Missed it by this much...

So, a little bit after U2 released How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, my friends Eric and Jim and I discussed our plans to check them out while on their US tour. Being a complete and total internet addict, I went to the U2 website and discovered that if I were to join their official fan club, I could get a code to use for purchasing tickets prior to their on sale date. Thinking this was a good idea, I talked it over with Eric and Jim again, and we all agreed to split the cost of the membership. This whole thing sorta slipped out of my mind for a few weeks, probably because I was so busy. So I went to the U2 website once I learned that they had announced dates for their first leg of the US, and found this: Due to unprecedented demand, we are unable to issue Ticket Presale Codes to new U2.Com Subscribers to purchase tickets for the Vertigo 2005 Tour. To quote Kip Dynamite: "Dangit!! Oh well, I'll still be going to one of their shows. Just not sure which one. I'll just have to be like the rest of the unwashed masses, and wait for the date to buy one. Or, if there's a U2 fan willing to, ya know, share some pertinent information with a fellow fan, I'll make it worth their while. filed under: U2, Music, Concerts

Freedom

No matter what the naysayers or the terrorists hoped, this image, and the sentiment behind it, will echo throughout the Middle East, and most importantly, throughout history. filed under: Iraq

The Book List

Okay, so one of the new features I've added in recent weeks is the Book List, comprised soley of books that I am in the midst of reading or that I have read so far this year. What's there so far: King of the Ring: The Harley Race Story - Everyone that really knows me knows that my one true guilty pleasure is pro-wrestling. I'm not exactly sure why that is, but I've always loved it. It's a great blend of sports, comics and soap opera to keep me entertained. One of the more disturbing trends of late is books written by pro-wrestlers, or at least, books that wrestlers say they write but are actually written by others. This is disturbing because, well, they're pro-wrestlers. These are guys paid to act mean and play fight every night. Not to diminish what they do, because I respect the athleticism involved, but sheesh - these guys aren't literary genuiuses for the most part. So the trend of wrestler penned biographies continues with an autiobography about Harley Race, probably one of the best talents ever to enter the squared circle. Race's story is sort of the book equivalent to a country song. Harley's had his ups, but he's had a lot of downs. But, he still maintains positive despite that. This isn't exactly classic literature, but some of the stories that Harley tells, specifically in his off the cuff manner, are funny and scary. And yes, some of them are sad. This was a fun read that only took me a few days to get through, and for fans of old school pre-90's wrestling, this is a fun book to reflect on the good old days. I don't really need to mention much about The Lord of the Rings, except to say that I have yet to read the entire thing from cover to cover, and I think I've tried four or five times to do so. I always seem to get hung up at the Council of Elrond, or in the Mines of Moria. Right now I'm in the House of Tom Bombadil. Here's hoping I actually finish this time, but I'm taking it slow. Eragon is a book on CD that I picked up for the drive to DC last week. Jim and I got too engrossed in conversation to listen to anything, so I've been listening to this as I do stuff around the house. However, the novelty of a fifteen year old author is slowly beginning to wear on me, simply because it's like the kid decided to throw every mythical story of the last century into a blender and create his own world. This isn't necessarily bad - all creators do it. The Magnificent Seven is Seven Samurai, which is based on an old legend. So the elements of Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings among others isn't exactly a thrill killer for me, but I have to wonder if Christopher Paolini is going to ever find his own voice. Pedro and Me is the first graphic novel of the bunch thus far. The true story of Pedro Zamora told by his Real World: San Francisco roommate and comic book auter Judd Winick, is compelling, if not flawed in it's logic about sexual education. It's a touching story about friendship that I think everyone should read at least once, but take the "facts about sex" presented by Judd at face value. Not to go on a side tirade about abstinence education vs. "safe" sex education, but the question of why Pedro, and then Judd decided to leave abstinence out of their lectures is begging to be asked. I mean, c'mon - which is safer, a condom or not having sex at all? But that's beside the point. Winick tells a good story, and his art isn't half bad. Considering that I didn't know he was an artist as well as a writer (he's recently been writing The Outsiders for DC Comics), this was a pleasant surprise. I might not agree with the left wing slant of the story, but I can appreciate it's beauty from an aesthetic level. I've got a bunch of other books on the way, mostly from the local library. As I read them, they'll be added to the list. This will be an interesting experiment...maybe I'll actually keep to it. filed under: Books, Graphic Novels, Professional Wrestling, The Lord of the Rings, Sex Education Soundtrack: Electrical Storm (UK Import) - U2

Who Says Kids Can't Gamble?

