Internationally Known on the Microphone

Movie Review>The Dark Knight

2008-07-18T03:36:00.004-05:00

The movie was so worth all the hype, to which I've contributed.

At the theater we went to, there were 7 sold out midnight showings. 1 was on "the Mega Screen" which seats a ton of people. They added 2 more mega screen showings, one at 3:20am and another at 6:15am or something.

I think this one might break all the records. It was crazy: people dressing up, lines everywhere.

Um, this was not like most superhero movies where things are just awesome. There was some of that.

But it was scary.

And deep.

And Heath Ledger, and the dude from "Thank you for not smoking" were incredible, especially Ledger. Man, he was creepy and eeeevil.

It was so intense, I probably will see it again just to enjoy it rather than be all worried about what is going to happen next.

My only negative comment would be that Maggie Gylenhal's (sp?) face makes her look about 78 years old.

Can't say enough good things about The Dark Knight. I look forward to many more.

Local Humor

2008-07-17T16:40:00.001-05:00

Belgian Brewer InBev's takeover of AB has already crept in.

Batman Fever Continues:

2008-07-16T16:29:00.003-05:00

Here is an article from BoingBoing about the plausibility of someone training to become a superhero.

Yes!!!!!!!!!

Movie Review>Wall-E

2008-07-16T11:18:00.002-05:00

This is a little late. Sarah and I saw Wall-E on our honeymoon. This movie was outstanding. There's no dialog for the first quarter of the movie, something some critics didn't like, but I think it is an indicator of how great the storytelling is. Thats the thing, Pixar tells great stories. Ya, the animation is cool but other studios can do that too.

There is so much commentary on things like taking care of the environment, technology, and convenience. Frankly, I felt a little guilty once or twice. One scene in particular showed two humans cruising along the spaceship in their space aged scooter things talking to each other on a video conference monitor right in front of their faces. Turns out they were right next to each other. Ouch!

Great movie, I would see it again. I even have a little stuffed Wall-E on my desk. I didn't cry, but I thought I would. Go see Wall-E!

An All-Star Mustoe Beard Salute

2008-07-15T11:58:00.004-05:00

In months/years past, Jason Giambi was askew in steroid scandal. Now, he has risen from the ashes, with an amazing-'roid-fueled MUSTACHE.

So here's to you Giambi. Because of your most excellent Wade Boggs like stache, I will break my longstanding "no rooting for American League, especially Red Sox/Yanks" rule. Keep on rockin.

Check it out

2008-07-14T17:03:00.001-05:00

I'm working on summarizing some theological positions, so see what ya think. In this document I try and summarize two competing stories of existence. SOUNDS EXCITING DOESN'T IT!?!?!?

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Post-Greensburg

2008-07-14T14:47:00.003-05:00

Hello friends.

Last week was a great time. The group from our church was small but mighty and we joined over 100 other folks to help rebuild the City of Greensburg, which was 95% destroyed after an F-5 tornado in May of 2007.

Here's some websites to check out:

The Lope (photogrophers blog, REALLY powerful before and after shots)
BigWell.org (Local Greensburg attraction)
GreensburgGreentown.org (a site about the initiatives in Greensburg)

We helped to improve some homes that had failed inspection to get them to the next level. Ate some BBQ on the way over, did some good work, and caught some frogs. All in all, we were very blessed.

The most powerful part of the week was hearing the stories of the people there. The army core of engineers came in after the tornado and basically said they should bulldoze the town and forget about it. But the people didn't want to leave their home. Not only are they rebuilding, but Greensburg is the only city in the US to pass an ordinance that any new public buildings must be constructed using LEED certification. Pics:

Workcamp this week

2008-07-05T23:50:00.001-05:00

Once again the blog posts may be sparse as I'm out on Workcamp to Kansas this week. With some luck I'll post some photos. Later!

Interesting Reading

2008-07-03T14:29:00.003-05:00

Parade magazine has McCain and Obama answering the question "What is patriotism?"

Maybe I'm naive to assume this, but I'm impressed that it seems to be original material.

Click here for articles.

I'm a bit conflicted here. As a Christian, I feel I actually need to oppose many of the things "America" does, does that make me unpatriotic? Read the articles, let me know what you think.

