Well, it's Sunday and i've managed to complete another wonderful training / instructional manual... i'm turning into quite the technical writer while still maintaining the normal duties of my actual job title... i'm still pretty tired and all, but i'm glad to have those both behind me for now... i'm sure there's more coming and all, but right now there's something of a lull... a break in the action... a chance to catch my breath... and, since it looks like i'll be completely offline for the next three days while we frolic and play at the all-staff retreat (really sit around and listen to an endless string of presentations only to retire to a shared room assignment with none of the comforts of home), i'm imagining that my day job will be pretty slow at the beginning of the week...

So what on earth will i do with myself if i have no access to the grand old internet and no television and no privacy?... well, hopefully, i'll manage to get a number of interviews transcribed, get a number of other things written, get a little bit of reading done and, hey, maybe even sleep... i'm actually trying not to think about it too much, since it begins early tomorrow with a four-hour car ride with three coworkers...

Anyway, it's Sunday and, since i'll be out-of-pocket the next few days, i figured that i should get a few things written down to have something to show for myself in my absence... playing behind me at the moment is an episode of Mrs. Columbo which is a bonus feature of the Complete Third Season of Columbo... pretty fun... i love me some Columbo... but now let's move on...

ROCK WHAT YA GOT
to the tune of Hey Hey - Superchic[k]

So, we'll start with some music... i got the new Superchic[k] album the other day and have listened to it a few times... my boys actually enjoy it quite a bit too... they've even informed me that the song "Hey Hey" sounds very much like the modern version of "Cruella De Vil" from the 101 Dalmations DVD... could be... anyway, it's a pretty fun album and everything you'd expect from the group, but part of me thinks it could've been better...

THE BIGGER PICTURE
to the tune of Ignition (live) - TobyMac

so, i wrote this heading in the other day and had no idea what i was supposed to write about... but now i remember... TobyMac is taking a cue from U2 and hitting the big screen... apparently, tomorrow, the Alive and Transported video will be playing limited engagements in theaters... around here, there's one showing at 7:30 PM... but check your local listings if you're into that sort of thing... it's probably a cool idea... my boys enjoy the DVD a lot and it's better for their ears than a live show...

AND LOVING IT...
to the tune of Get Smart - Bob Crane & His Drums And Orchestra

i for one am really excited about the upcoming movie version of Get Smart... i think that Steve Carell is a great choice for Agent 86 and i always enjoy a good dose of The Rock... not so sure about Anne Hatheway or the lack of the 70s era, but i think it's going to be great... until it's ready though, i'm going to sit back and enjoy one of my latest silly acquisitions... the entire original series on DVD, complete with a collector's box that opens in three different directions like the command center of Control...

ONLY ONE
to the tune of Sirius - Alan Parsons Project

So, the NBA Finals are on and man, can they draw games out or what?.... i finally ended up watching game one between the Lakers and the Celtics the other night and i'm pretty tired of hearing about what a storied rivalry it is... great, i get it... i saw some of it growing up... and none of those guys are playing in this series... now, THAT might be something interesting... anyway, it looks to be a good series and i say that as someone who rarely watches the NBA anymore because it's just, i don't know, off... as i see it, it had it's hey day and that's now in the past... doesn't seem to be reviving itself anytime soon... i'll watch these games - all on a DVR delay - and i'll probably enjoy it... and i'm picking the Lakers in seven... (tonight they'll win by about 17)...

IT'S POTTY TIME...

Mute Math is working on a new album (cheers all around)... and they seem to be recording a lot of it in the bathroom... i guess we all potty break the same... (har-har)... anyway check out this preview video...

