i read this bok a while ago and should’ve written this review much sooner than now, but what’s done is done and what’s not done, is – well, i’m doing it now… anyway, it’s a Shaun Alexander book and i’m reviewing it despite all the brouhaha going on in the NFL…

now playing: Gravity – Deitrick Haddon

The Walk by Shaun Alexander

this book wouldn’t have hit home quite as effectively for me if i didn’t have a dog… it may sound strange, but there it is… here’s the deal… putting my dog – a puppy – on a leash and trying to train him to walk nicely has worked in conjunction with this book, opening my eyes to the importance of walking “humbly with our God”…

my dog is half beagle and half jack russell terrier (adorable, but a handful at times), so when we walk – he’s either nose-to-the-ground sniffing out crickets or running full steam straining at his collar… it’s nothing like the picture perfect march you see on the televised dog shows… and it’s often the same way when we walk with God… we’re either racing ahead with our own plans or stubbernly holding our ground until God sees things our way…

anyway, this book touches on that in the early chapters and then proceeds to talk about the five stages of our spiritual journey – unbeliever, believer, example, teacher and imparter – and relates it all with personal anecdotes as well as a light study of the life of Peter (the apostle)…

i’m not sure i agreed with everything i read and there were certainly times where the book seems to come unglued organizationally, but i often feel like even one good takeaway makes the whole book worth while… and for me, it was in the title and the first few chapters… and the rest was all just icing…

peace… love… bdg…

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Well, this didn’t start as such a make up post, but one thing led to another, and i just never got around to finishing it up and getting it posted… here i am though, and i have other things to talk about, but i want to get these taken care of first… the following releases are from the weeks of August 24th and September 2nd (i’m not sure what happened on the 31st)… anyway, quick as a rabbit or something else that’s kind of quick… off we go…

Anberlin – Dark is the Way, Light Is a Place

i’m always torn on Anberlin… it’s not that i don’t enjoy their albums, but i often find myself wondering what exactly is the “big deal” that makes them such media darlings and fan favorites… well, this album finds them treading similar ground musically and the tone is rather the same… i’m not sure it’s anything revolutionary or even particularly moving, but it’s slick production and solid vocals and i can’t help but like it… fans will continue to swoon, critics will continue to rave, and i’ll just continue to enjoy them… Pray Tell is my favorite of the bunch, if you care, love the rhythm to it…

Young Joshua – Thinking Out Loud

Young Joshua is the latest signee to Cross Movement Records, which specializes in that bass first, gritty, take-it-to-tha-streetz type rap music… and YJ fits right into the mix, delivering an album that suits the label and serves the fanbase… (yes, the label has a fanbase because it was started by the group and echoes with their previous albums to this day)… this is a fine album if it’s what you’re looking for and it features a lot of guests including one that sounds like Fat Joe, but certainly isn’t Fat Joe… i’d recommend tickling through all the track previews to see if it’s your thing… personally, i don’t see myself giving it much more attention than i already have…

Jeremy Camp – We Cry Out

color me skeptical… well, i’m always skeptical… especially when one of the top names in the industry takes a quick detour from the clearly mapped out path of creating a new version of the same album every 15 months or so to do a worship album… especially when he’s already done a worship album and the press materials all but ignore that fact, calling this his first worship album… i’m just saying… and all that said, color me won over… at least on this album… at least this time around… We Cry Out is a good selection of songs that definitely play to Camp’s strengths as a singer and for a little bit there, you kind of forget that you’re listening to an album at all…

Natalie Grant – Love Revolution

well, being a mom hasn’t aged Natalie Grant a bit… in fact, some of these tracks rival the pop teens that all the kids are crazy about these days… of course, she does delve into territory that none of those acts can go, hitting more serious themes and laying down vocals that are simply unfathomable for anyone else… to be honest, girl pop isn’t generally my thing, but Natalie brings it once again and you can do nothing but appreciate how amazing it all is…

Chris August – No Far Away

of all the albums covered here today, this is the only one that surprised me… seriously… and yes, a large part of it is because i had no idea who Chris was, but hey, another big part of it was because it’s really good… he’s got a sense of soul to him that is reminiscent of Jimmy Needham at his best and at times i almost expect to see Michael Buble listed as the artist… the production brings to mind the likes of Maroon 5, Jason Mraz, or similar popular artists… he’s really got a nice tone and, as a debut, this really sets the stage for a pretty promising career… i’d guess he’s pretty entrancing live, too… definitely worth checking out… i really dig Want to Be Real…

