I've always enjoyed MADtv much more than SNL, although I rarely get the chance to watch it. My mom recently told me about "Bon Qui Qui" who I am loving.

Rude.

Jonah was intrigued w/ my SuperNote and fascinated with Brookers' "Captain Video."

So he decided to join in...

As If Blogging Weren't Pretentious Enough...

Now, the people at WIRED magazine offer this way of making yourself more important than you really are.

By inputting your MySpace, Twitter and blog URL, the mysterious computer robots that live inside Google scour the internet to find out popular you really are. (Links, references, other stuff I don't understand...)

How could I pass that up? Here's how I did:








I had no idea whether or not this score meant anything, so I clicked on one of the sample names to see how I rate.

Barack Obama's score? 7,122.

So...I think I can safely say I am less popular than Barack Obama. Thank you, WIRED magazine!

And even though you'll pretend to not care about something as silly as this...you know you want to try.

Confessional 9/28/08

"Shotgun Stories" is a film from a new writer/director named Jeff Nichols. It is mythical, Southern, dark and tortured.

And it looks like something I would LOVE. Anybody heard of it? Anybody else as interested as me? Anybody seen it? It was released in March, but I had never heard of it.



Source: Overstreet

My Friday

Finley woke up a bit before 7, so I got up with her. We lounged around the living room for a bit. Somehow, she found a bag of Cheetoh's and began her 'breakfast' without me knowing.

Once I got the Cheetoh's away from her, she wanted to go out into the backyard to see our cat, whom she ABSOLUTELY LOVES! Except I keep forgetting we have a new security system that Kristen sets to "stay" during the night...which means that the second a door is opened the entire house explodes w/ sirens.

I get the sirens turned off and Finley played outside for a bit. She eventually came in and we had some breakfast, watched cartoons...you know, LAZINESS. Kristen and Jonah slept pretty late, but once the A/C man called to schedule a repair on our non-functioning air conditioner, we all got up and ready for some cool air!

We hung out while the dude fixed the A/C. (Very nice guy...Bullard Air Conditioning is the way to go, gang.) After that was done, the kids and I headed into town. Kristen had lunch with her friend Marla, so we went to the bookstore to buy some books! Finley got a Mickey Mouse book, Jonah got Spongebob (of course,) I got 2 books (N.T. Wright and Ted Dekker,) and I picked up a new Bible for Kristen. After the bookstore, we stopped by Target for some groceries/supplies then headed home.

We had lunch, then I put Finley down for a nap. Kristen got home around 2:30 or 3 and I hit the treadmill. (Had a great run...probably the most fun run I've had to date!) I grabbed a shower and we lounged around a bit more. Pretty soon, we made some dinner plans with the Strader's. Let me tell you something - those are fun people to hang out with.

After dinner, we all came back to the Wright house so the kids could play. Ross and I had been toying with the idea of seeing "Eagle Eye," so we got online, bought tickets and caught the 9:55 show. I won't do a whole review of the movie, but it was a fun ride. Utterly ridiculous storyline, but some great action and humor...and some cool story-pacing and camera work, too.

Got home around 1am, wrote this blog and went to bed!

BE SURE AND VOTE ON THE 'MIGHTY TO SAVE' POLL AT THE BLOG!

The New Guy

Hey gang, if you're not part of the Bethel Bible Facebook page, then you haven't seen our newest video, "The New Guy." We posted it Wednesday on Facebook and it went on the Bethel Blog early this morning.

Swing over to the church's blog and check it out!

www.bethelbible.typepad.com

Thanks!

By the way, posted a new poll over on the right sidebar for RSS kids. Click on the blog and let your voice be heard!

CHOICES...

This movie opens on Friday night...



So does this one...



Mmmm...which one should I go see?

Driscoll/Piper...

If you get a chance, check out Mark Driscoll's interview with John Piper. Mark talks about the off-the-cuff nature of the interview and complements John in some really fantastic ways.

It's an absolutely charming interview and builds my respect for Piper even more.
Check It Here...

Tavin's SuperNote...

The SuperNote movement is growing. Rhett and Link are powerful, powerful men.

