Okay, so i worked from home yesterday to be with the boy as he recovered, which he has, by the way... so my online time is sparse and devoted pretty much exclusively to clocking in hours to credit to my day job and when i come back, all... everything has broken loose... or just broken... this is such a strange and somewhat saddening day for me... since there's a lot to cover today, let's go ahead and get things rolling...

GOING GOING GONE

So, you can't ever complain that i hold up the big juicy headlines in front of your nose like a carrot in front of a horse's nose... so here's the big one... CCM Magazine is being discontinued as a print publication... this i learn early today as a concerned acquaintance IMed me to see what i thought of the whole thing... at first i was incredulous, and later as i resolved myself to this truth... i went through all the stages of grief... or maybe i just got over it... i'm really torn about this though and i've got a lot of thoughts...

i suppose that in some regards, it makes me something of a prophet since i was just blogging about the death of magazines the other day... that doesn't give me much solace, however, because on some level, this marks the death of a dream for me... one of my goals as a writer was to someday score a cover story for CCM... and with the March issue already in the can and the April issue certain to be a best of celebration chock full of writers that they already like, that's the end of that... i did get to have a few album reviews posted in the pages of the magazine, though, so, i'll always have that...

The real concern here is first for the folks who earned an actual living working on the magazine... i can hardly call writing a source of income at all and with CCM going away, it's not exactly a dent in my wallet (though, i was also informed that another regular feature that i was paid for is going away as well)... even though these are going away, i still have a day job and that's where i pay the bills... there are people who were either employed directly by Salem/CCM or fortunate freelancers who contributed on a regular basis... now their income is up in the air...

the other concern that i have personally is that it's another step backwards for quality assurance within the writing community... i'm not saying that being exclusively online will directly result in a decline in quality for the magazine, but if you take a random sampling of the writing that shows up online and compare it to what's generally in print, there's quite a disparity... it's so much easier for the rules to be less stringent... and i really hope that we don't end up with articles that read like... "NEW FF5? LIK, OMG!! IDK, MY BFF JILL?"...

no, i don't actually think this will happen because i know a number of the people helping to shape this new business model and i know that they'll work really hard to make it work well...

AMERICAN MODEL

Moving on... (i could probably talk about it for a while)... but this week saw the first few episode of the new American Idol season... i really don't take much time to comment on the early rounds... it seems to be the same every year and most of the time, early impressions don't matter at all... the editing has gotten to the point where the producers don't let you form any reasonable opinions... really what i take away from these shows is the sad state of the the "American Dream"... thousands upon thousands of people line up for just a shot at being on camera and maybe getting a few minutes of fame... it's a shame that people clearly refuse to accept that they can't sing and want so desperately to be accepted... to be loved... to be famous... we are a nation of disillusioned people... which brings me to my next topic... Ron Paul... but it's late and that will have to wait...

SNOW MAN, SNOW

it finally snowed!.... it's finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas... it's the good kind of snow, too... the snow man making kind of snow... i can't wait to get out there with the boys and put together a fantastic sculpture out there...

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 4: 10-24

this is just some details about the Isrealites following God's directions... but the key verse here for me is verse 14... God exalted Joshua and all of Israel revered him like they did Moses... one more example of how God has been faithful to Joshua... the priests came up out of the water and the flood levels returned immediately... powerful... so much so that after Joshua set up the stone memorial as God had asked, he told the others that it was a reminder of how powerful God is...

AND I'M OUT

i don't have too much else to say right now... i have a few, well, a LOT of content just about ready to burst online... and i'm still working on more... it's good stuff, i promise... i'm pretty busy with my day job as well with a new project so no promises...

COMING SOON

interviews, walkTRus, Ron Paul, Football... more...

peace... love... bdg...

i spent a good deal of time on the floor today... we didn't have a couch in the family room because we had a new one scheduled for delivery today... i worked from home... yadda yadda yadda... this new couch is way more comfortable than the floor... i guess there's not much point to that story...

ROCKET... YEAH-AH...

well, i forgot to talk about Roger Clemens yesterday... i forgot a lot of things actually, but i meant to talk about Roger and, at the risk of being sports-heavy, we're starting there... Roger Clemens was named in the infamous Mitchell Report a week or so ago... He was the biggest name on the list of baseball players named as having used steroids and/or other performance enhancing drugs while competing in the Major Leagues... much like many other players, Clemens vehemently denies these allegations even though they've been brought to light by his trainer...

i grew up watching Roger Clemens dominating the pitcher's mound... i clearly remember when The Rocket and Doc (Gooden) were the best pitchers in the world... and watching all these mighty heroes of my youth get picked off one by one to this steroids hunt has been slightly disheartening... i want to believe all of them when they say that it's not true... but the reality is that many of these cases are in fact true...

having said that, i believe Roger Clemens when he denies having used steroids... i do not believe Barry Bonds, but i do believe Roger Clemens... first, Barry Bonds monstered up over one off-season and his stats really took off for a short period of time before he began regularly falling prey to nagging injuries... Clemens was pretty consistent throughout his entire career, both in body type and performance...

