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Posted by: theTRu at 5:12PM EST on April 10, 2008
well, i'll be... it's Thursday... i was all set to do a Wednesday post which according to this new schedule which i'm not sticking to very well would mean that i talk about stuff that i've found and enjoyed on the web... well, not today... today is Thursday and if any one knows who snuck in last night and stole my Wednesday, i'd appreciate the opportunity to give them a beat down, film it and become famous by posting it on You Tube... scratch that, people get arrested for acually trying that... yes i think to myself... what a wonderful world... excuse me while i escape reality for a bit and tune in to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Definitive Hits...
So, i watched the Idol Gives Back thing last night... kind of... we watched what the DVR caught with much fast forwarding... i'm not much for award shows or telethons and i tend to pick and choose which performances to watch and such... i was also really looking forward to the grand finale, which i had gotten a brief press release about yesterday, a few hours before the airing... befuddled as i was, i knew that the contestants would be singing Shout to the Lord, the popular worship song, to close the show...
I couldn't for the life of me understand why they were going to sing it - it still seems like quite a random selection - but i was curious as to how it would turn out... and then my DVR did me in... the show ended for me with a video of African children getting moosquito nets to the soundtrack of Daughtry's What About Now... once again, the network had overrun it's time slot and left me hanging with no closure to the show... fortunately for me and all my TIVO and DVR buddies across the globe, it's available (for now) on YouTube and, for now, right here...
now here's where it gets a little hairy... (that's such an odd phrase)... anyway, i know that i'm supposed to be outraged by this performance as so many other "good Christians" currently are... the biggest buzz about this performance today seems to be wholly focused on the first four words of the song... well, really, just the second... the producers chose to substitute "My Jesus" with "My Shepherd" for the on-air performance... CENSORSHIP!!!!! certainly... but i'm going to be honest for a second... i've probably sung or heard that song about a thousand times and i had NO IDEA that "Jesus" was even in the lyrics... i mean, i know the lyrics, but when someone told me that they had taken "Jesus" out of the lyrics, i couldn't remember where exactly it was in the lyrics... however, it's still quite clear as to whom the song is referring...
So, my feathers weren't entirely ruffled by that, and maybe that makes me a bad person to some extent, but, just as i didn't get my dander up about Veggietales coming to NBC with the agreement to take out "God made you special and He loves you very much," i don't really see why i should get all hot and bothered by this... for those of you who did get upset or are still currently upset, DUDE, they just had a little church service on the HIGHEST RATED SHOW OF THE YEAR, reaching 17-18 MILLION viewers...
this should ease the tension a little bit as well.. i went ahead and bought the single from iTunes since i had a credit still and it's for a good cause and all... and i'm going to strongly recommend the single... it's, as they say, a HOT one... it's just under 5 minutes in length, a studio version and, yes kids, there IS a Jesus on this version... it's unedited and spectacular... possibly the best version of the song i've heard... so that's that...
I'm jumping back over to Ephesians because it's been a while and because i can... i feel like i've been ignoring it for too long and it seems like the comparisons that were so clear to me before are fading slightly because i haven't gotten through the first chapter here... so onward we go...
the first three verses here really kick you in the gut... here's the gist... you were dead... you are sinful... you were just like the rest of the world... you were following the devil... you were a son of disobedience... you lived according to the passions of your flesh... you were marked by your wrath... just like the rest of the world... (ouch)...
BUT... that's right... BUT GOD... this is one of those very powerful "But God" moments... Biut God, who is rich in mercy, who loves us with the an unbelievable amount of love... reached down to us, picked us out of the gutter... lifted us out of the grave.... and sat us down next to Him... in Heavenly places... and through Jesus he's saved us... by this thing called grace... and He has plans to show off the "immeasurable riches of His grace" through the kindness he shows us... It's this grace that's saved us... it's this grace by which our faith seems mortared to our salvation... we can't really fathom it and that should remind us that we didn't have anything to do with it... "so that no one may boast"... amen...
So this section covers five chapters that talk about some of the rules of gameplay... Play by the Rules deals pretty intensely with issues of integrity and some common misconceptions about integrity including a bit about sin avoidance and how that's not the full extent of integrity... the next chapter talks about priorities and what activities and such should fill our lives... followed by a chapter about taking risks and really laying things out on the line, including an interesting step-by-step guide of being called by God...
following that is probably my favorite chapter of the section... and not just because of the Lou Gehrig reference, but that helped... anyway, the chapter is about grattitude and how important it is to live our lives with a sense of grattitude... towards God and towards others... and the last chapter talks about finding your mission in life and it includes a quote from Fredrick Buechner:
The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet... that's a lot to think about
Next section: HAZARDS...
OUT
and with that, i'm heading out for the day... i wish i had some links to give you, but i've been slack in my writing lately... i have been working on some behind-the-scenes improvements to the site, but i know that i need to get some stuff written... soon... soon... 'til then...
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Posted by: theTRu at 10:47PM EST on March 31, 2008
Here's to hoping that your weekend went well... mine wasn't too bad... little boy got the first trophy of what i'm sure will be a long and storied atheletic career... this one was for participating in the Upward Basketball League... the ceremony was accompanied by puppets and a magissionary... yes... anyway, he's extremely proud of his trophy, that's for sure...
a few things before we dig in... first, i was stuck in traffic this morning and i read through Psalm 91... i'd like to dig into it a bit further, but not today... today, i'm just working on digesting the though of "dwelling" in God's presence...
Next, i joined up with Technorati and unless i misunderstood, i think they're supposed to make me famous, but it all starts with you adding me to your favorites... i think... also... well... i forget... so let's just get going...