This afternoon, some pals and I will be headed to Teague, TX to lead worship for a "Saw You At The Pole" Rally for 8th Avenue Baptist Church.

I'm ashamed to say that I didn't even know SYATP was still a thing these days, but I'm glad to help my buddy Shaun out with some worship.

Here's the crew:

JUSTIN ROMACK - Drums, percussion, other sundry sounds. Playing with Justin is like having a warm blanket...no matter what happens on stage, he's gonna' be loyal, sturdy and get the job done.

BEN LOVE - Bass guitar, vocals. I know it might seem like I made this guy up...I mean, come on...a bass player named 'Love?' That's just too easy, right? But trust me, he's real. He's a member of the band Clairmont and one of Ross King's go-to bass players. Can't go wrong with that, huh?

SPENCE PEPPARD - Electric guitar. To say that Spence Peppard 'plays' electric guitar isn't really correct. He doesn't play it...he brings it under submission and wields it like a mighty sword of electrons and wattage and...I'm so bad at metaphor.

MARK KUYKENDALL - Mark is the Pastor of Student Ministries at Bethel. He's a gifted communicator, a sharp theological mind and he can do anything. Like, anything. Like...he may repair a car or something at the church when we're done. Mark will be preaching/teaching/'bringing the Word' for the event. I'm excited to serve alongside him.

ANGELA ROMACK - Anytime Angela can come on a gig, I'm happy. I love this girl. Not only is she a great help to Justin (and often the rest of us,) she also just a really fun person to be around. She's sincere and a servant and it's always fun to hang out. Now, it's rumored that Angela will be video taping some of the night. If that happens, you can count on a video recap on Thursday!

If we have time after setting up, sound checking, rehearsing, inputting projection, eating a snack and praying...we'll aslo check for wifi. A little Mogulus broadcast of the TWB would be fun, right?

Stay tuned! We're gonna' have a blast!

SUPERNOTE!

You bet I joined in. I'm on "Team Edbassmaster."

Kristen's New Tat...

You know how Kristen went to Lufkin for the past couple of days?
Apparently she had an "appointment" with her good friends at the Boneyard.
She came back with this:


Talk about "ancient-future."

WHAT TO DO?

This video game comes out today and Jonah can't hardly stand it.

The smart, responsible, wise Dad inside me thinks,

"No way, I'm just up and buying this kid an expensive game like this."

But the kid in me thinks,

"BATMAN! BATMAN! THERE'S A NEW BATMAN GAME! LET'S GO BUY IT RIGHT NOW."

We'll see what happens...

A SILLY SONG FOR MY FRIEND

My family is gone.
I am bored.
I will be trying a Mogulus broadcast tonight.
I might even lead worship like Los did.
But I might not. We might just chat.
I don't know what time I'll do it.
Probably whenever I'm most bored.
Check by here for broadcast time.
I'm so bored.

Confessional 9/21/08

Help Me, Blogfreaks...You're My Only Hope

Dear ToddBloggers,

I am in desperate need.

You see, I would like for my wife to buy me a black Flip Video. Preferably in October as it is the month of my birthday and therefore I deserve muchos presentos, no?

If you would do me the honor of "encouraging" my wife with a nice, polite, pleasant email, it would mean all the world to me. Now, emailing my wife is a tricky thing, so I'd like to offer a few suggestions that will make your message catch her eye.

#1. Use one (or all) of these words in the subject line of your email message: "Bono," "Hugh Jackman," or "Clive Owen." Trust me. She will open that email.

#2. Extol her a bit, but don't over-flatter. She's a no-nonsense kinda' girl. Something like "Your hair looked terrific yesterday" or "I wish we hung out more because you so funny and me and my friends can't stop talking about you" would probably be just the right amount of praise.

#3. Work the family angle. DO NOT mention vlogging, blogging, confessionals, or church videos as reasons for purchasingthe Flip Video. Stick to "capturing wonderful family memories" or "he'll be sure and use this to video you opening that huge, yet-to-be purchased jewelry for Christmas." It's all marketing, gang.