A few weeks ago, one of Michelle's formere coworkers handed Josiah a five dollar bill as a gift. Apparantly where she comes from (Nigeria), handing children money is a custom, specifically when it comes to children you don't see often. So, Josiah's been running around with his very own five dollar bill for a while, which is a real bummer when you could use a drink and water just won't do. But that's beside the point. The point is, Josiah had five bucks up until today. Friday is our family day while I don't have a job - Michelle has Fridays off, and Josiah doesn't have pre-school. And, since I only have to preach and run the youth ministry in the evening, we take the daytime to just hang out and do something special. Two weeks ago it was a day trip to the mall in Buffalo for Michelle to check out their Old Navy store, and today, we took Josiah to the casino Chuck E. Cheese. I swear, Donald Trump must have a silent partnership with that giant mouse that isn't Mickey, and just like with Joe Camel did with cigarettes, Chuck is doing for gambling establishments across the country. I came to this realization after witnessing a "ticket giveaway" by Ol' Chuck himself, where he gathers all of the gamblers kids around and throws out a bunch of tickets for them to grab. This was like throwing prescription drugs in the air at a nursing home - the result for both is chaos, pure and simple. I almost got caught up in the hype myself - it took a lot of willpower not to shove that eight year old with a limp out of the way to get my hands on a good pile of that paper gold. And then, I watched as my wife won the jackpot on a game called Stormstopper or something like that, where she got like 55 tickets for one token. And that's when the fun began. I started jonesing to win more tickets at Skeeball, and Michelle spent a good amount trying to "hit the big one" again. And all the while Josiah is having a blast playing in the tube and stuff. I'm not sure if he played many games himself. Looking for our next big score, Michelle and I traded off watching Josiah, while she continued to try to get the next big jackpot. She never did. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think Michelle has a gambling problem. If she went to ol' Chucks house after work before coming home she might, but I know now how easy it would be for even myself to go into a casino and lose my shirt. And that's my issue with Chuck E. Cheese or any other large arcade. They're the gateway to casinos. I mean, let's face it - what do people have to show after tossing a bunch of money away in Vegas? A Hangover and an empty bank account? Granted, the results from Chuck E. Cheese are a little tamer (stomachache from bad pizza and no more cash in pocket), but they're practically mirror images of the results from a casino. Like the headache you get after the first few cigarettes before you build up a tolerance. And it's only a matter of time before Vegas comes calling.... Either that, or it's the pepto bismol. That pizza left a lot to be desired. filed under: Chuck E. Cheese, Gambling

And Now Back to our Regularly Scheduled Blogging....

Alright, now that the whirlwind of Inauguration coverage has safely landed, I can return to posting random thoughts on whatever strikes my fancy or gets on my nerves any given day. I bet all of you folks who can't stand politics will be happy with that, huh? I've got a lot of stuff I'm working on, in my head at least, so I guess using the last few days to do the DC Recap was a good way to get the gears oiled up again. So, without further adieu... Imaginarium: Songs from the Neverhood, by Terry S. Taylor wasn't just any old CD Purchase - it's changed my life. You'll notice to the right of this column I've brought back the recommended listening feature. If you remember correctly, I discontinued this feature not for it's lack of success, but because my prior blog template was stupid. It didn't take me long to bring it back, because frankly, getting the word out about this CD is important. Very important. Not "lives hanging in the balance" important, but close enough. Right of the bat, I'll admit I never played the game The Neverhood, or it's counterpart Skullmonkeys, both developed by the man responsible for Earthworm Jim - Doug TenNapel. In fact, if not for the connection to Terry S. Taylor, this would have been just another game to me, another game that I either never heard of or heard of but never played. But because of TenNapel's adoration for Terry S. Taylor, the best CD I've bought in years (Yes, better than U2's last CD, which, if you know me, is saying a lot) was born. In fact, this it's third incarnation. The previous incarnations went totally out of print and were fetching over $100 on Ebay in some cases. Which is odd, since this is a video game soundtrack. But it's no normal video game soundtrack. The common bleeps and blips are few and far between here. This is music, that if I didn't know was a game soundtrack, I would think it was the result of somebody just experimenting with every instrument they could find in a studio. I can't even place it in a genre - one song sounds like a new-wave blues tune, the next sounds like jazz, followed by a surf pop tune. If there are words, they're muffled by an assortment of effects. Every tune is catchy, every tune has it's own set of nuances that catch your ear in different ways on each listen. This album is like listening to the bastard child of Frank Zappa and Mr. Bungle. And that lil' bastard is one heluva musician. No - this isn't for everyone. But it's music that will grab you by the brain, slap it around a bit and then massage it back to health. And not to mention it's positive effect on my creativity. I feel more creative just listening to it. It makes me want to be a better writer, as corny as that might sound. It makes me laugh - a lot. And the ultimate litmus test? Michelle doesn't hate it, and Josiah has been known to dance around when he hears it. This is music the whole family can dig - and that's dang cool. So go buy a copy. If not for yourself, buy it for the artists that you know. They'll thank you later. filed under: Terry S. Taylor, Doug TenNapel, The Neverhood,Music