The big news of the weekend is that the fields have been narrowed down to just four... Davidson, the last hope for a Cinderella story, put on a spectacular show up until the last 6 seconds of their game against Kansas... which leaves us with a Final Four consisting of all the #1 seeds... this is the first time that the selection committee has gotten all four correct... this will either make it a fantastic final three games or a very uninteresting one if you like underdogs... i'm undecided, but i'm not sure i'll even be around to watch anyway...
two more movies this week... hopefully quickly as my time is short... first up... SPIDERMAN 3... i finally got around to watching this, even though i've had it for a while... as expected, the special effects and the fight scenes were spectacular and the storyline was pretty well done as well... i enjoyed seeing the cocky Peter Parker strutting around the streets... very nice touch... the notion of forgiveness was nicely done and relayed to the audience in a powerful and entertaining way... bottom line... i give Spiderman 3 an A...
next up, i dig deep into the archives of Netflix (actually, my wife picked it)... and we come up with TEACHER'S PET starring Doris Day and Clark Gable... obviously, this is a romantic comedy, but Gable is a grizzled newspaper man and he stumbles upon a night school class teaching journalism... the story revolves around the romantic attraction between the two of them as well as a discussion about what journalism is and what it should be as well as whether or not it can be taught... it plays out very interestingly and i'm not ashamed to say that i enjoyed it... i'd give it a B+
Well, with just under three weeks left, my GMA Week is shaping up to be pretty busy... i've booked somewhere between 20 and 26 interviews over the course of 2 days (waiting to hear back on a few, still) and i've been staring at the showcase schedules for a while, trying to decide which ones will be the most appealing... one thing's for sure, Robert Randolph is scheduled to play and i'm going to do anything i can to make sure i don't miss that one... it's already what i'm looking forward too most...
Other than that and my day job, i'm working on a number of writing projects including a concert review of the Tobymac, Jeremy Camp, and Matthew West show i went to a couple weeks ago, a few, yes few issues of Left to Write, a number of album reviews, a handful of interviews, and even more... all this and my "o" key is sticking... actually, it's been working pretty well tonight... maybe i fixed it... anyway... that's all for now, kiddos... remember to favorite me so i can get really famous or something...
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Posted by: theTRu at 4:06PM EST on March 24, 2008
I'm a finger down... playing hurt... fighting through it... yeah... here's the deal... i was rationing off a chocolate bunny on Saturday... by the way, i didn't get a chocolate bunny this year - very disappointing - i'm going to have to raid the clearance aisle or something... anyway, i'm rationing off this bunny, which is a nicer way of saying that i'm lopping off the ears to help manage the resultant sugar high... and i also managed to lop off a chunk of my left index finger... since then, i've been bandaged and i feel rather gimpy... you wouldn't think that the left index finger is all that important to a right-hander, but yeah... you do notice...
Anyway... i'm trying some new things starting today... we'll see how they work... let me know what you think...
So our Easter went pretty well... i mentioned earlier that we went over the Easter story a few times with the littles and they seemed pretty taken by it... so that went well and we did the church thing... the littles and i all wore full-out suits and they totally showed me up as they were supremely handsome... Before church, though we did a treasure hunt which involved eight treasure maps that led one to another until the big payoffs which were the Easter baskets... they LOVED it, but apparently, i could've drawn the maps a little better... shows what happens when you scrawl things out at 1 in the morning...
We had hoped to bring our neighbors to church as well, but that didn't work out for a variety of reasons that i'm not completely aware of and some that i am... so, after church, we had a laid-back lunch, sent the littles to their rooms for some down time and i watched a movie which i'll talk about later... and then, when they came back down, we did the egg hunt thing and shared a splendid lamb dinner... all in all, a very nice Easter Sunday and i think we covered all the traditional bases...
So there's also this little business of the NCAA Tournament going on in the background... and i performed my duties as a guy and filled out a bracket and joined a challenge group... and on Thursday, i watched a couple games via the online video players... and caught some games on Friday and Saturday as well... and it didn't take too long into the process to remember why i never put money on these things... outside of the NFL, i'm so disconnected from the sports world these days... i enjoy occassional games from pretty much every sport, but i don't follow it nearly like i used to... so, despite a strong early showing on Thursday, my picks all died away rather quickly and i'll be lucky to finish in the top 7 of the 7-person pick 'em group i joined...
It is sad for me to see Georgetown, UCONN, Duke and George Mason get booted so early, despite my bracket, but that's life... from what i've seen of the tourney so far, it seems to me that UNC is going to run over everyone the rest of the way through and probably win in the championship game by 15 or 20 points... then again, what do i know...
So one of the first things i want to do to change things up is to get on a better schedule... so, depending on the day of the week, there will be some regular "features" to look forward to... the first that i'm unveiling is Movie Monday... since i happily subscribe to Netflix, it seems that i always have a movie to talk about, and this week, i'll talk about two...
first up is Horton Hears a Who, which we took the littles to see on Friday... yes, it's in theaters and no, it's probably not worth seeing before it's available on DVD through, say, Netflix, perhaps?... anyway... most everyone is familiar with the gist of this story, an elephant discovers a speck of dust that contains an entire civilization and he vows to keep it safe... Horton faces a number of challenges, in this case Carol Burnett's mean-spirited kangaroo... on the flipside, the mayor of Whoville has to convince a world of people that are so caught up in their own comforts that they need to take action or see their world destroyed...
There's a number of themes that can take you in a myriad of directions... on Horton's side you see the importance of imagination, loyalty, and faith as well as facing persecution and defeating "the man"... and in Whoville, you see the question of God's existence as well as the intentional disregard of the world around you... common themes betweeen the two worlds seem to be faith, character, ridicule, and being brave...
And all these themes can relate to something in everyone's life, however, the movie doesn't completely develop any of them which is somewhat annoying, though the humor and entertainment level for children is pretty great... my main problem with the movie is the name-calling... there's lot's of "idiots," "morons," and "boobs" thrown around - in fact, i think they said "boob" about 10 times in a minute... and it's not that these are terrible words, but i really don't want the littles running around calling people boobs and idiots because they heard it in a movie and don't understand that it's not nice or appropriate... Overall, i give Horton a B/B-...
