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….

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….

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….

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….

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….

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….

Well, it’s Sunday and i’ve managed to complete another wonderful training / instructional manual… i’m turning into quite the technical writer while still maintaining the normal duties of my actual job title… i’m still pretty tired and all, but i’m glad to have those both behind me for now… i’m sure there’s more coming and all, but right now there’s something of a lull… a break in the action… a chance to catch my breath… and, since it looks like i’ll be completely offline for the next three days while we frolic and play at the all-staff retreat (really sit around and listen to an endless string of presentations only to retire to a shared room assignment with none of the comforts of home), i’m imagining that my day job will be pretty slow at the beginning of the week…

So what on earth will i do with myself if i have no access to the grand old internet and no television and no privacy?… well, hopefully, i’ll manage to get a number of interviews transcribed, get a number of other things written, get a little bit of reading done and, hey, maybe even sleep… i’m actually trying not to think about it too much, since it begins early tomorrow with a four-hour car ride with three coworkers…

Anyway, it’s Sunday and, since i’ll be out-of-pocket the next few days, i figured that i should get a few things written down to have something to show for myself in my absence… playing behind me at the moment is an episode of Mrs. Columbo which is a bonus feature of the Complete Third Season of Columbo… pretty fun… i love me some Columbo… but now let’s move on…

ROCK WHAT YA GOT

to the tune of Hey Hey - Superchic[k]

So, we’ll start with some music… i got the new Superchic[k] album the other day and have listened to it a few times… my boys actually enjoy it quite a bit too… they’ve even informed me that the song “Hey Hey” sounds very much like the modern version of “Cruella De Vil“ from the 101 Dalmations DVD… could be… anyway, it’s a pretty fun album and everything you’d expect from the group, but part of me thinks it could’ve been better…

THE BIGGER PICTURE

to the tune of Ignition (live) - TobyMac

so, i wrote this heading in the other day and had no idea what i was supposed to write about… but now i remember… TobyMac is taking a cue from U2 and hitting the big screen… apparently, tomorrow, the Alive and Transported video will be playing limited engagements in theaters… around here, there’s one showing at 7:30 PM… but check your local listings if you’re into that sort of thing… it’s probably a cool idea… my boys enjoy the DVD a lot and it’s better for their ears than a live show…

AND LOVING IT…

to the tune of Get Smart - Bob Crane & His Drums And Orchestra

i for one am really excited about the upcoming movie version of Get Smart… i think that Steve Carell is a great choice for Agent 86 and i always enjoy a good dose of The Rock… not so sure about Anne Hatheway or the lack of the 70s era, but i think it’s going to be great… until it’s ready though, i’m going to sit back and enjoy one of my latest silly acquisitions… the entire original series on DVD, complete with a collector’s box that opens in three different directions like the command center of Control…

ONLY ONE

to the tune of Sirius - Alan Parsons Project

So, the NBA Finals are on and man, can they draw games out or what?…. i finally ended up watching game one between the Lakers and the Celtics the other night and i’m pretty tired of hearing about what a storied rivalry it is… great, i get it… i saw some of it growing up… and none of those guys are playing in this series… now, THAT might be something interesting… anyway, it looks to be a good series and i say that as someone who rarely watches the NBA anymore because it’s just, i don’t know, off… as i see it, it had it’s hey day and that’s now in the past… doesn’t seem to be reviving itself anytime soon… i’ll watch these games - all on a DVR delay - and i’ll probably enjoy it… and i’m picking the Lakers in seven… (tonight they’ll win by about 17)…

IT’S POTTY TIME…

Mute Math is working on a new album (cheers all around)… and they seem to be recording a lot of it in the bathroom… i guess we all potty break the same… (har-har)… anyway check out this preview video…

IN OTHER WORDS
to the tune of The End - Derek Webb

When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg… Well, i finally finished this book… actually i finished it maybe a week and a half ago, but i’m finally wrapping up this coverage… the final section of the book tells us how to win… it reminds us that we need to focus on collecting the right types of trophies and then, in the last chapter it tells a story about a painting… the painting is called “Check Mate” and the story tells of a chess expert perturbed by the painting’s title because, “the King has one more move”… (of course, there’s a typo in the chapter title as it’s printed on the page headers - “the kind has one more move”)…

this really stood out to me because i was playing a game of chess at work and i was informed with a great deal of pride and boasting that i was in check mate… now, i hadn’t paid much attention to the game up to that point because there’s been a lot of things going on at work and chess wasn’t exactly the most important thing to worry about much less strategize for… but, something about the snideness of this guy’s voice… “check mate, but you must’ve known that was coming”… all of a sudden, something within me wanted to win… i had been resolved to lose and chalk it up to distraction… but now… oh, i wanted to win… suddenly the game mattered… and fortunately, when i went to check out the board, i discovered that he was wrong… there was another move… in fact, five moves later, i had taken his rook, bishop, knight and queen… and two moves after that, he conceded to defeat… check mate… that was music to my ears…

it doesn’t really relate to the book, but it made me happy… anyway, i thought the book ended rather abruptly, but it’s not like the ending was a surprise or anything… it was a good book overall…