IN OTHER WORDS
to the tune of The End - Derek Webb

When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg... Well, i finally finished this book... actually i finished it maybe a week and a half ago, but i'm finally wrapping up this coverage... the final section of the book tells us how to win... it reminds us that we need to focus on collecting the right types of trophies and then, in the last chapter it tells a story about a painting... the painting is called "Check Mate" and the story tells of a chess expert perturbed by the painting's title because, "the King has one more move"... (of course, there's a typo in the chapter title as it's printed on the page headers - "the kind has one more move")...

this really stood out to me because i was playing a game of chess at work and i was informed with a great deal of pride and boasting that i was in check mate... now, i hadn't paid much attention to the game up to that point because there's been a lot of things going on at work and chess wasn't exactly the most important thing to worry about much less strategize for... but, something about the snideness of this guy's voice... "check mate, but you must've known that was coming"... all of a sudden, something within me wanted to win... i had been resolved to lose and chalk it up to distraction... but now... oh, i wanted to win... suddenly the game mattered... and fortunately, when i went to check out the board, i discovered that he was wrong... there was another move... in fact, five moves later, i had taken his rook, bishop, knight and queen... and two moves after that, he conceded to defeat... check mate... that was music to my ears...

it doesn't really relate to the book, but it made me happy... anyway, i thought the book ended rather abruptly, but it's not like the ending was a surprise or anything... it was a good book overall...

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

Simplicity by Mark Salomon...

so, i've already begun the next book and i'm not sure how much opportunity i'll have to blog about it, because methinks that i'll be done with it rather quickly... i'm about 50 pages in already and i'm totally hooked... and what, with my downtime coming up this week, i may just plow through the whole thing... also worth noting, it's available at the Relevant Book Store for FOUR DOLLARS... normally, i'd be using an affiliate link to try and poach a few pennies from anyone kind enough to buy it, but it's such a good deal and Relevant is such a good place to support that it's the link i chose...

SUMMER READIN'
to the tune of Summer Nights - John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John

I'm also using those two books as my entry into Mark Lee's Summer Reading Club... it's supposed to be really laid back and i don't have much of a clue what the rules are, but since i stumbled upon it and i have a hard time saying no... i'm IN...

AND WITH THAT...

it's time to go... but wait... there's more... a quick glance at the front page will reveal a splendid little interview with Paul Alan... thanks for peeping that...

i promised myself that i'd write again before it was time to do the whole American Idol thing and yet, here it is again... Tuesday staring me square in the face laughing at my lack of discipline... mocking me with my own voice... well... anyway... it is Tuesday but it's not time for Idol... not just yet anyway... and i've not been idle in the meanwhile... in fact, i've been so busy that i'm ready to burst...

in the past week (though it feels like one long day), i worked on building out a new site for my brother and sister in law, i transcribed a lengthy interview, i wrote two feature articles, i wrote a couple reviews, i did a walk TRu, and i sketched out some work on a few other projects i have whirling around in my head... all this on top of my day job, the duties of which have exploded over the last five days or so... this is going to be one hectic week, i'll tell you that much... so much so that i missed out on having a sabbath this past weekend and i'm a little discombobulated... anyway... my time is probably short, so let's go ahead and dig in...

MOVIE MONDAY
to the tune of Assets and Targets - John Powell (from The Bourne Ultimatum)

Well, i finally got around to watching the third installation of the Bourne trilogy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and all i have to say is woah... not like a Keanu Reaves, Matrix, "woah"... a serious, have i taken a single breath this entire movie, woah... i normally try to do some work or whatever on my laptop while the movies are playing, but not while Jason Bourne was on... i had a tough time taking my eyes off the screen the entire time and that's how an action movie should be... if i'm watching an action flick, i want to be completely taken in by it... i want the little boy in me to be acting out the fight scenes for the next few days after watching it... bottom line, The Bourne Ultimatum gets a 4.5 out of 5 from me...

RETURN OF THE TALK
to the tune of Jesus is Just Alright -dc Talk

So i've realized that i don't talk music enough here on the old blog, which is genuinely odd since this is primarily a music website... if i made any bread and butter, you could say that music is where i've made it... and since i enjoy the older stuff too, when i saw this headline... dc Talk Reunites. . . i naturally had to check it out and share it with you all... i knew we'd all be excited together... (note: yes, i realize that it is what it is)...

WHERE IS THE LOVE
to the tune of Love Is Here - Tenth Avenue North

And now for perhaps some more serious musical news... hot new band Tenth Avenue North who's debut record is set to release next week has released a video for their lead single... the video for Love Is Here seems to pay a bit of tribute to The Beatles and U2... or maybe i'm reading into it too much... anyway, the song's really good....