The second movie, i want to talk about is called The Final Inquiry which was apparently first released in Spain, but tells of a Roman soldier commissined to investigate the rumors of about the resurrection of a man named Jesus... there's mystery, intrigue, some fight scenes, romance, Dolph Lundgren, cover-ups and a lot to like about the film...
It's actually a pretty compelling movie - even with Dolph - and it's an interesting perspective as you see the current Caesar conducting a secret investigation and you get to follow all the evidence as it comes to light... There are some conflicts of timing and such, but nothing terribly distracting from the main thrust of the film and certainly not fom the conclusion... it was particularly interesting to watch around Easter time and i enjoyed it in lieu of reading The Murder of Jesus by John MacArthur which i appear to have misplaced... Bottom line, i give The Final Inquiry a solid B+
WORD OF THE DAY
Joshua 6: 22-27
Promises Fulfilled and then...
God fulfilled His promise and delivered Jericho to the Israelites in an odd fashioin so Joshua, in turn fulfills some of his promises... He spares Rahab and her family and allows them to live with them as a reward for her faithfulness... and then they burned the entire city to the ground, keepinng all the silver, gold, bronze and iron into the treasury of The LORD - which i think, constitutes one of the earliest "Building Funds" in church history...
And then there's a curse... Joshua pronounces a curse on anyone who tries to rebuild the city of Jericho... he says that whoever does so will lose his firstborn son and his youngest son... they destory the place and hope to wipe it off of the face of the earth forever... now, i think this will lead to some interesting things... in fact, someone named Heil DID rebuild Jericho, during the reign of King Ahab and guess what? his first born son died as did his youngest son... should've seen that coming... i'm going to rethink signing that petitiion to save Jericho (the TV show)...
When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg... Prevent Regret... This is a chapter that closes out the "Setup" section of the book... it deals with the general notion that if you don't figure out what's important in life and act on it, then you're going to experience a lot of regret... the opening story is touching and sad and reminds us that relationships have a lot to do with our priorities... the chapter talks about four common regrets that people face at the end of life and reminds us that life doesn't slow down until it stops and then it's too late to change anything... we have this point in time right now to make the most of and that's it... Next section: HOW TO PLAY...
a few nice pieces up at theTRu... posted my 2oo7 Year in Re:TRu piece last week as well as a long, lost interview with Shawn McDonald... plenty more to come your way... as long as i can stay awake...
MOVING ON
hope you enjoyed this slightly new format and will check back to see the rest of the new "schedule"...
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Posted by: theTRu at 10:49PM EST on March 12, 2008
Part two of this ever-so-exciting entry begins with my commentary from the DVR replay of last night's American Idol program...
THE FINAL TWELVE
Sayesha: singing Gotta Get You Into My Life... oh that's a cute hairdo... kind of a Claire Huxtable look going on... i'm not so much big on the song... i guess this is more Earth Wind and Fire than Beatles, and she's doing fine, but i guess i just don't like the song very much myself... nice horns from the band... overall not bad... Randy says, Earth Wind and Fire, right?... pitchy, but alright... Paula says she's a good singer, and she found her zone somewhere in the middle... Simon says it was better than alright, but she looked nervous...
Chikezie (like Sunday morning): lives outside of LA, looks like a Celtics fan... that's odd... singing "She's a Woman" with his own little funk... funk apparently means fiddle... oh dear... that's something special... i didn't think he was the rocker, but he's got it going on right now... oh yeah, buddy... i like this... little bit of Prince, little bit country, little bit rock and roll... yeah... that's a hot one... Randy says, Dawg, I was thoroughly entertained... you SMASHED it... Paula said... O Brother reward paid I knew it, brother, something something something... Simon says terrific... Ryan fires everyone up...
Ramiele (ratatouille): she's singing "In My Life" and dedicating it to her close friends who are already cut from the show... she's facing the wrong way... she's FACING THE WRONG WAY... SOMEBODY TELL HER TO TURN AROUND!... okay... phew... now she's off the stairs and on the stage and she's the other side of Chikezie's magnet... the slow, boring, uninspired side... no wonder she was facing the wrong way... she's got a killer voice, but this is very slow and boring... i said that already... this is showtunesy... Randy says... pretty.... BORING... Paula says "my darling, you look wonderful tonight"... pretty? try pretty, safe... see what we hear... Simon clarifies that seeing and hearing are two different senses... and reminds us that she was very boring... MORE LIKE BORE-APHYL!...
Jason (Fidel) Castro: he seems a little slow when he talks... he's singing "If I Fell"... you know, if Ramiele fell down the stairs, it wouldn't have been so boring... Jason's got himself a little geetar... i think he's making eyes at me... i'm not a fan of that thankyouverymuch... this is kind of slow too, actually... i guess it's a little less boring because it's a better song and he's got a guitar... eh, though, it's alright... nice tone... Randy says... liked it, didn't love it... Paula says... ohmy GAWSH you're so SPECIAL and UNIQUE... can I FEEL YOUR HEART?... now he's rethinking the whole goo goo eyes thing... Simon says... you sounded like a student in a bedroom at midnight clipping toenails chewing stale twizzlers drinking flat coca cola... okay i made some of that up...
random thoughts: i like the new stage and i think i want to see that new movie, 21... Carly and Amanda screaming at each other... interesting... hmm... just realized that the results show isn't recording... better fix that...
Carly (Harley) Smithson: singing "Come Together"... oh, a Third Day song... oh, no... i'm kidding again... that's a pretty odd top there... clearly she wanted to make sure everyone saw her uniqueness in that scary looking tatoo-ed arm... points to her for mentioning Coca-Cola in a song... here's some sponsor dollars... she's got a really good voice... and this is an interesting arrangement... i liked it, but maybe it's largely because the last two were so boring... Randy says that felt amazing, right? it was stellar... Paula says she already looks like a star... Simon says she finally picked the right song... and she reminds him of Kelly Clarkson...
