They're back....

www.nkotb.com

Mumbly Peg...

A few days ago, my lovely wife, Kristen, says to me...

"I've got the word 'mumbly peg' in my head. Where's that from?"

This does not surprise those of you who know us. Kristen very often, and quite randomly, will recall strange words or phrases from our past and inquire as to their origin or value.

It's usually my job to remember the historical setup for such sayings. (I usually remember them quite well. Strange...I can remember that but can't seem to remember to take a couple of DVDs back to Blockbuster.)

"Mumbly peg" sounded familiar to me, too, but I couldn't place it.

Enter Google. From my limited research, I have discovered information on "Mumbly peg." It's fascinating, but I have no idea how we know those words.

"Mumbly peg" is a game. Some sites reference it as a drinking game, but I think I was able to discover it in its purest form here.

"A Summer's day, a shady nook, a close-cropped green sod, two or three boys, and a jack-knife are the things necessary for a quiet game of Mumbly Peg [or mumbley peg, mumblety peg, mumble peg, mumble-the-peg, mumbypeg, or mumble de peg].

The first player takes the knife and goes through as much of the game as he can without a blunder. The second follows in turn, doing the same. The last one to perform all of the difficult feats is beaten, and must pull a peg, two inches long, from the ground with his teeth. The winner drives the peg with the knife-handle for a hammer, being allowed, by the rules of the game, three blows with his eyes open, and three with his eyes closed.

This usually drives the peg out of sight in the sod, and in that case the boys cry: "Root! Root!" as the defeated player, using only his teeth, literally roots, until, with a dirty face and a broad grin, he lifts his head, showing the peg between his teeth. From the penalty that the loser pays comes the name of Mumbly or Mumbelty-Peg.

The Feats:

First: Hold the right fist with back to the ground and with the jack-knife, with blade pointing to the right, resting on top of the closed fingers. The hand is swung to the right, up and over, describing a semicircle, so that the knife falls point downward and sticks, or should stick, upright in the ground. If there is room to slip two fingers, one above the other, beneath the handle of the knife and if the point of the knife is hidden in the ground, it counts as a fair stick or throw.

Second: The next motion is the same as the one just described, but is performed with the left hand.

Third: Take the point of the blade between the first and second fingers of the right hand, and fillip it with a jerk so that the knife turns once around in the air and strikes the point into the ground.

Fourth: Do the same with the left hand.

Fifth: Hold the knife as in the third and fourth positions, and bring the arm across the chest so that the knife-handle touches the left ear. Take hold of the right ear with the left hand and fillip the knife so that it turns once or twice in the air and strikes on its point in the earth.

Sixth: Do the same with the left hand.

Seventh: Still holding the knife in the same manner, bring the handle up to the nose and fillip it over through the air, so that it will stick in the ground.

Eighth: Do the same with the handle at the right eye.

Ninth: Repeat, with the handle at the left eye.

Tenth: Place the point of the blade on top of the head. Hold it in place with the forefinger, and with downward push send it whirling down to the earth, where it must stick with the point of blade in the earth.

Eleventh to Fifteenth: Hold the left hand with the fingers pointing up, and, beginning with the thumb, place the point of the knife on each finger as described above, and the forefinger of the forefinger of the right hand on the end of the knife handle. By a downward motion, throw the knife revolving through the air, so that it will alight with the point of the blade in the sod.

Sixteenth to Twentieth: Repeat, with the right hand up the left hand on the knife-handle.

Twenty-first, Twenty-second: the same from each knee.

Twenty-third: Hold the point of the blade between the first and second fingers and, placing the band on the forehead, flip the knife back over the head, so that it will stick in the ground behind the player ready for the next motion.

Twenty-fourth: After twenty-three the knife is left in the ground. Then with the palm of the hand strike the knife handle a smart blow that will send it revolving over the ground for a yard, more or less, and cause it to stick in the ground where it stops. This is called 'plowing the field.'

When a miss is made the next player takes his turn, and when the first player's turn comes again he must try the feat over that he failed to perform last. A good player will sometimes go through almost all the twenty-four motions without failing to make a " two-finger," that is, a fair stick, each time; but it is very unusual for anyone to run the game out in one inning. This is the game in twenty-four motions; many boys play it with double that number. "

If you managed to read through all of that, then you discovered how truly odd this game is.

Anybody ever played this? Anybody ever even HEARD of it?

Uncle Jay...

Remember when churches use to allow amps on stage?

That was awesome.

Why do so many churches run everything direct these days?

I seriously want to know...if your church runs everything direct, please share....

The Lord's Prayer...with feeling!

Now, THAT'S a funny shirt.

You're Welcome, John McCain...

(CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton said she "misspoke" last week when she gave a dramatic description of her arrival in Bosnia 12 years ago, recounting a landing under sniper fire.

Clinton was responding to a question Monday from the Philadelphia Daily News' editorial board about video footage of the event that contradicted her assertion that her group "ran with our heads down" from the plane to avoid sniper fire at the Tuzla Air Base.

Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for rival Sen. Barack Obama's campaign, said the Bosnia claim was part of "a growing list of instances in which Sen. Clinton has exaggerated her role in foreign and domestic policymaking."

Clinton told the paper's editorial board it was a "minor blip."

"I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement," she said.

In a radio interview that aired Tuesday, Clinton said she wasn't worried about the incident hurting her credibility.

"I have been in the public eye for many, many years, and this is something that I think happens to anybody," she told radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In a foreign policy speech last week at George Washington University, Clinton used the description of a dangerous arrival to bolster her argument that she has the foreign policy experience needed to be commander in chief.

She said when she arrived in Bosnia on March 25, 1996, "I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."