Press Play – NY2LA

count me among the number of those surprised that a second Press Play album was greenlit at all… i wasn’t all that impressed with the first one and – no shocker – i’m not terribly impressed here either… i don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but i found this one rather annoying… kind of like if Jump 5 grew up and continued to make the same kind of music…

Israel Houghton & New Breed – Love God, Love People

oh yeah, this one came out on the 31st… so, i wasn’t all that impressed with this one at first blush… i’m not sure it will grow on me, but i can’t help but appreciate the talent here, even if it doesn’t quite capture my attention at the moment…

also of interest… Casting Crowns released a live CD/DVD package as is their custom…. the Showdown dropped Blood in the Gears which is another metal outing that, based on the clips that i’ve heard doesn’t grab me quite as much as their previous two outings… and Sivion, from Deepspace5, released Butterfly Sessions which appears to be another fresh batch of organically-grown rhymes and rhythms… again, that’s based on clips, since i don’t quite have the sway of days gone by…

okay, that’s all for now… more on other things in a bit…

peace… love… bdg…

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I’ve got a lot of books to talk about this week, some due to agreements on specific dates and some simply because i finished them recently… today are two inspirational books from Andy Andrews… i reviewed The Noticer a while back and was pretty impressed by his way with words… the following two books, The Boy Who Changed the World and The Butterfly Effect are variations of the same theme – that our decisions and actions make a difference in the grand scheme of things – but they’re intended for different audiences… anyway, enough chit-chat… off we go…

now playing: Butterfly Sessions by Sivion

The Boy Who Changed the World

This is the kid’s version of the story… by the way, i believe the story was at least referenced in The Noticer, but i could’ve been familiar with it from somewhere else… Anyway, the story is, as expected, about a boy who changed the world… Norman Borlaug to be exact… maybe… i read this to the littles and they both really enjoyed the story – not sure how much of the message came through, but they laughed everytime the opening sentence repeated… “I want to tell you about the boy who changed the world.”

you see, the story repeats somewhat as Andrews explains the story of the boy who influenced the boy who changed the world… and, because of this influence, the title is passed to the previous generation… Norman changed the world, but Henry changed Norman, so Henry changed the world (and so on and so forth)… the overall point is that everyone is important and every decision you make, or action you take, has a greater effect on the world at large, than you could ever imagine… the boys loved this book and the illustrations are imaginative and immersive (even on the small screen of my iPod touch)… i definitely recommend this book to provide young ones some perspective on life in a fun and enjoyable way…

The Butterfly Effect

and now onto the adult version of the tale… this one includes blood and gore and bayonets and bravery just this side of insanity… yes, The Butterfly Effect also shares the story of Norman who, by the way, developed a method of growing corn and wheat in disparate climates and remote locations during the 1940s, in the process saving as many as two billion people from starvation, but this book opens with a different premise…first a tale of science fiction turns proven science, then a tale from the Civil War… the tale of Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of the Union Army and a bold stand on the outskirts of Gettysburg…

The lineage of his decision’s effect is traced through history as is that of Norman Borlaug and once again, the reader is faced with the bold statement, Everything you do in life is important… every choice you make affects generations to come… (especially if you happen to follow the lineage of Borlaug or Chamberlain, which probably makes Kevin Bacon and his six degrees of seperation from everyone incredibly important in the grand scheme of things)… anyway, it’s an interesting perspective, presented in an intriguing light… the illustrations are, again, stunning, and it’s a quick, but inspiring read…

both of these books are available pretty much everywhere, including my seasonal reading list on Amazon.com… later this week, i’ll be discussing more books (and other things too, but this is all about books)… i finished reading books by Matthew Paul Turner, Ted DeKker, Lewis Carroll, and on Friday, i’ll talk about the latest release from Max Lucado… which i’m reading now and have a lot of ground to make up to be ready in time… until then…

peace… love… bdg…

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okay, it’s time for another “make-up” Music of the Day entry… this one’s more recent, but still a little behind the times… i hope to have another entry up later this week (preferably tomorrow) covering the shiny happy releases from the 24th and 31st because i have a couple of those and have heard a couple more… and then it will look like i’ve caught up…

anyway, this time out, i’ve got some doozies from the latter weeks of July including some rawk music, as well as introspective splendor from a personal favorite… top that off with a couple debuts and cap it all with a surprise hit here at theTRu, which will receive a special little shout out… and that smells like one fantastic day of music… okay, off we go…