David Cook: i don't particularly like this guy... but here goes... he's singing "Eleanor Rigby"... and he's giving me more reason not to like him... what a genaric drunk-rocker vocal... sounds a bit like he had some dental work done earlier today and the novacaine hasn't worn off yet... he's turned it into a rock song for sure, but it's so not a rock song... yeah... not feeling that one, dawg... Randy says... check it out... you can rock out... it was rocking... you got this... Paula reminds him of his name and then goes off on some stange horse rambling... frontman, front frontman something... Simon said it was brilliant... i don't know why SImon is so in the tank for this guy...
Brooke White: man, i'm only halfway done?... this is a lot... i like Brooke, but i think she looks at least ten years older than she is... good grief, she's only 24??... she's singing "Let It Be" which was released 14 years before she was born... okay... anyway... she's at the piano and i like that... she has a great quality to her vocal... i do like this song... the camera is making me dizzy, but she's doing a fabulous job... just a straight up, no frills version which works... and i think she's crying... she IS... she IS crying... Randy says it was heartfelt and he's a fan... Paula says this is her niche and she started talking about emotional heart feeling connections again... Simon says it was one of the best of the night... brilliant choice of song...
David (yeah, THAT guy) Hernandez: pizza bistro, eh? is that what they're calling it these days?... he's singing "I Saw Her Standing There"... he's working the crowd... i don't like the outfit... no, i'm not implying that he should take it off... maybe he should just get off the stage... he doesn't have the vocal for this... seems like all the guys got together and decided to all try and rock out... this guy just fell flat in my opinion... Randy says it was too overdone... Paula says he kind of overdid it... wait, i heard that before... Simon says (Paula go to rehab, she said) no no no... corny, verging on desperate... david is fast talking and he's clearly holding back tears... or something...
Amanda: Oh, i definitely want to see Leatherheads... JIM! Yes! the office comes back next week!... oh dear... what is that look, Amanda... "You Can't Do That"... she'd never heard this song before this week... Amanda-spin = tye-dye to death... holy smokes... this is terrible... these lyrics are all incoherant... seriously, dear... take a cue from the lyrics... you CAN'T DO THAT... man... i know she's gonna be around for a while too... how annoying... Randy says the true mark of a great song is apparently that you can butcher it and it still is a great song... Paula avoids the question and says it's the most talented year ever... Simon says it wasn't as good as last year and he couldn't understand the lyrics... three more to go...
Michael (Porta) Johns: singing "Across the Universe"... you know... The Beatles aren't available on iTunes... i bet they'd have sold a lot last night if they were... the Across the Universe soundtrack is #2 on Amazon... i'm not really a big fan of this song actually... but he's doing a pretty good job with it... very safe, very subdued, but very good... Randy says it was a little sleepy... and Paula says nah, he's brave and brilliant... Simon says nah, it was boring, don't listen to the crazy love-struck chick next to me...
Kristy Lee Cook: "Eight Days a Week" in the style of country... what is with the shoulders?... um... oh dear... i don't think this is country per se... i think it's just a little bit hyper... okay, maybe a lot a bit hyper?... what has she done to this song... that run wasn't too bad, but this song is way off... way way off... boo... oh, that close wasn't good... Randy says it's a half and halfer... Paula didn't enjoy it and i think she's about to cry... she didn't get it... Simon says it was horrendous... Dolly Parton on helium... HA!...
more random comments the last performer is coming up but first, some more Amazon numbers... The White album is #23, Sgt. Pepper is # 25, 1 is #64, Abbey Road is #67, Rubber Soul #79, Love #82, Revolver #87, and Let It Be is #91 that's not too bad i guess... 9% of the top 100 sellers... also worth noting is Jeff Buckley is at 69 and Dolly Parton (minus the helium) is at 83
David Archuleta: is his mom a gypsy?... anyway... "We Can Work It Out," the Stevie Wonder version?... bad choice to cover Stevie... i'm just saying... again with the stairs?... um... what were those words? is this American Idol or Don't Forget the Lyrics?... where's Wayne Brady?... aw... poor little kid... it's not even that great of a version... his voice is breathy and he's not really hitting his notes... it's probably not the worst, but it's certainly not good... and yet, they're all cheering like mad... Randy says it was not on point... you can't do stevie better than stevie... Paula says i love you... remember the lyrics next time... Simon says that was a mess... and that's that...
Chikezie was my favorite from the night... scary, right?... for the record, i had blindly picked Remie to go with Syesha and David Hernandez rounding out the bottom three... i think i'd pick it a little different now, but it's all good...
ROCK IT.... YEAH
This weekend, they announced a new batch of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and they included Madonna, John Mellencamp (the "Cougar" has a few more years before it's eligible), Leonard Cohen, The Dave Clark Five and The Ventures... everyone has been covering Madonna and Mellencamp, but for me the big deal here is Cohen... he's good and he wrote some phenomenal songs... anyway, what on EARTH was Justin Timberlake doing there introducing Madonna?... wack, yo... let's DANCE...
WORD OF THE DAY
Joshua 6: 15-21
The Payoff
It's day seven... they get up early and start marching around Jericho seven times in one day... then a trumpet blast, which is quite symbolic and some shouting because The LORD has given them the city... and in turn they are to devote it entirely to Him... there's a warning here in verse 18 about taking things that you shouldn't take, they're defined more clearly in verse 19, but the warning is pretty severe... destruction and trouble...
and here's the payoff... the trumpets sound, the people shout, the wall falls down and they all charge in, destroying pretty much everything in sight... so, this land of promise is now in ruins... but wait.. .there's more... oh yes... there is more...
GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK
i know that i skipped some things, but time is short... and my list is long... hoping to get some more things done soon... 'til then...