But news video footage of her arrival at Tuzla shows Clinton, then the first lady, calmly walking from the rear ramp of a U.S. Air Force plane with her daughter, Chelsea, then 16, at her side.

Both Clintons held their heads up and did not appear rushed.

The video shows Clinton spending several minutes talking with the group, including an 8-year-old Bosnian girl who presented her with a poem, and later greeting U.S. troops.

Clinton has mentioned the sniper fire at least twice earlier in the campaign, including in December in Dubuque, Iowa, before the caucuses in that state.

Clinton's campaign has made foreign policy experience a centerpiece of her effort to come back

against Obama, whom she is trailing in delegates for the Democratic presidential nomination.
During Monday's editorial meeting -- in which Clinton was seeking the Daily News' endorsement ahead of Pennsylvania's April 22 primary -- she was asked about the apparent discrepancy. The newspaper reported her response:

"Now let me tell you what I can remember, OK -- because what I was told was that we had to land a certain way and move quickly because of the threat of sniper fire. So I misspoke -- I didn't say that in my book or other times but if I said something that made it seem as though there was actual fire -- that's not what I was told," she told the newspaper.
"I was told we had to land a certain way, we had to have our bulletproof stuff on because of the threat of sniper fire. I was also told that the greeting ceremony had been moved away from the tarmac but that there was this 8-year-old girl and, I can't, I can't rush by her, I've got to at least greet her -- so I greeted her, I took her stuff and then I left. Now that's my memory of it."

Meanwhile, as Clinton backpedaled from the description of her Bosnia trip, the senator from New York was keeping her focus on the economy with a town hall-style meeting Tuesday in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

Clinton also pushed back against recent speculation by pundits and Democratic insiders that her chances of securing the nomination are quickly diminishing.

"I know there are some in Washington, and some in the media, who want this race to be over," she said to a loud chorus of boos.

"There are some who think we don't need to hear the voices of people in Pennsylvania or Indiana or North Carolina or Montana or any of the other states that haven't had their chance to vote. Well, I disagree."

Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, focused on the economy and the housing situation Tuesday, participating in a roundtable discussion in Santa Ana, California.

McCain blamed "rampant" speculation and "complacent" lenders for the mortgage crisis.
Vowing not to "play election-year politics," he called for more transparency in lending and higher capital reserves for lenders.

Obama had no public events scheduled Tuesday. The senator from Illinois was wrapping up a brief vacation to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Words...

The past few days have provided some pretty cool reading...mostly articles and stuff, nothing major, but I figured it might be cool to throw some quotes out this week and see what you think.

Here's one to get us going:

"A lot of people think branding is about crass commercialism, big business, and exploiting workers in Third World countries. A lot of people have really negative connotations of branding, but the essential definition of branding is simply the story that surrounds a product, a person, or an organization. In other words, what do people think of when they think of you? What do people think of when they think of Apple? What do they think of when they think of Nike? All that information is encoded in that brand. A brand is a story that surrounds an organization.

"So my thing is the Church actually began branding because we're the people who began thousands of years ago telling a compelling story that transformed our lives. But it seems in the last 40 or 50 years, we've lost that ability and business now does it better than we do. Nike tells a better story than most pastors."

-Phil Cooke, author of Branding Faith

(Taken from Collide Magazine, Issue 04, March/April 2008)

Totally true? Total nonsense? Somewhere in between?

(my) Vantage Point...

Good idea for a movie.

Fresh take on the "flashback" idea.

Great sound.

Nice cinematography.

A-list stars.

SOME OF THE WORST ACTING I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE.

Under The Sun...

It's no mystery that I read a lot of blogs...

If you read a lot of them, too, you probably read in certain "circles" - in other words, the blogs you read are grouped or linked with other blogs. Maybe they're all from a church, or all fans of a certain thing, or maybe they all live in the same town. Most of us follow at least two or three of these "circles," and it's usually not uncommon for blogs within those circles to center on similar things occasionally.

For example, there's a certain set of blogs that I read that love Mutemath. (And who doesn't...) So, you can guess when Mutemath did that cool backwards-video on Jimmy Kimmel, a lot of those blogs were talking about it or sharing the video.

So the opportunity for duplication is there.

Religious events are common causes of duplicate postings, too, and Easter weekend was one of the most interesting I've seen in awhile.

A few of the blogs I read were really focused on Saturday and I was really surprised to read blogs saying things like "What were the apostles doing on Saturday?" or "What were they feeling?" Questions along the lines of "Were the women already making plans to visit the tomb?" or "Was hope lost?"

The questions themselves didn't surprise me, but rather the fact that they were showing up on blogs. I have a theory that bloggers tend to write when things move them - most of us don't write things we've been holding onto for years; we write when stuff hits us. And I found it interesting that a few of my "blog friends" were moved at this thought.

There is a part of me that thinks that this Saturday-thinking, this imaging of what happened so many many years ago should be common practice. We shouldn't be shocked to remember Saturday. Shouldn't Easter weekend, and Holy Week (and Lent, for that matter) be that sort of remembering?

I'm not trying to speak ill of anybody who had thoughts like that about Saturday, because I also know that most of the blogs I read are written by people who are sincere and honest and invested in their faith.

I know that many of us bloggers feel that we're writing to an "audience" and we want to encourage them in their journey as disciples....

What are your thoughts?

Do you think Christ-followers have forgotten to think through Saturday? What sort of percentage of believers bring that sort of investment to Easter?

Did YOU think about Saturday?

U2 FANS ONLY...

At the risk of encouraging all my music-snob friends who don't like U2, I have a question.
If you are true U2 fan - I'd love your input.

The last U2 albums have been good. Really good...

Here's my question?

Which record is better? If you had to pick, what would it be?