Thank you for your help. I know the influx of emails will move her to action. Her email address is dorothy_girl74@yahoo.com. If you're so inclined, you might also ask her to start blogging again.

And for those of you who are my REAL friends and who care about me more than life itself, you can just go here and buy it for me yourself.

Grace, Peace, Justice, Love, Faith and Power,
Todd Wright

You're No One If You're Not On Twitter

Source: JVo

My Friday...

At some point, Jonah ended up in our bed. That's not a rare occurrence, but it's also night an every-night type of thing. Kristen got up with Finley and let Jonah and I sleep in. Eventually, he got up and I was the only one left sleeping.

Finally got up around 7:45 and let Kristen lay down for a bit. I chilled with the kids. Finley watched some "Dora" while Jonah played G.I. Joe's in the playroom. Eventually, Jonah remembered that Krist had found our long lost GameCube memory card and we HAD to play some Marvel Nemesis.

So we did. And the little man seriously destroyed me in the game, which not such a big deal, except he kept talking smack...which I hate. In any game. Not a fan of the smack-talking. So, I put my controller up so he could ostensibly smack-talk the computer generated opponent.

We were pretty lazy around the house. Kristen got ready and headed into town to pick up some stuff for the house, including our new picnic table for the back porch! I played with the kids, made lunch, put Finley down for a nap and played with Jonah some more. When Krist got home, the three of us (me, her, Jonah) unloaded the picnic table and set it up in the backyard. Once that was done, I decided to go for a run outside. It was a hot day, but there was still a nice breeze and the streets were nice and clear. Running outside is always a shock to the system when I've been mostly on the treadmill. The treadmill has its perks - my speed/time stays consistent, whereas outside I'm more prone to slow down or 'hit the wall' in random places. But running outside also seems to work my legs in a totally different way, since I'm dealing with inclines and curves and stuff.

After the run, I grabbed a shower and we all got ready to go to the park. We took the kids to the park in Bullard. They had a good time. While they played, Krist and I discussed dinner plans and then decided to buy Jonah some new shoes in town. We headed into town, perplexed as to where we could eat. (Finding a restaurant on Friday nights is one of my worst things...)

We settled on "Carino's," but the wait was 20 minutes and our kids were starving. So we see this place behind Carino's called "Newk's." We had no idea what to expect, but we went in.

Wow! Newk's is fantastic. It's like a soup/sandwich/salad place. It had a great atmosphere, wasn't too expensive and we got our stuff quick. Plus, it tasted fantastic. While there, we were texting with Ross' crew and decided to hang out for some after-dinner ice cream. The kids played, we chatted w/ Ross and Leslie and then came home.

The kids fell asleep pretty quick - we got in pretty late. Krist and I went to bed not long after. For Saturday the plan is mowing, changing a tire, buying shoes and maybe another run.

Skribit Friday...

Skribit Friday is a weekly feature where I write about the topics suggested or questions asked in the Skribit feature on the right sidebar of the blog. If you have something you'd like me to write about, type it it! (And watch me prove how foolish I really am.)


FAVORITE TYLER RESTAURANTS?(Kandice)

That's a hard one to tackle, Kandice, primarily because we're so new to the area. Being unfamiliar with the landscape of dining options around us, we're at a disadvantage currently. But so far, here's what we've found that we really enjoy...

1. Bruno's Pizza. Seriously...how can pizza be this good? I love it. Love. It. Not nuts about the establishment itself. I don't know if I'd enjoy sitting inside to eat it, but take-out is just fine with me. (I'm also excited that a 2nd location is being built much closer to my house. Although, friends are warning me about second locations...they tend to struggle with 'new oven' difficulties.)

2. On The Border. We're big fans...especially when we can eat out on the patio. Those quesadillas with the carmalized peppers are pretty amazing.

3. Braum's. I've already eaten WAY too much Braum's. WAY too much. I'd tell you how much except it's WAY too much.

I'm also pretty fond of Buffalo Wild Wings, Mercado's, and Clear Springs. There are a couple of small burger joints around that we want to try out, but I can't really review them, yet!