Ivoryline – Vessels

the first line of their bio reads… “Ivoryline has been inspired.”… that’s, um, interesting… i guess i’d hope that all band record based on inspiration… but that’s not what they’re talking about and i know this because “inspired” is one of those Christian code words… let me decode it for you… basically, it means that this album is expected to deal directly with the topic of faith… and indeed it does put things clearly and openly… but to be completely honest i don’t know if that’s a new approach for Ivoryline… i don’t even remember what their last album – something about a Lion – from two years ago sounded like or how “clear” or obtuse the lyrics were…

Either way, the album at hand, Vessels, borrows from the same Bible passage from which Jars of Clay took their name… that they have a message of great importance and that they are amazed that it was entrusted to such wounded “vessels” sets the stage for an album of honest and faith-filled lyrics… If you’re concerned about the safety of the lyrics, you can be at ease… if you’re concerned with the quality of music, you can also set your mind at ease… Ivoryline has crafted a nice poppy sound with a hearty dose of rock-tinged riffs along the lines of Anberlin… and now i’ve invested way too much in this quick review… bottom line… it sounds good and if you like the stylings of Anberlin and other modern rock, this is a good choice for you…

House of Heroes – Suburba

i’m always excited to hear what House of Heroes comes up with… if nothing else, i’m always guaranteed that at least five times on the album, Tim Skipper is going to blow me away with his vocal… Suburba doesn’t disappoint in the least and, upon first listen, it immediately jumped into contention for a top spot in my annual top albums list… for fans of rock music, the group brings the ballyhoo on tracks like Independence Day for a Petty Thief and Burn Me Down… however, there’s also a nice touch of harmonies on tracks like So Far Away, which reminds me of The Beach Boys melodically… all in all, it’s another fantastic album from a group that always impresses me…

Andrew Peterson – Counting Stars

Andrew Peterson has a storyteller’s heart… that much is obvious from his music… of course, he’s also written a couple of books and, i believe, is working on the third… but it takes all of fifteen seconds with him before he’s launching into a story of some sort… that’s just the way he expresses his creativity… and when it manifests itself in mellow, heartfelt music, the result is an album-based experience that is unparalleled… once again, he provides stunning visuals lyrically and frames each tale and metaphor with soothing, captivating melodies… give this album a listen and you’ll be swept away along a carefree journey from one man’s perspective as he uncovers the glory of God…

Runaway City – Armored Heart

Here’s a new group… and i’m assuming they’ve released this somewhat independently… i’m kind of at a loss thinking of who exactly to compare them to, but that’s not to say their sound is unique, just that the names of similar bands are escaping me… it’s not exactly polished like Creed, but it’s also not as rough-edged as a 12 Stones… but i think you get somewhat of an idea… production-wise somewhere in between the two… in regards to talent level, probably around that range… taken at face value… there are a couple of pretty good songs on here… i do like Longing and No Escape all right… oh, maybe Kutless?… anyway, it’s not a bad debut…

The Museum – Let Love Win

another newbie to the scene… The Museum looks like your typical Christian rock group complete with a name that starts with “The,” scruffy hair, and those army-style baseball caps… but beyond the ensemble lies a pretty smooth and enjoyable sound… there’s certainly a trendy worship element to the album, a la Above the Golden State and maybe The Longing… Especially on tracks like My Help Comes from the Lord and Allelujah, but they include both vertical and horizontal songs, which, i know falls into the Christian code words category again, but hey, it forms a cross… Anyway, the point is, Let Love In has songs for all occasions… some directed to God, some directed to all of us, for instance, Buy This, which explains that hope and redemption are free gifts and not something you can buy… i like this album and it actually made it onto my iPod…

