So this week’s mashed potatoes represents something of a renaissance for me in that i’m discussing media that has reminded me why i like each of these delivery vehicles… a movie that was absolutely engrossing and struck an emotional chord… an album that reminds me why music is so powerful… a television show that hits on every level… a book that is inspiring (not in the way you might think)… and last, but not least, a series of commercials – yes, commercials – that gave me at least an hour of entertainment, but represented so much more…

well, what are we waiting for? off we go…

MOVIES: Toy Story 3

Pixar is simply untouchable when it comes to telling stories that resonate with everybody… Toy Story 3 culminates a trio of films that not only bring toys to life, but spurs the imagination of anyone paying attention… these toys find themselves dealing with struggles common to the aging process… we grow old, we search for our identity, we worry about our purpose, and – as represented in this last movie – we come to grips with our mortality…

the gang finds that Andy, their once-faithful owner has grown up and is headed to college… since college kids generally don’t play with Mr. Potato Head and other toys – okay, most college kids (you know who you are) – the gang finds themselves wondering if they’re headed for the trash can or the attic… turns out, they end up with option C, a day care center (a.k.a. retirement home?)… but even that isn’t what it seems and the action begins when Buzz, Jessie, and crew decide they need to escape…

Toy Story 3 is packed with action, filled with the unexpected, and certain to make you fight back a few tears… it’s simply amazing how much emotion can be conveyed through the eyes of toys, how many lessons can be learned about friendship and forgiveness, life and death… one more winner from Pixar…

MUSIC: Wicked Soundtrack

i know, i know… i’m so very late in jumping on this train…i mean, it’s at least five years old by now, right? (seven actually)… hey, i admit, i slept on it – even though many people told me how great it was and a few years ago it was quite popular… (you’re gonna be pop-u-ooo-lar)… and i’ll even admit that it was Glee that got me to check it out… a combination of their version of Defying Gravity and reminders of how absolutely fantastic Kristin Chenoweth can sing…

The songs range from fun and quirky, to serious and inspirational… listening to the album (on repeat for days) has given me a renewed sense of appreciation for music in general and has made me kick myself over and over for not going to see the show on Broadway… i also want to read the book, which has been on my shelf for a few years now, too… Anyway, it’s definitely worth checking out unless you absolutely can’t stand musicals… Stephen Schwartz has a masterpiece here – not that he needs me to tell him that…

TV: Friday Night Lights

in the world of television, there aren’t many shows with better writing, deeper characters, or more gripping plotlines than Friday Night Lights, which recently returned for season four… at least to NBC… i know that it aired previously on DirecTV’s special channel, but those of us without are getting it all now… and given that the main stars of the series “graduated” last season, it’s been amazing to see how fresh and relevant the show has remained…

yes, the show is about football, but that’s simply the premise behind a series that, um, tackles some incredibly difficult themes… this season has included issues of losing loved ones, abortion, and several other moral dilemmas… Also, the show features the most realistic, genuine, and compelling married couple in Coach and Tami Taylor… they argue and fight, but always recognize their love for each other… without giving anything away, the show has proven itself time and time again and this season has provided some of the most powerful moments on screen…

BOOKS: Devil in the White City

Erik Larson has crafted a history book that would’ve made me pay attention in history class growing up… the time is the 1890s and Chicago is on the verge of hosting the World’s Fair… the book, which features some of the finest bit of writing that i’ve read in a while – it’s eloquent and exquisite, describing the scenes in the most compelling ways – explains all the efforts necessary to pull off this enormous event… the fair was the birthplace for many things – Juicy Fruit gum, electrical lighting using alternating current technology, the Ferris wheel, and, oh yeah, American serial killers…

in the shadows of the White City, H.H. Holmes, America’s first serial killer, set up shop and conducted his dark and devious trade, leaving a body count of at least twenty-seven… Larson juxtaposes these two scenes, brilliantly interweaving storylines in a novel-like presentation that makes it seem somewhat difficult to fathom – much less believe… but true as it is, and dark as it may be, it’s definitely a gripping and chilling tale from the turn of the century… certainly America would never be the same again… i still have about 100 pages to go and i am still captivated by each page… and i just can’t get over how well it’s written… would that i could write like that in my own way…