Second, all hitters decline with age, while pitchers who stay healthy can remain dominant late into their careers... Nolan Ryan anyone?

Finally, and perhaps most convincing for me, when you listen to Clemens argue with reporters and such, he's repeatedly said things like, "my accomplishments on the diamond are not who I am"... he's achieved many milestones during his career, but he seems to understand that they don't measure up to the worth or value of his life... they don't define him... Bonds on the other hand seems very much defined by his accomplishments... i'm just saying that someone with that perspective, who is more concerned about his reputation as a man than his trophies as a player seems more believable...

WIN OR GO HOME (PT. 3)

On to the Sunday games... and the first contenders are the Chargers and the Colts... i know what you're thinking... you're thinking this will be a close game... you're thinking that the Chargers beat the Colts this year and that they have a good chance to win this weekend... well, you're thinking some crazy thoughts, because they're TOAST... come on... the Chargers almost lost to the Titans last week... the Titans have NO offense and their defense managed to shut the Chargers down, keeping them scoreless in the first half... if you give the Colts the first half as a headstart, they'll be up by 3-4 touchdowns... Colts win big here...

WORD OF THE DAY

Eph. 1:19b-22

More Power... this power is the power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead... and raised all the way to His rightful position of authority... This authority that extends from the beginning of time throughout all of eternity... This power puts everything under His feet and appoints Him as the head of the church... here's why we need to understand this power: as the church, we're supposed to be the fullness of Christ... His resurrected body...

AND WITH THAT...

we're moving on... i left my book at work and since i worked from home today, i don't have it with me... you can check out the latest of my interviews at CCMMagazine.com... this one is with The Scribbling Idiots...

peace... love... bdg...

ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE

So, it's the holiday season and the visitors have begun trickling in... the house is full and it's a little crazy and it's difficult - even moreso - to keep things organized, including thoughts... and i normally don't do updates on Saturdays, but i've been pretty off and on this week and i've got a few moments to myself here... so, just a quick one, alright?

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 3:6-7... part of me wants to just finish up the chapter today, but i know i'm going to be pretty short on time, so i'll just focus on these two verses and mainly just the latter... Joshua tells the priests to take the ark of the covenant and lead the way and they do... we already knew they would, so that's kind of just the facts, ma'am, just the facts...

But, i love the comment here in the next two verses... God's telling Joshua that he's going to use the events of this day to exalt Joshua in the eyes of Israel, cementing him as their leader and proving before all men (and women) that God is with Joshua just like He was with Moses... this fulfills the promise that He gave Joshua back in the beginning of the book...

IN OTHER WORDS

Brief sidetrack from the usual program today because, well it's for a number of reasons, but most specifically, i finally finished reading Relentless, by Robin Parrish and i wanted to share a few thoughts about it...

this book took me a while to get into and i blame it primarily on the fact that it's HUGE... well, 443 pages and my copy is the big old hardcover... that and, to be honest, i was a bit impatient with the set up... about the midpoint of the book, though, it really took off and i was pretty hooked until the end... the scope of the plot expanded and strengthened which really added depth to the characters and the story itself... very impressive overall, i'm glad to have read it and i'm happy to call Robin at least an acquaintance...

now i'm ready for Fearless, which i imagine i'll finish by 2010...

FOOTBALL...

here's how distracted i've been... i'm just finding out now that the Steelers won on Thursday... i probably knew, but i didn't really pay attention to it... here's my picks for the rest of the games which i'll likely have a harder time watching...

Cowboys over Panthers
Bengals over Browns
Colts over Texans
Bills over Giants
Lions over Cheifs
Jags over Raiders
Saints over Eagles
Packers over Bears
Cards over Falcons
Bucs over 49errs
Titans over Jets
Dolphins over Patriots
Seahawks over Ravens
Redskins over Vikings
Chargers over Broncos

BEFORE I GO

i just finished up some interviews... probably the last of the year and i'll be turning them in shortly after i finish this up... after that, i don't think i'll have much time for anything until after Christmas... i have just noticed that my interview with The Washington Projects found its way onto CCM's frontpage... and, oh hey, i'm a featured blogger... looks like i'll have to try a little harder to post before Christmas...

COMING SOON

i'll talk about the next great American band.... i'll talk about The Clash of the Choirs... i'll definitely talk about football... i might talk a little about politics... i'll talk about Christmas music... and i'll post more interviews, reviews and features at everyone's favorite website called theTRu...

peace... love... bdg..