I'm back baby!/Longest Post of All Time

2008-07-03T08:56:00.024-05:00

Alright, pretty much the biggest two weeks of my life, so I hope you'll understand my absence from blogging. Please allow me to take you on the journey through photos and witty commentary:

PRE-WEDDING CARDINAL GAMES, June 18 and 19:
Crew #1, sweet seats. Although we did witness the Cardinals blowing a lead to the Royal pansies.

Crew #2, with noticeably higher altitude seats, still had a blast though, even though we witnessed the KC Royals sweeping the Cards, which is a bit like losing to a girl in a wrestling match.

BACHELOR PARTY, June 19:

This is me dominating the "spin & win". I won the jackpot a (I think) record breaking three times. We also discovered why I should never gamble however as I became much like an 84 year old women at "her lucky machine" and I screamed "I'M GETTIN HOT!" at least 4 times, and actually meant it like, twice.

Here is BB playing some weird Japanese game where you climb into this red bulbous apparatus, with pretty funny results. I expect this to be a standard profile picture for years to come.

Here's the whole crew, minus a couple of high school buddies that left early. Note the gigantic spider man, a daunting 6,800 tickets to snag, but relatively easy when every one pools their tickets. Believe it or not Spider-Man would go on to make an appearance at the wedding rehearsal.

WEDDING, June 21

Here's a shot from Sarah's aunt, which turned out pretty well. We've got some other ones from friends, but I'm gonna hold off on actual ceremony pictures until we get the good stuff from friend, photographer, and blogger Dustin of BrysonPhoto.com

HONEYMOON, June 22-28

This was our suite, which was outstanding. We stayed at Big Cedar Lodge, outside of Branson, MO. The whole thing was nature themed and so well done. Because, let's face it, theres a bit of irony in having a massive resort complex in rustic nature decor when you've tore up nature to put it there in the first place. But Big Cedar really does want the natural beauty of the ozarks to be preserved, and the different buildings are done so tastefully. Very nice.

Here were are on the lazy river.

We drove by this sign in Branson a couple times and were a little confused: "Is it a segway store? Is it merely a pro-segway billboard? Is it like a go-kart place...only with segways?" The answer to each of those questions was "YES!" I will say this, it is more fun to talk about the time you road segways than it actually is to ride them.

Here we are at Ozarkland, afraid, as we perused the confederate gear section. Yikes. Mecca is to Muslims as Branson is to white people. I used to love going into Ozarkland as a child, because they always had a fine selection of plastic swords. They still do, but I don't like going in there as much anymore.

Here is my Pastor and I. Before you get too freaked out, let me explain. Sarah and I were returning from seeing Wall-E. We parked and were heading up to the room when from the parking lot we hear someone fanatically screaming "IT'S ADAAAAAAAAAAAM". A little frightened that maybe the confederates were after us, I turned around to instead find our good friends Michael and Susan McIntyre. Turns out they had a wedding there the next day, and had scammed the office into telling them what room we were in so they could come try to embarrass us and have a good story. It was actually a really funny surprise, and we hang out for a bit. I think they were a little disappointed in not making us feel as awkward as they had planned! Michael and captured the event in this photo, taken on the bed for no particular reason.

THE RETURN, June 28

The only bad thing the whole trip happened on the way home. Here is a shot of my beloved malibu being towed. We were on I-44 and the car just stopped working. Luckily we were able to get to the side of the road. Un-luckily it was in the grand metropolis of Marshfield Missouri where most auto places either weren't open at all, closed at noon, or were booked until Monday. So, we were towed to an auto place that could look at the car on Monday, leaving us stranded in Marshfield. Luckily, Bob Casidy (pastor of this church) came up and got us and brought us back to civilization so we could rent a car. My bu is quickly becoming less and less beloved.

So, other than the car breaking down it's been the best time of my life. I'm glad to be back in the saddle. If you've made it this far, you have earned my respect and pity.

T-minus one day...

2008-06-20T09:47:00.002-05:00

Two cardinal games? check.

Half of Sopranos season 4? check.

Various errands ran? check.

Bachelor party? check.

Winning gigantic spider man at bachelor party? check.

Tux fitting? almost check.

Post pics to the blog? not yet, soon!

Life Changes

2008-06-18T12:31:00.003-05:00

Well, I'll be married in 3 days.

I don't want to turn into the "always the guy talking about his marriage" guy, but it is a huuuuuge deal.

