Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
no Victors... but...
Today I had 2 ears of corn burning a hole in my counter so I decided to make corn pancakes like the ones I had at the famous Victor's 1959 Cafe in south Minneapolis. I had them 3 months ago and I haven't stopped thinking about them... for real. So today I decided to give it a go at making them in my very own kitchen. I sort of guess on how to make them- cornmeal, flour, milk, oil, egg, butter and 2 ears of corn ground up. The thing I like about them is they're easy to flip- the corn meal holds them together nicely. Ever since last year in the BWCA (intro BlooGoo), I've had a phobia of flipping buttermilk pancakes... I'm just not good at it. Comparatively, corn pancakes are a cakewalk.
Overall, they're a solid B. I need more salt and more fresh corn- perhaps creamed corn will give it the zing that I'm looking for. My great failure of the month comes from my attempt at frying plantains. If you're not familiar with the plantain- they're a super hard, crazy fibrous banana with a really hard peel. Well I had no idea what to look for in a plantain at the grocery store so I bought two that were very, very green... yeah... they were not at all ripe. So after like a half an hour of slow frying them in brown sugar and way too much butter I attempted to eat the charred fruit. It was not at all appealing. I did a lot of things wrong, chief of which leaving them much too large... Ironically the Iron Chef:America episode on today was battle banana, so after I threw mine away, I watched the Iron Chef amazing fried plantains. gotta flatten them says Bobby Flay. Now he tells me!
SO, while I am not yet Cuban, within a couple of weeks methinks I'll be tan, speaking with and accent and enjoying fine cigars. The food makes the man, right?
Overall, they're a solid B. I need more salt and more fresh corn- perhaps creamed corn will give it the zing that I'm looking for. My great failure of the month comes from my attempt at frying plantains. If you're not familiar with the plantain- they're a super hard, crazy fibrous banana with a really hard peel. Well I had no idea what to look for in a plantain at the grocery store so I bought two that were very, very green... yeah... they were not at all ripe. So after like a half an hour of slow frying them in brown sugar and way too much butter I attempted to eat the charred fruit. It was not at all appealing. I did a lot of things wrong, chief of which leaving them much too large... Ironically the Iron Chef:America episode on today was battle banana, so after I threw mine away, I watched the Iron Chef amazing fried plantains. gotta flatten them says Bobby Flay. Now he tells me!
SO, while I am not yet Cuban, within a couple of weeks methinks I'll be tan, speaking with and accent and enjoying fine cigars. The food makes the man, right?
Thursday, July 29, 2010
addicted much?
THIS is a new addiction... my record so far is 423. Give me time... i shall break 1000.
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wife Wars: A New Hope
This article brought a tear to my eye and the flame of hope to my inmost being.
Dating Down: Why Less Attractive Men Make Better Mates
July 27, 2010
From: http://glo.msn.com/relationships/dating-down-1533626.story?GT1=49006
By Elise Nersesian-Solé
My friend Karen is a gorgeous, tall, auburn-haired beauty with measurements that would put Barbie to shame. And although she has her pick of hot guys to choose from, she's currently in a committed relationship with a man who's pushing 5'6", balding and could afford to park 15 pounds.
And she couldn't be happier.
Their pairing is not an anomaly. All one has to do is step out onto the street or flip through a gossip rag to see a great beauty stepping out with her beast. From couples such as J. Lo and Mark Anthony, Beth Ostrosky and Howard Stern, Salman Rushdie, and well, anyone, one thing is clear: Physically-mismatched couples are everywhere.
Sure, these guys have money and power — a trait evolutionary biologists say women place great value on — yet scientists say when not accounting for these factors, these female hotties may be onto something deeper.
A recent study published in the Journal of Family Psychology suggests that for women, dating a less attractive man may result in a happier, more emotionally satisfying relationship.
Researchers from UCLA and the University of Tennessee gathered 82 couples in their mid-twenties who had married in the past year and had been together for almost three years prior, then filmed the couples discussing a personal problem. All the while, a panel of people evaluated who was the better looking individual in each pair. After analyzing the tapes, researchers discovered that in couples where the man was more attractive than the woman, he said often things such as, “This is your problem, you deal with it” whereas the unattractive hubbies were more apt to say things like, “I'm here for you — what do you want me to do? How can I help you?'"
“It's possible that a man who is less attractive than his partner feels so grateful to be with her that he works harder to maintain the relationship, amping up the amount of emotional support and kindness he provides,” says Benjamin R. Karney, Ph.D., a professor of social psychology at UCLA. “Yet a man who is better looking than his partner knows he has lots of other options besides his mate, so he's less committed to providing the emotional support long term relationships need to thrive.”