1. All The You Can't Leave Behind
or
2. How Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

If you are "hater" and really feel the need to slam a band that is loved and appreciated by someone as smart and talented as me, I guess that's okay, too.

Uncle Jay Explains The News

My mom took us all to SciPort, this cool science museum type thing in Shreveport today. We got lots of good pictures, but this has to be my favorite...

Hey, Here's Something Creepy...

BigDog is a dynamically stable quadruped robot created in 2005 by Boston Dynamics with Foster-Miller, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station.

BigDog is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the hopes that it will be able to serve as a robotic pack mule to accompany soldiers in terrain too rough for conventional vehicles. Instead of wheels or treads, BigDog uses four legs for movement, allowing it to move across surfaces which would defeat wheels. The legs feature a variety of sensors in them, including joint position and ground contact. BigDog also features a laser gyroscope and a stereo vision system.



HT: Jeffrey Overstreet

Review...(A Sea Change)

Passion - God Of This City
Six Steps Records / February 5, 2008

I'll be honest - I've been relatively disappointed in the last few Passion albums. Lately, I've found them just to seem a bit tired, as if I was really hearing the same record over and over.

In addition, I think Passion kinda' got away from actually providing resources that could be used in the local church. That's just opinion, of course, but it had been awhile since anything jumped off the speakers and said, "TODD, PLAY ME IN CHURCH!"

Well, guess what?

I'm here to tell you that Passion is back.

Passion's 2008 God Of This City is really, really good. If you'll allow me, I'd like to share my thoughts song by song. (This may be a long one, kids...)

Track 1 - Let God Arise (Chris Tomlin)
The record opens with what may be Tomlin's most rocking tune from the Made To Worship project. This opener is more evidence that leads me to believe that Tomlin should only release live records from here on out. Chris' studio records are good and they do great on radio, but I think this new record from Passion once again proves that this guy is a master on the live stage. The tune itself is a nice departure for "worship rock," employing more blues emphasis than we're used to hearing from the young adult worship crowd.

Track 2 - You Are God (Charlie Hall)
Charlie Hall's "You Are God" maintains track one's attempt at difference. The nice bounce of this shuffle leads me to believe that this might have even started out as a more country-tinged tune in its early stages. I'm not as nuts about the chorus section, and the drums get a little too progressive for my taste is the bridge.

Track 3 - God Of This City (Chris Tomlin)
The title track is amazing. Even at first listen, it didn't seem like a standard Tomlin/Giglio/Reeves offering. There's a real fresh approach to phrasing and melody that we haven't heard from Passion in awhile. Tomlin does a fantastic job leading this one and the band is absolutely stunning in their ability to fuel this epic prayer. Churches all over America will be singing this one in no time. It's that good.

Track 4 - O For A Thousand Tongues (David Crowder Band)
Crowder offers his remake of the old hymn. It's not much different than his Remedy version. I like the dual violin/electric riffing in between the sections and I think the new chorus is really nice. From a congregational perspective, I think it's a bit fast.

Track 5 - Hosanna (Christy Nockels)
Christy Nockels takes on Brooke Fraser's "Hosanna." When all is said and done, I like Brooke's version better, but I'm not sure it matters - the Passion remake is pretty much exactly the same. (I've heard folks express some frustration at Passion's recent infatuation with Hillsong United's catalog...but if doing a cover is what you want to do, "Hosanna" is a pretty good choice.)

Track 6 - Sing, Sing, Sing (Chris Tomlin)
Despite spending a bit too much time on the 1 chord, Tomlin and company go ahead and nail a fun crowd tune. The tune's relatively short, but says some good stuff and has a pretty great melody for one of those "dancing" songs.

Track 7 - Beautiful Jesus (Kristian Stanfill)
I've never found Stanfill's stuff to be that fantastic, but I do think this may be the most accessible of all the tunes on the record. I can see this working quite well in almost any musical setting.

Track 8 - Walk The World (Charlie Hall)
There are times when Charlie Hall is just a little too weird for his own good. I think the techno keys and drum loop get this tune off to a bad start and I don't think the song ever recovers. Didn't dig this one. I can't really follow the lyrical thread too well, but there is a slamming guitar lead, though.

Track 9 - We Shine (Fee)
Okay, I've made a turn on Fee. I've always liked Steve Fee's slower stuff, but never found much enjoyment in the rock stuff. I've heard "We Shine" lots of times, and I've never liked it. Until now...some might find this a stretch, but Fee's offering for this record is probably the first time we've heard a worship artist channel U2-circa Achtung Baby/Zooropa like this. Fun song with some pretty good musicianship.

Track 10 - God Of Our Yesterdays (Matt Redman)
As strange as this may seem, I think Redman brings a real maturity to this record. That's not to say that the rest is immature, but Redman's first offering on the record seems way more dependent on simplicity in lyric and melody and is noticeably free of much trend. "God Of Yesterdays" sounds like the type of song we'll be singing in ten years and never even think of it as old. Timeless song declaring His goodness to the generations...

Track 11 - The Glory Of It All (David Crowder Band)
I've always liked this slow burn of Crowder's. Again, there's not much different from the record version (unless you count thousands of people screaming.) Strangely, I think the screams definitely reinforce the dynamic build of this tune that is sometimes hard to get from the Remedy version.

Track 12 - Shine (Matt Redman)
This may be one of the worst Redman songs ever played on the radio...but it's fantastic here. It might be a tad slower than the radio version, and the presence of a congregation singing along gives these lyrics some real depth. I also love how simple the band takes the verse sections. Redman consistently proves to me that he's in a level all his own. (Drummers are going to love the kick on this song!)

Track 13 - Dancing Generation (Matt Redman)
Anybody who knows me knows I love this tune. I mean, this one might even be better that Todd Wright Band version. Maybe...

