"ridicurous"

Saves the Day (am I old?)

2011-11-12T15:18:00.001-05:00

Jo and I went to see one of my favorite bands, Saves the Day, last night. They played right her in Chapel Hill (Carrboro actually, but the Cat's Cradle is just barely in Carrboro). Throughout the evening, I had several thoughts that make be realize that I must be getting older:

Its too late - Its Friday night, I just worked all week. Its already dark outside and its cold. I would love to fall asleep here on the floor. If it wasn't one my favorite bands and if the show was more than just a few minutes away, I might stay home.
Its too loud - Wow, it's loud. Is it just me, or is it loud? I think it would sound better if it weren't so stinking loud. I mean, the vocals would be much better if it weren't so loud. Who's running sound here? Is it loud?
Its too crazy - I hope the mosh pit stays where it is. I don't want to get kicked in the head. I'm not 18 anymore. 18 year olds think its cool to get kicked in the head at a show, because they can brag to their buddies. If I get kicked in the head, I might have to go the ER.

The show was killer. And it was good to get out and see some live music, something I don't do nearly as much as I want to. I don't really think I'm old, but I'm definitely not young as I used to be, and never will be. Before I know it I'll be hitting to the 4:30 Shoney's buffet and going to bed after Jeopardy.

donkeys

2011-11-05T13:50:00.003-04:00

Here's my latest conversation with Adelle:

Adelle: Is it okay to kick a donkey?
Me: I don't know; I've never thought about it.
Adelle: Do some people kick donkeys?
Me: I don't know, maybe somebody has.
Adelle: Why?
Me: I don't know. Like I said, I've never thought about that before.

Note: I'm not sure exactly why she asked this, but we had a conversation yesterday about the fact that donkeys have been know to kick people. I guess she's been thinking about that. Like I've said before, I don't make these things up.

unfulfilled and fulfilled at the same time

2011-11-03T10:06:00.000-04:00

I have a job I do not like. It is not fulfilling and also frustrating. But I get paid to do it. I often think, 'wouldn't it be nice to get paid to do the things that I love to do?' But that may never happen. In reality however, I'm already doing the things I love and already giving my life to some pretty important things. And no one's paying me to do them. I don't get paid to be a father or a husband or to serve Greenleaf VIneyard or to make music with fellow Greenleafers or to care about people. But those are the things I love and enjoy. I may never get paid to do what I love, but that's fine; some things can never be measured on a monetary scale.

the end of the world

2011-10-24T21:25:00.001-04:00

I had this conversation about the end of the world yesterday with Adelle my five year old:

Adelle: How is the world going to end?
Me: Its going to explode or something like that. Basically its going to stop working. But Jesus will make it all new again. And it will last forever and no one will ever die again.
Adelle: But what if somebody swords you in the throat? Would that kill you?
Me: I never thought of that.

Notes: She didn't know how to say 'stab you in the throat with a sword', so she coined the phrase 'sword you in the throat.' Honest to goodness. That is what she said. I can't make up stuff this funny. I love my kids!!

2 new blogs

2011-10-14T19:38:00.004-04:00

My friend Ryan put some ideas in my head about blogging. So I started 2 new ones:
the deserts that our lives have become
Tasty Poblanos

I have several reasons for these new blogs:
To get things out of my head
To give myself a consistent creative outlet
To become a better write by writing consistently
And honestly, I want to see if blogging can be profitable

The first blog has things I've written, books reviews, etc. The second has movie reviews and things related to movies. Please visit them, bookmark them, add them to your feed, whatever. One thing I can't tell you is to click on the ads. If you did that, I would make money. Thanks!

dinosaurs

2011-10-06T22:19:00.003-04:00

Evie's fascinated with dinosaurs. Here's a conversation we had when I was putting her to bed one night:

Evie: What happened to the dinosaurs?
Me: They all died.
Evie: Why?
Me: I don't know, they just died.
Evie: Where are they now?
Me: Well, their bones are buried in the ground.
Evie: How did they get there?
Me: They just got there. You see, the dinosaurs all died and over time the dirt covered their bones. So that's how they got in the ground.
Evie: But who put them there?
Me: No one put them there. They're just there.
Evie: Did people put them there?
Me: No, no one put them there.
Evie: But how did they get in the ground?
Me: Good night Evie.

funny things Evie has said

2011-08-16T21:16:00.000-04:00

Evie is 3 which means she says some hysterical stuff. Here's a sampling of things she's said recently:

the weather
Evie (looking out the window one morning): Daddy its soggy outside.
Me: 'Soggy'? Oh I think you mean 'foggy'.
Evie, Yeah, foggy

plants
Evie: Daddy, plants really love oil.
Me: Oil? What?
Evie: Yeah, they love oil.
Me: Do you mean 'soil', like dirt?
Evie: Yeah soil.

the BK drive thru (as we moved away from the place where you order and drove up to pay)
Evie: Daddy, why was that computer talking?
Me: What?
Evie: The computer was talking.
Me: Oh sweetie that wasn't a computer, it was a person talking to us. We told him what we wanted and he talked to us.
(she honestly though I was talking to a computer. Shows how infrequently we go to the drive thru).

My life would be much less fun without my children

Watch these movies

2011-08-15T22:35:00.000-04:00

If you haven't seen these movies already, I recommend you watch them:
13 Assassins
Source Code
Micmacs
Sucker Punch
True Grit
The Fighter
Winter's Bone
Four Lions

Eddie Vedder and a ukelele

2011-07-09T11:01:00.000-04:00

Song lyrics of the day

2011-05-23T22:24:00.000-04:00

Eddie Vedder is a genius. Here are his lyrics to Pearl Jam's song Wish List:
I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off
I wish I was a sacrifice but somehow still lived on
I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on
The Christmas tree, I wish I was the star that went on top
I wish I was the evidence, I wish I was the grounds
For 50 million hands upraised and open toward the sky

I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me
I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
I wish I was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood

I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun
I wish I was the souvenir you kept your house key on
I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on
I wish I was the verb 'to trust' and never let you down

I wish I was a radio song, the one that you turned up
I wish...
I wish...

Farfan Scores 1st Pro Goal

2011-05-22T14:23:00.002-04:00

Micheal Farfan, a former Tarheel soccer standout, scored his first professional goal with the Philadelphia Union last night. This is doubly exciting because I am a Tarheel and Union fan:

Quote of the day: Real faith

2011-04-08T20:11:00.000-04:00

I love A.W. Tozer for many reasons, one of which is that he is very quotable. I read this one last night in Root of the Righteous:

"Real faith only knows one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse." - A.W. Tozer

Sometime (live) by King's X

2011-04-02T10:55:00.001-04:00

Songs get in stuck my head, on repeat and I can't get them out. The only way to get them out is to hear them. This is what has been repeating in my brain for the past few days.

Sometime, I want to give
Sometime, I want to take
Sometime, I want to run
Sometime, I want to stay.
Sometime, sometime, sometime, sometime.

Sometime, I want to love
Sometime, I want to hate
Sometime, I want to build
Sometime, I want to break
Sometime, sometime, sometime, sometime.

Sometime, I want to live
Sometime, I want to die
Sometime, I want to believe
Sometime, I want to get high and fly

accretion and life

2011-04-01T22:45:00.000-04:00

I've has the word 'accretion' stuck in my mind for a few days. Here's how Miriam-Webster defines it:

1: the process of growth or enlargement by a gradual buildup: as

a : increase by external addition or accumulation (as by adhesion of external parts or particles)

b : the increase of land by the action of natural forces

2: a product of accretion; especially : an extraneous addition <accretions of grime>

I love the word because it describes life so well. Life is a process of buildup and accumulation, both intentional and unintentional. I don't mean accumulation in a material sense as in possessions or wealth but rather in the sense that our lives are a buildup of experiences, ideas, interactions with people, etc. The things that we 'accrete' make us who we are.

As we grow older and wiser we (hopefully) recognize the things that have shaped us - some beneficial, some not. Some accretions need to be scraped off and shaken off; some accretions need to be protected and nurtured.

Accretion - a great word.

death metal in the Psalms

2011-03-12T19:21:00.000-05:00

I read Psalm 58 today and was struck by these verses. They sound like great lyrics for a death metal song. Here are verses 4-8:
⁴ Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
   like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
⁵ that will not heed the tune of the charmer,
   however skillful the enchanter may be.
⁶ Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
   LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions!
⁷ Let them vanish like water that flows away;
   when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.
⁸ May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,
   like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.

Can't you just hear the crunching chugga-chugga riffs now? Somebody call Zao or As I Lay Dying and let them know.