“In fact, among couples where the husband was the looker, both partners supported each other less,” says Karney. “That implies when the husband disengages emotionally, the wife follows suit. Then no one is happy — it's a vicious cycle.”
Karney chalks up the relationship between a female goddess and a less beautiful man to The Social Exchange Theory: Simply put, people use a cost-benefit analysis when they think about entering or staying in a relationship. So a man might not rival Robert Pattinson in the looks department but if he's willing to please, emotionally engaged, and loyal, a woman will probably overlook his looks when deciding to pursue him. Likewise, if a woman possesses beauty and youth but say, doesn't earn a high income, a man will overlook that in exchange for genetically blessed offspring. Everyone brings something to the party.
And considering there's a shortage of hot guys to go around these days, say researchers at the London School of Economics, the exchange between a lovely and a not-so-lovely works out perfectly. “An evolutionary strategy programmed into our DNA dictates that attractive people have 36 percent greater odds of having a daughter than a son,” says Satoshi Kanazawa Ph.D., a professor of management at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “Due to this evolutionary process and because physical attractiveness is highly heritable, there tends to be more beautiful women in the world than there are beautiful men.” Lucky for you, guys.
Dating Down: Why Less Attractive Men Make Better Mates
July 27, 2010
From: http://glo.msn.com/relationships/dating-down-1533626.story?GT1=49006
By Elise Nersesian-Solé
My friend Karen is a gorgeous, tall, auburn-haired beauty with measurements that would put Barbie to shame. And although she has her pick of hot guys to choose from, she's currently in a committed relationship with a man who's pushing 5'6", balding and could afford to park 15 pounds.
And she couldn't be happier.
Their pairing is not an anomaly. All one has to do is step out onto the street or flip through a gossip rag to see a great beauty stepping out with her beast. From couples such as J. Lo and Mark Anthony, Beth Ostrosky and Howard Stern, Salman Rushdie, and well, anyone, one thing is clear: Physically-mismatched couples are everywhere.
Sure, these guys have money and power — a trait evolutionary biologists say women place great value on — yet scientists say when not accounting for these factors, these female hotties may be onto something deeper.
A recent study published in the Journal of Family Psychology suggests that for women, dating a less attractive man may result in a happier, more emotionally satisfying relationship.
Researchers from UCLA and the University of Tennessee gathered 82 couples in their mid-twenties who had married in the past year and had been together for almost three years prior, then filmed the couples discussing a personal problem. All the while, a panel of people evaluated who was the better looking individual in each pair. After analyzing the tapes, researchers discovered that in couples where the man was more attractive than the woman, he said often things such as, “This is your problem, you deal with it” whereas the unattractive hubbies were more apt to say things like, “I'm here for you — what do you want me to do? How can I help you?'"
“It's possible that a man who is less attractive than his partner feels so grateful to be with her that he works harder to maintain the relationship, amping up the amount of emotional support and kindness he provides,” says Benjamin R. Karney, Ph.D., a professor of social psychology at UCLA. “Yet a man who is better looking than his partner knows he has lots of other options besides his mate, so he's less committed to providing the emotional support long term relationships need to thrive.”
“In fact, among couples where the husband was the looker, both partners supported each other less,” says Karney. “That implies when the husband disengages emotionally, the wife follows suit. Then no one is happy — it's a vicious cycle.”
Karney chalks up the relationship between a female goddess and a less beautiful man to The Social Exchange Theory: Simply put, people use a cost-benefit analysis when they think about entering or staying in a relationship. So a man might not rival Robert Pattinson in the looks department but if he's willing to please, emotionally engaged, and loyal, a woman will probably overlook his looks when deciding to pursue him. Likewise, if a woman possesses beauty and youth but say, doesn't earn a high income, a man will overlook that in exchange for genetically blessed offspring. Everyone brings something to the party.
And considering there's a shortage of hot guys to go around these days, say researchers at the London School of Economics, the exchange between a lovely and a not-so-lovely works out perfectly. “An evolutionary strategy programmed into our DNA dictates that attractive people have 36 percent greater odds of having a daughter than a son,” says Satoshi Kanazawa Ph.D., a professor of management at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “Due to this evolutionary process and because physical attractiveness is highly heritable, there tends to be more beautiful women in the world than there are beautiful men.” Lucky for you, guys.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
hmm... now what?