MORE: Old Spice Commercials

seriously, Old Spice commercials… i can’t say that i was sold on the original airing of the “I’m on a horse” commercial… it did grow on me in a strange and unexplanable way, but even then i thought it was just the sheer idiocy of it all… with the follow up launching a couple weeks ago, the ad team apparently felt that they could do even more… so, for the last two days, the copy writers, camera crews, and social media gurus, basically took over the internet, launching a real-time, interactive campaign that found Old Spice Man answering tweets and comments with customized video spots throughout the day… reportedly, the team produced just shy of 200 videos over the course of two days and garnered an audience of around 6 million viewers… and these, my friends, were almost all comic genius…

i can’t recall a time that i was more okay with a shirtless dude talking at me for hours on end… that he stayed in character and that the writing team was churning out scripts and the video team getting them produced in an estimated rate of seven minutes per spot is simply astounding… unbelievable impact and respect earned, though i’m not sure if it was more for the ad team or Old Spice… either way, some of these are great… (My favorites so far, include @Haley (his daughter), @Demi Moore, and @GStephanopoulos)… the good news is that this success will probably change the way people advertise… other companies will surely launch similar campaigns… the bad news: other companies will surely launch similar campaigns… and they probably won’t be nearly as funny… well done Old Spice and Old Spice Man… and i mean that sincerely…

peace… love… bdg…

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i’ve still got a rundown of LOST coming, as well as, some more thoughts and theories on the way, but i’m taking this brief respit to continue on with the mashed potatoes…

before i grab a spoon and dig in, though, i’m sure you’re wondering about the main site… i mean, it’s been “under construction” for a while now, right?… well, here’s the thing… i started out with a plan… i had a new design sketched out in my head, on a pad of paper and was pretty sure that it was ready to build out… then i got a new idea… so, i sketched that out… then… a newer new idea… and so it goes… the good news is, i’m set on a design now, and i’ve begun the actual process of making it work… (fans of theTRu on facebook can actually catch a glimpse of the new look)… there’s still a bit of heavy lifting to be done, and then some fine-tuning, but it’s motion… progress even…

and now back to the mash… so far, we’ve already talked about books and movies and music and television, which leaves us with… “more”… yeah, it’s a broad topic and it pretty much encompasses absolutely anything that crosses my mind and/or holds my attention… it’s kind of a wildcard category, so you never know what you’ll get, but it rounds out the full experience of entertainment onslaught… this week, it’s all about podcasts…

i think i’ve made it pretty clear in the past that i enjoy listening to the Steelehouse Podcast each week and the Tony Kornheiser Show each weekday, but below are three more that i have been listening to a lot as well and the time has come to speak openly about them…

GET FREAKY WITH IT

now playing: Super Freak – Rick James

I haven’t read Freakonomics or Super Freakonomics… i’m not an economist… and i’m not generally the type of guy who gets excited about – or even sits down to watch documentaries… but, i saw Steven Levitt on the Colbert Report some time ago, and i’ve wanted to read the aforementioned books… unfortunately, i’ve never gotten around to it… BUT… i feel a little better about myself now that i’ve discovered the Freakonomics Radio Podcast…

Though tragically infrequent, the Freakonomics podcast always hits you with a little less than a half hour of compelling and thoughtfully provocative content from a perspective that’s most likely significantly different than your own… the tagline, “exploring the hidden side of everything,” is quite fitting as they tackle topics that are familiar, but provide opinions that are steeped in economic theory with no regard for popular beliefs… generally a fascinating discussion that’s not at all as nerdy as it may seem…

So far, there have been three full episodes (and three short teasers) and the third one introduced a handful of commercials, but it was still a fun listen…

TASTE THE RAINBOW

now playing: Rainbow – Colbie Caillat

this one’s not as new, but it is also an infrequent podcast – especially now that one of the three voices moved several states away… of course, i’m talking about Skittle Sandwich – two DJs and a musician chewing the fat for about an hour each… month?… i’ve been listening to this podcast since its inception which was about a year and a half ago and by now, i feel somewhat invested in it…

the trio of Dice, Matt, and Sara sit down and talk about life, music, and pop culture – three things i can hardly get enough of – and, perhaps the highlights are the many, many times when the conversation is derailed and rabbit-trailed… just like life… aparently it’s not always safe for the younger ears, but i’ve enjoyed the ride thus far and look forward to hearing it each month (or so)…