My best friends are all coming to town (except the Caldwell's, for acceptable reasons: childbearing) and I'm very excited to have everyone here. My parents get to see our new church, which I'm also excited about, and I'm going to two Cardinal games.

So, more later!

PTI Nerd

2008-06-15T00:16:00.005-05:00

Yes, that is an autographed pic of Tony and Mike. You can now follow along with my favorite show, Pardon the Interruption on the left. Just click on ESPN: PTI to hear the podcast. This is in addition to the video link, also on the left. The show just doesn't get old!

On a sports side note, I don't know if I can take another Boston team winning a championship.

2008-06-14T16:28:00.002-05:00

Besides being married in Seven days, here's some things I'm looking forward to:

Music:
John Mayer, live July 3
Coldplay's new album June 17

Movies:
Get Smart
Hulk
Dark Knight
The pixar one about the robot

Life:
Car insurance dropping
Wii Fit
Exploring the elements of story and how they integrate with theology

Burrito Bliss

2008-06-12T17:23:00.004-05:00

I have taught them well.

Single digits....

2008-06-12T08:53:00.004-05:00

I will be married in 9 days. (You're right Mr. Caldwell, no comparison to having a child) Lots of people are asking me if I'm nervous. Not so much nervous to be married, but rather that the 230923 things that need to get done actually are executed. They said it would never happen: I have beat the odds, I have overcome adversity, I'm livin the dream baby!!!

Check out the new blog log feature that blogger added, very niiice! (Is it sad that I still do the Borat voice like, multiple times a day?) Now you can see who's updated their posts in a while and who has not so you don't even have to waste your time! (*cough* Kelly *cough*)

Also, if you frequent Internationally Known on the Microphone and are yourself a blogger, please let me know and I'll give you some love there on the left.

Today Sarah and I are getting our marriage license and running various errands, so hopefully I won't have any blog material from the "St. Louis County Recorder of Deeds". What a crock. I feel like a lot of this stuff is left over from feudalistic dark age Europe.

Last thing, feel free to celebrate my betrothel by clicking on the sesame street image, printing it off, and enjoy a coloring session.

New Links

2008-06-11T17:33:00.003-05:00

Firefox 3 will be coming up soon, and you can help set a world record!

Also my friend Jessica started a blog. She is going to New Orleans for two years as a part of Teach for America, plenty of good material there!

Remarkable Quote

2008-06-11T13:45:00.001-05:00

"If you want to build a ship, don't summon people to buy wood, prepare tools, distribute jobs and organize the work; teach people the yearning for the wide, boundless ocean."

Eating my words?

2008-06-11T09:58:00.002-05:00

So you can find the audio for "The Cost of Community" here for the next couple weeks. It was pointed out to me that I bagged on cell phones eroding at community (if you're on them all the time when you're around people....guilty!) yet I openly covet an iPhone.

Accountability is lame.

Ah yes

2008-06-09T15:40:00.003-05:00

Feast your eyes and ears my friends.

Out this week

2008-06-03T07:51:00.002-05:00

Hello friends.

I will be on tour with our high school youth choir this week, so blog productivity should dip drastically!

So I leave you with this:

2008-06-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

"The centrality of Christ to all of history and to the meaning of human existence invites us into Jesus Christ, through whom we read the entire Bible from beginning to end. As pastors of the Word, there is a strong need to soak ourselves in the Triune story of God with its detailed exposition of the central role of Christ in the greatest drama of human history- the drama of God who becomes one of us to rescue the world. This theme of God's rescue of us all- not inspirational topics, motivational speakers, or massive therapy sermons- needs to be recovered as the central message of our church. This is not only the apostles way of reading and preaching the scripture, it is also the way of the ancient fathers and, for the most part, the churches that do an ancient-future worship"

-Robert E. Webber, "Ancient Future Worship", pg. 121

Another Mustoe beard salute: Kimbo Slice

2008-06-01T00:10:00.003-05:00

Folks, this is a tough man with an even badder beard. Goodness, look at that thing, it's like a bee's nest. I'll bet it actually helps deflects punches. So here's to to you Kimbo: you're not only taking mixed martial arts to network television, you're carrying the banner for bearded men everywhere.

2008-05-31T00:52:00.004-05:00

I will be married in three weeks.

Desktop Wallpapers

2008-05-29T09:04:00.001-05:00

These are awesome.