explanation of the shared community experience, the history of the Top 40 Charts, post purchase effects and the challenges of reaching a global audience…

I can’t say that i know exactly when or how this information will come in handy, but it was really presented effectively and in such a way that it didn’t feel like a textbook or an encyclopedia…

THE READING ROOM

to the tune of The Boys Are Back in Town – Thin Lizzie

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club… four down so far… on to my Father’s Day present this year.. Boys Should Be Boys…

- It All Goes Back in the Box (Ortberg)
- Deadly Viper Character Assassins (Foster & Wilhite) [audiobook]
- The Word of Mouth Manual (Balter)
- Character Makes a Difference (Huckabee)
- Simplicity (Salomon) [about 70 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 pages left]
- Boys Should Be Boys (Meeker) [about 220 pages left]
- Wide Awake (McManus)
- At the Crossroads (Peacock)
- Deliver Us from Evelyn (Wells)
- The Two Towers (Tolkien)
- Quiet Strength (Dungy)
- UnChristian (Kinnaman & Lyons)
- Prince Caspian (Lewis)
- Searching for God Knows What (Miller)

FULL LIST HERE…

peace… love… bdg….

Share on Facebook

Well, it’s been a weird week so far… i’m currently watching/burning to DVD the last game of the NBA Finals to free up what is apparently unneeded space on my DVR since there’s nothing on television anymore… i can’t wait for the return of Psych, Monk, The Closer and Burn Notice… maybe even more, but those four come to mind right now… until then, we’ll have to settle for whatever we can scrape up from good old netflix… dang, another three-pointer from Ray Allen…

I’ve also been reliving the days when i watched the NBA regularly by moving my old video tapes of the 1996 NBA Finals onto DVD as well… how great would it be to see Jordan, Pippen, Harper, Rodman and Longley square up against Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo, and Perkins… oooooh… that’s the ticket… i can’t hardly BELIEVE that it was TWELVE YEARS AGO… crazy…

Of course, i’ve also been doing a lot of reading as well and my updates are below… it looks i’ll be able to go in for the kill and finish at least one of those books this week… possibly two, but at least one… and as they get checked off, you can expect brief little reviews in keeping with my agreement with the reading club thingamabob…

Okay, let’s move on shall we… this game is wrapped up and i’m ready to get this blog party started…

CHEATER CHEATER CHEATER

to the tune of Still Suspicion Hold You Tight – Black Rebel Motocycle Club

Okay, so i’ve mentioned before, probably several times that i enjoy playing the games online… particularly word games, but i’ve been known to delve off into puzzle games and other nonsensical flash-based games as well… and when it comes to word games, i like to win… and i do win a lot, but not always… i’m okay with losing and whenever it happens, i try my best to take it with grace…

And so it was that after handily defeating someone at a particular word game and then losing the rematch as they improved their score significantly it was a logical next step for me rematch again and dig in for the “rubber match”… Well, my scores remained pretty consistent, but their score, again, improved significantly on the back of a string of perfect rounds… chalking it up to good luck on their part and still wanting to win, i opted for another rematch…

However, as i watched them kick off the opening rounds with more perfect scores, my suspicions got the better of me… i researched the possibility of cheating in such a game as this… previously it hadn’t even occurred to me, but the suspicion holds me tight as they say and as it turns out, it is possible and there is no doubt in my mind that this individual was juicing up their scores… that last game – and it’s the last i’ll ever engage in with this particular person – unfolded with perfect round after perfect round… not only was the fun evacuated from the situation, but my concern for this individual grew as well… i mean, come on, how messed up and insecure do you have to be to cheat in a friendly game to make yourself look better?…. man, that’s insecurity at it’s apex… what a shame…

UNO DOS TRES CATORCE

to the tune of Like Spinning Plates – Radiohead

So i woke up Tuesday morning after an interrupted night of sleep and the room is spinning… it seems that i got up during a bad sleep cycle or something, but my equillibrium was all messed up… i tried my darndest to fight through it as if it were a passing feeling, but this vertigo had set in for the day… i ended up calling in sick and going back to bed… by the afternoon, i was able to be on the couch, eat lunch and do a little bit on the computer and such, but every time i turned my head, the images seemed to be proccessing in slow motion… i felt like i was in the matrix…

Little boy made my day by coming over, wrapping his arms around me and informing me that he had prayed for me three times and then, for good measure, prayed again right then and there… such a sweetie… clearly, i’m back on my feet again, but that was a wild day and i didn’t particularly like the way i felt…