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Posted by: theTRu at 4:14PM EST on March 6, 2008
So there are reviews i could be writing... there is a Left to Write i could be working on... there's a few features that i could be putting together... there's a lot that i could be doing right now... but, since i'm currently caught up in listening to Tesla's Great Radio Controversy which is one of my all time favorite rock albums... and since i've promised to write more here this week... i'm here, right now, working on that... i've got a lot to cover in between my coughing fits (what's up with that?)... so i suppose we should get to it... off we go...
GOOD LUCK, HUCK
So it is official, my boy Mike has left the building... the campaign run has ended... the GOP is flooding my inbox with requests for donations to the McCain campaign... All that's fine and well... i will support McCain over either of the Democratic nominees... but since this is the first time that i really got behind a candidate, much less followed the election progress this early in the process, it's pretty sad to see this result...
Don't get me wrong, i'm not one of those one-issue, my President must be a devout Christian who can recite the Apostle's Creed and the Lord's Prayer forwards and backwards or else our country is doomed forever... i like Mike's stance on family values, i like Mike's stand against abortion, i like that Mike isn't afraid to talk about Creation vs. Evolution even though it has nothing to do with the office of the President... i like all these things and more, but that's not entirely why i supported him and would've really liked to see him become President...
I was more impressed by his attitude of humility, his commitment to character, his persistence, his practicality and his ability to balance hope and reality... Look at the remaining candidates: Obama is running on the platform of hope... audacious hope to be exact... and that's great, but the problem is that he's so far skewed towards that sense of hope (at least the character he plays on TV is) that he and the media are completely ignoring the reality that surrounds him... this makes him naive and vulnerable... on the other side of things you have Hillary and McCain, both seasoned veterans in politics and life (i think that's a nice way to say "old" actually, but it's more than that)... they're both running on a platform of experience and realism... which is important, but somewhere along the line, they lost their sense of hope... the sense of wonder that draws people by the millions to this nation... they're so skewed in the direction of realism that they struggle to inspire others around them... if it comes down to the two of them, it'll be like a civil cold war (Hillary of course would represent communism in that analogy)... Mike exhibits both a sense of hope as well as a recognition of reality... that allows him to both inspire others as well as effectively handle the problems facing the day...
As far as policies, i agree with the idea of a fair tax... i agree with his desire to restore the US military and make certain that it is always seen as an honorable force to be reckoned with... i agree with his commitment to education and more specifically encouraging that the arts aren't pushed out of the educational experience... i love how, despite constantly getting skewered as a anti-science kook for believing in Creation, his policies on energy independence call for loads of scientific research and implementation in order to relieve the strain of rising oil prices... i mean, man, there's a lot that i agree with... reflecting on all this just makes me sadder, but even more than policies, i appreciated that Mike presents them all not as a politician, per se, but more as a fellow citizen, because truly, our president is first and foremost a citizen just like you and me...
So, rather than being depressed about this, and at the risk of being called one of those Bible-thumpers, i'm just going to drop in a bit of Scripture here, which came to mind on the day i voted in my state and has run through my head during the better part of this entire process...
"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." - Romans 13:1-2 (NIV, emphasis mine)
BARGAIN OF THE DAY
here's a TRu-light special for all you iTunes shoppers... Fresh Tunes - Winter 2008... seven songs from Sparrow Records including new songs from Shawn McDonald, Delirious and Starfield as well as current singles from Brit Nicole, Daniel Doss Band, Robbie Seay Band and Josh Wilson all for less than a buck... okay, so it's one penny less, but still, 99 cents for 7 songs isn't bad... better than a kick in the teeth...
WHAT'S (HHH) BEEF?
So, my attention was drawn to this article by Wut Metaphysical about the rift within Christian hip-hop (a.k.a. Holy Hip Hop or HHH) circles... basically, there are two "sects" of HHH - those who preach to the choir in a sense and those who reach through the fire, maybe... i might've stretched that a bit to make it rhyme, but you have groups like Cross Movement, Timothy Brindle, and a host of others with the primary intention of edifying believers through their music... the other side of this "civil war" consists of groups like Deepspace5 and LA Symphony among others that focus more on creating the best art possible with lyrics that speak more about life experiences than Biblical teaching... i think that's a decent way of putting it...
While taken at face value, it doesn't seem like this should be an issue, since we are all gifted in different ways and that's Biblical...
"For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body." - 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 (ESV)
However, it is an issue since insults and accusations have been lobbed back and forth between camps and it seems like it won't ever be resolved... this article is a good background on the subject, pointing out some of the hypocrisies from both sides and offering a nice plea for reconciliation...
i would add, however, that it's not an issue that's exclusive to hip-hop... it exists within the Christian rock community, within all of CCM, and within the whole of the collective Church... it just seems like hip-hop is easier to focus on because it's already got a bad reputation and these types of disputes or "beef" sell well in mainstream hip-hop... (mainstream hip-hop., by the way, faces this same rift, in a sense as there's quite a difference between the likes of Mos Def, Common, etc and the likes of 50 Cent, Young Jeezy and others... )
as Talib Kweli says in a recent single "Hip-hop's the new WWF, what do you rap or do you wrestle?"... i suppose HHH would add the line, "and against whom are you wrestling?"
WORD OF THE DAY
Joshua 6: 12-14
Days 2-6
As if the first day of craziness wasn't enough for the members of Joshua's army... you have to wonder what was going on in the camp during these 5 days... it's a very short little section of Scripture with a lot of room to speculate... very similar to the account of the tower of Babel in my mind... but, the pattern is established... Joshua leads his troops in submission and obedience to God's commands... still, i wonder why sone repetitive passages are drawn out in the Bible and others, like this one, are quickly brushed over... anyway...
It seems like this book is taking a long time to get through... i'm further along than i'll be writing about today, but i'm still short of halfway through... i think i'll change this section up a bit and it'll be less details in the future... hopefully it'll help me get through more books...
Chapter seven is about taking your turn... it's not so much about sharing and waiting in line, but it's about making sure that when you get the call, you're rolling the die and not phoning it in as they say... Ortberg holds up Daniel as an example of someone who took as much control of his life as was possible while remaining in submission to God...