Ozomalti - Dos cosas ciertas (live!!!)

2011-03-12T10:24:00.002-05:00

If I could be in any band...

Metallica live

2011-02-28T18:48:00.000-05:00

Master of Puppets (live)

...And Justice For All (live)
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coin laundry loser (live)

2011-02-06T15:54:00.002-05:00

guitars and video games (live)

2011-02-03T10:36:00.000-05:00

Summerland (live)

2011-02-01T19:43:00.000-05:00

Recommended viewing

2010-11-21T15:38:00.000-05:00

Here are some things I've been watching/ have watched recently. They are all Sci-fi type things. I am a big sci-fi & fantasy fan. Not quite big enough to dress up like my favorite characters and go to conventions, but I love the sci-fi and fantasy genres. One of the main reasons is their capacity for story telling. They allow the storyteller to set aside realty (even more so than normal authors do) and lend to a broader capacity for invention. Some of the best things I've ever read (like Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro) and seen (like Primer) are not great just because they are sci-fi or fantasy, but because the stories are amazing. And the sci-fi and fantasy elements are merely the backdrop for the storytelling. Having finished my long winded introduction, here are some recommendations for your viewing pleasure.

Moon

How I missed this when it came out is beyond me. Moon is the type story that I described above - it has elements of sci-fi which are merely a backdrop for telling a powerfully good story. Set on the moon's surface, starring Sam Rockwell and directed by Duncan Jones (David Bowie's son), Moon is a fantastic film. I would put it on a par with intelligent sci-fi films like 2001, Alien and Sunshine. With a 90% Rotten Tomatoes rating, this is one of my recommended must see movies.

Battlestar Galactica
I tried to watch this a couple of times while it was on the air but could never get into it. BG has lots of characters and lots of plot lines so I could never get into it. But this past week, it came up on Netflix instant so I immediately began watching it. I watched the first season this past week and am most definitely hooked on it.

The Walking Dead
I'm not sure which genre zombies fit into, sci-fi, fantasy or if they are their very own genre, but who cares. The Walking Dead tells the story of a local lawman waking up from a coma and finding the world overrun by zombies. Sounds cliche, but this original show from AMC is very watchable. The 4th episode airs tonight. Watch the first episode here.

The End of an Era

2010-11-01T19:50:00.001-04:00

Today I reached the end of an era. As of today, I'm no longer searching for a job. Nor am I searching for a better job. After over two years of looking for a quality job here in Chapel Hill, I finally got one. Thanks to the Eternal Father, thanks to Dottie, thanks to everyone who has prayed for me once or often.

Since the fall of 2008, I have invested hours of my time, driven lots of miles, been emotionally distressed, discouraged, beaten down, and depressed. And now, I can leave those things behind. I no longer have to search for jobs. I no longer have to apply for jobs. I no longer have to wait for phone calls or emails from potential employers.

Today I got a call with an official job offer for a job which a friend (Dottie) passed on to me. And When asked if I needed time to think about it, I said, 'No, I want this job.' I will start a new career in two weeks. Praise God for His faithfulness.

Surviving a Zombie Attack (Happy Halloween!!)

2010-10-30T12:45:00.006-04:00

I've read several zombie books (Feed, World War Z) recently and am a lover of zombie films (Almost all George's Romero's zombie flicks, Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later). So in honor of Halloween, here is some advice for when the zombie apocalypse finally hits:

Zombie Survival Tips

Be prepared.
Know the route to the nearest superstore, school or shopping mall.
Learn how to use a firearm.
Find a place to hide.
Connect with other survivors.
Take out anyone who has been bitten before they turn.
Defend yourself to the best of your ability.
Always aim for the head
Stay away from the windows

Click on these links on through to ehow.com and blurtit.com to learn more about preparations for the immanent Zombie Apocalypse. Happy Halloween!

Recommended film viewing - bad poetic version

2010-10-14T21:39:00.008-04:00

Mother
Junior has issues
Mom has issues
Korea has good movies

Inception
Leo and Ellen
Kid from 3rd Rock
Mind bending

Centurion
Mix Braveheart
With Kill Bill
Add 300 and simmer

Timer
Low-fi Sci-fi
Countdown to love
Worth every second

Thirst
Vampire priest
Love and blood
Perfect pair

11 Minutes Ago
Low budget time travel
Low on money
Big on heart

Artsitic Double Standards?

2010-10-10T19:33:00.001-04:00

I watched a documentary last night on Danielson, one of the most unique musicians/ groups ever. It made me think again about double standards in the artistic community.

In the film, Daniel was being interviewed and said something like this:
'I don't like it when critics say things like "I don't agree with this but..." ' (then the interviewer asks what he means and Daniel explains). 'Its like they have to let people know they don't believe in Jesus, but they're still going to review my music. You don't hear them say things like "I don't agree with Rastafarian beliefs, but here's my review of this reggae album." '

In the artistic community it seems you can be Buddhist (Beastie Boys), Jewish (Matisyahu), or Muslim (Jurassic 5 and lots of other rappers), yet not be judged solely by one of those labels. But if you are a Christian who makes music, films, paintings, whatever, people want to always attach the label of 'Christian' to you. That in itself is fine. But it seems that 'Christian' can't be reconciled with 'artistic' in many people's minds.

This stems from several sources. One source is a hard one for Christians to accept: a lot of current 'Christian' art (books, visual arts, music, films, etc.) are substandard and low quality. I don't mean production quality or anything like that. The art itself often isn't very good and doesn't stand up against art made by non-Christians. Christian films for example are notoriously bad. And Christian music has tended to be cheesy and overly preachy.

Why have Christians accepted substandard artistic creations? Possibly due to lack of funding. Or maybe due to a lack of support by the Christian community. But I think those are lame excuses. In general it seems that Christians in the modern era have not been challenged to think of music, books and films in regards to their artistic quality. To most Christians, if the Good News is shared (which I am all in favor of), that makes it 'good' regardless of quality. So whether the actors are robotic or the songs repeat the same three chords or the books read like pulp fiction novels seems to not matter. I actually shy away from most 'Christian' media for this reason.

Seeing this attitude among many Christians and knowing that they may not expect high quality artistic output from other Christians, is it any surprise then that all Christian artists get lumped in with all the other substandard art made by well meaning Christians?

Music reviewers are surprised when a Christian makes something interesting, thoughtful or good. So Christians have a double hurdle to jump - first making their art and making it good, and secondly having their work judged more harshly because they are Christians. But of all people in the world, shouldn't we, professed children of the Creator, be creative people? And shouldn't we strive for creative excellence that we might have people look at our creations and say, "It is good!"

Thankfully there are Christian artists that have gained respect for their art and for the realistic portrayal of their beliefs. Danielson, Sufjan Stevens, Scott Derrickson, Stephen R. Lawhhead and others. And thankfully, many critics have realized that 'Christian' need not always be synonymous with 'substandard artistic expression.'

And since we're talking about Danielson, here's the video for "Did I Step on Your Trumpet"

Song Lyric of the Day

2010-10-07T22:09:00.002-04:00

This song was going through my head last night:

"the devoted were wearing bracelets
to remind them why they came
some concrete motivation
when the abstract could not do the same
but if all that's left is duty
I'm falling on my sword
at least then I would not serve
an unseen distant Lord"

Secret of the Easy Yoke by Pedro the Lion

Ozomatli - videos from the show

2010-10-02T14:06:00.000-04:00

Here's a song from the OZO show. Rodger and I were sitting down in the left side of the stage, 3 rows back from the folks you see dancing on the front row.

La Gallina

And here's Ozo in the lobby at the end of the show. They are very much a 'band of the people'. They ended the show by marching out into the lobby and playing a bit more:

OZOMATLI!!

2010-10-01T23:59:00.001-04:00

Ozomatli

Rodger and I went to see Ozomatli tonight. Saying the the show was awesome is an understatement. They are an extremely great band. This was my first time ever seeing them live and they are better in person than in their recordings. They rock. They swing. They do great things with musical instruments. Lots of fun.

9 years

2010-09-26T15:10:00.005-04:00

I don't think the number '9' is significant, especially when you're celebrating something. Most people celebrate after one year. Then it seems pretty common to count five years, 10 years, 25 years, 50 years, and so on as milestones. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I heard anyone get excited and say, "Nine years! Wow that's great!" So even though nine may not be as good as 10, it's better then eight (or seven or even four). But I like nine.

As of this past week, Jo and I have been married nine years. Not all of it has been fun or easy. But a lot of things have been fun or easy, and sometimes both. We've had some hard things happen which could have broken us. But thank God, here we are, having worked through all those things and happy to be together.