PAINT THE TOWN RED

well, with the office getting painted and everything in something of a state of disarray, my life is less organized and i'm somewhat displaced from my senses... maybe it's thepaint fumes, maybe it's the heat, maybe i'm just actually finally showing how much i really am clueless... i don't know...

anyway, this morning was a special morning for little boy and me... Donuts with Dad at his school... the idea is that dad comes to school early and you both get to have a donut and coffee/juice together... then, to pay for it, you donate a book or two to the school library... seemed like it might be a good bonding time and it was, but in an entirely different way than i'm sure was expected... we got there and it was MOBBED... and by the time we poked into the cafeteria, there were no more donuts or juice or coffee... so, we had an adventure, little boy and i... we ran back out to the car, which was parked about a block away, raced out to Target, ran in, picked up a donut each, paid, ran back out to the car and raced back to school... that's some bonding right there... it all worked out in the end...

okay, now i'm moving on... by the way, the painting thing is supposed to be my excuse for not blogging yesterday...

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 3... okay, well, before i actually get into chapter 3, i want to mention the last verse of chapter 2... the spies have returned and they're reporting to Joshua about Jericho... and they are filled with confidence because of how Rahab and the soldiers have reacted... the NIV uses the phrase... "they are melting in fear because of us" and the KJV describes the residents as "fainting" because of the Israelites... i suppose that would instill some confidence in me if my enemies were fainting or melting because of me...

Okay, moving on into chapter 3... this is one of my favorite passages... i really enjoy this part of the journey... they get up early in the morning... and they roll out from Shittim and head to the banks of the Jordan River... and they're camping there for three days... i'd guess that a lot of them are thinking, how on earth are we going to get across this river?... but after three days, they're told... follow the ark of the covenant... but don't get too close... see, there's still this mystery and power surrounding the ark... it was the visible representation of God's presence with the Israelites and it was sacred and holy... people died if they touched it, no one was allowed to see it directly and clearly it was revered...

tomorrow, we'll tackle verse 5...

IN OTHER WORDS

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

So, grandma taught him how to play the game... and as Ortberg starts off into the thrust of the book, the next chapter is called "The Object"... by the way, the table of contents is set up like the instruction manual of a board game... at least my copy is... and the actual introduction, which i kind of glossed over is somewhat haunting, talking about how important our "gameplay" is because it is our soul that's at stake...

now starting out with "The Object," we have the story of a "successful" businessman who expands his company's reach and wealth immensely due to his self-sacrifice and efforts... buying into the lies of this materialistic world, he was convinced that he was doing this all for the benefit of the family that he was ignoring and neglecting... then one night, while working late at home alone, he had a massive heart attack and died... God calls him a fool and we are reminded that it's a retelling of a parable... but it hits home harder, because not too many of us are building barns and harvesting grain...

THREE CHEERS [AGAIN]...

...for The Myriad... they've officially won Dew Circuit Breakout 07... i think that means that they are the grandest band in all the land... either way it will be some great exposure for them... and when i say exposure, i mean it in a different sense than that of one of the top 6 finalists who walk around in their underwear...

Also, i'll congratulate Chris Daughtry of Daughtry as well as the rest of those involved with his debut album... the fourth place finish on American Idol didn't prevent him from releasing the top-selling album of 2007... selling something like 3.2 million copies, the self-titled album beat out Fergie's trampy but catchy pop gem and Akon, the on-stage sexual predator... funny that a somewhat wholesome album is the best in the land... sex may still sell, but so does good music...

WINTER IS SETTING IN

Speaking of good music... i've been fortunate enough to listen to Jon Foreman's first two solo EPs, Fall and Winter... and they're both really good... i'm sure that the more that i listen to them, the more i'll realize the layers behind their meaning... right now, i'm just enjoying the soft and subtle sounds and the fact that i've gotten it early... for a sneak peak at the albums, you can hop on over to Jon's MySpace

FUMBLE!!!

not that i was bragging before, but man, did i get CRUSHED with my football picks this week... upset after upset and before i knew what happened, i had picked only 8 right while getting 8 wrong... the good news though is that i won in both of my fantasy leagues and this weekend finds me in one superbowl and on the verge of another... three more wins and i'll have won both leagues... i'm actually pretty shocked about it myself as i've just mildly been paying attention to the teams...

BEFORE I GO

CCM posted my interview with Lyrycyst... you may not know who Lyrycyst is, and that may be quite alright, but it was a pretty good conversation...

COMING SOON

i'll talk about heroes.... i might talk a little about politics... i'll talk about Christmas music... i've got a Left to Write that i'll post... and i'll post more interviews, reviews and features at everyone's favorite website called theTRu...

peace... love... bdg..

