Brandon Heath absolutely crushed me yesterday morning… not that he reads this, but Brandon, i owe you one when next we meet… see, i don’t normally listen to music in the car anymore, but since i had finished the podcast i was listening to and only had a short while to go before work, i click-wheeled over to Brandon’s new album which i guess isn’t out yet, but i’ve really been digging the first track called “Give Me Your Eyes” which talks about seeing the world through God’s eyes, which is sobering enough, but then he follows it with “Wait and See“…

That doesn’t mean much to most of you, since the album’s not out and all, but i think i’ve made it pretty clear that work has been a continual frustration… and, well, i’ve been weighing my options, praying and wondering what to do next… kind of like asking myself what i want to be when i grow up and realizing that i already have the responsibilities of a grown up… anyway, driving into work, Brandon smacks me across the head with the following lyrics…

Amazing… anyway, this is a short work week which also helps make it go down smoother… let’s talk about a few other things, shall we?

MR ROBOTO

to the tune of Mr. Roboto - Styx

We went to see the new Pixar/Disney film Wall-e on opening day… my wife managed to get us admission for four for about six bucks which was good because she fell asleep a few times during the movie… i enjoyed it quite a bit and the boys were cracking up on and off throughout the whole film… the first thirty minutes don’t include any dialogue, but that didn’t seem to bother either of them as they enjoyed the physical humor of a robot discovering various items in the trash piles…

Certainly there was a strong hint of the whole global warming issue which i’m sure will cause someone to scream about liberals in the media, but i mean really, it was more of a social commentary about our own laziness… too lazy to clean up after ourselves, leaving piles of trash everywhere so that we need to escape the world to a cruise where no one has to do anything for themselves and we become the floppy beings who can’t even stand on their own two feet…

the real message was about finding purpose in life, breaking out of the routine and standing for something… nothing wrong with that…

CRAZY CHRISTIANS

to the tune of Drive It Home - Paul Alan

So, i came across two different articles about the “Conservative leaders” secretly meeting last week and deciding to support John McCain for president… this doesn’t surprise me at all, since any exploration into the character of Obama hasn’t led me to put any trust in this man… I’m not saying that McCain is perfect, but for what it’s worth, i’m more confident in his leadership than i am in Obama’s… (besides, i’ve been told that Obama is, in fact, the anti-Christ and that once he’s elected, we have seven years until Heaven)… (actually, that leads me to a different topic, but i’ll have to come back to it later)…

The Charisma article has an interesting quote that kind of echoes what i think will be the main thrust of the campaign… “‘The alternative is so bad we must support John McCain,’ said Phyllis Schlafly, founder and president of Eagle Forum”… this, folks is what they call a lose-lose situation… this is where they say to keep your chin up and make the best of a bad situation, knowing that it could be worse… in situations like that, there’s honestly no winner…

Of course, the truth of the matter is that Obama is an absolutely terrible alternative… Mike Janke goes into great detail about Obama’s stand on abortion, pointing out that his support extends to partial birth abortions and even the killing of infants who have managed to survive such procedures after they’re out of the womb… not at all consistent with his emphasis on the youth of the nation, though i suppose… well, never mind… Furthermore, Stephen Mansfield, author of The Faith of George Bush and soon to be author of The Faith of Barack Obama, talks on and on about the sincerity of Obama’s Christianity, stating that he is both unapologetically Christian and unapologetically liberal… but most interesting is the final line of the article… “Mansfield said he will vote against Obama in November for a single reason: ‘Because I’m pro-life.’”…

I think the biggest danger is the defeatist attitude that may keep voters on their couches instead of voting in November…

THE READING ROOM

to the tune of Summer Again - The Afters

Updated list for Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club…

I wasn’t sure that i’d get any finished this week, but it looks like i will… maybe even two… gonna have to make some adjustments to avoid the oh-fer next week though… and i think i need to pick some lighter books… i’m imbalanced in the non-fiction side of things…

- 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 10 pages left]
- You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader (Sanborn) [about 75 pages left]
- The Parent You Want to Be (Parrott) [about 150 pages left]
- Boys Should Be Boys (Meeker) [about 180 pages left]
- New Way to Be Human (Peacock) [about 200 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…