I truly believe that last post was the best post I'll ever create. I am simply befuddled how to progress from here... I went to the used book store today and sold some books that our senior pastor was throwing away. I got $53 for them! So I got another Sedaris book, 2 Keillor books, and a novel by Steve Martin. All of which are witty, quick, and will no doubt be gripping. I'm reading them to learn and I'm really pumped. Those three men are seriously three of the best story tellers living today, it's almost an honor to be able to read them. Good things.
OH, I also got EVERY Garth Brooks album ever released... for $7.00. Lucky Me!!
ALSO, 5 bonus points to Zacko for correctly identifying 2 out of the 5 required words/phrases in the story below. 34 more points, and he'll get an ice cream! Kudos!
OH, I also got EVERY Garth Brooks album ever released... for $7.00. Lucky Me!!
ALSO, 5 bonus points to Zacko for correctly identifying 2 out of the 5 required words/phrases in the story below. 34 more points, and he'll get an ice cream! Kudos!
Monday, July 26, 2010
"The King of the Hill" or "WaltMeister3000 Takes a Yog": A Novella.
This is what you get when you have 5 words or phrases that must be in a single story. Can you guess which 5?
enjoy.
Walter ran as hard as he could. Stride after stride he grunted louder than a llama as his energy levels waned to near empty. His thighs burned like red coals in a campfire, sweat stinging as it entered his squinting eyes, his heart palpating to the verge of explosion. This was easily twice the limit of his 6 foot 4 inch 300 pound body. “This is what it is going to take!” He screamed as he took two more strides and collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. After what seemed like three hours of lying on his back trying to catch his breath, the beleaguered 30 year old turned over to see that he was only 200 yards away from his goal of reaching the highest peak in all of Iowa. Looking down the hill (the locals call it a mountain, but being Iowans they’ve never really seen a real-live mountain, so they don’t know any better) and then turning back to see how close he’d come all he could think was, “the mountains win again.” Dejected he hobbled down the 800 foot slope back toward his parked 1988 rusted out Jeep Cherokee.
If only he was Harry Potter, he thought, then he could conjure up a spell to make him run faster and with more endurance. These are the things Walter thought about: what he could do if he was a wizard, how he would have rescued Princess Leah, and whether or not Orcs are in reality stronger than the one-blow duds Peter Jackson made them out to be. He was what most people would call a nerd, but he didn’t realize it. Not that it mattered, Walter didn’t pay much attention to most people, only the handful of Magic: The Gathering players in his small town and the regular contributors on his Futurama blog mattered to him. And to them he was WaltMeister3000, a certified level 12 Eladrin Wizard.
Why then, would a man paler than Emperor Palpatine and as large as Rubeus Hagrid be running up a hill that the locals called a mountain? Easy. He needs to be in shape in case a velociraptor ever chases him. Walter was nothing, if not prepared. So on and on he trained, each day running at least three steps farther than the previous day before yielding to the pain and collapsing. It didn’t take long before the whole town found out about Walter’s quest. In fact, his neighbors were so surprised to see him outside during daylight hours that they called the police because they thought something was wrong with his mother. Moe at the corner gas station couldn’t keep enough Gatorade in stock to keep the role-playing turned fitness guru hydrated. When Walter ran, the town took notice. Before long, they were lining the dirt road that lead up the mountain that defined their town to watch Walter run. Within a couple of weeks, Walter had more fans cheering for him as he ran than he did members of his Stan Lee fan club. He didn’t really know why they were cheering, and the fans didn’t know why they were watching, but they both enjoyed the sense of purpose it gave so every day at 3pm the good townsfolk would make their way out to the base of the mountain and stand shoulder to shoulder to cheer Walter on.
Exactly 52 days from his first run, Walter had an extra bounce in his step. “Today is the day”, he said to his Teddy Rukspin as he trotted out the door ready to conquer the mountain. The town was abuzz with an inexplicable energy as Walter stretched his final glute and began his ascent. He reached the half-way point with barely a twinge in his thighs. The crowd cheered as loud as they’ve ever cheered while Walter actually picked up speed as he scurried up mount misnomer. He knew he was going to summit, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind. He was filled with a giddy excitement as he got his second and third winds and finally reached the top. He hopped up and down repeatedly as if he was trying to find the secret block on level 3 of the third Super Mario World. It seemed as if all of Iowa was chanting his name. This time his heart raced with elation. It was a feeling equal to- if not greater than- beating Final Fantasy X on expert in a mere 13 hours.