LET IT SNOW, BABY

today, we woke up to watch the sky stretch and yawn and slowly start trickling snow down onto the land around our house and neighborhood... Yes, it's the first official snowing in the beautiful Northern Virginia/DC Metro area... and yes, the trees that were brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow now seem to have given up the ghost along with the majority of their leaves... their now-bare arms reaching out in the posture of permanent praise have a crisp lining of white that catches the little sunlight that dares breaks through the clouds and cast its approval on this necessary state of renewal...

perhaps i'm waxing a little too poetic, but i love the winter... i love cold weather... i love snow... and i love the crazy stares and looks i get when i walk down the slippery sidewalks with a big old smile on my face rejoicing in the glory revealed by the changing of the seasons... today, i actually got a bonus blessing as my little boy explained that it was snowing because his teacher wore her pants inside out, "mommy flushed an ice cube down the potty" and mostly because he had done the snow dance... i'm pretty sure that the first two events didn't really happen, but i was fortunate enough to bear witness to the snow dance... that was priceless...

WORD OF THE DAY

i'm going to take this space and use it as i work through various books and such, but also as i read through and digest (and turn into a digest) the Bible... for starters, i've decided to revisit my study from a few months ago, because it was only towards the very end that i realized some things that i'm sure will change the way i look at the beginning... so, i'll be looking at the books of Joshua and Ephesians and talking about some things that strike me as i read through them... with no further delay, here are some thoughts on Joshua, chapter 1...

Chapter 1 sets the context and reminds those who are just tuning in of what happened in the previoius books... kind of like the introduction of a TV series... Previously on such and such... well, at least the first verse is that way... Previously in the desert... Moses is dead, Joshua is taking over... skip the commercials and we're back... the thing that strikes me the most about this, well, there are two things, really... first is the repetitious use of the command to be strong and courageous... Either Joshua needed a great deal of convincing or God was preparing him for something that he'd have a lot of trouble dealing with... or both... anyway, God says it three times and the Israelites repeat it a fourth time as they officially accept Joshua as their leader...

The second thing that stands out to me, is the emphasis on implimenting the Word of God as a framework for how to live your life... meditate on it, don't stray to the left or the right from it, do all that is commanded within it... that's some serious attention to detail... but the rewards are there too... a prosperous and successful life...

IN OTHER WORDS

i wanted to start talking about the new book from John Ortberg, but i seem to have misplaced my copy... oh, i bet it's in that bag... anyway... in lieu of that book, i'll go ahead and read through this one... an 80-page "Little Book of Why" called, Why a Shepherd?... it should be a quick read and the question itself is interesting enough... alright, the premise is that the author participated in a summer-long internship of sorts to learn how to become a shepherd... (this was back in 1959 apparently)... Like many life experiences, it seems like it will be a fun challenge, but then we end up learning a lot of lessons that we never imagined...

The first chapter (and these chapters are like 4 small pages, so keep that in mind) quotes John 10:11-16 and asks the question "Why is it important that Jesus compared Himself to a shepherd?"... it also ends with "the secrets are waiting to be revealed..." which i think is a bit cheesy, but whatever... Chapter 2 still seems to be laying down introductory material as it describes the anticipation of waiting for shepherd's camp, the dropping off of the children and the memorization of the 23rd Psalm which i'm sure will come into play later on in the book.. Chapter 3, Why Stand Watch describes the first three days of shepherding... without any sheep... it was interesting to read about the preparation involved before the sheep are allowed to graze on the meadows... they called it preparing a table for the sheep, which brings to mind how God prepares a table before us and the wedding banquet and "I go to prepare a place for you. . ."

and with that, we're 17 pages in... as i said, this will likely be a very quick read and hopefully by then, i'll have found the other book...

BEFORE I GO

Another interview has popped up online... this time with Sevenglory... it's available to read at CCMmagazine.com or directly at http://www.ccmmagazine.com/printerfriendly/11561031/... i have more in the works including some album reviews, some talk about Christmas music, some interviews, and more...

peace... love... bdg...

Long time, no blog...

THEN

first off, here's what i've been up to...

for theTRu:

Elsewhere
- Mitch McVicker Interview (ChristianMusicPlanet.com)
- Grey Holiday Interview (ChristianMusicPlanet.com)
- Ohmega Watts Interview (CCMmagazine.com)

NOW

i'm currently working on a lot of other fun stuff... especially since it's the end of the year almost... there will be plenty of good things to write about...

right this moment, i'm playing scrabulous on facebook...

NEXT

expect another interview, playlist, Left to Write, and so much more at theTRu...
i'm going to be blogging more regularly...
i'm working on my biggest writing project to date...

please stay tuned and tell your friends...

peace... love... bdg...

i'm not sure how to enter the contest officially and i'm not even sure what the prizes are to be honest, but i enjoy toying around with graphic design now and again, so i figured i might as well procrastinate a bit and put together a cover of my own...

(click for a larger view)

what do you think?

peace... love... bdg...