MOVING ON

Hey, everyone, have a great fourth of July weekend… really… don’t blow off any fingers or toes or burn down any houses or whatever… just have fun… celebrate the establishment of this great nation… we can work on keeping it that way starting on Monday…

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….

okay, so i was wrong… the Celtics really showed the Lakers who was boss… more about that a little later… it’s been a busy week and a half or so… i’d like to say that i was on vacation like some people, but that’s not the case… we did call that thing last week a retreat, but it wasn’t exactly restful… i ended up sleeping in spurts of maybe 30-45 minutes at a time and getting worn out during the day…

Anyway, i’ve been back since Wednesday night… last Wednesday night, working a lot, went to the lake and got some primo sunburn… did church… headed back to work and yadda yadda yadda… it’s already late on Thursday evening and i don’t have much to show for the week… so here’s a few somethings and we’ll see if i can’t do better tomorrow…

IN OTHER WORDS

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

Simplicity by Mark Salomon…

have you ever started reading a book and wondered why you hadn’t read it before?… as i’m reading through these pages, i can’t help but think of all the time it spent on that silly bookshelf over in the corner waiting to be read… and i think to myself, man, this could’ve been the second or third time i’ve read this instead of just now being my first time through… i’m resonating with a lot of the questions raised, nodding along to the lessons learned and anticipating the next chapter… i’m currently about halfway through and there are no signs of me slowing down…

also worth noting, this is apparently the LAST WEEK that it will be available at the Relevant Book Store for FOUR DOLLARS… i’ll probably end up changing the link the next time i update depending on where it ends up being cheapest…

THE READING ROOM

to the tune of If You Could Read My Mind - Johnny Cash

so i think i need to keep track of the books that i’m reading for the sake of Mark Lee’s Summer Reading Club… i have a feeling i’m going to get smoked in this thing, but who knows… anyway, here’s a list of what i’m currently reading and what i’ll hopefully be reading soon…

- It All Goes Back in the Box (Ortberg)
- Simplicity (Salomon) [about 120 pages left]
- Character Makes a Difference (Huckabee) [about 200 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 110 pages left]

and the list goes on, but if we’re rational and reasonable, i think we all realize that i’ll be fortunate to finish two or three of these in the next three months… FULL LIST HERE…

AND WITH THAT…

it’s time to go… you can head over to the main page and check out the Boomin’ Beyond Measure concert review… thanks for peeping that…

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…

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…

well, i’m still alive… i haven’t gotten to sleep before 2 AM in a while now, but i’m still kicking and making it through each day… and i can see the light of a possible three-day weekend off in the distance… unfortunately, i can’t talk about what’s been keeping me up at night as i’m contractually obligated not to, but for those of you that i spoke with privately, thanks for the prayers and everything else… i find it interesting that the word of the day, which i have emailed to me, is “tartuffe”… the good news is that i’ve written my first book… the bad news is that it’s a training manual for a proprietary software that is for internal use… so, i’ve become something of a technical writer… perhaps i should add that to my resume…

Anyway, there are plenty of things to talk about but since i’m exhausted and i’ve been in and out of meetings all day, i’ll be in and out of this as well… who knows what we’ll get to…

EDIT: okay, that didn’t work… it’s now Monday, let’s try again… I’m currently watching a silly movie called NEXT… which stars Nicholas Cage as a magician who can see a few minutes into the future… and the FBI recruits him to help them stop the transportation of a nuclear weapon… yeah… it’s like that… anyway… what else is on my radar…

NOW WE’RE COOKING

to the tune of Dream Big -David Cook

So they picked David Cook… and by now, you should realize that i could really care less… it became clear to me that i wouldn’t be interested in buying any of the finalists’ albums since none of them really did anything for me… as far as David Cook goes, i suppose he’ll have a decent career as far as music careers go these days, but i think in a year or so, most people with discerning tastes will be thinking to themselves and perhaps asking out loud, who in the world told this guy that he could sing and why do they hate the rest of them so very much… just my opinion…