DON’T SHAVE EVER… DUDE

now playing: Dharma Lady – Geronimo Jackson

the last podcast is frequent, but fleeting… and it’s all about LOST… specifically an episode by episode look at the show, through the eyes of Jorge (a.k.a. “Hurley”) and “Sidekick22″… this is, Geronimo Jack’s Beard… the cool thing about this podcast is that most of the episodes were recorded over the summer as they recieved the script and their thoughts are based on what’s written in the script… And a good bit of that changes by the time the episode is filmed and edited… So, its
an insider look at each episode and the more recent episodes have bookended the original conversation with emails and comments from the current week… the downside is that when LOST is over… this is probably over as well… but while it’s here, it’s definitely worth checking out…

AND WITH THAT…

and speaking of checking out… i must bid you all adieu… Do you listen to these podcasts? other podcasts? what did i miss?… back later with LOST and more…

peace… love… bdg…

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so, it’s free Friday and it seems like there are just a ton of great stuff to download (legitimately) for free… what’s that? it’s not Friday? well it’s still free so get on it and don’t wait until Friday…

FREE FREE FREE!

now playing: I Am Free – Newsboys

there’s no clear place to start, so i’ll simply start with the album that i knew about first… and that is from one of LA Symphony’s finest, Cook Book, who chimes in with his latest solo effort, a tribute to a decade that clearly was inspiring and hard to forget… check out I Love the 80′s and you’ll be bumping in style, in no time…

next up, sticking with the hip-hop, it’s a cat called Change who’s offering up a Stimulus Plan of his own… it’s a little heavier than Cook Book, but the production is really tight on this little seven-track ditty that is sure to please… a little bit of the boom-bap with a slight hint of gangsta flow… (and, oh, did i mention there are guest drops from ManChild and Sintax.the.Terrific?

Tooth & Nail records doesn’t want to be left out and they’re knocking out a double-decker download for the summer time… just last week they came with a follow-up to last year’s Fuel Sampler featuring a whopping 31 songs from the likes of Jonezetta, Children 18:3, Family Force 5, Hawk Nelson, Underoath and on and on and on… but that is not all… oh, no, that is not all…

also from Tooth & Nail is their 12-song summer sampler… featuring KJ-52, August Burns Red, Thousand Foot Krutch and more… in all, it’ll be about 37 tracks after you factor in the overlap between the two samplers… and it’s all frickity-free…

Next on the list is a new project from one Joy Williams, who has recently rejoined the music community with a solo EP and now with a live album that she’s offering for free as one-half of the duo, The Civil Wars… Live at Eddie’s Attic features 10 songs with a folkish bent to them that show a different side of the poppy Joy Williams from back in the day…

Finally, as if that’s not enough… i’ve got a free audiobook for you slackers who don’t want to read this summer but still want to act the part… (just kidding)… Francis Chan’s book, Crazy | Love is the Free Audiobook download of the month at ChristianAudio.com… just add it to the cart and enter “JUL2009″ into the fancy little coupon code box during the checkout process…

okay, i’m tired, but if you’re somehow still feenin’ for more free stuff, you can always check out that sweet little site called Noise Trade and there’s plenty to discover there… until next time…

peace… love… bdg…

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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….

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

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

CLEAR EYES… FULL HEARTS… CAN’T LOSE….

to the tune of Game On -Disciple

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

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

FASCINATION

to the tune of Fascination – Lester Lanin

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

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

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

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

WIDE-EYED AND DIGITIZED

to the tune of The Invitation – downhere

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

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

ANOTHER DEATH IN THE FAMILY

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

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

AND WITH THAT…

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

- Third Day Walk TRu

- Phil Stacey Album Review

peace… love… bdg…

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no movies to talk about, not much time, not much really to chit-chat about even since the thoughts, they are a-swirling in this head of mine… so today will be a quick one, just a simple how-do-you-do and hey, i’m back home and stuff will start being posted again… off we go…

BACK TO OK

to the tune of Never Going Back to OK – The Afters

Last Tuesday night, i was peering into somewhat of a dive down an alley that was marked by shady businesses, watching my buddies who comprise the group The Afters play an acoustic version of their single, “Never Going Back to OK” and it appears that today, i actually did go back to “OK”… yes, folks, i’m back to my day-to-day world which involves running silly statistical calculations and database queries, fixing end-user issues, and dealing with individuals who require all the grace i can muster and then some…

Anyway, i’m not bitter or anything like that, it just takes a bit of adjustment to get back to the reality that makes up the bulk of my working career… besides, i’m sure that if i did the whole writing gig full-rime that i’d probably get sick… yeah, no, i just don’t know…