“You did it!” his sensei squealed. “Auuugggeerrrggg” his brother dressed as a Wookie moaned. “What now, Walt?” someone from the crowed asked, "what will you do now?". “I tell you what, citizens, I will tell you what I will do next. I… I... “ Walter looked into all the faces that he didn’t recognize. He wondered if any of them were World of Warcraft enemies or perhaps minions of Voldemort (of course he didn’t think that name, he had his own secret code for the one who mustn’t be spoken of). “Citizens” he cleared his throat with a poignant grace, “I really have to pee.” And with that Walt walked down the hill got into his Jeep and never ran again.
The End.
enjoy.
Walter ran as hard as he could. Stride after stride he grunted louder than a llama as his energy levels waned to near empty. His thighs burned like red coals in a campfire, sweat stinging as it entered his squinting eyes, his heart palpating to the verge of explosion. This was easily twice the limit of his 6 foot 4 inch 300 pound body. “This is what it is going to take!” He screamed as he took two more strides and collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. After what seemed like three hours of lying on his back trying to catch his breath, the beleaguered 30 year old turned over to see that he was only 200 yards away from his goal of reaching the highest peak in all of Iowa. Looking down the hill (the locals call it a mountain, but being Iowans they’ve never really seen a real-live mountain, so they don’t know any better) and then turning back to see how close he’d come all he could think was, “the mountains win again.” Dejected he hobbled down the 800 foot slope back toward his parked 1988 rusted out Jeep Cherokee.
If only he was Harry Potter, he thought, then he could conjure up a spell to make him run faster and with more endurance. These are the things Walter thought about: what he could do if he was a wizard, how he would have rescued Princess Leah, and whether or not Orcs are in reality stronger than the one-blow duds Peter Jackson made them out to be. He was what most people would call a nerd, but he didn’t realize it. Not that it mattered, Walter didn’t pay much attention to most people, only the handful of Magic: The Gathering players in his small town and the regular contributors on his Futurama blog mattered to him. And to them he was WaltMeister3000, a certified level 12 Eladrin Wizard.
Why then, would a man paler than Emperor Palpatine and as large as Rubeus Hagrid be running up a hill that the locals called a mountain? Easy. He needs to be in shape in case a velociraptor ever chases him. Walter was nothing, if not prepared. So on and on he trained, each day running at least three steps farther than the previous day before yielding to the pain and collapsing. It didn’t take long before the whole town found out about Walter’s quest. In fact, his neighbors were so surprised to see him outside during daylight hours that they called the police because they thought something was wrong with his mother. Moe at the corner gas station couldn’t keep enough Gatorade in stock to keep the role-playing turned fitness guru hydrated. When Walter ran, the town took notice. Before long, they were lining the dirt road that lead up the mountain that defined their town to watch Walter run. Within a couple of weeks, Walter had more fans cheering for him as he ran than he did members of his Stan Lee fan club. He didn’t really know why they were cheering, and the fans didn’t know why they were watching, but they both enjoyed the sense of purpose it gave so every day at 3pm the good townsfolk would make their way out to the base of the mountain and stand shoulder to shoulder to cheer Walter on.
Exactly 52 days from his first run, Walter had an extra bounce in his step. “Today is the day”, he said to his Teddy Rukspin as he trotted out the door ready to conquer the mountain. The town was abuzz with an inexplicable energy as Walter stretched his final glute and began his ascent. He reached the half-way point with barely a twinge in his thighs. The crowd cheered as loud as they’ve ever cheered while Walter actually picked up speed as he scurried up mount misnomer. He knew he was going to summit, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind. He was filled with a giddy excitement as he got his second and third winds and finally reached the top. He hopped up and down repeatedly as if he was trying to find the secret block on level 3 of the third Super Mario World. It seemed as if all of Iowa was chanting his name. This time his heart raced with elation. It was a feeling equal to- if not greater than- beating Final Fantasy X on expert in a mere 13 hours.
“You did it!” his sensei squealed. “Auuugggeerrrggg” his brother dressed as a Wookie moaned. “What now, Walt?” someone from the crowed asked, "what will you do now?". “I tell you what, citizens, I will tell you what I will do next. I… I... “ Walter looked into all the faces that he didn’t recognize. He wondered if any of them were World of Warcraft enemies or perhaps minions of Voldemort (of course he didn’t think that name, he had his own secret code for the one who mustn’t be spoken of). “Citizens” he cleared his throat with a poignant grace, “I really have to pee.” And with that Walt walked down the hill got into his Jeep and never ran again.