IN OTHER WORDS
to the tune of Violet Hill - Coldplay

When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg... Well, i've moved onto the final section of this book, which means it's time for me to talk about Hazards (the second to last section)... the first chapter in this section jumped off the pages to me... "BEWARE, THE SHADOW MISSION" discusses what i'm far too familiar with... distractions... distractions keep you from accomplishing your mission... shadow missions seem like worthy causes sometimes... like, hey, can i really beat my previous high score in that game?... but they occupy your time and prevent you from making progress on what actually matters in the long term... it's somthing that i can honestly admit to struggling with just about every day...

the rest of the section is good, too, reminding us that competition isn't necessarily a bad thing... more stuff will never make us more of an actual success... and what's really important in terms of our physical existence is how we react to, cohabitate with and most importanty love those around us... all in all, a number of good lessons in this book so far... and as i've rounded the last bend as they say (i have about 20 pages to go), it's earning my recommendation more and more with each page turned... stay tuned for the finale sometime (most likely) next week...

PEEP INSTEAD OF SLEEP

okay and there are a few things to check out over on the main page... first, a Walk TRu of WOW Hits [1]... part two of my GMA Reflections and Responses... and an album review of Meredith Andrew's debut album, The Invitation... right around the corner, you can expect some more reviews, 2 interviews (Salvador and Stephanie Smith), an iTRunes playlist and a handful of other things...

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

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...

SHOUT TO WHICH LORD?
to the tune of Shout to the Lord - The American Idol Contestants

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...

WORD OF THE DAY

Ephesians 2:1-9

Introducing Grace...

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...

IN OTHER WORDS
to the tune of I Fear There's a Hole in My Brain - PlayRadioPlay

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

How to Play...

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...

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

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...

EASTER
to the tune of Mighty to Save - Hillsong

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...

THE OTHER MARCH MADNESS
to the tune of CrushCrushCrush - Paramore

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...

MOVIE MONDAY
to the tune of Ratatouille (score) - Michael Giacchino

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)...

IN OTHER WORDS
to the tune of The Motions - Matthew West

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...

MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE -dAT CAVE
to the tune of The Batman Theme - Danny Elfman

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"...

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

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

GOOD LUCK, HUCK

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

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

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

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

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

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

BARGAIN OF THE DAY

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

WHAT'S (HHH) BEEF?

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

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

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

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

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

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Joshua 6: 12-14

Days 2-6

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

IN OTHER WORDS

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

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

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

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

DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU...

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

BUT BEFORE I GO...

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

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

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...

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?...

IN OTHER WORDS

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

Chapter 5: Untie Your Ropes (continued)...

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...

AND WITH THAT, YOU GET EGGROLL?

here's a few new things from theTRu... An interview with Foolish Things and a new Left to Write... plenty more coming...

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

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... what a great backdrop for the debate... does anyone know if you're allowed to walk through the airplane if you visit the Reagan Library? i'd suspect that's probably not the case, but that would be pretty sweet... anyway, it's about time they start cracking down on Romney's "fees" vs. "taxes" nonsense, but i'm not too happy about... well, i guess i'll just dive in with that...

DING DING DING (IN THIS CORNER)

i'm pretty unhappy that this has clearly, in the media's eyes, become a two-horse race... while Huckabee was introduced first and managed to get the face time and company of former First Lady Nancy Reagan, he quickly got pushed off to the far left of the table and ignored for most of the debate which is a HUGE step back, reminiscent of some of the earlier debates where he got maybe three questions - one about the Bible, one about evolution and maybe one about policy... it's pretty disturbing, though, perhaps the writing is on the wall...

with a lack of funds and a lack of coverage, i suppose it is entirely possible that the Huckabee run for the presidency is on its last legs... some are actually speculating that he's only staying in the race to take away some of Romney's votes, clearing the way for McCain to storm through and win the nomination... actually, i'm okay with that if it's true... i'm still hoping that Huckabee can pull it out and have a strong showing, but my second choice from the Republicans has always been McCain... McCain's strengths are in foreign policy and military, both of which are extremely important at this point in history and i don't honestly believe that any candidate will enact any significant economical policies that will be in the best interest of everyone...