SHORE ENOUGH

to the tune of Stronger – Seabird

New on the music front this week is a band called Seabird… i know what you’re probably thinking… you’re thinking that if it came out this week, i should be writing a regular full-on album review for it instead of putzing around here in this blog with just a brief mention, right?… well, it’s here or nowhere for this week… i’m backed up beyond belief and as hard as i try, it’s gonna be a while before i’m back on track… besides, you wouldn’t have the enjoyment of this handy little album player here to my left if this were an actual review…

Anyway, Seabird hit the scen a little bit ago with an EP that turned some heads and with the pedigree of being on Credential Recordings, you know it’s gotta at least be interesting music, right?… indeed it is chock full of pleasant melodies and artsy hooks… the sound may not be entirely unique anymore with the recent insurgence of indie rockers on the mainstream scene, but Seabird seems to hold their own on that front and i think that songs like “Rescue” and “Stronger” are certainly worth giving ear to…

TWITTERFIED!

to the tune of Lead Me On – Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn

So, i finally caved and signed up to join Twitter… it’s nothing all that special, but see, what sold me is that there’s a growing number of artists using it and if you follow them, you can find out about upcoming projects and tour stuff… that’s what i was convinced of when i peeked in and saw the Bart Millard was recording for Hymned Vol 2…

other spectacular things i’ve learned since signing up? Vicky Beeching doesn’t own a vaccuum cleaner, but she borrows one from her neighbor… Cindy Morgan has fed a camel… Brock Gill likes chocolate…. Aaron Shust likes to make bad puns about his friend’s names… the guys from downhere like to run… someone from Dizmas doesn’t watch where they’re walking…

clearly this is an invaluable tool… though, i’ll admit, it is how i discovered Mark Lee’s book club…

RIVER ADVENTURE

to the tune of Veggie Doodle Dandy – Veggietales

So, despite Tuesday being all but a complete loss… i was able to give the boys a treat since they were pretty well-behaved… after they had gotten into their jammies and were ready for bed, i gathered them up, one on each side, and we planted ourselves on the couch to screen the upcoming Veggietales release, Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry’s Big River Rescue…

My first thought was how daring it was to choose Huck Finn as the inspiration for a Veggietales film simply because i remember clearly that it’s been the subject of banishment, censorship and whatnot throughout the years, but of course, it is a classic and it’s a very memorable story of two pals and their adventures… and it translates very well to the capers of Bob and Larry… The sink scene was clever and really set the tone for the rest of the film…

It’s a hair-raising tale of friendship, sacrifice, and doing what you know is right… it’s also a fun tale of bluegrass, babies with signal flares and fried chicken… the boys enjoyed it, i liked it and it’s a winner… due out July 12th… check it out…

THE READING ROOM

to the tune of Word of Mouth – John Reuben

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club… i keep adding more titles, but hopefully i’ll get to cross some off…

- It All Goes Back in the Box (Ortberg)
- Deadly Viper Character Assassins (Foster & Wilhite) [audiobook]
- The Word of Mouth Manual (Balter) [about 15 pages left]
- Character Makes a Difference (Huckabee) [about 50 pages left]
- Simplicity (Salomon) [about 75 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 pages left]
- Boys Should Be Boys (Meeker)
- Wide Awake (McManus)
- At the Crossroads (Peacock)
- Deliver Us from Evelyn (Wells)
- The Two Towers (Tolkien)
- Quiet Strength (Dungy)
- UnChristian (Kinnaman & Lyons)
- Prince Caspian (Lewis)
- Searching for God Knows What (Miller)

FULL LIST HERE…

peace… love… bdg….

Share on Facebook

FRIDAY!… word up… it’s the weekend… and hey, food fight!… more on that later… i promised to try and get a few somethings written up today and here i am… trying…

Anyway… i’m pretty happy that it’s the weekend and i don’t have much planned… a possible barbeque to attend… a few chores around the house perhaps… but mostly lounging, wrestling with the littles, kicking back, writing?, trying to stay cool in the heat… and of course they will be reading… (my updated reading list is below)… for today, before i start the relaxation, here’s a handful (five fingers, five topics) of items for the old blog… on we go with the program…

01. VIVA LA SOMETHING OR OTHER

to the tune of Lost! – Coldplay

Coldplay released their new album, Viva La Vida and i’ve been listening to it… mostly in the background of my normail work noises (keyboard clicking, chairs scraping, etc), but i’ve managed to get a pretty good feel for the album… and i like it… it’s a clear step forward for the group and i think they’ve broken out of the mold that they cast themselves in on the last few albums… “Lost!” particularly stands out to me as one of the defining tracks for the album… the lyrics are pretty intriguing on that song, too… my only complaing is that it feels like the album blows by even though it actually clocks (get it?) in at about 45 minutes…

02. REAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

to the tune of Hero – Hans Zimmer & John Powell (Kung Fu Panda)

I guess this falls into the catagory of books, but it’s probably considered cheating for a book club… anyway, Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite have written a book and started a campaign for character… They called the book Deadly Viper Character Assassins and you can get a free audiobook version of it on their site, DeadlyViper.org and while you’re there, check out the blog and the videos to see more of what it’s all about…

personally, i opted for the audiobook since it was free and immediate, but i plan to pick up a hardcopy of the book at some point to, because it’s definitely one to keep handy… besides the great content of the book itself, there are some interview tie-ins that add to the conversation and enhance the message… i’ve decided that i’m going to try to get an interview set up with one or both of these guys to further explore this topic a bit… i’ll keep you posted…

03. TOO COOL FOR YOU

to the tune of Play My Music – Jonas Brothers (Camp Rock)

so… the food fight… yeah… i’m watching Camp Rock which is the new Disney movie starring the Jonas Brothers and… hey, shut up… nothing wrong with laying up once in a while… we don’t all have to tin-cup every hole… anyway, the movie runs about an hour and a half after commercials are fast forwarded and i’d guess that the script writing process took about half that time… okay… it’s not the best script… it’s not the best plot… it’s predictable and makes you groan over and over… but it’s the Jonas Brothers and i have nothing but good things to say about them… they’re good people and they always put a smile on my face…

i still think back fondly to the first GMA Week i went down to Nashville for… i was a little nervous and such and wondering why i had agreed to interview the then 13, 16, and 18 year old brothers… turns out that they were the most enjoyable interview of my time down there that year… very down to earth and i’d interview them again in a heart beat… (seriously, imagine the traffic i’d generate with a Jonas Brothers interview… guys, hook me up)… anyway…

04. CODE BEE

to the tune of Viva Los Lakers – Grand Incredible

So, i was totally wrong about the NBA Finals this year… if you remember (and if you don’t it’s a few entries down), i predicted that the Laskers would win in seven… well, they lost in six and they seemed pretty fortunate to have made it that far… in my defense, when i made my prediction, it was predicated on the assumption that Kobe Bryant was the game’s best player… clearly he is not… and clearly, all these references to him being “as good as Jordan in his prime” are absolutely ridiculous…

Does it seem like i’m being too harsh?… sorry, but the best player in the game does not disappear in the NBA Finals… Kobe was a waste throughout the finals and, even though the Celtics defense deserves a lot of credit, MJ would’ve figured out a way to win because he actually was the best in the game when he was playing… perhaps you can say Kobe is the next Clyde Drexler… anyway…

05. HOPE DEALER

to the tune of Bob the Builder – The International TV Orchestra

Okay, so here’s the thing… i forgot to mention that Barack Obama came within three miles of my house a while ago… He had recently locked up the nomination and was stumping at a first come first serve free for all venue that made me nervous about traffic… it crossed my mind that it might be neat to see this man up there on stage repeating the same speeches he’s been repeating for eleven months or so… mostly, i realized that it would be empty words from a cardboard cutout of a man, just like pretty much everything else related to politics…

I know that he’s running as the candidate of change and the candidate for hope and that it’s resonating with lots of people, but i’m not buying it… i think the most interesting thing about his campaign is how well it’s exposing how bad our society has gotten… we’re so discontented with everything that we have, we so don’t appreciate the blessings that have been bestowed upon us, that we’ll (as a nation) jump at the very promise of something better… all you have to do is put it in a pretty package and tell us that it’s better and we’ll start drooling at it like it’s the new iPhone or the latest fashion accessory…

The problem is that the President of the United States is NOT a fashion accessory… nor is he (or she) the messiah… it’s sad to see how many people buy into the same old rhetoric time and time again… it hurts more everytime you are failed… it deadens your ability to truly trust… it makes us more cynical, more skeptical, and more scarred… we are worse off for it… i have more on this, but you’ll have to wait until i have time to finish up the next Left to Write…

THE READING ROOM

to the tune of Word of Mouth – John Reuben

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club… i keep adding more titles, but hopefully i’ll get to cross some off…

- It All Goes Back in the Box (Ortberg)
- Simplicity (Salomon) [about 110 pages left]
- Character Makes a Difference (Huckabee) [about 175 pages left]
- Searching for God Knows What (Miller)
- 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)
- Prince Caspian (Lewis)
- The Word of Mouth Manual (Balter) [about 90 pages left]

FULL LIST HERE…

peace… love… bdg….

Share on Facebook