For us, nine is a great number. Nine is a good reason to celebrate.

Spotlight on: System of a Down - Aerials

2010-09-22T22:37:00.000-04:00

This in my opinion, is an amazing song. Its close to perfection. But that's just what I think.

Song Lyric of the Day

2010-09-18T18:04:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when I wake up I have a song going through my head. This morning some lyrics were playing on repeat:

"O hound of heaven hear my cry
Remorse for things that I have justified
My life a book whose pages are well read
Of actions good and evil
And thoughts inside my head"
Consequence by Circle of Dust

When I woke up, I couldn't remember all the right words or even the band. But I managed to find the lyrics and the band. Google is an amazing thing; what did we ever do without it? You can hear the song here.

In Quotes

2010-09-16T21:13:00.001-04:00

I love quotes and sayings. Here are some great ones:

“Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.” - Saint Augustine

“There is one thing one has to have: either a soul that is cheerful by nature, or a soul made cheerful by work, love, art, and knowledge.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

“I despise a world which does not feel that music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy” - Ludwig van Beethoven

Why non-beach loving parents go to the beach

2010-09-13T21:03:00.010-04:00

I don't love the beach. Jo does, but I don't. I don't hate it by any means and can think or much worse places to go, but am really not into sand and sun. But photos like this make the sand and sun and salt water worth it for me.

Separated at Birth? - Pigeon John and Thierry Henry

2010-08-31T20:43:00.013-04:00

Pigeon John (Everybody's favorite rapper)

Thierry Henry (Footballeur extraordinaire)

New (wet) Life

2010-08-28T20:56:00.002-04:00

Today, Tasha, one of our beloved Greenleafers, was baptized in the Haw River. We sang a little, somebody prayed, then Tasha was taken out in to the water and baptized. After that we sang again, somebody read from the Bible, some people prayed for Tasha, then everyone had lunch together.

But in short, Tasha got wet. I mean, isn't that what it boils down to? She went in dry and came out wet?

How crazy, even absurd, that baptism, the dunking of a person in water, is a sign of the new life that person now possesses! It seems like God could have come up with something a lot better. A better ritual, a better display, something with a bit more pizazz!

But in reality, I can't think of a better picture of what God has done to Tasha than what happened this morning. She stepped into the water dry and came out wet. In that action, we see an embrace, an immersion into God's presence and an enfolding into His family.

For ancient Jews, baptism was an outward show of their awareness of their need to turn/ return to God (a.k.a. repentance). It was a display of the cleansing that God had done and was doing in them, a cleansing of thoughts, motives, desires, and behaviors. John the Baptizer preached, 'Turn to God, the kingdom of God is close, even here right now!!'

For followers of Jesus, it is all of the above and then some. Baptism is a picture of death and life. As Tasha went under the water, we saw a picture of her 'death' to her self - selfish ways, self-centered thoughts, not doing things God's way, etc. As she emerged, we saw a picture of her 'live' again - new life lived in Jesus, with Him taking first place in all things and all the other things that were not as important or not good for Tasha either taking a backseat to Jesus or being cast completely away.

I was so moved by the scene and I know lots of other people were too. Tasha did much more than just get wet. She told all of us, Greenleafers, family members, and all her friends that came to see her get dunked, that she has 'died' and now 'lives' again.

Song lyric of the day - King's X

2010-08-23T10:04:00.005-04:00

"We have heard the man and devil...lies

We've heard it all for far too long.

This is not the time to be weak,

But if you are then you're not alone."

Don't Believe It (It's Easier Said Than Done), King's X - from Gretchen Goes to Nebraska

Jesus - Man of Action

2010-08-22T21:07:00.000-04:00

Jesus was not a theoretician. He did not dispense a lot of ideas and leave His followers to sort out their application. His goal was never to leave behind a great catalogue of sermons. Yes, Jesus was a great teacher, but He never wanted people to make a list of things He said and then debate His teaching points. In other words, Jesus' goal was not to teach and leave us to figure out what to do next. Jesus acted and taught with action in mind so He could teach people how to act.

Jesus often did His teaching with actions, which said more than any sermon ever could. Take the story of Zacchaeus, the little tax collector from Jericho was was too short to see Jesus, so he climbed a tree. Jesus could have turned up in Jericho, preached a sermon on repentance, and then left. But instead of preaching that kind of sermon, He saw a guy in a tree and invited Himself to his home. Some of the the people around Jesus were disturbed that Jesus would enter the home of a low life scumbag like Zacchaeus, a tax collector.

But during the course of this visit, Zacchaeus stands up and says:
"Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:8-10).

The actions of Jesus in Jericho speak so much more loudly than any sermon ever could. He chose one of the worst guys in Jericho, a Chief Tax Collector, went to his house, spent time with him, ate with him, and probably had some good conversation. Zacchaeus knew about Jesus, otherwise he wouldn't have been climbing a tree to get a better look at Him. I don't imagine that Jesus really had to say loads and loads. But in the course of the visit Zacchaeus spontaneously turned away from all his corrupt ways and decided to give money away and pay back the folks he had cheated.

There is no real sermon recorded by Luke. All Jesus says is, 'Salvation has arrived in this house. Zacchaeus is a son of Abraham, a child of faith.' Not much in the way of sermons. But the last part of what Jesus says is the best: 'See this everybody - this is exactly why I came. I came so that people who are far from God like Zacchaeus can come close to God. This is my purpose.'

Jesus, the Man of Action, demonstrates the heart of the Good News - that God wants to come live near us and in us and have us be close to Him. Very literally, God asked Zacchaeus to let Him into his life. When Zacchaeus let that happen, Jesus showed everyone the result - a drastically changed life. Jesus left a reminder for the people of Jericho in the form of Zacchaeus' new way of life, a concrete reminder that God changes lives. In my opinion that is much better than any sermon on repentance than Jesus could have ever preached.

Stoke City - Tottenham 1-2 Gareth Bale Goal

2010-08-21T13:35:00.005-04:00

Check out this goal from Gareth Bale during Tottenham's match today against Stoke City. You don't see goals like this everyday:

Resolve. Accident.

2010-08-20T20:55:00.000-04:00

Resolution
I, Jamie H. Garrett, resolve to blog more. Seeing that my last post was almost 2 1/2 months ago, this really won't require much effort. If I can just blog once or twice a month, I'll be doing well. That's right, I'm setting high standards for myself. Whatever.

Accident
I crashed my bike today. I haven't wrecked a bike in years. The bad thing is that I have no clue how it happened. I was on a sidewalk and a couple was walking towards me. To be considerate, I rode over into the grass (which was level with the sidewalk), went around them, them moved back over onto the sidewalk, which as I said, was level with the grass next to it. Sounds simple, but somehow I ended up face first in the dirt. I am not a reckless rider at all, mainly because I don't want to get run over by a car, so how I crashed on, for all practical purposes, level ground is a mystery.

It was one of those moments when time slowed down and I could see with absolute clarity that I was going to eat it. I crossed back onto the sidewalk and felt the bike jump and twist. Them I saw the ground coming up fast. After I skidded to a halt, face first into the dirt and leaves, I slowly heaved myself up and picked up my bike. After checking for blood and making sure I was pretty much intact, I took a few limping steps, then jumped back on my bike.

The damage is minimal: I have a good sized abrasion on my right leg, my whole calf hurts on my left leg, and my forehead has a little road rash on it. I also tore my pants where my right leg scrubbed the sidewalk. When I looked down at my leg and saw this big tear in my pant leg I thought, 'Oh well, guess that's it for this pair.'

I thank God that I didn't eat it near as hard as I thought I might. I say this because I could have ended up face first on the sidewalk with a broken nose, lots of bad scrapes, a concussion and a trip to the ER. While that would have been a great story, having no health insurance makes me glad for a that I don't have a story that awesome to tell. Just a couple of scrapes, some soreness and torn pants.

World Cup 2010

2010-06-11T10:12:00.001-04:00

The greatest, largest, most fantastic sporting event in the world begins today. Where else can you find a month long sporting event which showcases the greatest players in the sport from all around the world? You can't.

This World Cup is especially exceptional because it is the first one ever held on the continent of Africa. South Africa hosts the 2010 World Cup of Football. Watch it!

Lost without Lost

2010-05-25T20:37:00.001-04:00

Okay so Lost is officially history. No new episodes ever again. Yes, I will be re-watching the entire series over and over until I die, but no new Lost. None. No more. Ever. I am not having withdrawal symptoms yet, but at the same time its only been 2 days since it finished.