Chapter eight reminds us that all this stuff is just stuff... it can't make us happy, we can't take it with us when we die, it's not going to pet our cat... and there's a really interesting section contrasting the richness of having and the richness of being... i liked that a lot...
DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU...
okay, so i'm moving on for today... i've got some more things to talk about including some more about politics (but not too much on that subject)... probably some more TV talk... some music talk because last week was pretty big as far as album releases go... and a bunch of things i'm working on for theTRu...
BUT BEFORE I GO...
it's almost time for Gospel Music Week down in Nashville where i head down and watch a lot of shows and conduct a lot of interviews... here's my question for you, the people who read things that i write... who do you want to me to interview? what do you want me to write about? let me know please...
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Posted by: theTRu at 11:51PM EST on February 13, 2008
i can't believe it's Wednesday or that it's so late on Wednesday... i'm going to cover a bit and cover it quickly so let's get getting...
THE ICE STORM COMETH...
well, last night it took me over two hours to get home and i passed by an accident count in the double digits... these silly people driving too fast in icy rain... what are you thinking? so many cars on the side of the road... i sincerely hope they're alright and that they remember not to do that again... this morning everything seemed pretty much resolved even though it was still below freezing outside and icicles adorned pretty much everything in sight...
OVER AND OVER AND OVER
at least that was pretty... the results from last night's voting also hung like the icicles as the pundits described the life of my boy Mike's chances dripping away... in fact... McCain's camp actually send a memo over to Huckabee's camp asking them to give it up, citing mathematical impossibilities... i heard people in the media call Huckabee "a professional irritant", "an annoyance" and many other non-flattering terms, but, as silly and unprofessional as that all is, at least they're talking about him somewhat...
IT'S ALIVE!!!!!
Bill O'Reilly, someone i can handle in small doses (usually the 3 minute Talking Points podcast), was pleading the case of Hillary Clinton the other day... yes, that Hillary... addressing the Senator's complaints that the media has turned against her and has been unfairly representing her and her family... she was also concerned that the media outlets had already handed over the Democratic nomination to Obama despite it continuing to be a tight race... sounds to me like the monster Dr. Frankenstein built in years past has come to life and turned on its master... and, might i add, how hypocritical of O'Reilly, not only to chime in on Hillary's side, but also to complain about "secular" media doing to Hillary exactly what he and Fox News have done to my boy Mike for the ENTIRE CONTEST...
CHEESEHEADS, ROLL OUT
Next up for my boy Mike is Wisconsin... i think he can take the state and gain some momentum going into the big block of contests on March 4th... as far as whether or not he should give up and leave the election, i say, in the words of General Anthony McAuliffe, "Nuts!"... later this week, i'll talk more about why i like Mike...
NUTS!
speaking of which... Jericho is back on the air and i missed the premiere yesterday... i'll watch it online or on demand later this week... pretty bummed about missing it though...
CLEMENS.... SEE?
The Rocket testified in congress today and it's really not looking too good for Clemens... i said before that i lean towards the side of believing him over McNamee, but there is this nagging notion of motive... and then Pettite reportedly said that Clemens had admitted it to him... i just don't know... i did work out a scenario where McNamee has motive though... it involves years of blackmail, a bluff, and a battle of wills... regardless, now that they've both testified to opposing accounts under oath, one of them is pretty much screwed... and Clemens never had a very good screwball...
WORD OF THE DAY
Joshua 6: 6-11
Day One
I'm not sure how the conversation entirely went, or if Joshua really explained the full battle plan to his people, but he managed to convince them all to follow him... and they set out on day one of the week-long plan of attack... i'm sure that everyone was pretty antsy and i imagine that there was a lot of whispers after they got back to camp that night as they all tried to figure out what happened... and why they didn't yell at all, why they didn't attack at all, why they were sitting back at camp again...
the next section of this chapter hits you like a cold wet sock across the face... or, like the reality it's asking you to face... the reality that you're not actually the master of the board... we're not in control of our lives and by pretending that we are, it's more than a lie, it's more than disillusionment, it's even more than sad... it's dangerous, it's destructive, it's really, really depressing... this chapter is something of a downer so far... ha!
AND IT JUST DON'T STOP
Okay, here's the links from last time... the Mr. J Interview and a walk TRu of How Great Thou Art... looking at the old calendar, i see that i have some more interviews coming up with Kevin Max, Poems, and more including some year in re:TRu stuff too... also tomorrow is Valentine's Day and they're announcing the Dove Nominees, so i might talk about that, too...
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Posted by: theTRu at 4:19PM EST on February 7, 2008
It's a whole new ball game as they say... some big news headlines today to talk about but, if you'll indulge me for a brief second... i'm excited that i was on the radio today... kind of... i sent in a letter to the Tony Kornheiser Show yesterday because they, like many othe media outlets, are completely dismissing Mike Huckabee and, actually, more than dismissing... they've pretty much marginalized him as the one person in the WORLD who can stand up on two legs, speak and yet still believes that evolution is a farce...
Despite having opposing viewpoints on a lot of things, though, i love the show and thought i'd take a second to write in and defend my boy Mike a little bit... sure enough, at the very end of today's show, my letter was read and, it went over alright i guess... they liked the joke i broke the ice with and i think i made as much of a point as can be expected from a letter on the radio... it was just cool to hear that i "made" the show... i was seriously like a little kid with ants in my pants waiting to see if i'd get quoted...
okay, on with the show...
ROMNEY'ED!!!!!!!
the huge news today is less than an hour old as i write this... Mitt Romney exited the race today while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC (not to be confused with Tupac)... clearly there's a hidden agenda here or something... taking some parting shots, Romney noted that hanging in the race would merely weaken the Republican party and delay a national campaign that will be needed to defeat the Democrats who are still knotted up in a hotly contested race for the nomination...