BAKE SALE

to the tune of Talk Music – Deepspace 5

i want to take a quick moment to give a hearty shout-out to the boys of deepspace5… if you’re a fan of hip-hop and specifically their style of hip-hop, then you should know that they’re working on a new album… and that they’re not working with a label… so, you, being the astute reader that i generally cater to, are probably asking, “dude, how are they going to pay for it?”… well, i’m glad you asked… go check out their store and buy the album called “Bake Sale” and you’ll get to help fund the next big thing… i’m sure that i’ll have more to say about this album in time, but for now, their site has a good explanation…

NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE

well, i’ve got a load of stuff to do and write about and not much of it involves this blog today… so i’m on my way… if you haven’t checked out the GMA Week entries over at the main blog, you can still do that… ’til next time…

peace… love… bdg…

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well, it’s Friday and you may be thinking that, hey, i guess the new schedule means that he blows off Wednesday and Thursday… well… you’d be wrong… sure, i did blow off the last two days kind of, but it wasn’t entirely intentional, it was just life… Wednesday i was in a fog most of the day and yesterday, among other things, i had to do an interview that i had pretty much forgotten about… and then amidst all the preparations for GMA Week which is now officially less than a month away… it’s just been pretty crazy around here… so i’ll try to make up for it with a fantastic post today, but be forewarned… i’m listening to talk radio and it’s kind of difficult to write while doing that… but let’s give it a go…

ONE. DOVE-ING IT

to the tune of We Won’t Be Quiet – David Crowder Band

So, they’ve announced the first batch of performers for this year’s Dove Awards and we care because i’ll be there and i’ll have to watch them… Anyway, it looks like an alright mix… we’ve got Casting Crowns, The Clark Sisters, Michael W Smith, Amy Grant, Marvin Sapp, Switchfoot, Steven Curtis Chapman, Chris Tomlin, Trin-i-tee 5:7, David Crowder*Band, Israel Houghton and Charlie Daniels with Mac Powell… i’ve bolded the ones i’m particularly interested in seeing… but, i think it’s a pretty nice variety so that most people will enjoy at least, i don’t know, maybe 5 minutes of the telecast…

oh, yeah, they’re going to be telecasting the Dove Awards live on Gospel Music Channel

TWO. BUSSED-ED

to the tune of Gypsy Flat Road – Sandra McCracken

So i kind of laughed out loud when i read this story about flattened bus tires… not because i think it’s a good idea, but because i clearly remember a time when some guys i knew did something similar during my high school days… i don’t think they were successful, and they certainly didn’t keep a secret well, because everyone knew about it by the day’s end… this case, however included other vandalism to the busses including graffiti… i’ve also, in looking for a better article about this, learned that this has become quite an epidemic across the country, with recent occurrences in Boston, Chicago, Colorado, New Jersey and probably a lot more… that’s the power of the internet, kids…

one side note… i remember when graffiti was about giving a voice to the voiceless… now it’s just about degredation of society and it really irritates me…

THREE. NEW DAY???

to the tune of Come Together – Third Day

Third Day is planning a new album and by golly it actually sounds pretty exciting… given that i haven’t heard a note of it, i’m basing this solely on the press release that i received not too long ago… here’s the gist… they’re bringing in Howard Benson (Daughtry, POOD, Flyleaf) for production and they guest list includes Chris Daughtry, Lacey Mosely (Flyleaf) and Robert Randolph…

I’m not saying this is going to be the best rock album of the year, but REVELATION may just be the best Third Day album in many, many years…

FOUR. Syncast

to the tune of The IV – Braille

consider me a somewhat late whistle-blower, but if you dig hip hop and you do the whole podcast thing, you’ve got to check out The Syncast… i guess it’s once a month, but it’s generally packed with good tunes a brief interview or other feature and it really rolls along well… They’re on #37 and i’ve listened to the last three (they’re about a half hour each) and i’m definitely recommending it right now…

Check it out in iTunes now or figure out how to subscribe other ways at TheSyncast.com

FIVE. BIG BEN

to the tune of Bad to the Bone – George Thorogood

So Ben Stein has gotten behind and in front, center stage of a documentary about evolution, creationism and the suppression of free thought in the scientific world… the trailer, despite the loud, blaring music and the silly outfit, makes the movie look pretty interesting… i got a leaders packet a couple weeks ago about it, but unfortunately not a screener, so i can’t tell you if it actually is as good as it looks or if it’s just the magic of creating a captivating 3 minute trailer… either way, it’s an interesting concept and maybe, just maybe, it will get some people realizing that everyone who believes in the Creation isn’t a complete imbecile…