Finally - an Online Quiz I can Dig!

Tater tots (Please rate my quiz) Which Napoleon Dynamite character are you? brought to you by Quizilla filed under: Online Quizzes, Napolean Dynamite, Movies

Washington DC Recap - Part Four

Security didn’t take too long, but the parade had already left the starting point. We ran as fast as we could, looking as we passed blue, then yellow, and then red ticketed areas. No Purple yet. We ended up at the end of the secured area, not knowing where to go. We asked somebody, and he said: “Oh, you’re gonna have to leave the secured area, and wait in that line.” He pointed to a line that wasn’t as long as the one we had just gotten out of, but long enough for us to ask if we could get into one of the other areas. It didn’t take much convincing, but somebody got us into the Red section, with no problem. A lot of folks hadn’t made it in yet, so seats were easy to get. There were a lot of protestors, but not nearly as many as the regular media would have you to believe. Most of them had gathered in an area diagonal from where we sat, so we had a good laugh at their completely unoriginal chants. Like: “Hey, Hey, Hey, Ho, George Bush has got ta go! Hey, Hey, Hey, Ho, George Bush has got ta go!” I dunno, but don’t you think they already tried that in November and lost? One of the more offensive signs during the parade. And also, why even bother protesting? It’s not like we would be there protesting had Kerry won. We’d actually be plotting our comeback, praying that things wouldn’t get too screwed up under his leadership. But we’d be respectful, and let him have his day. They couldn’t even let Bush have one day without whining about their loss. I guess that’s just one of the many things that separates us, right? Anyway, so we sat, and watched protestors, as the motorcade finally approached. We were psyched – this was a moment we’d never forget. We were going to see the President of the United States live and in the flesh! But is was not too be. Just about 100 yards from where we sat, a protestor threw something at the motorcade, and the Secret Service, along with the cars themselves sped up from about 5 MPH to 30 MPH. The sped right by us, windows up and everything. I tried to get a picture, but the only one I got is below. You can barely make out Laura Bush in the window, in the highlighted section. So we almost saw the President. Almost. Typical behavior of the far left (whining, sore losers) cost me my one chance to witness history. Typical that their behavior does more to harm others than help them. Instead of trying to change the world through proper channels, they decide to kick their feet and act like babies. But it didn’t ruin my day, it opened my eyes. And isn’t that what history, and being a part of it is supposed to do? filed under: politics, inauguration, protestors