FAVORITE PART OF WORSHIP? (Anonymous)

Obviously, the answer is "acoustic guitar solos."

I'm kidding.

There are two categories of "favorites," in my opinion - first, those consistent things you look forward to, and second, the surprising things that happen when we get to get together to worship God.

As far as consistency goes, my favorite part of worship has to be hearing God's Word. Certainly, that's a huge part of what happens when we gather, but I'm speaking about scripture within the singing/praying part of worship. I love it when a worship leader reads scripture as he's leading (or quotes it, if he's that good. Which I am not...) And I love reading it, too. Sometimes, I read it just because it deserves to be proclaimed. And other times, I read it because it's the foundation of what we're singing about/focusing on. That's what I love to see happen in worship.

Regarding the other kind of favorite, I like it when something unplanned happens. I like it when the Lord prompts an unplanned song or the congregation keeps singing after a tune is over or a prayer connects with the congregation in a way that shocks worship into something new and alive. Worship is not about surprise...and I don't think it should or could survive on those sorts of moments, but they do happen. Moments where we cease being programmed, planned and rehearsed and simply respond out of our passion and gratitude...I LOVE IT!

HOW DO YOU STAY SO DARN HOT?
Sigh. This question again?

As we all know, "hotness" is pretty important. Especially if you plan on transitioning from humble-local-church-worship-pastor to gigantic-global-Christian-music-superstar.

I do put a significant amount of time into my looks. Here's a breakdown.

1. I workout. A lot. Yesterday I did ankles.

2. I try to take a lot of naps. I feel that gives me the energy I need for the more grueling aspects of my day (blogging, playing GameCube, reading comic books.)

3. I try to maintain a healthy diet of Blue Bell Ice Cream. ("Dutch Chocolate" really seems to work best for my body type, but" Cookies-n-Cream" or "Moo Tracks" work, too.) While I feel that Braum's regular chocolate ice cream is better than Blue Bell, it's hard to keep Braum's in the house since I'm usually done with my double-dip cone before I hit the next red light.

BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN FLINT

Great suggestion...I don't know that Flint has a "downtown." We have a four-way stop. Is that the same thing? I like where we live...close to the church, nice neighborhood, great area. As for downtown, I really like Bullard's little downtown area. They've got a great park, some cool eating spots, and a coffee shop I really would like to try out. As soon as I start drinking coffee.

I'm also in love with Greshem, which is right up the road. There's this great restaurant/hangout that has a VW sticking out of a wall. Gotta' check that out for sure. Plus, they're building a Bruno's there.

Wow! That was great set of suggestions. Keep 'em coming! I'll never run out of ideas, now...

SOURCE: JUSTIN BEADLES

Here on the blog, we're proud to have shared so many amazing video moments with you all. Let's go back in time, shall we?

1. Chocolate Rain
2. Herbert Midgley's Stormtrooper Boogie Woogie
3. The Renewed Mind
4. Tavin Dillard
5. Squirrel Melts

Well, here today, our legacy continues. It is with great pleasure that add another video to the list of this blog's viral video tendencies.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

The Turtle Man


Many thanks to Justin Beadles for sharing this. Check out his site HERE.

What Really Happened On Sunday...

Posted this video this morning to the Bethel Facebook page for the church folks. Figured I'd share it with you guys!


What Really Happened On Sunday! from bethel bible on Vimeo.

Jonah In The (Photo)Booth...

Gmail Is Smarter Than You...

"The developers on the Gmail team add a new feature to Gmail Labs: a forgotten attachment detector. With the experimental feature enabled, if you mention an attachment in your email and hit send without actually attaching a file, you'll get a pop-up message asking if you meant to send without the file. This new feature supplants the Attachment Reminder script in Better Gmail, though the words the reminder used as triggers were configurable, and these are not. (In fact, I haven't tested the Gmail Labs version in languages other than English.) My initial test show that it works sometimes—an attachment-free message that read "File's attached!" didn't trigger a confirmation dialog, but the words "See attached file" did. The Gmail Labs developers are busy these days, with this following on the heels of a half dozen others in the past week.