Track 14 - Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) (Chris Tomlin et. al)
I'm one of the few folks in America who doesn't normally like Tomlin's version of this song. I'm still not sure about the chorus, but as far as production and arrangement and expert delivery, the record closer is the stuff of legend. I think it shows a hidden gift that Passion team has - the ability to perfectly capture a moment of worship without cluttering it up with a lot of stuff. They don't always pull it off, but I don't think I've heard them it better than this.

If you're a lifelong Passion fan, you've probably already got this and love it. But if you haven't taken time to listen to it, you should. I think you'll find it to have a lot of useable stuff, lots of great moments for personal worship and some great rock and roll.

Lil' More Sunday Morning...

Had to plug another contemporary snippet in this week's broadcast on KTRE. So I scrolled through our tape of Sunday and landed on "From The Rooftops." Once again, I thought my band and tech team did a great job.





Not sure why there's a video and then a picture of the video. Blogger hates me.

Raimi, Paramount Revive Jack Ryan

Paramount Pictures is in negotiations with Sam Raimi to spearhead a franchise revival of Jack Ryan, the Tom Clancy-created CIA analyst character who drove four hit movies for the studio.

Raimi would develop and direct a series of films to be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Raimi's Buckaroo Entertainment partner Josh Donen.
The intention is to generate several films Raimi would develop and direct, featuring Ryan at a younger, more formative point in his career than previously depicted. One invention the studio is considering is to set the film in the present, with the action triggered by a global threat.

Par will draft a scribe to write a Ryan movie that Raimi would shoot after he completes the Universal horror film "Drag Me to Hell." Paramount wants the Ryan movie ready for release in summer 2010.

Ryan is the cerebral CIA analyst who climbed the political ladder and became an Everyman action hero star in a quartet of films spearheaded by producer Mace Neufeld. Alec Baldwin originated Ryan in 1990's "The Hunt for Red October" and when Baldwin famously jumped ship to do "A Streetcar Named Desire" on Broadway, Harrison Ford replaced him in 1992's "Patriot Games" and 1994's "Clear and Present Danger." Ben Affleck played Ryan in 2002's "The Sum of All Fears." The four films grossed $781.5 million worldwide.

While Clancy is completing another Ryan novel, the studio hasn't read it and so hasn't decided if it will use the new book or come up with an original story. Paramount controls rights to the Ryan character, and gets first look at the new novel.

Raimi was drawn to the project because he loves the character. The studio was attracted by Raimi's skill in navigating a franchise, following a trio of "Spider-Man" blockbusters. Raimi is by no means out of the running to make more "Spider-Man" films, but he would have to direct the first film after "Drag Me to Hell" for the studio to make its 2010 release date.

HT: Variety

PS...Jonah's got a new blog up. He would want me to share that with all of you...

Oh Man...

HT: Steven Russell

Todd Recommends...

Through A Screen Darkly (Jeffrey Overstreet)
Regal Books, February 5, 2007

I loved this book!

Essentially, this book highlights some of Overstreet's most influential film experiences, identifies their larger themes and then finds that same theme supported and celebrated in other movies.

In addition to this great collection of redemptive images found in movies, the book also speaks honestly and powerfully about "Christian movies" and "Christian movie critics." Overstreet is respectful, but its clear that he comes at film in a manner quite different from most other religious film organizations. The author talks very honestly about making good choices with regard to what we put before our eyes, but he also has a brain in his head and offers some nice counterpoint to the "hunker-in-the-bunker" mentality of many Christian movie critics.

I also found the book to be a great tool - throughout the work, Overstreet is actually teaching the reader HOW to watch movies; how to open my mind and heart to look for God in films that I might normally just pass over or consider unworthy of my time.

If you love film, I think you'll love Through A Screen Darkly.

wn = still hanging in there...

A lot of you remember when Rob and I did worshipnotes, right? It was like an online worship magazine thing? Remember it? It was really cool? People liked it...people read it....

Anyway, it's been gone for awhile. I still like writing and resourcing regarding worship, but Robert and I simply don't have the time to do that anymore.

One of the coolest aspects of doing that was always The Free CD. I got tons of them: pre-release, indie, award-winning, new label starts, etc. I miss that part of the site, but every now and again, somebody slips up.

That's right...EMI sent me two records today. I guess they think I'm still in the biz.

They sent me the new records from Starfield and Shawn McDonald. (I've never been crazy about McDonald, but I usually dig Starfield.) I'm importing them now and plan on checking them out while I exercise. I keep you updated!

CD News...

Couple of upates regarding All The Freed.

1. Starting next month, http://www.independentbands.com/ will begin selling mp3 downloads of songs in addition to CD sales. They'll be offering the downloads at twice the audio quality of standard iTunes audio files. To quote them, "it will be free of the much-hated DRM that will allow the audio file to play on any audio player or computer in the world." Yeah!

2. The record is now online at Rhapsody and Napster. iTunes should follow soon, but that process is a bit more time-consuming. They say it's a cool thing to be on these sorts of sites, as people are able to buy single songs and investigate your music in-depth. I do not who "they" are, but sometimes they're right.

If you can, spread the word!

This blog brought some much needed laughter into my day:

the FAIL blog

Great pictures, hilarious comments...

HT: double3

Favorite moment from worship yesterday...

Sound engineer upstairs screaming into his talkback microphone:

"PLAY SOFTER! BLAKE, YOU'VE GOT TO PLAY SOFTER!"

THEY'RE ONTO US...

Check this out tell me what you think. (Contains one bad word...so be careful if you're offended by those sorts of things.)