The End.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
oh that.
Today I've done nothing. Sleep and iCarly/Suite Live On Deck... nice little Saturday! I really wonder what I did before Facebook, though. What a great way to waste a weekend!
I feel kinda grimy, what with the lack of showering and all, but it was a great day. I did, however field some E-mails/phone calls, and summer 2011 is already booked full. sigh. 9 week day camp in Shako (crossing my fingers on that one... could be really cool), drama camp, soccer camp, VBS, youth rally, Utah excursion, and a hopeful family thing = busy. I'm not complaining, just sayin' is all.
Speaking of drama camp, our performance was on friday. I was really nervous about this year as the kids were very young and the play was quite difficult technically speaking. But, as they always do, the kids really stepped up and did a bang up job, and the directing team was AMAZING! The 4 ladies that help me out are absolute rock stars. They are such a blessing. It is always so cool to see what can happen in a week.
In previous years I would still be on cloud nine, but this year... I really felt nothing. It was over, we cleaned up (I'm so grateful for the awesome clean up help too! We were out in an hour!), and on to the next thing... I wanted to be pumped, I should have been blown away, but i am just... blagh. dunno. I need to find something professionally to work toward. As it is, my goals are largely met (by the grace of God, totally) and I'm just in a routine that is quite frankly boring. I don't know what such a new goal could be, but I'm hoping something comes up soon. Sometimes I pine for the good ole days at the OG...
In other news, I just saw a commercial for the EVO4, and it makes me lust after it even more. I'm #7 on the list!!! Next week, maybe?? Here's hoping. Ha! My new cell phone is the most exciting thing I have in the hopper... somethin' ain't right...
You know who is right? Delmon Young is right on awesome! Methinks the Twins could have a 3rd MVP on their roster by the end of the year. The kid's got game, yo!
OK bed time.
I feel kinda grimy, what with the lack of showering and all, but it was a great day. I did, however field some E-mails/phone calls, and summer 2011 is already booked full. sigh. 9 week day camp in Shako (crossing my fingers on that one... could be really cool), drama camp, soccer camp, VBS, youth rally, Utah excursion, and a hopeful family thing = busy. I'm not complaining, just sayin' is all.
Speaking of drama camp, our performance was on friday. I was really nervous about this year as the kids were very young and the play was quite difficult technically speaking. But, as they always do, the kids really stepped up and did a bang up job, and the directing team was AMAZING! The 4 ladies that help me out are absolute rock stars. They are such a blessing. It is always so cool to see what can happen in a week.
In previous years I would still be on cloud nine, but this year... I really felt nothing. It was over, we cleaned up (I'm so grateful for the awesome clean up help too! We were out in an hour!), and on to the next thing... I wanted to be pumped, I should have been blown away, but i am just... blagh. dunno. I need to find something professionally to work toward. As it is, my goals are largely met (by the grace of God, totally) and I'm just in a routine that is quite frankly boring. I don't know what such a new goal could be, but I'm hoping something comes up soon. Sometimes I pine for the good ole days at the OG...
In other news, I just saw a commercial for the EVO4, and it makes me lust after it even more. I'm #7 on the list!!! Next week, maybe?? Here's hoping. Ha! My new cell phone is the most exciting thing I have in the hopper... somethin' ain't right...
You know who is right? Delmon Young is right on awesome! Methinks the Twins could have a 3rd MVP on their roster by the end of the year. The kid's got game, yo!
OK bed time.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
In the Night
In the Night My Hope Lives On
by: Andrew Peterson
I am weary with the pain of Jacob's wrestling
In the darkness with the fear, the darkness with the fear.
But He met the morning wounded with a blessing
So in the night, my hope lives on
And when Elisha woke surrounded by the forces-
Of the enemies of God, the enemies of God
He saw the hills aflame with angels on their horses
So in the night, my hope lives on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night my hope lives on
See the slave that toils beneath the yoke unyielding
And I can hear the captive groan, hear the captive groan
For some hand to stay the whip his foe is wielding
Still in the night, my hope lives on
I see the armies of the enemy approaching
And the people driven trembling to the shore
But a doorway through the waters now is opening
So in the night my hopes on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night my hope lives on
Like the son who thought he'd gone beyond forgiveness
To ashamed to lift his head, but if he could lift his head
He would see his father running from a distance
And in the night my hope lives on
And I can see the crowd of men retreating
As He stands between the woman and their stones
And if mercy in His holy heart is beating
Then in the night my hope lives on
Well I remember how they scorned the Son of Mary
He was gentle as a lamb, gentle as a lamb
He was beaten, He was crucified and buried
And in the night my hope was gone
But the rulers of this earth could not control Him
No they did not take His life, He laid it down
And all the chains of death could never hope to hold Him
So in the night my hope lives on
And I can see the Son of Man descending
And the sword He swings is brighter than the dawn
And the gates of Hell will never stand against Him
So in the night my hope lives on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night my hope lives on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night my hope lives on
by: Andrew Peterson
I am weary with the pain of Jacob's wrestling
In the darkness with the fear, the darkness with the fear.