New in Labs: Forgotten attachment detector [Official Gmail Blog]"

Source: Lifehacker

Related note: Lifehacker is one of the coolest sites I've ever seen. Granted...it's A LOT of information and you have to pick and choose which "hacks" you want to utilize, but for me, it's one of those sites that reminds me how amazing the internet is. It definitely appeals to my open-source tendencies! If you're a geek of any degree, I think you'll dig it.

They don't just do the hip hop thing, either.

They also know how to rock...



Source: Los

Speaking Of Weird, Unexplainable YouTube Videos...

Source: BoingBoing

2nd Tooth! Yay! I mean, OH NO!

Church On Sunday!

JUST GOT WORD THAT THE ENTIRE GRID IS DOWN AT THE CHURCH. THERE WILL BE NO WORSHIP SERVICES TOMORROW. I REPEAT, NO WORSHIP AT BETHEL TOMORROW!

The Future Is Now

When I was nine-years old, the idea of seeing this on a computer screen would have blown my mind:

This test is used to prevent automated robots from posting comments.

Now, it seems pretty common place.

Weird.

Finally, Technology Doing Something Important...

"MoreCowbell.dj is a little Flash app that takes in any MP3, analyses it, and adds rhythmic cowbell and Chritopher Walken samples, thus vastly improving it. More Cowbell.dj (via Waxy)"

Source: BoingBoing

My Friday

Woke up at 7 to take care of Finley. I let Kristen and Jonah sleep in...knowing I would could my chance for some day-off rest once they got up.

Finley watched some Dora while I ate a nice, healthy breakfast of chocolate pop-tarts and milk. (If only I hand't finished up the chocolate milk on Thursday night!)

Jonah woke up around 8 and Kristen let me sleep a little, too! It was so nice.

Once everybody was up, we lounged around the house, not doing a whole lot. Cartoons were watched, emails checked, breakfast shared, all that jazz.

We all ate lunch kinda' randomly...a sandwich here, a hot dog there, then all get ready to head "into town." (I'm glad I still live out of actual town, just like we did in Lufkin. Because I can say "Let's go to town!" and I sound like somebody from Little House On The Prairie. Not that I watch Little House, mind you.)

I know Tyler is big and all, but the traffic just blows my mind. I mean, are we really SO big that the intersections are filled every day, all day? Tyler folks...got any theories? So, we wade through traffic and hit up Target.

We get the kids in the buggy and walk toward the flashlight display. You know, so we'll have light in case Ike rips across Texas destroying homes and lives and trees and rivers? When all of a sudden, we see a camera dude filming the flashlight display. No doubt wanting that perfect shot of dozens of flashlights flying off the shelves. That's some good B-roll, right there.

Except no one will walk up there. Because who wants to be on TV, right?

I'll tell you who...ME.

I walk up there, grab a pack of flashlights and then face the camera and invite all of the Tyler area to morning worship services at Bethel Bible Church this coming Sunday. They probably won't put that in the news story though. Leftist, liberal media!

After Target, we headed back home. Finley fell asleep in the car. We laid her down, Jonah went to the play room, Kristen unpacked groceries while I watched football. (Kidding about the football. Only losers like football.)

While Finley slept and Jonah played, Kristen and I mounted our TV on the wall. We usually do pretty good at stuff like this...mainly because Kristen does all the work and I hand things to her. Believe me...we've tried it the other way around and it that never ends well.

Once the TV was mounted, Finley got up from her nap and we got ready for supper. We had supper, then bathed the kids. They watched The Spongebob Movie and then went to bed. Both went to sleep pretty fast...lots of playing outside today, I guess.

Kristen was out before 10pm and I went to bed not long after. No late-night for me, tonight. Too tired.

...praying for my Lufkin peeps. Hate to say "hunker down," but, you know...

HUNKER DOWN.

Skribit Friday...

Hey, look at that! The Skribit suggestion box is active again.

Well, let's take a look and see what we think...
WHAT ARE YOU FIND MOST AWKWARD ABOUT YOUR NEW SURROUNDINGS?

