Lost- 4.4- The Constant- Desmond-centric
We now have four episodes down, two more before the break! This one was Desmond-centric. What did we learn about Desmond? Did they make it to the freighter? Did Desmond have some more flashes? What were your thoughts? Where does this one rank according to this season?
Red Sox Sizing their New Rings
This is a fun little video about the Red Sox sizing their rings. Check out Varitek and his desire to get a toe ring.
Randomness…
This is just a compilation of a few things…
Hilarious, Painful Mistake
Check out this video. hahahaha….
Slamball
Then I heard SlamBall is coming back. A few years ago I was at a college retreat and became engrossed in this. I’m happy to hear it is back for all to enjoy:
Red Sox
As most of you know, the Sox are back in Spring Training. Yesterday, they went to the White House to visit the President as the World Series Champions. Bush managed to make a joke about Manny not being there because his grandmother must have died again. The first time they went to the White House after winning in 2004, Manny missed it supposedly because his grandmother was sick. No one believed him then, and Bush managed to make light of it again.
Then I saw this picture, which is priceless:
It totally looks photoshopped, but he rode in the side car from the White House to Walter Reed to visit some troops. Francona apparently rode in it from the Airport to the White House, and challenged Papi to do it, himself. Then Kyle Snyder rode in it from Walter Reed to the airport, which apparently was longer than the other two. He said it was so cold, but he wouldn’t get out and go to the bus because he wouldn’t stop hearing it from his friends. I like this team, and that picture is hilarious.
Celtics
Speaking of Boston sports, on Monday I went to the Celtics game against the Clippers at the Staples Center here in LA. It was funny how many Boston fans there were. Everyone around us were Boston fans, and the guys next to us were talking in Boston accents and spent the 4th quarter talking about Spring Training, the Sox, and the Yankees. The place was full of green jerseys, shirts, and Red Sox hats. It was just great. The Celts blew ‘em out by 28, and the 4th quarter was all the young guys playing against each other. When we walked out into the concourse after the game, it was like we were in the Garden. I would say by the end of the game that the Celtics fans outnumbered others by 4-1. EVERYONE was a Celtics fan.
Micah
Micah has been sick this week, but is now apparently getting better. He was looking pretty bad at some points, with a high fever, but now he is getting better. He lost a couple pounds, but now appears to be on the rebound. Leah’s looking forward to getting out of the house, as she’s been trapped there quite a bit, lately.
Pet Peeve
Lately, I’ve been hearing people use the word ‘literally’ a lot, and hardly any of it is really literal. For example, I’m watching a sporting event and someone says, “He’s literally giving 110% out there.” That phrase ‘110%’ already is annoying because its impossible, but then you throw literal in there and its literally impossible! Or someone may say, “It literally killed him.” Well, no. It didn’t. It may have brought him great pain, but it didn’t literally kill him. I’m now going to be the ‘literal’ police, but not literally. There will be no badge or actual penalties.
Funny Videos
Here are a couple funny videos that the kids showed me this weekend:
High School Winter Camp 2008: Part 2
Day Two
Since the kids were up late, we decided to let them sleep in a bit, and started off the day with fresh waffles with strawberry and whipped cream on top. Delicious! Our second session was about describing the massive nature of God’s creation, but then knowing that God can measure it all the span of his hands. If God can create and sustain the Universe, I think he can be trusted to control our day-to-day lives.
After chapel and a personal devotion time, we shuffled the kids to various houses for a time to clean up and shower. When we came back together, we played a rousing game of “Extreme Spoons”. As you would guess, it is just like spoons, but with a twist. The twist was that the spoons were not at the table where we were playing, which was in a room above the lobby of the gym. Instead, we put the spoons in the driveway down below. When someone would get four of a kind, everyone would jump up, cast aside any chairs, and race down to make sure you were one of the people to get a spoon. To make things more interesting and due to the fact that 17 people were playing, we made sure that the number of spoons was always two less than those playing. Here’s a couple videos of what the pandemonium looked like:
As you can see, it was a lot of fun, but brought its share of bumps, bruises, and abrasions! I have a lump on my shin to prove my participation.
High School Winter Camp 2008: Day 1
Day One
As I have collapsed on the couch, I am completely exhausted. My feet hurt from walking. My shin hurts from forgetting that chairs tend to be hard. My voice hurts from speaking and screaming (usually not at the same time). My mind hurts from rethinking everything on the spur of the moment. My eyes even hurt. The only time that all those things could be considered a good things is the evening after High School Winter Camp. While this year’s camp went extremely well, I have to say that I pray it never happens like this again!
Lost 4.4- Eggtown- Kate-centric
This week’s episode is another Kate-centric episode. What did we learn? What did you find interesting? Who else is in the Oceanic 6? Go ahead and join the conversation.