HT: The Plow

Jonah Wright, Actor Of The Year

Last week, Jonah and I were talking about our Nothing But Nets campaign at the church. I was telling him about how cool it was and how we needed to do everything we could to help out. At some point in the conversation, I mentioned maybe using him in a video to promote it.

You should have seen his face.

I wasn't aware of this, but lately, he's been telling Kristen that he wants to be on TV. Well, on Saturday, he got his chance.

Here is Jonah's commercial for our Nothing But Nets campaign. We're going to post on blogs and websites, but in addition, it will be featured in the local TV broadcast our church service on the first Sunday in April.

Jonah did a great job - most of it was "lines," be we let him go off script a little bit because it was so great. We're gonna' try to fire up Jonah's blog again...if you'd like to throw some love his way, go leave a comment on his site...

Uncle Jay Explains The News

Wait for it...

MY FRIDAY...

Finley had a pretty rough night, so Kristen and I were up quite a bit trying to calm her down and get her to sleep. Jonah and Krist got up at 7 and Finley and I woke up around 8:30. Kristen laid back down and slept for awhile. I got her up and we all lounged around for a bit.

Krist gave me a haircut around 11, then I headed out into town to pick up lunch for everybody. (We need some groceries around here, y'all...) And Lufkin may not look like a metropolis, but trying to find a quick lunch at 12:45pm on Friday is not an easy task.

Got the food, rushed home. Krist and I ate fast and begged the kids to eat. (They didn't.) Went to take family pictures at 2 with a girl from her named Shauna Morgan.

Finley wasn't too nuts about the pictures, but Jonah LOVED it. A model in the making, perhaps?

Finished the pictures at 3 and came home. Soon as we got in, Krist headed out to work for a couple of hours. We tried to make Finley take a nap, but not long after laying her down, I heard in her room playing on her little piano.

I cleaned up the house while the kids watched TV and played and generally did their best to undo my cleaning efforts. I ran a bath for Finley around 6. Kristen came in walked immediately over to me with this very funny look.

And that's when I see it...she got her nose pierced.

Yes, my wife has been dying to get one of those tiny little diamonds put in her nose. And so today, she did.

We all marveled at it for a bit, then put Finley to bed. Kristen had rented "Bee Movie" for our Friday night movie night so we started it up. Not long after, Jonah and Kristen convinced Dad to make a popcorn run, so I dashed out for popcorn and root beer. (Our favorite movie-watching snack!)

After the movie, Jonah went right to sleep. I did about thirty minutes on the treadmill, showered, the hit the sack.

YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE...

I've thought about this for some time. I've done research. I've asked the hard questions. I've watched those closest to me.

And I'm convinced.

It is impossible for anyone (man or woman) not to love this man.

Adam Fischer, ladies and gentlemen.

If you know him, how 'bout showing him some love down in the comment box?

BLOGGING THE MEDIA

Mark Cuban is causing quite a stir.

It seems that Cuban has made a decision to ban "bloggers" from the Mavs locker room. He's been writing about it on his blog and so far he's making a lot of sense.

...And his post today has some really sharp marketing ideas about the new blog culture as it relates to news media.

If you get some time, go check out his past two or three posts. I think you'll find it an interesting read: BlogMaverick

NATURAL CURES THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT

About a month ago, I got a migraine headache. Up until that time, I had only experienced something like once before. Having a brother-in-law that suffers from migraines, I knew they were bad news, but had very little actual experience with them.

Then, just last weekend, I was in town with my family and a Big Mama Migraine came by and slapped me senseless.

My mom, always the fan of the natural cure for ailments, went scouring the Internet for info on beating migraines. Here's one thing she found:

There are several approaches to relieve a migraine, but the best one is to prevent it altogether. The high drive personality of a migraine sufferer is usually mostly to blame. This person should slow down in his stressful business and/or personal life. But when a migraine attack is inevitable, the person should not give into it by going to bed or abruptly slowing down his activities.

If he or she gives into the headache slowly and not quickly, it will keep the blood vessels from over relaxing and therefore causing the first ebb and flow of the migraine. Fresh air, coffee, a massage and a heat lamp applied on the back of the neck can help to restore circulation and relieve the pain.


The nutritional approach can also help the sufferer. He or she should be eating a high vitamin, high mineral and high protein diet. Additional supplements should also be taken. The sufferer should check with his or her doctor before using any of these natural remedies for their migraine headache relief. Remember that migraines can be caused by lots of stress and also nutritional deficiencies.

The sufferer needs to relax and start taking it easy (or easier!) and of course needs to eat a nutritional diet along with supplements. Prevention is the key for curing migraines!

I think there's a lot of good stuff here and I'm trying to implement some of them, but the thing that baffles me is the encouragement that I should "give into" a migraine. That I should keep moving, working, doing my normal stuff and gradually ease into rest. I don't know if you've ever suffered from one of these headaches, but usually I turn into a weepy little girl.

Anybody got tips for beating migraine?

ONE BOOK, TWO MOVIES...

The final "Harry Potter" book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," will be adapted into two films, Warner Bros. said Wednesday

.Titled "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," the movies are set to be released in November 2010 and May 2011.

David Yates -- who is directing the adaptation of the sixth novel, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and is slated to helm the seventh film -- will direct both movies, which will be shot back-to-back. Steve Kloves, who has written all but one of the "Potter" movies, also is returning to write the two-parter.

"Hallows," which sold more than 11 million copies in its first 24 hours of release, is J.K. Rowling's biggest book, weighing in at 784 pages. Adapting the novel would have resulted in truncating large swaths of it or making an extra-long feature in order to fit everything in. The studio found itself in a situation similar to Quentin Tarantino with "Kill Bill," where splitting one long movie in two worked best creatively.