But He met the morning wounded with a blessing
So in the night, my hope lives on
And when Elisha woke surrounded by the forces-
Of the enemies of God, the enemies of God
He saw the hills aflame with angels on their horses
So in the night, my hope lives on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night my hope lives on
See the slave that toils beneath the yoke unyielding
And I can hear the captive groan, hear the captive groan
For some hand to stay the whip his foe is wielding
Still in the night, my hope lives on
I see the armies of the enemy approaching
And the people driven trembling to the shore
But a doorway through the waters now is opening
So in the night my hopes on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night my hope lives on
Like the son who thought he'd gone beyond forgiveness
To ashamed to lift his head, but if he could lift his head
He would see his father running from a distance
And in the night my hope lives on
And I can see the crowd of men retreating
As He stands between the woman and their stones
And if mercy in His holy heart is beating
Then in the night my hope lives on
Well I remember how they scorned the Son of Mary
He was gentle as a lamb, gentle as a lamb
He was beaten, He was crucified and buried
And in the night my hope was gone
But the rulers of this earth could not control Him
No they did not take His life, He laid it down
And all the chains of death could never hope to hold Him
So in the night my hope lives on
And I can see the Son of Man descending
And the sword He swings is brighter than the dawn
And the gates of Hell will never stand against Him
So in the night my hope lives on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night my hope lives on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night my hope lives on
Friday, July 23, 2010
phat beats!
Brilliant idea for a band name:
Weakside Strong.
can you say HIT MACHINE???
cash-money, ya'll!
Weakside Strong.
can you say HIT MACHINE???
cash-money, ya'll!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
front line communication
Directors log: 21 July, 2010
Drama Camp Day 3: progress!
The children seem to have a better idea of what it is exactly they are at camp to do: sing, dance, act. There is one young fellow, Trevor, who insists to carry his own plastic microphone. While this behavior is troubling, I will allow it for the sake of peacekeeping. The lead characters are showing tremendous promise and will be quite enjoyable to watch. Some of our costuming ideas have to be scaled back for time, but as a whole I do believe the audience will enjoy what they see. Lights are up and programing commences tomorrow morning. The staff members all seem pleased at our progress as we all move cautiously forward into two complete run-through's tomorrow morning. May God give us strength.
Update finished. Over and out.
Drama Camp Day 3: progress!
The children seem to have a better idea of what it is exactly they are at camp to do: sing, dance, act. There is one young fellow, Trevor, who insists to carry his own plastic microphone. While this behavior is troubling, I will allow it for the sake of peacekeeping. The lead characters are showing tremendous promise and will be quite enjoyable to watch. Some of our costuming ideas have to be scaled back for time, but as a whole I do believe the audience will enjoy what they see. Lights are up and programing commences tomorrow morning. The staff members all seem pleased at our progress as we all move cautiously forward into two complete run-through's tomorrow morning. May God give us strength.
Update finished. Over and out.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Inception!
One of the things that I thought would be fun to do with this here bla(h)g was to give my take on movies. I am a huge movie fan and I try to see all the blockbusters as the come out, so I thought I could offer some insight and/or opinions of popular movies and everyone would read them and I would become more popular than Gene Siskel. Well, while I do indeed see a lot of movies, I've found that 1-my opinions very often echo those of the paid critics, and 2- it's really hard to write about movies. I gotta give critics a lot of credit, their craft is difficult.
Today I saw Inception. All I can say is go see it now. Christopher Nolan is an absolutely brilliant writer and ingenious director. Leo is phenomenal and the movie is just crazy awesome. Not a single swear word and minimal blood in an action/suspense/physiological thriller- that makes it worth seeing right there. I'll have to see it 3 or 5 more times before I fully understand it, but man oh man that's what makes it good. Be sure to empty the ole bladder before you sit down, because it is 2.5 hours of pure adrenaline... Just go see it. now.