HAPPY WEEKEND

and that’s that… i’ve got a new Walk TRu posted for those that are interested… Ampersand EP by Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken… hopefully i’ll have some more for you soon… ’til then…

peace… love… bdg…

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So there are reviews i could be writing… there is a Left to Write i could be working on… there’s a few features that i could be putting together… there’s a lot that i could be doing right now… but, since i’m currently caught up in listening to Tesla’s Great Radio Controversy which is one of my all time favorite rock albums… and since i’ve promised to write more here this week… i’m here, right now, working on that… i’ve got a lot to cover in between my coughing fits (what’s up with that?)… so i suppose we should get to it… off we go…

GOOD LUCK, HUCK

So it is official, my boy Mike has left the building… the campaign run has ended… the GOP is flooding my inbox with requests for donations to the McCain campaign… All that’s fine and well… i will support McCain over either of the Democratic nominees… but since this is the first time that i really got behind a candidate, much less followed the election progress this early in the process, it’s pretty sad to see this result…

Don’t get me wrong, i’m not one of those one-issue, my President must be a devout Christian who can recite the Apostle’s Creed and the Lord’s Prayer forwards and backwards or else our country is doomed forever… i like Mike’s stance on family values, i like Mike’s stand against abortion, i like that Mike isn’t afraid to talk about Creation vs. Evolution even though it has nothing to do with the office of the President… i like all these things and more, but that’s not entirely why i supported him and would’ve really liked to see him become President…

I was more impressed by his attitude of humility, his commitment to character, his persistence, his practicality and his ability to balance hope and reality… Look at the remaining candidates: Obama is running on the platform of hope… audacious hope to be exact… and that’s great, but the problem is that he’s so far skewed towards that sense of hope (at least the character he plays on TV is) that he and the media are completely ignoring the reality that surrounds him… this makes him naive and vulnerable… on the other side of things you have Hillary and McCain, both seasoned veterans in politics and life (i think that’s a nice way to say “old” actually, but it’s more than that)… they’re both running on a platform of experience and realism… which is important, but somewhere along the line, they lost their sense of hope… the sense of wonder that draws people by the millions to this nation… they’re so skewed in the direction of realism that they struggle to inspire others around them… if it comes down to the two of them, it’ll be like a civil cold war (Hillary of course would represent communism in that analogy)… Mike exhibits both a sense of hope as well as a recognition of reality… that allows him to both inspire others as well as effectively handle the problems facing the day…

As far as policies, i agree with the idea of a fair tax… i agree with his desire to restore the US military and make certain that it is always seen as an honorable force to be reckoned with… i agree with his commitment to education and more specifically encouraging that the arts aren’t pushed out of the educational experience… i love how, despite constantly getting skewered as a anti-science kook for believing in Creation, his policies on energy independence call for loads of scientific research and implementation in order to relieve the strain of rising oil prices… i mean, man, there’s a lot that i agree with… reflecting on all this just makes me sadder, but even more than policies, i appreciated that Mike presents them all not as a politician, per se, but more as a fellow citizen, because truly, our president is first and foremost a citizen just like you and me…

So, rather than being depressed about this, and at the risk of being called one of those Bible-thumpers, i’m just going to drop in a bit of Scripture here, which came to mind on the day i voted in my state and has run through my head during the better part of this entire process…

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.“
- Romans 13:1-2 (NIV, emphasis mine)

BARGAIN OF THE DAY

here’s a TRu-light special for all you iTunes shoppers… Fresh Tunes – Winter 2008… seven songs from Sparrow Records including new songs from Shawn McDonald, Delirious and Starfield as well as current singles from Brit Nicole, Daniel Doss Band, Robbie Seay Band and Josh Wilson all for less than a buck… okay, so it’s one penny less, but still, 99 cents for 7 songs isn’t bad… better than a kick in the teeth…

WHAT’S (HHH) BEEF?