The decision makes financial sense for Warners because the movies are sure hits, and the "Potter" franchise has brought in billions of dollars for the studio, which distributes the movies worldwide and has no financial partner on them.

It already has been confirmed that the cast of the sixth movie, led by Daniel Radcliffe, will return for the final adaptation.

HT: Hollywood Reporter

Anybody heard this yet?

Todd Recommends...

There are a few songs that have really been gets lots of play in Todd-Land. I thought it might be fun to share them with you all! If you know some of these tunes, feel free to chime in...

"All I Have" - Vineyard Playlist (Stand In Awe)
I like Vineyard stuff, but normally, I find their catalog just too unreliable. It's hard to buy a Vineyard album without listening all the way through because you never know what you're going to get.
But when they get it right, they get it right.

The Stand In Awe record is most well-known for making Jeremy Riddle the hot new thing in modern worship, but I think "All I Have" is the big shiny gem in this record.

Lyrically, the tune is solid and the melody is about as inviting as they come. True to Vineyard form, the arrangement is very simple. (Which I love...) They might be unreliable, but you can't say Vineyard stuff is hard to use!

I haven't found a place to use the song in worship yet. So far, I'm just enjoying it all on my own.


"Our God Above" - Andy Melvin (The Human Engine Waits)

In my experience, good rockin' worship songs are hard to find. I had heard of Andy. He's a worship leader at the Austin Stone Community Church and a gal on my praise team at our church came back from Austin one weekend bragging on their worship. I've yet to make my way through the whole record...mostly because I can't stop listening to track 1. I've got big plans for "Our God Above." The TWB will be trying it out on March 30th in Nacogdoches. (It's the tune that's playing behind the Remnant Promo I uploaded on Monday.)


"Lamb of God" - Scott Reed (The Life I Live)
"Lamb of God" isn't Scott Reed's song. It was written by Twila Paris in 1985 and since then has shown up on numerous records and in many, many Easter musicals. My plan is to learn this and play it at next week's Good Friday service. I really like Scott's version of the tune - nice and epic but still right at home in a church service.






"What Wondrous Love Is This" - Fernando Ortega (Beginnings)
I actually first heard this song last year as I tried very hard to work up guitar accompaniment for a Holy Week service. In the end, my guitar part was lame and I didn't particularly enjoy the song. This year, when I was looking through some Easter stuff, I found Fernando Ortega's rendition of the tune and decided to give it a listen, once again proving my theory that Fernando Ortega can make anything sound amazing. But beyond that, I think this version from Beginnings really gives this song the treatment it needs.

As best I can tell, the song is pretty much the same. There's a neat change of chord structure on the last few passes of the song that lift it dynamically without being obtuse about it. A great song. I'd like to use it sometime, but that would violate my Fernando Ortega theory: DON'T EVER TRY HIS SONGS. YOU'LL NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH.
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So, there are the tunes I'm digging and thinking about using.

What about you? What are you listening to right now?

The Show...

I'm willing to bet that your church shows an increased number of attendees on Easter.

Your particular area might not see the "rush" as much as most, but we're all familiar with the fact that, typically, Christmas and Easter bring back family members and friends and occasionally those unfamiliar with the church who are visiting on the High Holy Days.

I don't care if you're in the hippest, coolest mall-turned-worship-center or in a building 2,000 years old, I think almost everybody puts on "a show" at Easter. Some of us do it for all of the guests or folks we think may not be in relationship with God. Some of us do it for ourselves - a little dash of pageantry to brighten up the day.

I'd like to know your thoughts...

First of all, does your church put on a show?

And secondly, why?

I think we're all from pretty varied faith-families and I'd love to get an idea of what Easter looks like for you all. (And don't be afraid to get specific...I WANT to hear about that goat you bring into the choir loft!)

Remnant Promo

Here's this week's promo for Sunday night's Remnant.

Talk About Your Revolution...

It's very rainy in East Texas. Not just a drizzle or a mist, but a pretty steady downpour that will eventually swell out of its gutters and runoffs and eventually flood our streets a little bit and generally inconvenience everybody.

This is the kind of rain you don't get out it. This is that sort of rain that makes you think crazy thoughts like: "Can I call in sick today?" or "I'll just pay that bill tomorrow," or "Where's the junk food in this house?"

Being the good worker bee that I am, I showed up at work today to brave the elements. There are just too many tasks and and I am a young, vibrant, passionate servent of God who's willing to do what it takes to make His praise glorious.

And then, I see it...

I'm walking down a hallway at the church and I glance outside across a tiny courtyard. From where I'm standing I can see perfectly into our "prayer chapel," that little known 20-seat sanctuary tucked at the end of our Education Wing.

The prayer chapel has a large window along its front wall, providing a nice view of the grass and sky for those sitting in the tiny little pews. And from my viewpoint, I can see through that window.

Old ladies.

I see their cars in the parking lot now, dripping with rain, the dirt long washed from the tires because these ladies have been here awhile. And they've been praying. No one talks about them or probably even remembers that they're praying in the chapel on a Monday morning, but this thing that they're doing - is massive. It's faithful and it's humble and it's wise, because those ladies know something that most of us don't.

Everybody talks about revolution. Everbody talks about young people and adults "rising up" or becoming an army of faithful followers of God. Everbody talks about this new wave of revival that's coming...

And this whole time, these ladies are praying. They're not going to conferences, they're not asking their pastor to pump them up every Sunday and get them spiritually super-charged. They're praying. Just praying.

While I sit here and work and toil and do my best to come up with stuff that's engaging and creative and dare I say "cool," they're praying.

Talk about a revolution...

CAN OF WORMS?