Today I saw Inception. All I can say is go see it now. Christopher Nolan is an absolutely brilliant writer and ingenious director. Leo is phenomenal and the movie is just crazy awesome. Not a single swear word and minimal blood in an action/suspense/physiological thriller- that makes it worth seeing right there. I'll have to see it 3 or 5 more times before I fully understand it, but man oh man that's what makes it good. Be sure to empty the ole bladder before you sit down, because it is 2.5 hours of pure adrenaline... Just go see it. now.
Monday, July 19, 2010
case of the mondays.
oh man i am just exhausted! I am still behind sleep from the weekend and Drama Camp is keeping me up at night. BUT good times with the old man and the brother. Too bad the Twins drank the weak sauce tonight. SO off to bed for me... but first I gotta get caught up on Entourage... priorities!
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man oh man things have happened! Good things! I had a wild time at the ole Sonshine music festival. I hadn't been there since '97, and it truly changed my life. For real. It the first time I ever hung out with non-Lutheran Christians, and it really made me look at my faith in a different light. It was good times.
This year was a little different. I went as a volunteer for a local Christian night club. We sold Rockstar Energy Drink at their booth. But since we worked, we got in for free... super! Anyway, I'm not really in the mood to recap the week, but man, it was fantastic. I got to hang backstage with some awesome musicians and made some new connections in the music world. (Among said connections is the band Everyday Sunday... GREAT guys, awesome music... check 'em out!)
Every time I spend time with people in the music industry, however, it makes me kinda bum out over my job. I've said over and over again how blessed I am to do what I do- and I know that and still believe that... but MAN it would be so great to work in the biz, at least for a while. Today I told the family that I'm closest to here at church that I feel as if my run at youth ministry might be over soon(ish) and I'm finding it hard to find joy in what I do lately. They just said, "wow." kind of nonchalantly and moved on to the next topic. I don't know what I expected, but it seemed as if they knew... that's not good- the people you serve shouldn't know you're discontented...
I think the thing that bums me out the most- and the thing that I really wasn't expecting is dealing with the replacement. As kids (and families) moved on past the years of youth ministry my main focus was making sure the ministry survived the transition- like making sure we have new high school kids to volunteer with the jr high ministry, that kind of thing... well the thing that I wasn't prepared for and the thing that is weighing heavily on my currently is the personal side of being replaced. For 5 years I've been a part of many kids lives. I've grown really close to a lot of cool kids. I'm among the first 10 people to find out Billy got his driver's license or I get the call when Frank breaks up with Betty, you know what I mean? I have a purpose... I am a big slice of kids life-pies. And it's awesome and I'm so humbled to be a slice!!! But as they grow and as they meet more people and make good, solid Christian (hopefully) relationships my piece gets smaller and smaller and my counsel, input, or awareness of the situation is no longer needed... and its tough realization, man!
I honestly never thought about that side of things... I guess I figured I'd always have a slice of the life-pie and be a top-5 phone call when the engagement happens, kid is born, and nursing home has to be chosen... ha! I realize that's silly, but I since I never thought about it I wasn't prepared, so it kind of all hit me at once as I was talking to one of our staff members- I've sang with her and a kid over the past couple of years, but the kid is in college now, so we have a new kid singing with us. I told the staff member (i should just use names to make this easier) that the kid has been replaced thinking she would be aghast, but instead she spoke wisdom into my life she said, "Well... I think she's ready to be replaced." Its true, she is and she should be, but I wasn't ready... bumskis.
Alas, it's all a variation of a theme. the whole long line of leavers thing... Realizing how temporal everything- even relationships- is makes you wonder why even start? Which makes me want to live south of the Mason Dixie... blagh.
ON THE VERY VERY VERY Bright side... TOMORROW is Drama Camp! Holy Moly! Get the Espresso shots ready, cuz it's gonna be one heck of a week!
This year was a little different. I went as a volunteer for a local Christian night club. We sold Rockstar Energy Drink at their booth. But since we worked, we got in for free... super! Anyway, I'm not really in the mood to recap the week, but man, it was fantastic. I got to hang backstage with some awesome musicians and made some new connections in the music world. (Among said connections is the band Everyday Sunday... GREAT guys, awesome music... check 'em out!)