Great question. The most awkward thing usually happens when leave our house and hit this little four-way stop to head into town. Almost every day, we've looked at each other and said...

"We live in Tyler!"

It's been weird...to wake up every morning and realize that almost everything you're going to experience that day is going to be brand new.

Secondly, it's strange to not know where stuff is. We're constantly asking for directions. That's something we're not used to.

Lastly, getting to know a whole new group of people is interesting. Some folks you have an instant connection with...others require a more time to get to know.

WHAT TO DO WHEN BAND MEMBERS DON'T DIG THE WORSHIP LEADER'S STYLE?

Man, I hope one of my team didn't send this one in.

This is a great question, but it is a bit extreme (The original question said when "none" of the band members liked the worship leader's approach.) I would think it highly irregular for an entire team of musicians, singers, tech staff, etc. to dislike what the worship leader is doing. I guess it's a possibility, but I would think rare to be that intense.

But it does happen in smaller doses, I think. I can only speak from experience, and gladly, I don't have much in this area. Regarding my time at First Methodist and even my first few weeks with Bethel, I've had team members who have exemplified a Christ-like attitude. I've heard countless times "I'll do whatever you need" or "I'll serve as little or as much as you prefer" and I've seen enough to believe it!

I think a dislike of methodology or style is really an issue of trust. A team member doesn't like the way a leader is doing things because, for whatever reason, that team member doesn't trust that worship leader's going to maintain the integrity of what's been accomplished. (Sometimes, there are valid reasons to fear this!)

In what little experience I have in ministry, I have found that most team members don't voice this. Most of the times, this bitterness or resentment stays dormant, which is never good.

When I do have team members who come to me with dislikes of this nature, I try to do a few things:
1. Listen honestly to what they're saying. God speaks to us in many ways. Wisdom in a multitude of counselors, right?
2. Investigate the complaint. Rather than be dismissive, I try to make sure I've got the information, then I spent some time thinking and praying about what's been said. I never want it to be said that I didn't take correction.
3. Give feedback. When it's all said and done and I think there's a valid and healthy reason for the way I do my job, I try to communicate that. It's okay to say, "You know, I think this approach is beneficial and healthy and I'm not going to change it." Other times you say, "Gosh! You're right. I can do that better."

Musicians in general tend to dislike confrontation or criticism, so I usually do ask those with concerns to be patient with me. I really am a nice guy. And I want to do what's right.
________
Okay...that's it for Skribit Friday. Remember...if you've got a question or topic you'd like us to hit on the blog, share it! It keeps me from running out of ideas!

Cool New Company...

Saw this on Lifehacker...I think it's very cool. Might have to give it a try! I think Adrienne might have referenced the online version over at her blog, and they're even doing actual subscriptions.

MAGHOUND

Baptism At Bethel!

Baptism at Bethel 9/7/08 from bethel bible on Vimeo.

Seven. Starring Me...

Kristen's friend Melissa is a blogger. And as much as I hate to say it, she is a very good one. (I'd rather Kristen's friends remain unsuccessful and anonymous and poor at their jobs, but unfortunately for me, then tend to be great, wonderful, creative people. Pray for me.)

Melissa recently threw this on her site and tagged her readers. Now, don't worry - I'm not gonna' tag anybody. Most of you hate these meme things and you end up doing them grudgingly and somehow find a way to make fun of me. So I won't do it...I won't tag you. But I will do it myself!
____________________________
7 THINGS I PLAN TO DO BEFORE I DIE
1. Have a song published.
2. Take my family to Disneyworld.
3. Write a book/screenplay. (I don't care if it's published or not...)
4. Go to New York.
5. Meet these bloggers: Los, Bloggess, Jordon Cooper and Jon Acuff.
6. Have lunch with Paul Baloche.
7. Go to Washington D.C.

7 THINGS I CAN DO
1. Write songs.
2. Make my family laugh.
3. Think of elaborate setups for playing with Jonah.
4. Blog. (Like nobody's business, y'all...)
5. Be overly critical. (Working on this one, though.)
6. Encourage other worship leaders!
7. Edit video.