A lot of you are familiar with http://www.pwarchive.com/. For a long time, it's been a resource for chord charts and tabs for worship music. While coasting around Facebook the other day, I see a "pwarchive" group so I check it out.

Imagine my surprise to find numerous angry comments on their wall. Why? Because of this recent notice posted at the worship site:
______________________
Notice
Pwarchive has been contacted by the Church Music Publishers Association and have been asked to remove all lyrics from the site due to copyrights. Over the next few days, work is going to be done to comply with this. Please join the mailing list for all future updates. Want to help?

Additional details on this matter can be found on the copyright page which will contain future updates. Sign the petition to as CMPA members to grant licenses to Pwarchive.
______________________



First things first - what are your thoughts on this development?

Secondly, if you'd like to protest this decision, I strongly urge you to click the 'petition' link above and let your voice be heard. I'm not sure how many names are needed, but as the time of this writing, it was somewhere around 1200 names.

It took me a little while, but now I'm convinced. Using a reader is the only way to read blogs.

So, how many of you out there use a reader? What do you use? And, how many blogs do you follow?



How many of you still read blog the "old" way?

My Friday...

6:10am - Finley wakes up crying. Kristen shoves me and mumbles, "Can you - get - her?" I sigh, which means, No-I-want-to-stay-in-bed-this-cold-and-rainy-Friday-morning. Then I get up.

7:30am - Wake up Kristen and demand that she let me sleep. I run the show around here, you see...

9:00am - Kristen wakes me up. Eat some breakfast while Krist calls in to work. Turns out she didn't need to work today! Lounge around

10:30am - Head into town for some diapers, wipes and snacks.

11:15am - Come home, help Jonah fix his favorite meal in the world - Lunchables.

12:00pm - Shared a sandwich with Finley while Jonah and Krist wasted time on http://www.poptarts.com/. Don't knock until you try it. Lots of funny games.

1:45pm - Krist and Jonah leave to go see The Spiderwick Chronicles. I put Finley down for a nap and then wait until she's finally asleep before cleaning up the house a bit.

2:30pm - Clean house (just a little.)

3:20pm - Get Finley out of her room. The nap didn't take. Play "Elefun" with her. (Her new favorite game.)

4:10pm - Krist and Jonah get home from movie. We all hung around watched TV. Kinda' lazy...

5:10pm - Todd cooks dinner. (Read: puts chicken nuggets in the oven.)

5:45pm - Give kids their baths. Finley went to sleep almost immediately. Jonah stayed up awhile.

8:30pm - Treadmill.

9:30pm - Bed!

The Hubub...

Finally saw There Will Be Blood. I'm a huge Daniel Day-Lewis fan, so I'm always anxious when his stuff comes out. However, the trailer freaked me out. Add the fact that I'm usually extremely nervous about dramas with Oscar-buzz ('cause they're usually weird,) I was pretty mixed up about watching it. So, here are my thoughts...with no spoilers.

THE ACTING
Remember when Daniel Day-Lewis got the Oscar for this movie a few weeks ago? He earned it. I'm not joking around - this is legendary acting. Apart from the storyline or cinematography or box-office receipts, this might be some of the finest acting to come around in a while. And not just in the lead role...this thing is powerfully portrayed. From a purely entertainment perspective, I say it's worth the money just to see these actors own the characters in a way we're not used to seeing.

THE STORY
I'm not going to spoil it, but I do think it's fair for people to know a little bit about the film. This one is dark. It's sad. There's redemption, but it's covered up pretty good by some horrific instances of greed and abandonment and selfishness. Maybe you can find some hope in it. I didn't find very much. But that's okay, because I think that sad movies definitely have their place.

THE LESSON
This is a fantastic movie for fathers. The film hit me pretty hard with regard to my parenting. I try hard to be a good dad, and usually I do okay, but this film was cautionary for me - it put some healthy fear in my head about guarding my heart against the temptation to let work and materialism and self kill all the good things in my life. I think that danger is in all of us - the risk for our own ambition (even for things that are "good") to consume us and incinerate those that love us most and who walk closest to us.
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A date movie, it's not. It's not even a Friday night rental, but I think parents who can handle a well-crafted but relatively disturbing storyline should watch it - there are important lessons in There Will Be Blood. Warnings aren't all that fun to see, but they might just save our lives one day.

Sunday, 3/2/08

At church, we're working on getting our contemporary service up and running for broadcast or download or some such other form of distribution. We're still working out the kinks of taping our service.

I'm not sure if you know this, but it's very hard for most praise teams to sound good on TV. In fact, some of the most skilled teams in the world sound horrible on video. I'm not sure why - I just know it's hard to do.

That's why this version of Robbie Seay's "Tasting Forgiveness" is so impressive. I think my band did a great job. (Unfortunately, our camera guy didn't get any footage of them...maybe next time!) In addition, I think my tech team did a great job of capturing and mixing this. The folks you can't see but who made this one possible are:

Justin Romack - drums
Brad Anderson - bass

Jay Watrous - electric guitar
Kathy Thannisch - piano
April Holder - vocals
Todd - you know what I do.

JENKEES...

If Star Wars Had Been Released Two Decades Earlier...

HT: Wil Wheaton (Yeah, THAT Wil Wheaton)

TODD RECOMMENDS...

The Glorious Unseen - Tonight The Stars Speak
Released October 23, 2007 / Tooth and Nail Records

As a worship leader, I have a lot of responsibilities. You know, the normal responsibilities every other worship leader has. But for me, one of the most fun aspects of my job is to pass on information about songs and ideas to other worship leaders.

But it's an odd calling - lots of times worship leaders look at me like I'm crazy. Like I didn't get the memo that we're not supposed to work together or share songs or ideas - that I'm somehow breaking some important rule about serving just my church in just my town.