So, my attention was drawn to this article by Wut Metaphysical about the rift within Christian hip-hop (a.k.a. Holy Hip Hop or HHH) circles… basically, there are two “sects” of HHH – those who preach to the choir in a sense and those who reach through the fire, maybe… i might’ve stretched that a bit to make it rhyme, but you have groups like Cross Movement, Timothy Brindle, and a host of others with the primary intention of edifying believers through their music… the other side of this “civil war” consists of groups like Deepspace5 and LA Symphony among others that focus more on creating the best art possible with lyrics that speak more about life experiences than Biblical teaching… i think that’s a decent way of putting it…

While taken at face value, it doesn’t seem like this should be an issue, since we are all gifted in different ways and that’s Biblical…

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.”
- 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 (ESV)

However, it is an issue since insults and accusations have been lobbed back and forth between camps and it seems like it won’t ever be resolved… this article is a good background on the subject, pointing out some of the hypocrisies from both sides and offering a nice plea for reconciliation…

i would add, however, that it’s not an issue that’s exclusive to hip-hop… it exists within the Christian rock community, within all of CCM, and within the whole of the collective Church… it just seems like hip-hop is easier to focus on because it’s already got a bad reputation and these types of disputes or “beef” sell well in mainstream hip-hop… (mainstream hip-hop., by the way, faces this same rift, in a sense as there’s quite a difference between the likes of Mos Def, Common, etc and the likes of 50 Cent, Young Jeezy and others… )

as Talib Kweli says in a recent single “Hip-hop’s the new WWF, what do you rap or do you wrestle?”… i suppose HHH would add the line, “and against whom are you wrestling?”

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 6: 12-14

Days 2-6

As if the first day of craziness wasn’t enough for the members of Joshua’s army… you have to wonder what was going on in the camp during these 5 days… it’s a very short little section of Scripture with a lot of room to speculate… very similar to the account of the tower of Babel in my mind… but, the pattern is established… Joshua leads his troops in submission and obedience to God’s commands… still, i wonder why sone repetitive passages are drawn out in the Bible and others, like this one, are quickly brushed over… anyway…

IN OTHER WORDS

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

It seems like this book is taking a long time to get through… i’m further along than i’ll be writing about today, but i’m still short of halfway through… i think i’ll change this section up a bit and it’ll be less details in the future… hopefully it’ll help me get through more books…

Chapter seven is about taking your turn… it’s not so much about sharing and waiting in line, but it’s about making sure that when you get the call, you’re rolling the die and not phoning it in as they say… Ortberg holds up Daniel as an example of someone who took as much control of his life as was possible while remaining in submission to God…

Chapter eight reminds us that all this stuff is just stuff… it can’t make us happy, we can’t take it with us when we die, it’s not going to pet our cat… and there’s a really interesting section contrasting the richness of having and the richness of being… i liked that a lot…

DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU…

okay, so i’m moving on for today… i’ve got some more things to talk about including some more about politics (but not too much on that subject)… probably some more TV talk… some music talk because last week was pretty big as far as album releases go… and a bunch of things i’m working on for theTRu…

BUT BEFORE I GO…

it’s almost time for Gospel Music Week down in Nashville where i head down and watch a lot of shows and conduct a lot of interviews… here’s my question for you, the people who read things that i write… who do you want to me to interview? what do you want me to write about? let me know please…

peace… love… bdg…

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okay, so i know that i said i would write more in the morning, but things happen… things like work and just being tired and other distractions… today was Wacky Wednesday for littler boy today and he was pretty excited about his “yucky” hair and outfit as he headed to preschool… the whole week has been a celebration of Suess, actually, so i really wowed the boys with the picture i took last year with The Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2… anyway, let’s see what i can get to, today…

WHAT’S ON(LINE)?

So, i started thinking about this a while back and i’m finally putting it together… but it doesn’t really bode well for CCM Magazine, in my opinion…

Here’s the thing… i’m online for well over half the day that i’m awake… i do lots of things online including shopping, paying bills, perusing headlines, playing games (way too much), blogging, writing, etc… i mean… i really do a lot online… my job (the one that pays) involves a lot of being online and being familiar with the latest technologies and what’s going on, online… bottom line… i’m online a lot and i do a lot online…

one thing that i do NOT do online, however, is read magazines… i really don’t think it’s just me, but i for one will not read articles online… if i do happen to read something posted online, it either ends up taking me days or weeks to get through it or it’s something that i’ve printed out and read offline despite it being online only… CCM isn’t the first magazine that i’ve subscribed to that has gone to an online only format and i’m sure it’s not the last… but each and every one before it has all but fallen off of my radar… the magazines that i once greatly enjoyed thumbing through and reading each article are now websites that i never visit posting articles that i can’t even muster up the interest to read… i think that CCM is going to suffer the same fate and that bothers me…

i know this sounds odd coming from me, a guy who tries to get everyone to read interviews, articles, album reviews and long blog entries that i post exclusively online, but there is a difference between originating from the web and matriculating to the web… i could be crazy, but it’s just gonna be a very difficult transition and it’s not one that i really see working out for them… i hope i’m wrong…