Funny, i thought that the strength of any party was the diversity and the freedom to evaluate and choose for themselves which candidate was best... clearly, these statements were barbs at my boy Mike, as an effort to get Huckabee to do the "honorable" thing and quit as well... after all, staying in the race makes you "a part of aiding a surrender to terror”...
I had planned to take some time today to talk about why i don't like Romney, but since that's something of a moot point now, i'll just list some bullet points that i'll revisit later if necessary...
1. Romney sounds more like a Democrat than any of the other candidates, screaming for change while launching attack ads
2. It seems to me that the Presidency is just another goal. I want a candidate looking to "marry" the job, not one who's just looking to notch his bedpost.
3. He seems entirely insincere, like a slick-talking robotic snake oil salesman... (this is further cemented in my mind by the fact that he's "suspending" his bid rather than quitting... this means he gets to keep collecting donations and holds onto his delegates which i expect him to use as poker chips further down the trail...)
anyway... the big question is, NOW WHAT? will Mitt's supporters jump over to Huckabee's camp, or will they split their loyalties between Mike and McCain or will they all go to McCain?... well, kids, i sure hope they check ou tmy boy Mike and that they start taking him a whole lot more seriously... i'm voting in five days and i'm voting for my boy Mike... you should too...
THE PAT*STERISKS
speaking of sore losers and bad role models... How about them Pats?... a week or so after filing for trademark rights to the term "19-0", the Pats are licking their 18-1 wounds... while the Giants were partying in the streets of NYC, the Pats were throwing pity parties...
First Coach Bellichick spends the last play of the Superbowl in the tunnel sulking and brooding, then the two biggest stars, Tom Brady and Randy Moss, immediately withdraw from the Pro Bowl... talk about being a bad loser...
in related thoughts, the 2007 Patriots can no longer be considered the best football team ever, because they didn't win the Superbowl and that means that technically, they weren't even the best team of the year... a lot of people think that this is unfair, but it's the same standard of measurement used for all claims of greatness... it's what keeps Dan Marino out of contention for the greatest QB ever and it's always been that way...
SUPER GREAT AWESOME REALLY COOL
and now, speaking of greatness are the greatest Superbowls of my time... as i've said before, i feel pretty confident that this year's game will rank in my top three soon, but i'm still processing it right now and i'm not sure exactly where it will land, but these games are the games it will needs to beat...
NUMBER THREE: Superbowl XXII (1988)
Redskins 42, Broncos 10... i know what you're thinking... dude, it was a blowout... how was this a great game?... well, you start with the Broncos jumping out to a quick lead... like the first play is a deep pass for a touchdown quick... then you look at the Redskins facing a 10 point deficit in the 2nd quarter and dropping 35 points on the Broncos in one quarter... that's still a record, by the way... and you add in the fact that Doug Williams (WHO?) led them at QB and Timmy Smith (WHO?) ran for over 200 yards and that, my friends is a great game...
NUMBER TWO: Superbowl XXV (1991)
Bills 19, Giants 20, Norwood Wide Left... 1991 was going to be the year for Buffalo Bills' fans... the K-Gun was in full effect and they were pretty much unstoppable on offense... unless of course they didn't have the ball... i remember laying on the floor watching this game, still halfway thinking about the winter retreat that i had just come back from with my youth group... i couldn't believe that he missed that field goal...
NUMBER ONE: Superbowl XXXIV (2000)
Titans 16, Rams 23, Kevin Dyson 1 yard short... This was the first Superbowl i was married for and i remember having my two closest college buddies over to watch it in our apartment... it snowed pretty well during the game, too... well, in Virginia... this was such a great game though and it came down to the very last play and the very last yard... amazing drama and will always be one i remember...
So there you have it... i'll admit that some games are tainted in my opinion because of outside circumstances and other games, before, say, the Bears/Patriots game are beyond my memory... i would love it if the NFL released a DVD set of all the Superbowls, but i'm guessing that will be outrageously priced and even then, i'd be watching the games out of context, so the rankings wouldn't be as true as these are... anyway... that's fun, what are your three best Superbowl games/memories...
WORD OF THE DAY
Joshua 6: 3-5
A plan?!
okay, we're all so familiar with this story that it almost makes sense to us... but think about it for a second or two... imagine if General Petraeus were to announce that the new strategy to end the war in Iraq was to pull out the troops, march around the Iraqi border, blow some tumpets and start shouting... you would think that he was absolutely insane... so you see? God's plan sounds pretty insane... knowing how to fight, understanding strategy and preparing to lead his troops into battle, Joshua had to be scratching his head after hearing this... there's a new paragraph starting with verse 6, but i like to think that it was a long, dramatic pause...
this chapter is actually about resigning as master of the board, but the first bit here is a tale of Caesar Augustus and his rise to power... and the extent to which he controlled the entire world... Ortberg mentions that the concept of "Pax Romana" which is the global peace that was born out of the supreme domination of the Roman Empire and i think that there's a lot of people who see the US as trying to fill that role... unfortunately, at least as of yet, there hasn't been and Pax de America or anything like that... and, of course, if you know any history or logic, you understand that it only lasts for so long...
ON WE GO WITH THE SHOW
i interrupted the work i was doing elsewhere at theTRu to get this post typed up, but later tonight, there will certainly be some more new items to peep over on the front page... specifically a Walk TRu and a bonus interview with Mr. J Medeiros... i say bonus, because i did it via email... okay... later folks...
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Posted by: theTRu at 5:25PM EST on February 5, 2008
so this is supposed to be my day off from the old blog, but i didn't write yesterday and i've been so inconsistant that i figured, hey, why not?... in fact, this is going to be a SUPER entry (hopefully not in length, but in quality and topically)... i actually just got finished watching the Superbowl again... i'm sure that i'll end up watching it at least once or twice more this week because that's the kind of guy i am... and it was one of the greatest Superbowls of all time (within the realm of my memory)... i haven't decided quite yet where it ranks, but i'll talk a bit about some of the others in a bit... i also plan to talk about what most people care most about when it comes to the Superbowl... the commercials...