So, if you're weirded out by one worship leader passing resources to another, then you're a loser and you've got severe mental problems. You should leave this site immediately.

Whew! I'm glad they're gone, aren't you?

Look, finding good worship music is hard. A lot of of is cliche-junk that's pitched too high or over-produced or suffocating under the weight of its own pretense. That's worship leaders should work together - finding songs and sharing them.

Tonight The Stars Speak is a record you need to hear. Produced by Steve Hindalong and Marc Byrd (very sharp producers,) The Glorious Unseen's 2007 release is a mid-tempo and mellow batch of tunes that simply stick. Let's break it down.

Songwriting
Mostly congregational, occasionally conversational, these songs have solid lyrics and melodies that are somehow unobtrusive, yet infectious. To put in practical terms, imagine a collection of Hillsong United's best big, mid-tempo tunes. Every song on Tonight The Stars Speak is epic. There aren't many rockers, but I'd guess that 6 or 7 songs could be instantly implemented into most praise team situations.

Production/Arrangement
Hindalong's fingerprints are all over this record. There's probably not another worship record out there with such brilliant use of synth and drone notes. (Hindalong is known for his skillfull pairing of synth and ambient electric guitar in modern rock arrangements.) It remains to be seen if these songs would work without the synth/keys. They aren't hard parts, but they are strongly connected to the songs, "making" many of the tracks. Finding the right patches and tones for both synth and electric guitar might prove a challenge, but I think most of the songs would hold up. Toward the end of the record, vocals get a little predictable and tired, but I think the songs would stand up with more normal, everyday vocals.

Target
In my opinion, Tonight The Stars Speak is probably aimed at a few different groups. I think college worship teams would dig these songs. The ethereal nature, lyrical phrasing and lengthy arrangements just seem to lend themselves to those sort of extended worship settings. Secondly, I think more charismatic churches would benefit from these songs. It's a shame that so many charsmatic churches of late have been locked into a certain brand of music. ...Stars Speak is big enough and new enough to breathe some life into those churches getting a little tired of the same 'ol thing. I also think the third benefit of this record is just for pure listening pleasure. I've been really enjoying this record at night, in the car, any time where I just want to kick back and have something nice and smooth playing in the background.

If you're looking to listen to something a bit experimental, way epic and fresh-sounding, give The Glorious Unseen a try.

WHO MADE YOU?

David's recent post about influential records got me thinking about all the people in my life who have shaped who I am, what I think, how I behave, etc.

After thinking on that for awhile, I started to think about people who have influenced me in my chosen field of ministry/career of worship leading. These are people who helped in some of my formative stages. Their support and encouragement shaped by thoughts and theories and put me on the path to realizing my full, God-given potential.

Mitch Powell - Mitch was my first youth minister. As I came into youth group at my church, the current guy was leaving, so I had no idea what to expect. Mitch was loud and funny and sincere and he was the first guy to ask me to lead worship. (My first time was singing Carman's "God's Got Army" with one of those Youth Worship Split-Track CDs. Ugghh.) Mitch was always ready with an encouraging word.

Tim Stacy - Coming up in a pretty conservative church in the 80's, (Who didn't, right?) I had almost no exposure to the modern praise and worship movement. Thanks to Christian radio (Yeah, I said it) and a man named Tim Stacy, I became a fan and researcher of all things worship. Tim took me in when I was a passionate young man in danger of becoming bitter and angry at my church's lack of "progress." (Oh, the drama!) Tim put good music in my hands and encouraged me that God was taking care of his church, even if I didn't believe it.

Ralph Rose - Ralph was the first guy to ever walk up to me and say, "You can make a record." Ralph is the reason I got hooked on playing gigs and recording music. His faith in me was unshakable - and a little bit unfounded. He thought I was better than everybody. He was wrong, but it's nice to have a guy like that in your corner.

Lance Burch - Lance is responsible for one of the most exciting times in my worship-leading life. He begged Kristen and me to lead worship for his youth group for months before we agreed. I'm so glad we finally wised up. My time as Lance's worship leader ended up being worship boot camp. I tested songs, learned about observing a crowd and formed some pretty important theories about what worship is supposed to be.

They are others, but these guys loom pretty large in my past. They are markers in the journey of my ministry - testaments to God's faithfulness to put good, Godly people in the lives of punk kids to shape those kids to be something useful and good.

You don't have to be a musician to have influences; everybody's got 'em. So, in your field of expertise.

WHO SHAPED YOU?

Mike Rowe is the man.

What happens when you watch bloopers from the funniest sitcom ever? Todd can't stop laughing...

In Search Of Songs...

I once heard a very smart songwriter say that he had adopted a fellow novelist's approach to her craft - "to be a good writer, you've got to be a reader."

I think that's probably true. I find that the people in my life who have written truly amazing songs are folks who actually listen to A LOT of music. They're constantly reading, listening, asking questions, analyzing phrases, word choices - all in an effort to learn more about what makes a song truly come alive.

My personal theory is that any songwriter worth his or her salt will work at this discipline - the analysis, the listening, the long hours of thinking and trying and replaying songs in his or her head. Knowing this about me, it's probably no surprise that one of my favorite aspects of traveling around to lead worship is finding out what songs people are doing and digging in their respective churches.

Knowing what someone listens to can tell you a lot about the person and knowing what a church sings can tell you a lot about them.

From what I can tell, though, my readership around here is a varied one and I'm positive that many of you are singing/celebrating tunes I've never even heard of. So, I figured I'd use this little blog of mine to find out what songs YOU'RE digging. What worship songs are moving you, impressing you and staying stuck in your head?

(And Johnny, try to keep your votes to something post-18th century, okay? It just makes all of us feel dumb.)

Uncle Jay