EIGHT (WO)MEN OUT…

and now, my equal opportunity blogging of the final eight girls…

ASIA’H (HEAT OF THE MOMENT) EPPERSON: she’s got the terrible 80s outfit on, right?… oh, it’s real?… if any Whitney song is safe to perform, i suppose it’s this one, but still… i heard this in a store not too long ago and i remembered it word for word as well as the first time i heard it… anyway, the performance is really working well, but the vocal is a tad behind the ball i think… Paula is dancing with her… she copped out at the end… Randy said it was HOT… Paula said she was great… Simon says, hey, you are second rate and you can’t hit that big note at the end…

KADY (SHOULD”VE GONE HOME LAST WEEK) MALLOY: : well, i’ll be honest, i don’t think anyone thinks back to the hits of the 80s and thinks of slow songs like this… certainly not oooh, ouch… that’s a sour, sour note… actually, most of them… oh, she’s GOTSTA go this week, dawg… that was painful… Randy says that it’s a hard song to sing, but it was okay… Paula says it was her best performance to date… Simon says it was better than last week, but she’s a Stepford singer…

AMANDA (A-MAN, DUH) OVER… OVER MY DEAD BODY: okay, really, how drunk do you have to be to think that she’s a good singer?… of COURSE she picks this song… i hate myself for letting you through… that may be the vote for the worst theme song this year… she just has absolutely no range and Simon looks pretty disgusted by it too… to the chairs… Randy says that’s who she is… well done… Paula says that she’s beautiful and she loves her… Simon says that it was fantastic… really?…

CARLY (HARLEY) SMITHSON: i don’t get those pants… that’s weird… but she’s got a great voice… she seems to be over-annunciating on the verses, though… and perhaps she’s too professional for the show… she’s clearly pretty well seasoned in the industry… great job though… Randy says that she smashed it… Paula says, dude, you’re like a dependable dog… Simon says it was the wrong song, but she made the most out of it…

KRISTY LEE COOK: she had pet rats? and thought she was a dog? great… oooh Journey… i love this song… takes me back to long, late night bus trips to and from competitions… anyway… she kind of has the look of an early LeAnn Rimes… i’m not sure that i like what she’s done to this song and particularly not that last little run there, but it was alright… way better than Kady… Randy fawns over the choice of Journey and her thinking she was a “dawg,” but he liked the country vibe… Paula says that it’s all positivity… Simon says that country is good, but she’s not so much…

RAMIELE (RATATOUILLE) MALUBAY: you’re the only one… that opening line… i’m sorry, but i’m a stickler for opening lines, and that opening line really pops in the original and even though it was good here, it didn’t quite pop, so for me, the song’s off on the wrong foot, but she’s got a superb vocal and she’s doing really well with it overall… yeah, i’ll give you that much… could’ve been a bit better though… Randy says it was a good vocal, but she’s not confident enough… Paula says her face is beautiful and … something about mutts and colors and peanuts and well, never mind… Simon says it was old fashioned and predictable, but it’s okay because she’s so little and cute…

BROOKE (CARLY SIMON) WHITE: ah… Pat Benatar… Love is a Battlefield… yeah… i generally like Brooke because she’s one of the only blonde girls left that i can tell apart from the others… this is an interesting arrangement for this song, but hey, let’s hear you take it out for a spin, right?… it’s like test driving a car and only going 25 MPH… she should’ve taken it up a notch i think… Randy says that he liked her voice and it was interesting… Paula admits that she doesn’t understand what’s going on, but it was pure… Simon says it was an original take on the song and it was great…

SYESHA MERCADO: I’m gonna guess she goes with Whitney… and… oh, yep, of course she does… i like this song though… and i think she’s got a voice that can handle it… and, hey, she made it through that chorus… oh, yeah, she’s terring it up in that… woah, that’s a crazy looking outfit to me… almost like lederhosen… anyway, great vocal… Randy says, good, good… Paula says sophisticated and Simon says predictable, but good… clearly they were told that they were out of time…

picking Kady and ASIA’H to go with Amanda on the hook…

peace… love… bdg…

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