Lost going off the air is like losing a good friend. Its not like a friend died; I can buy the DVD set and sleep with it next to me in bed, I mean, watch it over and over again. But when there is something great in your life that you enjoy and all of sudden it is no longer there, its a little sad.

(Feel free to make fun of me before you continue reading).

I love good storytelling and Lost is some of the best storytelling I've ever experienced. It was always a hybrid between TV and film. Sure there were some things that didn't ever make sense and inconsistencies now and then. There were even episodes that I didn't like. But what matters is the big huge story that the creators were weaving. It transcended the inidividual parts to form a truly astonishing whole.

The storytelling was so good that most episodes I was riveted to my seat. I cried more than once during Lost's 6 year run. I remember some episodes so clearly and even their titles. The episodes have titles? Yes, like Greatest Hits or The Constant, two of may favorites.

So why did I love Lost so much? I do love the sci-fi elements and the idea that fantastic things happened on the show. But as I watched the finale, what I realized is that I had grown to love and care for these fictional characters. When Charlie and Claire had their moment of mutual realization, I cried. No lie, I did.

I use Lost to mark certain events and periods of the past 6 years of my life. When Lost started 6 years ago, Jo and I were living in Morocco. We heard about this awesome new J.J. Abrams (Alias, Cloverfield, Star Trek) show about a plane crash. Having been Alias and J.J. Abrams fans for years, we figured Lost would be good. We were right. I knew from watching the first episode that this would be a great show. If only I'd known then how amazing it would turn out to be! Since we were in Morocco, we would download the episodes and watch them with out laptop hooked up to the TV.

During Season 3, we were living in Pennsylvania and hosting a small group. I insisted on not having group on Lost night. That worked well for a while, but halfway through the season there was a break of several months. When it came back on again, it was on small group night. So we had to record it and watch it after group. What a hardship to have to sit through small group knowing that Lost was on and I wasn't watching it!

Then when I was unemployed, looking for a job, and we were living in my in-laws' basement in VA, Lost was one of the things that helped make life interesting. As pathetic as that sounds, it's true. My in-laws have a huge projection screen TV in their basement (like 5 feet wide) and I would turn off all the lights and drink beer while watching Lost on the big screen.

There are so many more things I could say about Lost, but since nobody is reading this anyway, I'll quit now. Goodbye Lost. At least goodbye to any chance of new Lost. So many unanswered questions, so much to still think about. So long Desmond. Farewell Sawyer. Goodbye Kate. Godspeed Vincent. Au Revoir Lost. Now I can have my life back. Until I start watching the whole series again.

Amazing books

2010-05-01T14:42:00.000-04:00

Reading is one of my favorite things to do. And books are one of my favorite things in the world. I love bookstores, but love free public libraries even more because, well the books are free. Its not so much that I love the actual books themselves; I'm not infatuated with paper, ink, book bindings, and slip covers. I love stories. And I especially love good stories. I love to get lost in stories. For me if I start reading a book and I don't get lost in it pretty quickly I don't read anymore. My love is also at the root of my love for movies, but that's a different topic altogether.

Anyways, I have three books that I've recently that are all pretty spectacular. Two are probably some of the best I've ever read. The other is quite awesome as well:
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
American Gods by Neil Gaiman

The first two books are the two I mentioned as being two of the best I've ever read.

I also recently read one of the best short stories I've ever read, Tower of Babylon by Ted Chiang which is is his collection of short stories Stories of Your Life and Others.

If you're into reading at all I highly recommend all of the above. Happy reading!

Metal

2010-04-11T14:04:00.000-04:00

I've been on a metal kick recently. Real, metal not hair bands (although I love them too). I love heavy metal music (good metal anyways). I love the the technical skills of the musicians, the vocal range of the singers, the theatrics, the image, basically everything. So in light of my metal kick, here's a classic metal song, Season in the Abyss by Slayer:

Lost plane crash 'mash-up'

2010-03-28T11:32:00.000-04:00

Mash-ups happen when a creative editor takes video or audio and mashes them together. The pieces that are fitted together were never meant to be together, but the creative individual finds a way to make them fit well together. Below is one of the my favorite mash-ups. Its the Lost plane crash like you've never seen before.

Life lessons I've learned from Lost

2010-03-05T09:43:00.001-05:00

Lost is currently in its 6th and last last season. I will be beyond sad when it is done. It is my favorite show of all time. There are few TV shows that havecaused me to think so much and made me anticipate the next episode as Lost has. As I look back on these past few years of Lost watching, I've realized I've learned a lot. So here are some lessons I've gleaned from Lost.

Relationships
From the example of Jin and Sun, don't ever under any circumstance let your partner out of your sight. Bad things happen when they're not together.

If you're anyone else in the world, don't get involved with people like either Jack or Kate. Some people will always hurt you regardless, because that's the way they are.

Life and Death
No one can escape death forever. Even major characters are not exempt (Charlie). If you're not a major character, its just a matter of counting the minutes until death.

Mystery & Ambiguity
A little mystery and ambiguity makes life interesting. A lot of mystery makes life terrifying. An island of mysteries might be kind of cool if there were just a few, but having like 700 mysteries gets tiring.

Fate
You cannot under any circumstances escape from your fate. No matter how hard you try. Case in point, The Island - no matter how hard you try to leave, if you're meant to be there, you're going to either end up back there, even if you leave, or die trying not to end up back there.

Summary
Lost has taught me so much about life. When it is finally done, I don't know where I will go for life lessons. I guess I'll have to start watching Scrubs again.

recent views and reads

2010-02-09T19:04:00.000-05:00

This post is lame, filler, not worth reading. But since I have nothing else to blog about, here are things I've read and watched that are much more than memorable (meaning I loved them):

Movies
The Baader-Meinhof Complex
District 9
Zombieland
How to Be
The Vanishing
Sin Nombre

TV
Neverwhere

Books
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
Y: The Last Man

Adelle's first rap?

2010-02-05T21:32:00.000-05:00

Does this count as Adelle's first rap?

blog silence

2010-01-17T10:39:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged for a while because I'm been on 'blog silence'. Its kind of like 'radio silence' like when a Special Forces team is about to invade en enemy's base. Well, not really.

I just haven't had anything worth writing about. And I still don't have much worth writing about. End of blog for today.

getting into the holiday spirit

2009-12-09T11:34:00.001-05:00

Taking Back Sunday, one of my favorite bands is helping me get into the holiday spirit:

if this show was crack, I'd be a crackhead

2009-11-18T07:42:00.000-05:00

Stargate Universe
I came across Stargate Universe this past weekend on Hulu when I was looking for something to watch. And so far I'm hooked. I watched the first 4 episodes on Sunday. Then I watched 2 more last night. It reminds me of Lost, mainly because it is really good and I can't wait to watch the next episode. Also, not since Lost first came on has there been a show that have been hooked on. I was hooked on Heroes for the first 2 seasons or so, but then it started sucking, but oh well.

SG-U (as its abbreviated) is a SyFy original series based on the Stargate franchise. So far I'm not having any problems following it even though I've never watch any of the other Stargate shows before. There are only a couple of actors that I know on the show (Lou Diamond Phillips and Robert Carlyle), which makes it more enjoyable to watch since I'm not always imagining actors in their former roles. ABC's new show "V" has Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays Juliet on Lost, as one of the stars. I'm always thinking of her as Juliet. And I keep expecting Sawyer to show up. Whatever...

Visit the official site or watch it on Hulu!

file under M for 'miscellaneous'

2009-11-12T21:06:00.000-05:00

First a music video (I love Taking Back Sunday)
Set Phasers to Stun

Recommended viewing
V - the new TV series on ABC. I watched the original series as a kid and loved it, so of course I was interested in this show. The pilot was great. I haven't seen the latest episode yet but think this is one show I will follow.
Primer - a shoestring budget film, but budgets don't mean anything as far as quality is concerned. This one is good. I mean real good. Time travel is the premise. Worth watching over and over.

Recommended Reading
Dune - This is one of those books that I've seen for years on library shelves, but have never read. I finally decided to read it because it's listed by many as the best sci-fi novel ever written. Others who rate sci-fi books will have in in the top 10 best. I've heard it called a masterpiece, and I agree. Arthur C. Clarke (author of 2001 and its sequels) said that Dune is “Unique...I know nothing comparable to it except Lord of the Rings.” I can't believe it took me all these years to get around to reading it.
Robert Frost - I'm reading a book of his poems and am blown away. I feel like I am there with the characters in his poems. I've never been much into poetry but was curious about Frost after one of his poems, The Road Not Taken was quoted in another book I'm reading. Frost is a master of words, verse, rhyme, and rhythm.