Washington DC Recap - Part Three

Pondering Long Lines, The Ignorantly Educated, and How Much Security Is Too Much? Our first mistake was leaving the secured area. Our second mistake was listening to the volunteer guide regarding what entrance to take to get back into the secured area for the parade. There was no food in the secured area, so we sort of had to leave if we wanted to eat. We grabbed a couple of personal pizzas at a vendor (I really wanted a Hebrew National Hot Dog, but they were out of buns), and got to an entrance on seventh street, where there was a long line to enter security. It wasn’t too long, but long enough. The Parade was set to start around 2, and it was already 1:30. So, we asked an old guy who was volunteering for crowd control where to go, since we had the esteemed Purple tickets. “Oh, you’re gonna have to go up to 12th Street, and then really haul it over to 15th to get your seats.” “Oh, okay!” We replied, and set off. The line at 12th Street made the line at 7th look like a non- rush line at Burger King on a weekday. But, we stayed anyway. That was our third mistake. The Line Behind Us, Complete With Jim's Hat 2:00 comes, and we’re still in line. Security was letting in ten, maybe fifteen people at a time, and every time somebody was let in, the entire line would shove forward, like a woman pushing during labor. There was a moment when I could have lifted my feet and remained standing. Despite our ticketed status, apparently every entrance was “General Admission” meaning ticketed and non-ticketed guests were going in. This included protestors and supporters. A couple of protestors, who I’m pretty sure were cocky college kids actually said “It’s a known fact that people in metropolitan areas are smarter and more educated than in rural areas. That’s why they generally vote Democrat.” If I had been closer, I would have responded with something like “Oh, is that it? I thought it was that there was generally more poverty in metropolitan areas, and there’s a lot of poor people that want a hand out instead of working.” But I couldn’t. Instead I stood there while another push shoved me forward. An artsier shot of the crowd behind us During this all, Jim and I got separated by about five or six people. I kept checking back to make sure he was still there. By 2:15 or so, I ended up into the security area, but Jim was still in line. I waited around for the next push, and Jim was still in line, just one person back. I convinced the nice military man that Jim was with me, and he let him in. That's Jim, way back in line while I waited. More tomorrow, in the final installment.... Filed Under: politics, inauguration

Washington DC Recap - Part Two

A Ceremony of Hope and Camaraderie We showed up in DC around 8:30, around three and a half hours before the ceremony was set to begin. The tickets we had were for the Gold section, graciously provided by my Congressman, Republican Tom Reynolds. The best thing about the tickets were the color, since Gold sounds really nice. The location left a lot to be desired, given the fact that everyone at the podium looked roughly the size of an ant. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still grateful for even getting tickets – being there was way cooler than not being there. Even with my camera zoomed in, the view wasn't that good. Anyway, there were Jumbotrons set up all over, so we could see what was going on, and a speaker in front of us so we could hear too. Security was tight, but not really tight for the ceremony – we breezed through security with no problems at all. We found a place to stand, and settled in for the long haul. We were surrounded, soon enough, by people of all sorts of backgrounds. For the most part, we were around young college Republicans, but there were a few middle aged folks, a few older folks, and some people had brought along their kids. Like us, they all wanted to support our President, celebrate the beauty of our Republic, and be a part of history. It was a wonderful time, laughing with people about things, enjoying ourselves in the midst of the brisk 30 degree temperatures. The snow beneath our feet had hardened by the time the ceremony began, with the introduction of Senators (the camera seemed to dwell and drift often back to John Kerry, who looked much more tan than the winter weather usually permits), the introduction of former Presidents Carter, Bush and Clinton (Hillary received the most heat from the crowd – most of us can smell her Machiavellian Plotting in the air), and finally, Vice President Cheney and President Bush. The crowd seemed to push forward a bit with anticipation, bearing the music (which got plenty of groans from the Young Republican set) with smiles frozen on their faces. Cheney was sworn in to little fanfare – we all cheered, but we were saving it. This was Dubya’s day, and we would give him his due. The Vice President on the Jumbotron When Judge Rehnquist stepped up to the podium, we all held our breath, knowing that the vows would be over as quick as they began, knowing the outcome, but not even wanting our breathing to take away from this moment. And when he finished, we erupted. This was something we waited a long year to get too – after a long fight that we almost lost. The cheers were a combination of joy, relief, and honor. Honor for one of the greatest leaders this country has ever seen, relief to have achieved victory, and joy to have been a part of his day. His speech was stirring, it was hopeful, it was tough. This is a speech that history books will be forced to remember. It didn’t address the problem of our generation (Terrorism) but transcended it with the solution to that problem (Freedom). It made even the pet complaints of the Left his own, it showed that Dubya is far more intelligent than people give him credit for. It was delivered with confidence, it was delivered with humility, and most of all, it was delivered with hope. Too often we don’t have hope, we’re met with cynicism. But not on this day. The Man Himself, on the Jumbotron We waited, standing in the cold for over three hours. The ceremony was over in less than an hour. Now, it was time to grab a quick bite to eat and head to the parade. Continued tomorrow.... filed under: politics, inauguration