BACK IN 3D!

to the tune of Call My Name - Third Day

So, i’ve been killing this new Third Day album…. i mean, it just flat out rocks… it’s like everything you ever wanted Third Day to do with an album all comes together now… (get it, Come Together?)… Let me just say that Revelation is easily the best Third Day album and it’s likely going to rank in the top albums of the year list for 2008… i’m just saying is all… expect a Walk TRu of this sometime later this week, but for now, you can check out their EPK online…

MOVING ON

Foolish Things have disbanded… I’m a little slow on this since their final show was 11 May, but the band has cited this as “the last season” for Foolish Things via their MySpace page… MySpace, by the way, seems to be the medium of choice for announcing a band’s breakup… Anyway, more from the announcement:

“Although we are grieving, and semi-anxious about what lies ahead we are excited that a new chapter is beginning. Babies are on the way, different job opportunities are opening, and ministry opportunities are in each of our futures.”

What really bothers me about this announcement is that i interviewed them a few months ago and they didn’t mention this at all… (yes, that’s sarcastic, no, i don’t think the world revolves around me)…

ANTS!!!

yeah, i’m SICK OF ANTS!… they’re all over my kitchen and the ant trap thingies that i’ve been setting out seem to work for a while, and then i get a resurgence of the little critters…it’s driving me NUTS… i even see them out of the corner of my eye when they aren’t even there… apparently i need some sleep… speaking of bugs though, isn’t this the most strangely appealing and appalling site you’ve ever seen? maybe it’s just me… some of those bugs though, literally scare the heck out of me…

PLENTY TO PEEP…

despite my crazy schedule, i’ve managed to drop some splendid content on the front page… this includes part three of my GMA Reflections and interviews with Salvador and Stephanie Smith… As i mentioned, i’m planning a Third Day Walk TRu, another chapter of the GMA Reflections, a few more interviews, and i’m hoping to pick up the album reviews gauntlet again… i’ve got some thoughts brewing about Chris Sligh, Phil Stacey, The Myriad and more…

peace… love… bdg…

well, this week has been beyond crazy, but you know how sometimes, there are some things that just knock the wind out of you and makes everything else just blur out into the sidelines?… at least for a little while? well here’s mine…

IN NEED OF COMFORT

to the tune of Cinderella - Steven Curtis Chapman

Please be in prayer for the Chapman family… that is, Steven Curtis Chapman’s family… Earlier today, Maria Sue Chapman was struck and killed by an SUV in her driveway… the car was reportedly driven by her teenage brother… She was five and, since little boy is five, i can only imagine the emotions running through that household right now… what a sad and emotional story to read…

peace… love… bdg…

NOTE: there’s a full, non-idol post below… first the idols…

FINALLY, JUST THREE

to the tune of Can’t Take the Pain - Third Day

And we’re finally down to the last three contestants… and it’s not soon enough… everyone is already hyping up the double David showdown for next week, but Syesha really wants to stay for the big show… tonight’s show give everyone three songs, one chosen by the Judges, one by the Contestants and one by the Producers… and away… we…. go….

ROUND ONE: JUDGE’S PICK

{Little) David Archuleta: Paula picks And So It Goes by Billy Joel… and he enters into robotic mode… a really slow and potentially boring tune to start off the show… he sounds alright, a bit breathy, but there’s really no emotion whatsoever…. and i didn’t really like the way his voice cracked there, but i love that dude’s hat… is it his dad?… Randy says he was a dope… or the song was dope, and David did a good job… Paula says he was pure and telling stories… Simon says it was a bit predictable, but it was good…

Syesha (a.k.a. Cry-esha): Randy chooses something by Alisha Keys… she looks great… and she sounds good, too… oh, i know this song… i don’t listen to much Alisha, but hey, it rhymes with Syesha… maybe that’s why Randy picked it… maybe Randy had to pick hers because they’re both black?… do i smell a conspiracy?… sorry Jeremiah Wright, no racism here… she was spectacular though… Randy says she’s peaking at the right time… Paula says that she looks stunning… Simon says that she sounded like Alisha, but it was Randy’s fault… and they all agree that she looks gorgeous…