Adelle's greatest hits

2009-11-11T17:48:00.000-05:00

Adelle was singing yesterday morning so I asked her to sing some more. This is what I got:

a year later...

2009-11-10T20:09:00.000-05:00

If you had asked us last November how we thought the following year would go, whatever we said would have been dead wrong.

One year ago we were still in Philly waiting for our house to sell so we could move to Chapel Hill. Until it sold, we had to keep our house as clean as possible, not an easy task with 2 little ones, because at any moment a realtor could have wanted to show it. To the everyone's amazement, it sold in early mid-November after only 6 weeks on the market. We moved out on December 2. Then we moved in with Jo's parents, for what we thought would be a month or 2. Little did we know what all would happen in the months after that move.

In the last year we sold our house in a plunging housing market, spent months looking for jobs, spent months living with Jo's parents (because we couldn't find jobs), made many trips between Roanoke and Chapel Hill, got a job (me), lost a job (me again), had lots of good days as well as bad days, got discouraged and depressed, got encouraged and happy again, moved to Chapel Hill, and finally started settling in.

I think we've had almost all the major stressors except death and safety concerns. Thankfully none of us died (and we also didn't kill each other). And thankfully throughout this past year we were all safe. And most of the time we were together. But Jo and I have both said that we are here in Chapel Hill to stay. We want to put down roots here. We want to see our kids finish school here. We want to make Chapel Hill home.

David After Dentist

2009-10-25T19:58:00.000-04:00

Poor little David.

There's even a website. And there are even remixes (like David at the Dentist: A Metal Tribute) and spoofs (Dallas Cowboys Spoof). But no spoof could ever beat the original.

what?

2009-10-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

Carolina was telling us about this. Adelle and Evie think it is wildly hysterical.

Zombies and Introverts (but not in that order)

2009-10-12T19:39:00.001-04:00

Introverts
Jo shared this great little article with me. It seems I am a member of a misunderstood minority. Read Caring for Your Introvert by Johnathan Rauch if you want to understand the introverts in your life a little better.

Zombie Weekend
I'm not talking about a side project of the band Vampire Weekend. I'm talking about the 2 zombie movies I watched this past weekend. The fact that I was able to watch 2 entire movies is an amazingfeat in itself. Note to future parents who are also movie lovers - your movie watching capacity is inversely proportional to the number of small children in your house. The more small children, the fewer movies you get to watch. But I digress. I enjoy zombie films. I love Shaun of the Dead and 28 Days Later. But like I said, I watched 2 zombies films that past weekend.

Zombieland stars Woody Harrelson. That is enough to make me want to watch it right there. He's been in some of the best films ever - Natural Born Killers and No Country For Old Men to name just two. There are also some vaguely recognizable young actors which are not yet famous enough for me to know their names.

This movie is a comedy. A zombie comedy. Which could be called a zomedy maybe? But don't get it twisted, Like Shaun of the Dead, this is not a spoof movie, but a comedy set in a world overrun by zombies. But the comparison with SOTD pretty much ends there. While SOTD shows the zombie infestation in one neighborhood, Zombieland is more of a zombie road trip that smashes zombies all over America.

Overall Zombieland was good. How good? Good enough for me to watch again online, but maybe not good enough to buy. Good jokes, some good (and also funny) action sequences, and just a good story make for a good time. Well, as good of a time as people can have while being chased by the living dead.

Dawn of the Dead, is Zack Snyder's remake of George Romero's film of the same name. This one is certainly not comedy, although there are some humorous scenes. The premise is the same as any zombie movie - world overrun by the living dead, those left alive rally together to fight off the living dead. A hodgepodge band of non-zombies end up in a mall while just outside is a horde of hungry zombies waiting to eat them.

The thing I like most about this film is that the action starts early and doesn't slow much until the end. I think lots of action movie makers spend too much time trying to develop the characters. Enough of that crap; just get to the action! And getting to the action is something Zack Snyder (director of 300 and Watchmen) seems to do well. This movie has it all - guns, car chases (actually zombies chasing cars), and lots of zombies. I'd give it the same rating as Zombieland - would watch it again, but wouldn't buy it.

Poems

2009-10-04T20:04:00.000-04:00

First he was Sharlock Poems, then just Poems, now he's calling himself Sareem Poems. Whatever he calls himself, the dude is talented. So here's to one of my favorite L.A. Symphony dudes...

Will Not Be Sold

Love

Did You Know 4.0

2009-10-01T19:24:00.000-04:00

I thought this was interesting. I found it on I Am Bored:

Did You Know 4.0
"An information-packed video of acts & stats focusing on the changing media landscape, including convergence & technology."

Ice Skating

2009-09-20T21:54:00.000-04:00

Tonight Jo was waiting for a football game to end because she wanted to watch the following show. Adelle was in the room and wanted to know what it was. Jo was trying to explain a little to Adelle about what was going on. I was in the kitchen eating and this is what I overheard.

Jo: Those men are trying to get the ball into that blue area so they can score. And then there are other men who are trying to knock him down.
Adelle: (thinks for a minute then says) When I grow up I was to do ice skating. Then no one will knock me down.

Adelle cracks me up.

Re-Vamped blog

2009-09-17T19:05:00.000-04:00

I change my blog layout. Its called 'Re-Vamping'. That's 'Re' as in to do again. And 'Vamp' as in, well, I'm not sure what that means. But for what its worth (not much) here's my new, Vamped once again blog.

watching, reading, listening, etc

2009-09-13T20:23:00.000-04:00

Watching
Big Man Japan - 'Hysterical', 'sad', 'sweet', and 'just plain out all bizarro' are all accurate descriptions of Big Man Japan. This mockumentary introduces us to Japan's answer to its monster problem (think Godzilla type monsters). I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. Its one of Magnet Films' Six Shooter series. I also recommend Let the Right One In and Timescrimes from that series. I DO NOT recommend Eden Log, at all, under any circumstance. Avoid it at all costs!

Painkiller Jane - I read about this show recently, which I'd never seen, and was intrigued by it. I watched the first episode today and it looks very promising. I think it is a show I will get into. I'm a sucker for anything with comic books as its source material. Apparently it was a one season run that played on Sci-Fi (or Syfy or whatever).

Lastly, I watched Wolverine last night. It was awesome, even though it only got 36% on Rotten Tomatos. I love seeing Wolvie in action!

Reading (actually just finished)
I finished Confessor, the 11th book in Terry Goodkind's 11 volume Sword of Truth epic. As with the end of other book series' that I've read, the end was good, but not super duper spectacular. But I'm not disappointed at all. I learned that the reading of the books, the journey as it were, is actually what's important. Getting to know the characters, seeing them develop, and see the situations they get into (and get out of) is what kept me turning the pages.

Related to watching, there is a TV series in syndication based on this book series called Legend of the Seeker. I've tried to watch the first episode twice and have not been able to get all the way through it. Its thoroughly inferior to the books. In other words, it sucks and compared to the books is a waste of time.

Listening
L.A. Symphony - Pretty much that's it. I've just been on a Symph kick and will just have to keep listening to them until I can't take it anymore.

from hill to shining hill

2009-09-09T22:34:00.000-04:00

If you're a Matisyahu fan , you may have thought of him when you read this post's title. What I mean by 'from hill to hill' is that in Philly we lived in an area called Drexel Hill but now we live in Chapel Hill. Since we've lived here I've been able to compare the 2 hills and have found some differences.

Garbage Men
The garbage men, or 'sanitation engineers' (the PC term) are thoughtful in Chapel Hill. They always put our trash can back where it was and they always put it right side up. This might seem like a no brainer, unless you had lived in Drexel Hill. There we were lucky if our trash can made it back to the curb once it was emptied. They usually just threw the empty can in the direction of where they picked it up. Half the time I had to either get it out of the street or out of the driveway.

Also, the first week we put our recycling out, I broke down all of our cardboard and put it into one cardboard box. The guys took all the cardboard out of the box and left the box behind. At first I was puzzled, and a little upset that they left it. But then I realized they probably thought that was my 'special box' that I used for putting cardboard out and that I might want to keep this box for this purpose. This went on for several weeks until I finally took that box somewhere else because I actually wanted it to go away.

Waving (Southern Friendliness)
I grew up in the South (Georgia to be exact, the buckle of the Bible belt) but haven't lived in the South for a number of years. So I am not used to the friendliness of people. I am used to the 'cooler' more distant East Coast way of treating people, otherwise know as acting like they don't exist if you don't know them. In our lovely Chapel Hill neighborhood however, people wave at us (and we wave back) whenever we go down the street. Not only that, people actually talk to us. In Drexel Hill, that never happened; People pretty much leave each other alone unless they actually know each other. I kind of like the Chapel Hill way a little better. It makes me feel welcome.