Washington DC Recap - Part One

Thinking About Patriotism, Purple Ticket Bonuses, and a Microcosm of Society on the Train One word can wrap up my experience in Washington DC this past week. Surreal. First of all, I’ve never been to DC, really. My sister drove Michelle, Josiah and I through there, giving us the whirlwind tour while on our way to her house the weekend after Christmas a year ago, but I’ve never been able to walk through our nations capital. It’s a city that is as breathtaking as it is imposing. Secondly, as a man who has sort of grown into his patriotism (there was a time when, I didn’t exactly hate our country, but pitied it), it was a boost to my love for this country, and my desire to see it succeed and grow. Sure, we’ve got our share of warts and pimples, but America is better place to live than any other place in the world. But that’s for another column on another day. The worst thing about the week were the days leading up to Thursday. I’d been fighting off a nasty head cold, with a sore throat chasing after that on Tuesday. I was beyond drowsy on Tuesday, and without my traveling pal Jim (he also joined me on our 36 hour round trip to the closing of Cooters Garage in Sperryville, VA after Thanksgiving 2003), I wouldn’t have been able to make the trip, since I slept over half of the drive. Thankfully, I was feeling much better on Thursday morning, so the day was much better than it could have been. We stayed with Jim’s brother and his wife in Sterling, a short train ride from the city. It was cool since it was free, but even cooler, since they’re the nicest people. They even had Secret Service connections, and we got hooked up with tickets to the Parade, in the nicest section (Purple). Bonus. My desire to see a protestor or two was fulfilled on the train into the city, at about 8:00. We boarded the train and ended up sitting across three kids, no older than 19 or so, one wearing a crudely made t-shirt that said “No War”, with the “O” in “No” made into a peace sign. One of the other two had written “No War” on his hand, and instead of laughing at him, I had a party in my head, wondering if he actually thought that Dubya or his entourage would even see what he had written. A scene, sort of like this: PROTESTER KID’S FRIEND: HEY LOOK, HERE COMES THE MOTORCADE! PROTESTER KID: AWW, MAN, I GOTTA GET MY GLOVE OFF QUICK SO HE CAN SEE WHAT I THINK OF HIM! Pathetic, if you ask me. So while we were on the train, Jim pulled one of his Kleenexes out of his pocket, and blew his nose. The kid in the crudely made t-shirt eyed him and then said “Hey, can I have one of those?” Jim’s a nice guy, and he gave him one. Sure, I’m a nice guy too, and I probably would have done the same. But, this little exchange was my first reminder of what’s going wrong in society. Using this as an example, we see two things: 1 - The kid came prepared to show off his ideals, complete with crude t-shirt and wrinkled up paper sign, but failed to prepare for reality itself. Ideals rarely equal reality. 2 - The kid relied, or felt entitled to what Jim had and he did not. Just as the poor who choose not to work for their wealth but feel entitled to what those who do the opposite of them have. Reliance and Entitlement are two of the worse symptoms of the sickness in society. Either that, or the kid just noticed he had a runny nose. But, I like to think of it as the former, since neither of them were dressed very warm, or wearing comfortable shoes. Bet they had blisters, huh? More tomorrow, but until then, one picture: filed under: politics, inauguration

Inauguration Bound!

Well, figured I'd pop in here and write something before I head out the door. I'm on my way to DC today, to witness the innaguration of George W. Bush firsthand tomorrow. Well, if you consider Mall Standing area, located across the Reflecting Pool from where the President is firsthand. But hey, I'm going to be there, and that's gonna be cool enough. And maybe I'll get a better glimpse during the parade. And man, I hope I run into a protester or two - I just want a good laugh. But, I'll try to audioblog a couple of times, and maybe post tomorrow night should time and the opportunity come up. But until then...

Washington DC Audio Update #1

It's official, Apple really wants to make me break that whole commandment about Coveting....

Apple - iPod shuffle I really want one of these, mainly because it's a third of the price of the regular iPod. But due to my lack of gainful employment, I'll have to just drool. And the oddest thing? The smallest model (512MB) has more space on it than my last computer. So, anybody feeling generous?

Digital Crack

Forget Everquest. Forget Star Wars Galaxies. The most addictive game I've ever played is Bejeweled. Michelle has it on her Palm, and we've been fighting over it constantly for two days. Looks like my productivity level at home is about to drop another 33%.