7 THINGS I CAN'T DO
1. Math.
2. Remember where I put my keys.
3. Keep a clean car.
4. Get up early.
5. Run as far as I want.
6. Pass up little chocolate donuts.
7. Travel in time.

7 THINGS THAT ATTRACT ME TO MY SPOUSE
1. Her voice.
2. Her laugh.
3. Her weird sense-of-humor. (That now I seem to share!)
4. Her amazing memory.
5. Her loyalty.
6. Her love for our kids.
7. The Sexiness.

7 THINGS I SAY MOST OFTEN
1. "Heavens, no!"
2. "I'm going to the bathroom."
3. "What's up, everybody" (a la the vlog)
4. "I heard a comedian say..."
5. "Dude."
6. "I'm going to bed early tonight."
7. "What would Paul do?"

7 CELEBRITY CRUSHES
1. Jennifer Garner
2. Catherine Zeta Jones
3. Sarah Palin
4. Liv Tyler
5. Maura Tierney
6. Helen Mirren
7. Kristen Davis

Now...aren't you glad I didn't tag any of you?

I Don't Even Know What This Is...

Source: Best

LIVE FROM THE CONVENIENCE STORE

Like canned drinks but always feel there's not quite enough there?
Introducing the new 16 oz. beer can version of the Diet Coke.

Not only do you get more drink...you get a great opportunity to meet the Tyler Police Department.

The New U2

In the Studio: U2 Q magazine, September 01, 2008 by Tom Doyle As if to spotlight the pace with which U2 are close to completing their as-yet-untitled 12th album, Q's phone call to Edge is delayed by half an hour while he lays down an acoustic guitar overdub at the quartet's Dublin studio on a new song called "Get On Your Boots." "Then we can put the mix to bed," the guitarist sighs with satisfaction. So this album is being completed as we speak? "Yeah. It's happening live in real time. It's totally frantic." Having effectively abandoned their initial plan to work with Rick Rubin (although some material has survived), U2 took the unusual move of bringing in their long-time producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as co-writers early on. "We thought, If we're all writing together we'll get more stuff and it'll be a more fruitful use of time," Edge says. Experimental writing sessions held last year in Fez, Morocca, yielded numerous new songs. Some -- with the introduction of local musicians -- bear a distinctly North African flavour. A visit to the World Sacred Music Festival enhanced what Edge calls the "religious-sounding" tone of a few of the tracks. "But we don't want to be musical tourists," the guitarist states. "We came back with a certain flavour and influence of that trip and a sense of freedom." As time went on, the music grew ever more diverse and spontaneous. "We wanted to give it some variety," Edge says. "There is some dark, heavy stuff but there are also some lighter things. Some we've really had to sweat to get and some just came so easily." Work-in-progress highlights include "f--k-off live rocker" "Breathe"; "For Your Love," which Edge says is one of his best-ever riffs; and the aforementioned "Get On Your Boots" ("Eddie Cochran with barbershop harmonies"). Other notable tracks include the eight-minute-long "Moment of Surrender" and "No Line on the Horizon," inspired by a distortion box called Death By Audio recommended by ex-Secret Machines guitarist Ben Curtis. Opinion is currently divided as to whether the album will make a pre- or post-Christmas release. Anticipation couldn't be higher, however, with mixer Steve Lillywhite having already proclaimed the record "their best yet." "Trying to weave it all together into a coherent collection is the challenge," Edge admits. "But, yeah, it has the potential to be our best." © Q magazine, 2008. Source: atU2

Some Text...

My good pal, Artie, hasn't been digging the vlogging. And Johnny hates the word "vlog." (But then again, Johnny hates a lot of stuff.)

So, instead of doing my planned video recap..I'll give you a text update on what's going on. (I just realized that maybe these guys don't like looking at me. That would make sense.)

Tuesday is typically meeting day at Bethel. In addition to that, Kristen joined a 9:30 Bible Study and Finley went to her first day of day care. I got to the office around 9 and went to my first pastor's meeting. This is basically a combination hang out/calendar/planning/dreaming sort of meeting. Bethel currently has four pastors - Ross Strader (Senior Pastor,) Jim Smithies (Pastor of Ministry and Mission,) Mark Kuykendall (Pastor of Student Ministries) and me, Pastor of Funk. (At least, that's how I think of the job.)