Driving
First of all, thank God for Right on Red!! In Drexel Hill, and the Philly area in general, almost every traffic light had a "No Right Turn on Red" sign. This always frustrated me, especially when no one was coming. I often still made right turns on red just because I thought I should be able to. But in Chapel Hill (and most normal places in the world) you can turn right on red!

Also, in Philly, there is a phenomenon called "The Jersey Left" by some and "The Pittsburgh Left" by others. I guess it depends on where you are from. Basically this particular maneuver happens if you are the first car at a red light with no left turn signal. If the first car wants to turn left, it just turns left as soon as the light turns green, even though they don't have the right of way. I hate this and tried hard not to pick up this driving habit. Since it was something I tried not to do in Philly, if I was ever at the front and wanted to turn left, I would just wait. But then the person across the intersection would wait for me to turn because they expected me to do the quick left. If I didn't, some people would actually honk their horn and wave me through. Even though I didn't want to.

Finally, in Drexel Hill and the surrounding areas, people didn't know what to do with turn lanes. I have seen way too many cars halfway in the turn lane as they were trying to turn across traffic. I would actually look for these people blocking my lane, get right up behind them, stop and lay on the horn. Thankfully, in Chapel Hill, people understand what they are for. Except for the Philly and Jersey transplants!

Anyways, we love this Hill much better then the last Hill. We are glad to call Chapel Hill home.

More L.A. Symphony

2009-08-30T10:08:00.000-04:00

This is a vintage Symph clip that I only recently came across. Its Authentic, probably one of my top 3 favorite Symph songs ever:

Spotlight on: Jurassic 5

2009-08-26T22:28:00.000-04:00

If you've never listened to Jurassic 5, you should!

The Influence

Quality Control (Live)

Chainfire

2009-08-24T19:31:00.001-04:00

Chainfire, book 9 of the Sword of Truth series and the most recent book I've read was just awesome. Author Terry Goodkind continues to rock my world. His writing is beyond good; His characterization is par none and interesting does not begin to describe the yarns he spins. When I am reading his books, all I want to do is read them.

If you like fantasy at all, you have got to read these books. Even if you don't like fantasy, these are still amazing books. You might not want to commit to all 11 books, but at the very least, read Wizard's First Rule. I bet you a root beer float that you'll be hooked on Goodkind!

The Symph!!

2009-08-17T19:03:00.000-04:00

How much do I love L.A. Symphony? Enough to put up a DOUBLE SHOT!!!!

"Ten" (from the Baloney EP)

"Broken Tape Decks (Live)" (from Call it What you Want)

why do the Black Eyed Peas suck so bad?

2009-08-09T21:23:00.001-04:00

I used to love the Black Eyed Peas. Their first album Behind the Front is one of the great debut albums ever. And their second, Bridging the Gap was amazing. The BEPs came out of the LA hip hop scene that birthed other great hip hop acts like LA Symphony and Jurassic 5. The BEPs set themselves apart from the hip hop scene of that era with their very non-gangster, quirky style. They had a real funky flow and were original.

But now they suck. And I don't mean that they're just not as good as before, they truly suck. Jo and I saw them on some TV show a few weeks ago and I couldn't watch or listen at all. I mean seriously, I used to be a die hard BEP fan, but now I cannot stand them. And its not just Fergie either; their music is just terrible. Its unoriginal and formulaic, something their first two albums managed to not be.

I think they sold out. Like some other bands I used to like (Smashmouth for example) they got some fame, got some of their songs on some TV ads, and then all of a sudden their music turned to crap. They are hypocricital too because on their first 2 albums they had several lines against what they soom to have become - money loving rap stars. "Money is a drug and emcees are on it", is just one line from the song BEP Empire on Bridging the Gap.

This is what they used to be:

This is what they turned into. Painful!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F444CELomo

the haps

2009-08-04T23:01:00.000-04:00

So what's happening these days? Lots and lots and then some more. I've been at my new job for about 1 month (maybe its time to stop calling it "my new job" and just call it "my job") and it's going pretty well. Apart from work, a lot has been going on - a move into our own place in Chapel Hill (finally), settling in, life in general, etc. I haven't blogged in a few weeks because I've not had much free time, but since we're a bit more settled now so we can breathe for a bit and I can do things like blog.

Other than all that, life goes on. Its nice for things to be 'normal' again. For the first time in about 8 months, Jo and the girls and I are all in the same house without anyone one else. We get to all see each other every day and the girls are so happy. Life was always good even when we didn't know what was going to happen, but things are easier to deal with when life has a bit of predictability.

Random things:
What I'm listening to - Sufjan Stevens, Blonde Redhead, The Raconteurs, and a bunch of old CDs that had been packed away.

What I've been reading - ever since I finished VLI in June, I've been cranking through this fantasy series called The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind. Its an 11 book series. I'm on book 8 now. This has to be the best book series I have ever read. It rivals The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter! I've also read a number of graphic novels/ comic book collections in the past couple of months. Worth mentioning are Nexus and Elfquest.

online social networks

2009-07-17T20:46:00.000-04:00

When is online social networking no longer cool? When your 50 and 60 something year old relatives want to be your friends that's when.

Seriously, I quit myspace about 2 years ago because it got lame(r). So facebook came along at the perfect time (right when I decided myspace sucked). I switched and liked it way better than myspace from day 1. Fast forward 2 years to now when I have relatives in their 50's and 60's that want to be my f'book friends. What!

I'm not giving up f'book yet, but it has definitely lost much of its appeal.

job

2009-07-06T20:11:00.000-04:00

I got a new job. I got a call from a sign shop that I'd applied to a few weeks ago. The guy called me this afternoon wondering if I was still available and if I could come in tomorrow morning for some preliminary stuff. To that I responded, "Heck Yeah!" Anyways, I will start with only 25 - 30 hours per week but he says that within a month or two I should be at 40 hours per week.

This is great for several reasons. First, I now have a job. Second, I having a regular day job means I can still pursue being a personal trainer, but I'll just have to do it part time - evenings, Saturdays, that kind of thing. Third, I have worked in a sign shop before, so its not like I'm starting something completely new. It will take me a little to re-familiarize myself with the sign making trade, but I think I can be up to speed within a week or two.

Anyways, our Father continues to lead us and we continue to take steps with Him. Its frustrating and also scary sometimes to walk with Him because we don't always know where He's taking us. But at the same time its comforting to know that He knows where He's leading us and that it's always the best path.

win some, lose some ( a small setback)

2009-07-01T08:54:00.001-04:00

As the saying goes, you win some, you lose some. This instance is a 'lose some' scenario. And this lose pertains to my job. I lost it. But I saw it coming. The job had a large sales component, something I knew that I would never excel at. When I was looking for other jobs between Dec 2008 and April 2009, I always shied away from sales jobs because I know me - I'm not much of a salesman. But since this was the only place that wanted to hire me, of course I took the position.

Anyways, after about 2 1/2 months at Lifestyle Family Fitness, I find myself unemployed again. Like I said though, I actually saw this coming. My sales performance had never been up to snuff - I had only gotten 3 clients in the time I was there. On Monday I saw that my manager had set up a meeting with me for yesterday afternoon before my shift was to start. I didn't take that as a good omen. I actually said to Jo the day before that I might be unemployed soon. As I drove down to Apex to work yesterday, I told God, "I'll accept whatever happens today." They were going to fire me, but gave me the option to resign just so it wouldn't reflect bad on me.

The great thing is that I learned a lot while I was there. I had zero personal training experience before, but now I have some. I got to work out for free in a really nice gym. I met some great people. Also, after having looked for jobs for so many months without success, it was nice to get a job and see that I Was somewhat worthy of employment. In general, I'm thankful for having had the chance to work there.

I'm really disappointed that this job didn't work, but at the same time, Jo and I are really hopeful. She had a great interview yesterday; the interviewer said she thinks Jo is perfect for the position. She actually went back this morning to do some testing and hopefully we'll know more about that job soon. And I've got another interview tomorrow that I'd already set up last week before I lost this job.

As cliche as it could sound, I'll say this anyway - I do trust in God. After all, at this point, what other option do we have?

funny things Adelle has said recently

2009-06-14T00:23:00.000-04:00

Adelle is way too funny. She always says the funniest things and keeps Jo and I very entertained. Here are a couple of unintentionally funny things she's said recently.