David (Daughtry the 2nd) Cook: And there’s David Cook looking like he just rolled out of bed… and he’s going to sing Roberta Flack’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face… and he’s got no guitar… and i think i’m going to start everything with “and” this time… and that lady wants to be the only one standing… and that’s kind of weird… and she’s making eyes at David even though he’s probably 25 years younger than she is… and he’s shouting… and he looks like he’s going to eat the mic… and he did a decent job… and everyone is cheering… and Randy says, dude, he loved the high note but Simon picked a bad song… and Paula says that it’s not about Simon and Randy… and now he’s the second favorite performer of that song… and Simon pats himself on the back and says it was risky… and he takes credit for it…

to the tune of I Dare You to Move - Switchfoot

Simon says that round one went to him and cook, but i’d say that Syesha won it… she’s gonna have to do a fantastic job to stay in it after tonight though… or the other two are going to have to fall down… the judges did a pretty good job of matching songs to the trio… let’s see how they do for themselves…

ROUND TWO: CONTESTANT’S PICK

{Little) David Archuleta: those pants are just terrible.. they’re may be worse than the pleather ones from earlier in the competition … he chose With You by Chris Brown… and i’m literally laughing my head off here…MY BOO!!!! HA HA HA HA!…. this is a trainwreck… this song totally does not fit him… he’s actually moving and he’s got his eyes open which probably helps, but oh man… that’s hilarious… that’s like watching some old dude rap instead of play chess… Randy says that was an odd song choice… Paula says it was perfec tand that he did a great job… Simon says it was like a chihuahua trying to be a tiger….

Syesha (a.k.a. Cry-esha): Syesha chose Fever and she’s working the chair… this song is HOT… and it plays well to her talents… and she’s slithering around the stage just like a jazz singer from the old days… she’s knocking it out of the park… that was a great song choice for her… fit her personality and her vocals… Randy says it was an interesting song choice, but she sang it amazingly well… Paula say that she’s surprised by the song choice as well because it doesn’t show who she is as an artist… Simon slams the gavel down and says it was a lame Cabaret performance…

David (Daughtry the 2nd) Cook: he’s chosen Dare You to Move by Switchfoot and he’s surprised that people have heard of it… he’s got his guitar out but it’s clearly not the one that’s making the music work… honestly, i love this song, but i don’t get why people like this guy’s vocals… it sounds like a drunk guy trying to sing the karaoke… Randy says he loves the Switchfoot, but the song was a little pitchy… Paula says it was cut too short… SImon says it wasn’t that melodic and everyone was just okay…

to the tune of I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith

ROUND THREE: PRODUCERS PICK

{Little) David Archuleta: i missed the intro to this, but it’s Longer by Dan Fogleberg… and it’s absolutely ancient compared to the Chris Brown song, but it’s more suitable for David because it adjusts well to his formulaic approach to performing a minute and a half… Randy tells him that he can sing the phone book again… Paula says it was great… Simon says that he sang it well, but the song was a terrible choice…

Syesha (a.k.a. Cry-esha): The producers chose Hit Me Up from Happy Feet… and so far it’s her weakest performance… what do the producers know anyway… i don’t really like this song… she did an okay job with it, but she doesn’t work well with that tempo… Randy says he could see her doing a song like that, but it was just okay… Paula talks about penguins and that it wasn’t that good… Simon says it was better than the second song, but it was forgettable…

David (Daughtry the 2nd) Cook: David is singing I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith… and gah… i just don’t get it… this guy’s vocals… they’re so grating when it’s a slow moment and then when it builds, all he does is shouts… come on… you compare this to Steven Tyler and there’s NO COMPARISON… this guy’s such a hack, but he’s probably going to win it… Randy says it was predictable and just okay… Paula has had way too much caffiene… Simon says David Cook, ftw…

i really hate to say that the Davids will be in the finals… but it sure looks that way…. I’m not sure why they trashed Syesha so much tonight, because i thought she did a fine job, but that’s how the story goes…

peace… love… bdg…