Deconstructing the Peoples Choice Awards

By now we've all heard that Michael Moore-on's Fairenheit 9-11 won favorite movie at the Peoples Choice Awards last night. Not a big surprise, considering the winners are notified prior to the airing of the show, and the news was leaked a few days ago. But now that it's official, let's break down the facts and see exactly why it won. First, let's look at the nominees in the Favorite Movie Category - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Shrek 2 Spider-Man 2 The Incredibles Farenheit 9-11 In this you have two animated movies, an art-film and a comic book movie, alongside the propaganda piece that inspired so many to go out and unseat President Bush in the November election. Oh wait, it didn't work, did it? Never mind. But let's look closer at each nominee - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - A movie with an indy feel, that not a lot of people saw. This was a token nominee meant as a shout out to the art house crowd. No way would this have won. The Incredibles - An excellent movie, that made a ton of money at the box office. However, votes could have been split for this between the categories of Favorite Animated Movie and Favorite Movie, since it was a duel nominee. Shrek 2 - This was a triple nominee since it was in the animated movie category and favorite comedy category. People could have voted for this in either category, so they split their vote. If you compiled all of the votes in each category together for this movie, it would have kicked any movies butt, since it was in more categories than any of the other nominees. Much to my chagrin, it still won best animated movie. Spider-Man 2 -What? Yet another duel nominee? This was not only nominated for favorite movie, but also for favorite sequel. Notice the pattern yet? I'm not exactly sure how this lost, given it's predecessors victory in 2002. But, let's look at this option - Sam Raimi and Co. don't have daily access to their fans on the Internet. They don't have the ability to tell everyone every day up until the end of voting to get out and vote for their movie. And, let's be honest, how many of the viewers of Spider-Man 2, Shrek 2, and were in the 12 and under set? And, how many of those viewers would have cared to see or vote for Farenheit 9-11 anyway? So let's summarize for a second - two of the nominees were in double categories, one was in triple categories and the other was an indy movie that nobody saw. Farenheit 9-11 was only in one category - Favorite Movie. There was no other place to vote for it but there. The same with Favorite Dramatic Movie of the Year, The Passion of the Christ. If they were head to head, I'd pretty much guarantee a victory for Mel Gibson, since he was up against movies that weren't included in any other category. So the bottom line is, Farenheit 9-11 was a ringer - it's like putting a star track runner in the Special Olympics. Its opponents were handicapped by lower box office numbers and being split in several categories. Moore-on's win was nothing more than a handout by the liberal entertainment execs at Viacom. Here's a full list of every nominee in every category, just so you know I'm not making this up.

Book Meme

I got this thing from Four Kids and A Dog, written by recent reader, Karen. Basically, you have to copy the list from the last person in the change, and replace the authors in the list that you don't have with ones that you do have that aren't on the list. The replacements are in bold. 1. Stephen King 2. Frederick Buechner 3. Max Lucado 4. Kevin Leman 5. Jon Krakkauer 6. JRR Tolkien 7. C.S. Lewis 8. John Eldredge 9. Stormie Omartian Fun stuff. :)

Three Reasons I'm proud of my son....

1) Yesterday we were eating lunch at Perkins, and the song "Searchin'" by the Coasters comes on over the PA System. Josiah is bobbing his head up and down and munching on a french fry. Michelle and I don't even notice the song, since we're talking about something. In the midst of a head bob, Josiah says "This is on my robot movie." Perplexed for a moment, we ask him "What's on the robot movie?" He keeps bobbing his head, and says "This song is on my robot movie!" We silence ourselves, and sure enough, we hear the song and laugh. FYI, the Robot Movie is The Iron Giant, which he's watched probably a million times. It's not surprising that he would know this song, since he's watched the movie so much, but the next song was "Tequila". Josiah is bobbing his head again, and he says "This song is on the movie where the house falls down and the kids go to the fair." This one took us a while, but I finally realized he was talking about The Sandlot, where the fence falls down and the kids throw up at the fair after chewing tobacco. He's only seen that movie once or twice when we rented it like six months ago. Man that kid is good.... 2) Tonight, after Josiah took a bath, he was sitting quietly in the chair in my office, looking at a Spider-Man coloring book. Being three, he obviously can't read, but I paused for a moment in what I was doing, to hear him quietly make up the story he was "reading" about Spider-Man beating up the bad boy who ripped up the paper. I didn't look at the book, but hey, his story beats anything I've seen in the stories they put in coloring books by a long mile. Oh, and he's also fully potty trained. That's cool too, but he's got an ear for music and he can make up stories. Ain't that cool???

Oprah For Prez?