Adelle: Daddy, can you jungle?

Me: What?!

Adelle: Can you jungle - throw balls up in the air and catch them?

Me: Oh, you mean juggle.

Adelle: Yes. Can you?

(when Honza's dog Shtutzy got tired of playing and went to lay on the porch)

Adelle: Where's Shtutzy going?

Me: She's going to lay on the porch. She gets tired because she's an old lady.

Adelle: Well, I'm a new lady.

Me: Actually we would say, 'young lady', not new lady.

Adelle: Oh.

She truly cracks me up!

Spaced - what we're watching

2009-05-31T12:11:00.001-04:00

I'm a big fan of Shaun of the Dead. A while back I was talking with a friend about it and he told me about a British sitcom called Spaced that Simon Pegg (who plays Shaun in SotD as well as Scotty in the new Star Trek movie) and Nick Frost (Nick in SotD and also Simon's best friend in real life) were in. It's also directed by Edgar Wright who directed SotD. I have been wanting to see it ever since he told me about it and I finally got around to watching it. Both Jo and I are watching it on DVD and it is hysterical! Here's a link to a clip of Tim Bisley's Happy Dance from Spaced. This show is so ridiculously funny and quirky and Jo and I both give it a thumbs up.

oh my goodness!

2009-05-22T17:17:00.000-04:00

Found this site, AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com by way of Neatorama. This picture literally causes me pain when I look at. Jo could never talk me into something like this, not in a million years!

622

2009-05-21T11:16:00.000-04:00

a double shot of old school 311

Los Cronocrímenes

2009-05-17T21:19:00.000-04:00

Timecrimes is a Spanish film (Los Cronocrimenes is the Spanish title) which shows us how bad things can get when you mess with time travel. Its a very simple story, moves quite rapidly (its only 90 minutes long), and doesn't waste a minute. Whoever created this film is quite clever. It got also got 86% at Rotten Tomatoes.

Its one of Magnolia/ Magnet Film's Six Shooter Series. Not long ago, I blogged about Let the Right One In which is also in that series. I would bet that based on seeing these 2 films, that the others in that series are probably phenomenal as well.

the truth about swine flu

2009-05-01T22:16:00.000-04:00

This is from the L.A. Times via Neatorama (make sure you read the last bit in bold):

"...scientists studying the virus are coming to the consensus that this hybrid strain of influenza -- at least in its current form -- isn't shaping up to be as fatal as the strains that caused some previous pandemics....In fact, the current outbreak of the H1N1 virus, which emerged in San Diego and southern Mexico late last month, may not even do as much damage as the run-of-the-mill flu outbreaks that occur each winter without much fanfare...[During] a typical flu season in the U.S., between 5% and 20% of the population becomes ill and 36,000 people die -- a mortality rate of between 0.24% and 0.96%."

So its bad enough to be all over the news, but won't even be as bad as the regular flu. Hmm, sounds suspiciously like other disease scares from the past decade. Remember SARS? In 2002/ 2003 SARS was all over the news. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the total number of deaths WORLDWIDE was 774.

And then whatever happened to the bird flu? Again according to the WHO the number of people who died from it between January 2004 and April 2007 is a whopping 257 WORLDWIDE.

Summary: the Swine Flu ain't all its being hyped up to be. Its just one more thing to be scared of and one more thing to make people watch the news and read newspapers. My advice about swine flu comes from Public Enemy - Don't Believe the Hype!!

its almost official

2009-04-28T22:56:00.001-04:00

I now have 3 things in North Carolina:

a job
an NC driver's license
a car that is registered in NC

Soon we'll have a 4th - a place to live. I'm living here in Chapel Hill because I'm already working, but in 2 weeks, we'll all be living here as a family. Crazy stuff! The reason I say its crazy is because this has been a long time coming and there were times when we never thought we'd see the end. We've been planning this move for almost 9 months and 5 of those months have been spent living in Jo's parents basement.

If anybody's interested, here's a really brief sketch of the past 3/4 year:
In early-August of last year we visited Chapel Hill as a family then a couple of weeks later made the decision to move here. I also started looking for jobs then. In October we put our house in Drexel Hill, PA on the market and in early December it sold. Since I had no job, we moved to Roanoke, VA, not our destination, but a nice enough place to bide our time. I got really serious about the job hunt in early January. With some great encouragement from my wonderful wife, I decided in late January to pursue certification as a personal trainer. After much preparation, I was certified in early March. Then a week and a half ago, a friend offered to let us stay in his house for most of the summer AND I was hired as a personal trainer, all within like 2 days. And now, after having lived in my in-laws basement for almost 5 months, we are seeing our plans come to fruition.

In retrospect, things certainly didn't happen like we thought they would. They didn't happen according to our timetable either. But they happened just the same. What I mean is that regardless of what has happened since August of last year, we have almost achieved our goal of moving to Chapel Hill. And seeing the way things have happened, the scenario is definitely better than what I could have come up with. As cliche as it may sound, God is good and He is in control. I've learned over the last 9 months how true these things are and that I really believe them. Now its time to settle in and start yet another new phase of life.

words of the day

2009-04-17T21:02:00.000-04:00

Job
Sample sentence: "I now have a job."

Move
Sample sentence: "In a couple of weeks we will move to Chapel Hill."

Imperial Stormtroopers

2009-04-16T09:57:00.000-04:00

Some people are really into Stormtroopers. Here are a couple of Stormtrooper photos I've come across lately:

But for my money, nothing could be more fun than a dancing Stormtrooper:

Click here for Stormtroopers in everyday life.

Låt den rätte komma in

2009-04-08T20:23:00.000-04:00

My love affair with Scandanavia continues with my watching last night of Let The Right One In, a Swedish film. Its a vampire film, but it exceeds most vampire films by leaps and bounds. It will forever be one of those movies against which I judge all others. The two young actors who play the leads are phenomenal. Their relationship is the focus, not just vampires and killing and gore, which is often the case in vampire films. It is beautifully shot with the snowy Swedish winter as its backdrop. It is a beautiful story with great visuals. It is simple and touching. I would use two words to describe it: amazingly enjoyable. Oh yeah, and it got a 97% rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

Your Water Footprint

2009-04-06T08:55:00.000-04:00

If you're at all concerned with the impact your life makes on the environment, this will interest you. Click through to get the full version of Walk This Way: Making the right choices to reduce your water footprint. I got this from Good Magaz ine's site by way of Neatorama.

rap songs and rock songs

2009-04-05T21:01:00.000-04:00

I found this list a while back, but it came up recently in a converstation with my wife and some friends so I here it is: The Top 10 Rap Songs White People Love. This is one of the funniest, and most true, things I've ever seen.

And as an added bonus, there's also a related list called The Top 10 Rock Songs Black People Love, A Post Written By A Black Person.

book & movie

2009-04-04T10:58:00.000-04:00

I just finished a book and just watched a movie. By 'just' I actually mean yesterday. The book is called Stone of Tears and is the 2nd in a 12 book fantasy series by Terry Goodkind. All I've got to say is this: Awesome! This guy is such an amazing writer. I judge the worth of a book by how much I want to keep reading it. In other words, is the book a page turner that I would stay up to 2 AM reading? For Goodkind's books, the answer is yes. I can easily get engrossed in his books and read for hours. This one, as well as the first book in the series, Wizard's First Rule, are both page turners.

Them (Ils is the French title) is a French thriller/ horror film. Its not horror in the same vein as Saw or Hostel, but more in the vein of Blair Witch Project. Its very well shot and very well acted and is very tense and thrilling. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars.

PETA kills

2009-04-03T21:35:00.000-04:00

Apparently PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) feels that killing animals is a good way to treat them ethically. This smells a little bit like hypocrisy.

Newsweek Article
Center for Consumer Freedom article
Another article

for a friend who needs cheering up

2009-03-31T21:12:00.000-04:00

sometimes you need cheering up. hope this helps. i guess i also hope you actually see this. If not, I had fun watching the best Hospital show ever:
JD - always a dork

Clubbing

And because I can't resist my all time favorite...

rotten tomatoes

2009-03-22T09:19:00.000-04:00

Have you ever started watching a movie then realized about 5 minutes into it that it sucked and that you'd be wasting time by continuing to watch it? At that point you have 2 choices - if you're at the movies, you can either walk out or suck it up. When my father-in-law and I went to see Predator vs Alien 2 a couple of years ago, I realized about 5 minutes into it that the next hour and a half was going to be extremely painful. I hated the movie and almost fell asleep several times. But that's if you're at the movies. If on the other hand you rented a film from Blockbuster and didn't want your $4.23 to be wasted, you may have forced yourself to sit through it. Of course you also could have decided that no amount of money that you'd be losing would make you watch it and that you would actually pay to not have to watch the movie. For me its aggravating to see a preview or read about a movie, be interested in it, go to the theater to see it, rent it, get it from Netflix, whatever, and realize its crap. Thankfully with Netflix (or Blockbuster.com) if you don't watch it, you're not out any money.