Regardless, the debate zeroed into the feud between McCain and Romney with each other... Romney whining that the bees are chasing him after he smacked the crap out of the hive and McCain, calmly chuckling to himself and standing by his statements... other than that, nothing was really said that hadn't been said several times over and based on the two of them, the debate was entirely unnecessary...

Ron Paul chimed in a few times telling them to stop bickering about he said/she said arguments, plugging the importance of, surprise, improving the economy and his apparent desire to pull all the American troops everywhere in the world back to the homefront... i'm starting to think that Ron Paul would like to build a giant dome over America shutting us off from the rest of the world entirely - so long as we don't borrow money from China to build the dome, of course... Actually, a side note about Ron Paul... i saw that Ralph Nader was looking to make a run at president again and immediately thought of a Nader/Paul ticket...

And then there was Huckabee... sitting in the corner, unfairly marginalized while the apparent top two traded insignificant blows... he complained a few times about not getting any questions, but responded rather eloquently to the ones he did get... his answers even had the other candidates listening and nodding in agreement at times... McCain had expressions that said, "Why didn't I think of that?" while Romney's said, "I need to put together some more smear ads"... i think they both thought twice about Huckabee again and America should've, too...

The last question was about Ronald Reagan and it summed up the entire debate...

Cooper: Would Ronald Reagan endorse you as president and why?

Romney: Ronald Reagan? Of Course! Ronald Reagan would. Ronald Reagan agrees with me. Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan. Besides, McCain's too liberal and I have my lips firmly attached to the seat of Ronald Reagan's pants... this is the house that Ronald Reagan built! Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan...

McCain: Ronald Reagan likes me. I was Ronald Reagan's footsoldier! We defeated the Cobra Kai together! Besides, Romney is such a weak, flip-flopper that it's laughable. Ronald Reagan would never endorse that guy! He's got no spine! Ronald Reagan had a spine. I have a spine. I might actually BE Ronald Reagan by the end of this election cycle. Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan...

Paul: What did you say? Oh right. I don't know but Ronald Reagan campaigned for me in the 70s and he told me personally to mind the economy. ECONOMY!

Huckabee (for the win): It would be presumptuous to answer that. I can't say that Ronald Reagan would endorse me, but I wish that he would. Ronald Reagan was a great president, not because of his policies, but because he believed in this country and he rallied the great people of this nation to believe in America again. If we can recapture that, that's when we can recapture the Reagan spirit and only then can we bring this divided nation back together again.

Cooper: Thank you gentlemen and with three votes, Ron Paul, we believe you to be the mole, you are dismissed from the race.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR (BUT, WE DON'T HAVE ONE)

So, i've got a lot more to say about politics and the State of the Union Address that was earlier this week and more in general, but i think that's enough for today... right now, i'm stepping back and opening up and being a little vulnerable... i mentioned in a previous blog entry how one of my dreams have died this year... and it seems that i'm in that season of life again where everything that has to do with my writing "career" is falling apart...

i booked my flight and room for GMA Week this year, sent in my registration papers and, looking at the numbers, i've come to realize that it may have to be my last GMA Week... it's just getting harder and harder to justify the expenses of pursuing this when it's increasingly becoming a drain on my finances... i used to make some money doing this writing thing... i used to be something of a journalist... when i was with CMC, i was doing alright and despite the increasing demand on my time, there was enough compensation to make it pretty much worth my time... (the stress and aggravation wasn't really worth any amount of money, however)... and with HM and more recently with CCM, it was worth it, not for the pay necessarily, but for the enjoyment of it writing and the excitement of seeing my name in print and "accomplishing" something...

Now, CCM is done in print... HM is uncertain about keeping hip-hop in their coverage (which is fine, if that's the decision that needs to be made)... and even the slight inroads i made into the Salem world during the aftermath of C