I enjoyed hanging with these guys. It was a fun, productive meeting...Bethel is facing one of the most amazing challenges a church ever can endure - GROWTH! We're all busy trying to wrap our heads around how to best serve our congregation.

After the meeting, I caught up with Krist and Jonah and we headed into Tyler for some lunch at "On The Border." It had rained all morning, so we opted to eat out on the porch in the great weather. It was a great meal! Jonah and I took Kristen by "Michael's" for a bit and then I headed back for meeting number 2!

The second meeting was the all staff meeting. It was wild! We had a great time discussing more plans for the church. The staff seems to get along very well together. I was able to show them the new Baptism video and I'm happy to say they liked it. (I loved doing this video. Can't wait for you guys to see it!)

After that meeting, I sped over to the worship center and grabbed my guitar. I was so late on a setlist this week that I had to put something up for the band to start checking out. You can see our setlist over on the right hand side of the blog.

Left the church a little before 5. Got home, changed clothes and headed out to the backyard to play with the kids. We had a good time. Eventually, they got tired out and we all came in. Then, one of my awesome team members, Sarah, brought us some delicious food for supper. Thank you, Sarah. (You guys need to hear this gal sing! She's awesome!)

All in all - a very busy day. In addition to the set, I was able to set up Bethel's new Facebook page and started experimenting with the church-wide blog!

MEET AND GREET!

todd.vlog 6

CONFESSIONAL!

I normally post these over at worshipnotes, but I figured I'd throw this one on the Todd Blog because it was my first day!

todd.vlog 4

BACON

Summer's Over...

todd.vlog!

Not long ago, Robert Conn recorded an iChat between the kids. Here's what happened...



Thanks, Rob!

Guest Blogger: Justin Romack!

Justin Romack, ladies and gentlemen!

The Move, Part I

SCHEDULED POST #2

Well, it's Wednesday and we're still settling in. So, thanks to the fine folks at Blogger HQ, I'll be doing scheduled posts for the next few days. If your comment doesn't show up it's because I'm too busy carrying boxes to check email.

Today's post includes two lists. I thought it would be fun to try to concisely express my feelings, thoughts, concerns about leaving my hometown. Enjoy!

10 THINGS I WILL MISS ABOUT LUFKIN

1. The people who played music with me every Sunday.
2. Family. (We're big on family and we've been fortunate to have them so close by.)
3. Downtown Lufkin. When Krist and I were dating, we used to just drive around the downtown area. We love it.
4. SoundTechs - great music store.
5. Hebrews Cafe.
6. Ray's Drive-In.
7. The Towne Square Four Cinenama. (I know, I know...it hasn't been around for awhile, but I can still miss it, can't I?)
8. All the memories for me and Kristen. (Our first date, first kiss, first fight, etc.)
   
9. So many folks from First Methodist and Harmony Hill.
10. Cafe Del Rio.
    
    10 THINGS I WILL NOT MISS ABOUT LUFKIN
    
    1. Trying to get into Cheddar's.
    2. Lufkin's Lowe's.
    3. Panther Fever.
    4. Lufkin radio stations.
    5. Hospitals. (Not that our hospitals aren't good - I've just spent way too much time in them already!)
    6. Not enough to do. How 'bout a concert or something every once in a while, Lufkin?
    7. The Lufkin Police Department. (Current legal issues prevent me from saying why.)
    8. That Paper Mill Smell. Haven't smelled it in a while, but it's stuck my brain!
    9. Construction.
    10. The 14 birthday parties a month for Kristen's family.
    

Hey everybody! We're moving today, but not to fear! Todd Blog will go on!
Here's my question:

Why in the world do we wrap breakable stuff in newspaper?

Does newspaper have some sort of secret force field around it that I don't know about?
Kristen tells me that it cushions.
How can that be? I can punch right through one!

Anybody got any theories? WHY DO WE DO THIS?