So after wasting money at the theater on crappy movies or wasting my time waiting for movies to come in the mail, starting the movies, then stopping them, I thought that reading film critic reviews of movies might help me make a better use of my time. But as I read reviews, I realized that critics have different tastes - 5 film critics might give 5 different reviews - and I realized that I couldn't really trust a critic. Its not that critics are completely unreliable, but I wanted to hear from more than one critic.

A couple of years age I found a site called Rotten Tomatoes which is all about movies. My favorite feature of it is the ratings - RT compiles reviews from loads of film critics then gives an overall rating. So if you go to the site and search for Twilight (a movie I would like to see), you'll find it has a 49% approval rating. So the critics are split down the middle on that one. I'll probably still watch it anyway since its a Vampire flick. Watchmen got a 64% rating, so I'm debating on whether or not to see it in the cinema or wait until it hits DVD.

Anyways, I prefer not to waste my time (and money) if I can help it. Visiting Rotten Tomatoes for a few minutes helps me decide if I want to invest money as well as 2 hours of my life that I can never get back in a movie.

green roofs, 'heroes'

2009-03-20T15:17:00.000-04:00

Lacking anything of substance to write here, I humbly submit my recent gleanings from the world wide interweb:

Pictures of some buildings around the world with green roofs: 17 Living Roofs

Nemesis, a funny, quirky 9 minute film. It was made in Norway so its in Norwegian but has English subtitles. I love Scandinavia!

musings on unemployment

2009-03-12T11:49:00.000-04:00

Since I've been out of work for the past 3 months and a few days, I've had a lot of time to think about being unemployed. There have been lots of frustrations during this time. One of the worst parts is being in this 'limbo' stage (not limbo like the dance thing) this place of uncertainty - we're here in VA, but also kind of in NC. Some days I say to myself and to Jo, "This is what we're supposed to be doing!" But then there are other days I ask myself and her, "What the heck are we doing?!" It also feels really lame to be 34, married with 2 kids, unemployed and living in my in-laws' basement. And sometimes I feel unemployable, like no one will ever want me to work for them.

Those are some of the more negative things that I've experienced and felt. But just as there have been frustrations, there have been many joys as well. Below are a few of the positive things that I've gained from this time so far.

I'm viewing this as a furlough or sabbatical, almost like a vacation. Its a temporary liberation from employment. And I'm thankful for this liberation because I may never again have an 'extended vacation'. I mean come on, what employers would ever give me a 3+ month vacation? This time has been so valuable for me because I've got to spend so much of it with my family. I've seen Adelle and Evie grow and develop in ways I would have otherwise missed. Jo and I have been able to spend every day together and go out on dates without worrying about getting a babysitter. In general, these past few months has been good for my relationships with my family.

I also have learned what it means to struggle through unemployment. Because of this experience In doing so I can now sympathize and empathize with the unemployed. If I had never been without a job and never had to try so hard to get one, I would never understand the plight of many who lose jobs. When I was at a job fair last week, there many people there who are my parents' age. Its crazy for me to think that they were let go only a few years from retirement and are starting over. But there were also people younger than me. There were white people, black people, and Asian people. So there was a variety of people there and there was among us a shared experience - unemployment. But not only can I identify with those people, but I have also gained solidarity with the unemployed of the world. The unemployment rate in the US might be close to 10% in some states, but there are some countries in the world where there is more than 40% unemployment. So I have bonded with the unemployed of the world.

Lastly, I recently became certified as an ACSM Personal Trainer. If I had not experienced this temporary liberation from employment, I might never have even wanted to pursue this certification. And I might not have had the time, or at least not the amount of quality time, that I had to prepare for this certification exam. I feel a sense of accomplishment at having obtained what is considered the 'gold standard' in personal training certifications.

So while on one hand, unemployment stinks, there are lessons to be learned from this. And for me, there is definitely much to give thanks for - We have a place to live, we have food, and we are together as a family.

My wife the photographer

2009-03-05T23:06:00.000-05:00

My wife Jo takes really great photos. Here's one of the most recent photos she's taken. To me its beyond gorgeous:

I'm on TV!!!

2009-03-02T23:09:00.000-05:00

I went to a job fair today in Raleigh/ Durham and there were a couple of TV crews there. I got interviewed by one of them. The interview didn't make it into this clip, but if you watch it, I'm there in the first few seconds. Find it on here ABC 11's website. Crazy!!

If for some reason the link won't work for you, go to ABC 11's site and look for a story called "People look for work at job fair."

it made me laugh

2009-02-19T16:33:00.000-05:00

Flickr user OneCelledCreature posted this photo (courtesy of Neatorama):

You know it made you laugh!!

downloading and some kids

2009-02-10T17:01:00.000-05:00

Buying music
I recently bought my first music online. That's not to say that this is my first music download; I'm an avid downloader and have been for years. It was however my first paid download. So you could infer that for years I have borrowed a lot of free music from friends on the web. Oh, and my purchase was Two Tongues, which I blogged about last time.

Blast from the past
My childhood next-door neighbor, who I hadn't heard from or thought of in at least 15 years (but probably longer than that) found me on facebook. Then he posted this photo and I'm in it. I find it really hard for me to believe that I was the kid in this photo. I also have a hard time believing that I am 34 years old, a good 25 years older than I was in this photo. Dang! 25 years is a long time!!

new music!!!

2009-01-29T09:04:00.001-05:00

Two Tongues is a side project of Saves the Day, one of my favorite bands ever, and a band called Say Anything. You can listen to their whole album on their myspace site. I highly recommend them. If you like rock/indie rock/ good music, you'll most likely enjoy them.

the switch to digital

2009-01-18T17:08:00.000-05:00

Jo and I saw this video this morning. It is too funny, like laugh out loud funny (at least to us anyway). Enjoy!

truth still stranger than fiction

2009-01-16T13:23:00.000-05:00

I thought this was extremely cool and also hysterical (seen on Neatorama):

kiddos

2009-01-15T22:19:00.000-05:00

pure unadulterated love...

2 movies and a band

2009-01-07T10:15:00.000-05:00

Movie 1 - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Last week, Jo and I got to go to the movies again for the second time in two weeks thanks to free babysitting from my parents. And amazingly, this was another movie that we both wanted to see that Jo and I both loved. It really is a fantastic story. The film was gorgeous in every way. The effects were great, the visuals were great, everything was great. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett star in this film based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story. I am a Brad Pitt fan and have been for years. He's been in some of my favorite films - 12 Monkeys, Snatch, Oceans 11 and others. And Cate Blanchett is a great actress as well. I highly recommend this one.

Movie 2 - 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
Set in late 1980s communist Romania, this Romanian film tells a very gritty, unflinching story about a young girl who wants and abortion, something which was illegal under Romania's communist regime. In general I love foreign films and this one makes me realize why. I love American films, but they are a different kind of animal than films made by the rest of the world. Foreign directors have a different sensibility than American directors have.

In this film, the director lets the story takes center stage. He is not afraid to let the actors act and let the dialogue, emotions and the gravity of the circumstances sink in. Some of the takes are 8 or 10 minutes long where the camera rolls without an edit. It takes great actors to pull off scenes like that. The New York Times calls it a "a ferocious, unsentimental, often brilliantly directed film." Its a great film which stands in contrast to Hollywood movies. This one won't be for everyone.

A band - Blonde Redhead
When we did our move from PA to VA, I was driving the moving truck loaded with all our stuff. I'd blogged about our move about a month ago telling how slow the truck was. One thing I don't think I mentioned was that the truck didn't have a CD player. So I was left with two options silence or the radio. I'm not a radio person and can't tell you the last time I listened to the radio. But faced wtih total silence for my entire trip, I turned on the radio. My choice was generally either country or classic rock. But for one stretch I found a college stationg which played a song by a band called Blonde Redhead. I made a mental note to look them up later. I did look them up and have been listening to them ever since. Check them out!

Merry Xmas!!!

2008-12-25T20:04:00.001-05:00

song of the day

2008-12-18T08:47:00.000-05:00

Simple, Starving to be Safe (live) by Daphne Loves Derby. DLD is one of my favorite bands from the past few years. This song is beautiful. And Kenny the singer has such a great voice.