Every time I spend time with people in the music industry, however, it makes me kinda bum out over my job. I've said over and over again how blessed I am to do what I do- and I know that and still believe that... but MAN it would be so great to work in the biz, at least for a while. Today I told the family that I'm closest to here at church that I feel as if my run at youth ministry might be over soon(ish) and I'm finding it hard to find joy in what I do lately. They just said, "wow." kind of nonchalantly and moved on to the next topic. I don't know what I expected, but it seemed as if they knew... that's not good- the people you serve shouldn't know you're discontented...
I think the thing that bums me out the most- and the thing that I really wasn't expecting is dealing with the replacement. As kids (and families) moved on past the years of youth ministry my main focus was making sure the ministry survived the transition- like making sure we have new high school kids to volunteer with the jr high ministry, that kind of thing... well the thing that I wasn't prepared for and the thing that is weighing heavily on my currently is the personal side of being replaced. For 5 years I've been a part of many kids lives. I've grown really close to a lot of cool kids. I'm among the first 10 people to find out Billy got his driver's license or I get the call when Frank breaks up with Betty, you know what I mean? I have a purpose... I am a big slice of kids life-pies. And it's awesome and I'm so humbled to be a slice!!! But as they grow and as they meet more people and make good, solid Christian (hopefully) relationships my piece gets smaller and smaller and my counsel, input, or awareness of the situation is no longer needed... and its tough realization, man!
I honestly never thought about that side of things... I guess I figured I'd always have a slice of the life-pie and be a top-5 phone call when the engagement happens, kid is born, and nursing home has to be chosen... ha! I realize that's silly, but I since I never thought about it I wasn't prepared, so it kind of all hit me at once as I was talking to one of our staff members- I've sang with her and a kid over the past couple of years, but the kid is in college now, so we have a new kid singing with us. I told the staff member (i should just use names to make this easier) that the kid has been replaced thinking she would be aghast, but instead she spoke wisdom into my life she said, "Well... I think she's ready to be replaced." Its true, she is and she should be, but I wasn't ready... bumskis.
Alas, it's all a variation of a theme. the whole long line of leavers thing... Realizing how temporal everything- even relationships- is makes you wonder why even start? Which makes me want to live south of the Mason Dixie... blagh.
ON THE VERY VERY VERY Bright side... TOMORROW is Drama Camp! Holy Moly! Get the Espresso shots ready, cuz it's gonna be one heck of a week!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Sonshine.
yesterday was pretty stinkin' nuts... got to hang with some of my favorite musicians...nutty. Today... man, today could be even nuttier... who knows?!?! awesome.
How about an awesome quote to start off the day? Max Lucado: God's grace is older than your sin and greater than your shortcomings. Thank God!
How about an awesome quote to start off the day? Max Lucado: God's grace is older than your sin and greater than your shortcomings. Thank God!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Rambis,man
"I always pulled my teammates along with my hustle and my effort. And that's
what I'm going to help try to relate to the players, that if they do that,
if they play with heart and effort and energy and play together, we have an
excellent chance to win basketball games." -Kurt Rambis
what I'm going to help try to relate to the players, that if they do that,
if they play with heart and effort and energy and play together, we have an
excellent chance to win basketball games." -Kurt Rambis
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
goliath of gath
there is a great show on NBC.com called "Kings" Its a modern telling of David and Goliath... check it out, it was only one season long, but really good. Drama Camp starts monday- and we're doing a play about David and Goliath... IT REALLY is a Dave and Golly story with the camp this year. We are WAAAAAAAAY over our heads... it is really hard to imagine how it will all come together. I'm confidant that it will-- it always does, but MAN this one is a doozy...
NOT TO MENTION i'm gone today thru Saturday rockin' out with Supertones and FF5 and the such... I wish I could stay home with all the stuff I gotta get done, but I'm already committed. Hopefully I can find reliable WiFi.
So, for your listening enjoyment- a little Supertone goodness-
NOT TO MENTION i'm gone today thru Saturday rockin' out with Supertones and FF5 and the such... I wish I could stay home with all the stuff I gotta get done, but I'm already committed. Hopefully I can find reliable WiFi.
So, for your listening enjoyment- a little Supertone goodness-
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
New Look!
HA! I was going to bla(h)g about how change is such a pain sometimes... but instead, in an act of wonderful irony, I changed the look of this here piece of the interwebs. I have 8 minutes of battery left, so I'll stick with the current design... at least for now... thoughts? I think it looks perdy darned snazzy, and it's easier to read, so that's a plus...
Good times, good times...
A little change will do ya good, I tell ya!
Good times, good times...
A little change will do ya good, I tell ya!
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