NEXT UP

to the tune of You Make It Look So Easy - Stavesacre

Simplicity by Mark Salomon…

so, i’ve already begun the next book and i’m not sure how much opportunity i’ll have to blog about it, because methinks that i’ll be done with it rather quickly… i’m about 50 pages in already and i’m totally hooked… and what, with my downtime coming up this week, i may just plow through the whole thing… also worth noting, it’s available at the Relevant Book Store for FOUR DOLLARS… normally, i’d be using an affiliate link to try and poach a few pennies from anyone kind enough to buy it, but it’s such a good deal and Relevant is such a good place to support that it’s the link i chose…

SUMMER READIN’

to the tune of Summer Nights - John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John

I’m also using those two books as my entry into Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club… it’s supposed to be really laid back and i don’t have much of a clue what the rules are, but since i stumbled upon it and i have a hard time saying no… i’m IN…

AND WITH THAT…

it’s time to go… but wait… there’s more… a quick glance at the front page will reveal a splendid little interview with Paul Alan… thanks for peeping that…

peace… love… bdg…

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

MOVIE MONDAY

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

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

to the tune of Roll over Beethoven -Chuck Berry

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

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

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

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

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

REALLY? YOU WANT MORE?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

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

peace… love… bdg…

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

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

EASTER

to the tune of Mighty to Save - Hillsong

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

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

THE OTHER MARCH MADNESS

to the tune of CrushCrushCrush - Paramore

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

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

MOVIE MONDAY

to the tune of Ratatouille (score) - Michael Giacchino

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

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

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

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

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

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 6: 22-27

Promises Fulfilled and then…

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

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

IN OTHER WORDS

to the tune of The Motions - Matthew West

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

MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE -dAT CAVE

to the tune of The Batman Theme - Danny Elfman

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

MOVING ON

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

peace… love… bdg…

happy super wednesday… i’m sure everyone was up all night waiting for the vote tallies to come in… or not… i watched a bit of the coverage last night, but honestly most of the pundits are so obnoxious that i just prefer to wait to see the results online or hear it on the radio… it was a great night, a monumental occassion and that’s about all i have time to talk about… so let’s get to it, shall we?

MIKE-D UP!!

Well, with five state wins yesterday, my boy Mike Huckabee shook up the world as they say, proving that sticking to your guns so to speak works… He’s still something of a darkhorse, but he proved that it was downright silly for Anderson Cooper to have ignored him during the last debate… Romney pretty much got the pants beaten off of him last night and he’s outright angry about it… i mean, how much money does it take to buy the presidency, anyway?

So McCain is still clearly the frontrunner with some big wins last night as well, leaving Mitt and Mike duking it out over the actual conservative votes… here’s what i found very interesting and perhaps telling, however… the home states of McCain, Mitt and Mike all voted yesterday and, not surprisingly, each candidate won in their respective state… Mr. Huckabee’s victory, however, seemed to me, to be the only convincing victory… netting about 60% of the votes to McCain’s second place total of 20%… McCain won Arizona, but by a much closer margin grabbing 47% of the votes to Romney’s 34%… but Romney’s victory in Massachusetts was by an even slimmer margin at 51% to McCain’s 41%…

It’s quite possible that i’m reading into this more than is reasonable, but it seems to me that the principle of cooks applies… that principle, by the way, is that you should never eat at a restaurant where the cook eats elsewhere… i think this perhaps more appropriate in comparing Romney and Huckabee, since they were both Governors, running the state as a microcosm of the government they hope to run… just make you wonder who you’re voting for…

RUNNING SHORT

i’ll have more tomorrow, some “regularly scheduled” stuff and more Superbowl talk, more on Romney and more more more… i found out that i’ve got a new review up over at SphereOfHipHop.com… kind of funny, because i wrote it a long time ago and didn’t even recognize it at first…

’til morrow…

peace… love… bdg…