And now for something completely different… i often check out full album streams on AOL because i don’t get albums as frequently as i used to and it’s pretty cool to see what else is out there from people i don’t get servicing from… sometimes… well, during the week of 27 July, i managed to stumble upon a full album stream of the self-titled release from J Roddy Walston and the Business… despite never having heard of them, i gave it a chance… and i listened to that stream no less than 20 times during the course of that week… very disappointing when it disappeared… now, i can’t necessarily vouch for the lyrical content – but i think it’s pretty clean – but i can most assuredly rave about the down home jam session quality of the music that i simply can’t get enough of… think Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Black Keys… and if you still don’t have a frame of reference, then i’ve now given you three bands worth checking out… seriously… i can listen to this album for hours on end… good, good stuff…

and that’s all for now folks… i hope to be back tomorrow or the next day to talk about the likes of Jeremy Camp, Israel Houghton, and Natalie Grant among others… we’ll see what i can do…

peace… love… bdg…

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i could’ve sworn that i had already written and posted this update, but clearly this was not the case… and now, i’ve got a handful of new releases this week to talk about, too… therefore, yes folks, expect multiple music of the day entries this week… it’s not like i don’t have plenty of ground to make up for given my lack of attention during the top half of this year… anyway, these will probably be quicker takes than normal, but below are notable albums that released in January of this year and a little commentary… later (in a different update), i’ll talk about newer releases… off we go…

Wake Me – Tal & Acacia

honestly, i didn’t expect much from this sister duo who seemingly came out of nowhere… it seemed like a formulaic device to appease the ever-growing market focus on tweenagers thanks to Hannah Montana and my homeboys, the Jonas Brothers… i expected lightweight pop tunes that fizzled out like the soda foam after thirty seconds in an ice-filled glass… and it’s definitely pop and there are some lighter moment, but it’s such an infectious album that i was surprisingly drawn in and caught up in the merry go round that is this album… yes, it does tire if overdone, but Wake Me, it did indeed…

Ocean Eyes – Owl City

here’s a tricky one for me… and albeit, i think the deluxe version of this album released in January whereas the standard version was probably available months earlier… and, while i can’t definitively tell you what differentiates the two versions – i assume there’s a bonus song or two – i can say that this is an album i can go either way on… there’s no denying the success the group has seen and it’s fantastic to see a young group of guys put out popular music with at least a vaguely positive message… but the bottom line for me is that, at their very best, Owl City is a lighter version of Mae… and Mae is great, but Owl City has a ways to go… i don’t dislike it per se, but i don’t listen to it often and often when i do, i make it about halfway through before i’m looking for my copy of The Everglow and changing discs, or playlists, or file folders…

Birds & Cages – Deas Vail

i do like Deas Vail, but they’re not a band that i get too carried away with… i won’t go out of my way to listen to them, but when i do, i feel that it was time reasonably well spent… especially since i work while i listen… Wes Blaylock makes a rather compelling case for loving the band as each time he opens his mouth, he releases a stunning vocal perform… Birds & Cages is about finding freedom and finding yourself… not to get all deep and stuff, it’s also a rather enjoyable release…

To the Secrets and Knowledge – Number One Gun

based on this and the previous two albums, you could easily get the impression that January is the month for modern, mellow rock tunes… yes, this follows suit and doesn’t do too much to distinguish itself from other weeds in the field, but it’s still somewhat impressive that Jeff Schneeweis (your pronunciation is as good as mine) does this all by himself… and, oh, there’s always the cover of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing… well…

Undisguised – Anthony Evans

over the years, Anthony Evans has seemed to have an identity crisis, which really bothered me… he’s been a pretty good R&B vocalist and then shifted to a mediocre (at best) pop star wannabe… and here, he switches things up again and poses as 4 Him minus 3… Undisguised is a collection of popular worship songs and, i hate to say this, it’s entirely skippable… it’s certainly not an album that has me revisiting it often… very vanilla and lacking in anything compelling or even emotional, which is what you might expect from a worship album…

The Golden Rule – Above the Golden State

so this is a six-song EP that, to my knowledge, stands alone rather than leading into a full-length album… the group is a lot of fun and the songs feature some good lyrics about loving others and following the, duh, golden rule… it’s nice, mellow, modern rock, that is soothing and quite enjoyable… and i’m not just saying nice things about them because i want them to say nice things about me… promise…