Of course, i'd be remiss if i ignored the fact that this is SUPER TUESDAY or, as i've heard it called elsewhere SUPER DUPER TUESDAY... i don't know, that just seems a little much... if it's not SUPA DUPA FLY, it's just excess... so, i'll continue my political talk as well... as well as continuing with the Book and the other book and drudging up some peeps for theTRu...
and now, in between darts and rounds of Zuma, let's dig in...
SUPER BOWL XLII (THAT'S 42)...
What a great game... a truly GREAT game... i watched some of the pregame stuff while i was doing a little bit of work and the littles were doing a little bit of resting... we then headed over to our home fellowship group party at about 4, settled in, ate wings and played some Wii before the kickoff... this was my first time playing Wii and i managed to win once at baseball, and go 1-1 on bowling... pretty fun, but i don't see myself clamoring all over people trying to track down my own Wii anytime soon... i'm just not that kind of guy...
Then the players tromped out onto the field and Jordin Sparks, with whom i was largely unimpressed with in the past, belted out an absolutely beautiful version of the National Anthem... a version that may have been up for sale on iTunes before the game actually... (it was featured on the front page DURING the game)... and the kickoff ensued...
The Giants opened up with a spectacular TEN MINUTE DRIVE that only put three points on the board, but totally set the tone for the game... The Pats drive back calmly as the teams feel each other out and, with the help of a pass interference call in the end zone, the Pats open the 2nd quarter with a touchdown... 7-3 and it stays that way for a while as both teams zero down on their opponent...
Spectacular defense marks the bulk of the remaining minutes capped at the end of the half with a sack, fumble and turnover from Brady... 12 men on the field, a crucial decision to go for it on 4th and 13 instead of attempting a field goal and defense remains the big story through the third quarter... why did they go for it on 4th and 13? well, they have a huge ego and because three plays before that, facing 3rd and 13, they got 14 on a pretty simple little screen play... also, the field goal would've been about 49 yards, matching the longest that their kicker had made all year...
And then there was the FOURTH... amazing quarter that generated three touchdowns and all the nail-biting drama of an epic gridiron chessmatch.. all the way down to the wire and, in the end, we learned again that it is defense that wins championships, a fact that should be no surprise to the Patriots, who in 2002, marched into the Superdome with the task of shutting down "The Greatest Show on Turf"...
AND NOW A WORD FROM SOME SUPER SPONSORS
Lots of commercials from the game and many of them were quite forgettable... some of them, we all wish that we could forget, but here's my short list of favorites...
The talking shirt stain... probably because i always end up spilling something on myself and this was hilariously all too true...
The screaming animals... something of a return of the wazzzuuuup commercials of the past... pretty funny...
The spit-up stock baby... a little bit creepy, but funny and clever...
The giant pigeons... Fed-Ex continues to put together some good commercials
Chuck gets a Coke... i prefer Pepsi, but these giant parade balloons fighing over a Coke was pretty fun to watch...
CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE
okay, i'm going to have to come back to ranking the games another time... i'm running out of time and space... and i want to touch on Super Tuesday... first, i want to roll back the clocks and take a look at what i posted in the old blog back on November 13th, 2006...
05. Change Change seems to be the vehicle that all the democrats campaigned on... that and some very bitter acts of name calling and mud slinging... and this approach to campaigning clearly worked as the government has changed hands... but here's the thing about change... it's great in theory and it's a perfect platform on which to run... hey, no one is really content in life today, so why not promise change? . . . [however] the "change" that was promise is unlikely to flesh out into anything substantial... "
And what do we hear touted left and right in the campaigns and debates so far? Change!
MORE CHANGE?... when the 110th Congress took office, it was the first time in 12 years that the Democrats (a.k.a. the Change touters) controlled both branches... at that time, a poll showed that 68% of Americans were optimistic about the changes and about 50% were confident that Congress would accomplish a lot of those changes... right now, well, at the time of last week's State of the Union Address, the approval rating for the 110th Congress was 18%... that's almost half of the President's 32% rating... how's that change working out for you? i'd guess not so well...
VOTE VOTE VOTE...
21 states are up for grabs today and that's enough to make or break a campaign... i'm kind of sitting on the sidelines right now waiting and hoping that Huckabee is still on the ballot and in good shape come next week when i get to vote... but this morning, as i was praying, i had impressed upon my heart the reminder that no kings or authority is given except that which is within God's will... and part of His plan... UPDATE: Mike Huckabee has won West Virginia, Romney cries foul play (of course)...
WORD OF THE DAY
Joshua 6: 1-2
Fear, Trembling and a Reminder...
Jericho was so terrified of the Israelites that they sealed themselves off from the world altogether... verse one says that no one was allowed to come in or go out... that's pretty extreme... and apparently not the best defense mechanism... i don't want to stray too far from the main point, but this strategy seems to be the on adopted by many Christians... many of us seem so terrified of the world around us that we try our darndest to shut everything else out... but we're not given a spirit of fear...
Anyway, then God points to the status of Jericho as a reminder of His promise to deliver Jericho to Joshua... but how?...
The rest of the chapter talks about some of the things that some of our Bible Heroes had to untie and let go of in order to fulfill their calling... Moses had to shed his need for security, David had to overcome the nay-sayers (including his own brothers)... Ortberg also talks about the concept of detachment, which simply means living like there is nothing more important than our relationship with God and shedding all encumbrances that would hinder the development of that relationship and he reminds us that sometimes we have to untie these "ropes" every day...
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Posted by: theTRu at 5:14PM EST on January 31, 2008
seriously? it's Thursday? it's been some week... it's been kind of rough mustering up the energy to keep things rolling... energy, motivation, i don't know... anyway...
Here i am, working the blog while my mind is wandering around thinking of all the other things i could be, should be, or would like to be doing... in the background is last night's debate courtesy of YouDecide2008's YouTube account