Three Things: Female vocalists that you like
I haven’t had any time to post lately, but here’s an interactive one. I was thinking about this as Leah and I were driving through Pasadena the other night. I don’t like a lot of female vocalists, but there are some that I just love. And I don’t want any diva’s. No Madonnas or Celine Dions. Here are my three underrated female vocalists:
1. Lori Chaffer of “Waterdeep”. I got to see this band open for Bebo Norman back when Masters used to have concerts. They were supposed to be a small opener, but I ended up liking them more than Bebo. Lori heads the band with her husband, Don. They had to put the band on the back burner due to family medical issues and a grieving process. During this time, Don and Lori recorded solo albums that are great. I especially love Lori’s album “1beginning”. They are a folk rock type band, and are great live. If you want, you can check out their live album “3.26.03- Muncie, Illinois”. They have some great jams and fantastic versions of their best stuff. They also fuse worship into a lot of their albums, and recorded a worship album, “You Are So Good to Me”. I highly recommend Lori Chaffer and Waterdeep. And I just heard that they released a new album that I haven’t checked out yet.
Lori is second from the left, with her husband Don.
2. Sara Watkins of “Nickel Creek”. I have recently become a huge Nickel Creek fan, only to find out that they were on their ‘Farewell (For Now) Tour’. Argh. I don’t know what took me so long, but I absolutely love their “Why Should the Fire Die?” album. One reason is Sara Watkins. She has a great range from smooth and soothing to strong and demanding. The band is again somewhat folk rock. They are a trio from SoCal, and incorporate the fiddle, violin, mandolin, and the guitar. Their songs are written quite well, but a warning here, they aren’t all biographical. Watkins, again in the band with her husband, can sing with a smooth, feathery voice on ‘Tomorrow is a Long Time” (a Bob Dylan song), but then changes to a strong, demanding voice in “Best of Luck”. A great album that I fully recommend.
3. The third one is a little hard, so I’m going to combine my honorable mentions: Danielle Young (Caedmon’s Call), Sarah Mclachlan (though that is almost on the border of being against my rules), Amy Winehouse (great retro voice, but an unfortunately tortured soul), Sandra McCracken (wife to Derek Webb and a great story how they met that I’ll through in at the end), Dolores O’Riordan (Cranberries), Amy Lee (evanescence- a great, powerful voice), Sarah Bowser (listen to “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus” on the Indelible Grace I cd), Jennifer Knapp, Kendall Payne, Diana Ross (Supremes days), Cass Elliot (Mamas and the Papas), and I’ll add more if I think of them!
How Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken met: Derek was making a coffee run for Caedmon’s Call and heard her playing in the coffee shop. He grabbed her cd, played it for the band, and they decided to have her join them on tour. As they spent time together, they realized that they were meant for each other, and eventually got together, married, and now have one child. They’ve also created quite a few songs together.
Lost: 4.3- “The Economist”- Sayid-centric
Sorry for not having any other posts other than “Lost” lately. Just haven’t got the chance to do anything else.
Here’s an update on the future of the show:
- They will be making 5 more episodes in addition to the 8 already made.
- There will most likely be a 4 week gap between episode 8 and 9, as it will take some time to produce the episodes from start to finish.
- The show will remain on Thursdays, but will move to 10pm, following ‘Ugly Betty’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.
- The three shows that they are dropping (there were supposed to be 16), will be made up in the following seasons. They will re-form the last five episodes to get to the same conclusion they had at the end of a normal 16 episode season. But that doesn’t mean that we’re losing those episodes. They will be made up in seasons 5 and 6.
Nevertheless, here’s this week’s episode!
Two Worlds
My friend John works at a church in InnerCity LA, just down the street from the Staples Center, where the Lakers, Clippers, Kings (hockey), and the Avengers (arena football) all play, and other events like the Grammy Awards are held there. This past week I had the awesome opportunity to speak at their family dinner that was put on by the youth.
It really is a different world for me, as I was speaking about 20 minutes from my house, but had to use a translator so half the audience could understand me. Most of the families were not necessarily church families, and many of them were broken homes. Almost all were well below the poverty line, but you couldn’t tell by the excitement and buzz at the tables.
I spoke on the cross-centered family, and encouraged them to not only embrace the Gospel individually, but to be families that are passionate about the Gospel. Not just about preaching the Gospel, but knowing the Gospel, reflecting on it, and studying it. I encouraged them to preach the Gospel to themselves and their children on a daily basis. Impress the idea on their children that they are sinners in need of the saving grace of God, and live out that message to their children in their own lives.
John recently had an interesting post on his blog about a day where he experienced two different worlds. It’s an interesting read, so check it out!
Lost: 4.1- Confirmed Dead- “Not Penny’s Boat” People-centric