Michael Moore-on was on the Today Show on Thursday, and I just about fell out of my recliner laughing when he confirmed to Katie Couric that he thinks Tom Hanks or Oprah Winfrey should run for President soon. Give me a break. I'll go on record to say that I didn't support Ahnold's run for governor of Caulifornia, but now that he's in, it seems as though the left is grasping at straws trying to find a celebrity to shove into the spotlight to lead the nation. Sure, charisma has something to do with how one is elected, but it's not the only thing. The democrats need sound policy, not bright lights and Hollywood screenwriters. But, I'll give Mr. Moore-on credit - he did comb his hair for once.

Creative Outlet

Okay, so not very creative, but from the looks of my stats, not many people stay very long anyway, so, why put any effort in? Alright, so I will put effort in, just not tonight. Eventually....

6.17.05

Here it is, the poster for Batman Begins. It looks awesome - I love the stark contrast of the sun behind the clouds, the brooding shadow of the Dark Knight. Here's hoping the movie surpasses the embarresment that was Batman and Robin.

Year in Review - Music

Alright, so I’ve talked about movies already, so let’s get on to my other passion – Music. Let’s get one thing out of the way right now. There’s no way that I’m going to not pick a U2 album for the best album of the year. It’s just not possible – and I’m not talking just as a blind fan. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb isn’t just a good effort by a band with the longevity and the loyal fanbase that will buy anything they put out – this is an album that will be remembered and noticed for decades. So, with that in mind, I’ve decided not to pick the best album of the year in this entry, but the second best. And, let’s remember, this is a list out of the albums I bought this year, and were produced this year. It’s rare that I buy an album brand new, but there have been those occasions this year. So I haven’t heard every CD that came out this year (but if some bigwig record exec reads this and wants to hook me up with reviewers copies, I won’t turn them down….), but I’ve heard a few. And these are the ones I bought and thoroughly enjoyed. And, are at least good enough for second best of the year. Mute Math – The Reset EP I’ll be upfront and say that I absolutely hated Earthsuit. They sounded obnoxious, repetitive and just plain annoyed me. So, when the core of the group formed Mute Math in the aftermath of the band breakup, I didn’t really notice. It was completely off of my radar. But then, I read a few reviews from publications and websites I respected, and heard a clip or two. I changed my mind real quick – this is a band that really grooves, and I dig it. This is a strong EP, but my only fear is that they won’t be able to hold the groove they had on an EP on a full length album. I guess we’ll find out in the Spring of 2005. MC Lars – The Laptop EP I only bought this for the song “Signing Emo”. I heard it’s clever blend of Hardcore Punk/early ‘90s white boy rap and knew that I must own it. Little did I know the whole CD would grow on me. See, personally I can’t stand hip hop music. I just don’t get it. I won’t call it crap, since I don’t quite get it, but in general, I won’t listen to it. The loops – the repetitive loops….they get on my nerves – find a bridge, dangit!!. Anyway, it’s odd that I’d buy anything resembling hip hop, let alone spinning it in my car stereo for a week straight. That’s gotta say something, right? Robin Mark – Revival in Belfast II This is a late addition to this list, since Michelle gave this CD to me for Christmas. I’ve gone in phases when it comes to recorded Worship music. More often than not, I find it to be contrived in most places, and hardly a decent replacement for corporate worship, with real live people in the same place. But there are also brief moments when a worship CD moves me to tears, sends me to my knees and I can’t help but smile. And, this is all Celtic styled music, with flutes, violins, and guitars. You can’t not want to dance when listening to it. (and, I know that was bad English, but I’m writing this at three in the morning, so buzz off.) And music, whether it be worship or rock, is supposed to be fun. This CD is. Starflyer 59 – I am the Portuguese Blues What more can I write about Jason Martin, that I and many others haven’t already said? The dude’s a genius, and his music rocks harder than…. Hmmm…. Not sure…. But this was a formidable effort, that I really dig. So, there’s my top four “new” albums this year. Which do you like? Have you heard them all? What are your thoughts? Comment, people, comment!

First Family Picture of the Year

We got home late from the church's New Years Party, and the wind was blowing, making Michelle look radiant as she stood outside. I raced to get my camera, and then I just started fooling around. Josiah is a natural camera ham, so it wasn't too difficult setting up this shot. I'm quite proud of it, actually. Ther's more pictures, including one of my wife's radiance. But due to my lack of broadband and the lateness of the hour, they shall wait for another day. Happy New Year, everyone. Hope you meet with many blessings in '05. I'll get the rest of that year in review stuff up soon.