Losing All – Day of Fire

when Day of Fire came onto the scene, there was much talk of lead singer Josh Brown, his tattoos, and his intriguing backstory… everyone expected some really hard rock tunes from the former lead singer of Full Devil Jacket and there was certainly an edge to it… but, as with all things existing in the realm of pop culture, interest was lost, sales dwindled between releases, and suddenly Day of Fire was an independent band looking for a label home… Losing All was funded by fans, picked up after the fact by Razor and Tie and here we are… there’s still an edge, but that’s mostly due to Brown’s raspy vocals… in the meantime, the band brought in Idol finalist Chris Daughtry as a writer to help create a more marketable sound… (my speculation)… anyway, it’s a pretty good album… i don’t mind listening to it now and again and if you liked the first coupe releases, this one’s even better…

The Good Album – All Star United

Ian Eskelin is larger than life in the world of Christian music… i’ve lost count of how many songs he’s written, artists he’s developed, and albums he’s produced… (and i don’t really feel like doing research right now)… but hey, he’s reunited with the boys of ASU, a crowd favorite, to drop another explosion of the pop-rock sound and biting sarcasm that makes the band legendary… what’s really great about this album (and pretty much any ASU album) is that they don’t take themselves too seriously, but the music is really enjoyable, fun, and light hearted… you may listen to it 15 times before realizing you’ve listened to the whole thing… dude, it’s freaking awesome…

okay, now that’s settled… finally… i can go work on some other things… like more updates and more music…

peace… love… bdg…

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so, it’s another week and, i’ve got another batch of releases to talk about… a couple of worship albums, a couple of rock albums, and one fresh, free mixtape from one of my favorite emcees… (i have a lot of favorites though, so, we’ll just say that he’s really good)… off we go…

now playing: Rain’s ‘A Comin’ – Children 18:3

i first have to point out how absolutely appreciative i am that Children 18:3 used apostrophes in what appears to be an appropriate manner… (the one preceding the “A” is questionable, but it’s not exactly a standard grammatical construct and is, therefore, negotiable)… anyway, i don’t know about rain, but if you listen to this album, there’s plenty of enjoyment a’comin’… (yeah, actually, that looks more right than ‘a comin’)… sorry, i keep getting distracted by that… let that be a lesson to all you rock stars… don’t use punctuation in your band name or album titles… anyway, i’d file this under somewhat aggressive modern hipster rock with pop irony… harder than, say, Jonezetta and OK Go, but with some similar tendencies… in fact there are even times when i’m reminded of MeWithoutYou… but all in all, it’s a rock album that reminds you, the listener, that you, the listener, like rock music… especially when it’s like this… high octane, highly engaging, and highly addictive… i just want to listen to this over and over and over… but that apostophe thing… that will also be stuck in my head…

now playing: A Beautiful Exchange – Hillsong Live

i’ve never been a big Hillsong fan… and if you asked me to tell you the difference between Hillsong Live, Hillsong, Hillsong United and Hillsong Kids, i’m not sure i could… (okay, i know when kids are singing)… Anyway, it’s just one of those things, i guess and once in a while, i hear a song like Mighty to Save and just want to bury myself in everything released by the Hillsong properties, assuming that they’re all profound and amazing just like that song… but usually, i walk away feeling like it’s mostly just another modern praise and worship band, but with accents (actually, most modern praise and worship bands have accents these days)… so, A Beautiful Exchange kind of feels like that to me, too… i know that will draw ire from many of you out there… it is pretty cool to hear Sometimes by Step (Rich Mullins) set to the soundtrack of Disney’s The Lion King, though… hey, we all worship in different ways… i was actually prepared to rave about one really good song on this album, but i can’t seem to find it as i’m listening through again… maybe i’m confusing them with Hillsong United, do they have a new album out, too?

now playing: City on Fire – City of Life Worship

continuing on the worship theme… City of Life Church is apparently one of the most vibrant churches in Florida, sorry, Central Florida… First Baptist of Miami probably has a lock on the Southern tip of the state… so, i confess that i get a little concerned reading press releases about the vibrancy of churches, but i promise that i listened to this album with a clean slate… i only looked up the website because Jeffrey Smith sometimes sounds like Phillips, Craig or Dean from Phillips, Craig, and Dean… or Russ Lee… and only sometimes… and since i brought it up… apparently, they’re all about vibrancy, fire, stirring, and igniting things down there in Central FL… sorry, just had to say something… as for the music, since that’s probably what you actually care about… it’s fine… it really reminds me of when PCD covered Israel Houghton’s Friend of God, but not quite as straight-laced… a little stiff though… it is live and it is mostly original songs… (they do cover Foreigner – who knew they were a praise band? Way ahead of their time… i mean, before Sonicflood even)… i don’t think i would like going to that church much though… but that could just be me…

now playing: Live at the Ryman – Jonny Lang

consider me a slow adopter of Jonny Lang… sure, he’s brilliant, i get that, but if i’m completely honest, his voice irritates me and everything i love about Robert Randolph and the Family Band often feels absent from Jonny Lang projects… the energy, the oomph, the “it” is just not there for me… that said, in this live setting – and a great venue, by the way – more of that gusto comes through as he feeds off of the audience a little bit… i wouldn’t say that i’m a huge fan, but this is definitely the material needed to bridge that gap for me… some of these songs – A Quitter Never Wins to name one – are just gorgeous… (note: this may not be a new release this week… not sure where i saw it listed, but i can’t find it now – it’s new this year though)

now playing: Bible Bus Mixtape – Playdough

i was a little bummed that there wasn’t any hip-hop to discuss today, but then i remembered… Playdough dropped a brand new FREE album today… don’t take it for granted, this mixtape rings in at a half a minute shy of a half an hour… and if you’ve ever liked a Playdough song, you’ll like this album… SeanP mixed the album to provide a smooth ride, but the beats are from all over the place… i’ve only had a chance to give it one quick listen, but it’s guaranteed to drive bus drivers crazy, ’cause from the front to the back, no one’s remaining in their seats… (plus it’s FREE!)..

now playing: Attack of the Wolf King – Haste the Day

i don’t have this album, but AOL is streaming it this week… and if Children 18:3 wasn’t hard enough for you, Haste the Day should suit your listening needs… there’s screaming, double bass drum action, and soaring guitar riffs a plenty throughout this album… i have times and places when albums like this are just right for me, but often times i just don’t remember them afterwards… but it’s GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWD… and i LIIIIIIIIKE IT!!!!! and YOU MIGHT TOOooooooOOooowowwwwoooooo!!!!

that’s all the music of the day… i only see four albums on the release list for next week and i don’t have any of them so, i’ll institute instant replay and revisit albums released in January that i ignored at the time… i think about eight of actually…

peace… love… bdg…

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a bit on the tired side, but i promised to get this up today… below is a review of the brand new book from Pete Wilson (@pwilson for my tweeps) called No Plan B… i got this early from Thomas Nelson and still ended up reading the bulk of it over the last 2 days… anyway, off we go…

THE PACKAGE…
now playing: No Plan B – Manafest

i guess when i first picked this book up, i expected something different… the term “plan B” has always had a negative context when coupled with spiritual endeavors… it always seems to be couched in the midst of something along the lines of, “Trusting God is your Plan A, there is no Plan B”… BE… that as it may, in regards to this book, which does cover some level of spiritual matters, it’s more aptly explained as an exploration of coming to grips with God’s Plan A being your Plan B… that is to say that sometimes our plans and God’s plans aren’t aligned… and that’s not only okay, but that should be expected…

after all, the Bible does mention this several times, foremost in my mind, when James explains that we have not because, when we do ask, we ask with the wrong motives… Anyway, Pete Wilson uses this as a backdrop to tackle some of life’s most challenging questions – Why do bad things happen to good people, among them – by reframing our perspective in the midst of some truly heart-wrenching examples of situations that are just plain difficult to wrap your head around…

I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say Plan B is a pretty quick read, not necessarily easy, but it goes down quickly and offers some potent and potentially life-changing advice… i certainly recommend it, especially if you’ve ever gone through a difficult situation in life or if you have any questions about why God lets things happen that don’t make sense…

And before i go, i also want to be mindful of a Plan B that has shaped up over the last 2 days for Wilson (and the expanded Nashville area)… there has been a lot of flooding and, in some cases, the damage is life-threatening… Cross Point Church is organizing some aid efforts and you can read some more about that on Pete’s Blog…

peace… love… bdg…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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