Really Bad Christian Music: “Jesus Is My Friend”

Popular Christian music has the reputation of being cheesy and lacking in creativity.  Songs like this one are part of what makes this reputation sometimes true.  This video is funny in a sad, kids-church-reject, kind of way.

The Moldy Peaches and Atlantis?

I kind of like the band The Moldy Peaches, they have some interesting (anti-)folk music, and singer Kimya Dawson has a very unique voice.  The other day I saw a commercial for Atlantis Resort and I was pretty confused by the fact that the Moldy Peaches song “Anyone Else But You” (featured in the ending of the movie Juno) had been rewritten to advertise dolphin-riding and playing golf.  While reworking a song for a commercial is not totally unheard of, I’m surprised The Moldy Peaches would allow this; they just don’t seem like the kind of band to “sell out” by making product jingles.  Most of the music from the Moldy Peaches (and Kimya Dawson in her solo pursuits) is pretty experimental, and goes out of the way to avoid cliche and the-materialism-as-success-mentality.  While the song itself is catchy–even in its rewritten form–I just think this is a bad marketing decision for The Moldy Peaches.  If you haven’t seen the commercial I’m talking about, RollingStone.com has the complete video.

Madden 2009

For football fans who are also video game fans, there is only one name when it comes to the NFL: Madden.  Madden NFL comes out every year, with updated rosters, visuals, interface and play mechanics.  I have some serious issues with a few aspects of the way the Madden machine is run, but generally the game is solid each year.  I recently picked up the latest installment, and I have so far been very impressed.  The graphics are really crisp, and player animations are top notch.  Calling plays feels realistic, and it’s rare that a huge breakaway play will upset the true-to-life grind of seeking the next first down.  Commentary from the booth is helpful, and there’s even an instant-replay feature where the announcer shows where you goofed.  Another feature I’m liking is the new “Madden IQ” system, which continuously automatically adjusts the difficulty of the game based on the gamer’s skill.  I usually play as the Bucs (not that I’m a huge fan, but more out of loyalty to the many FSU alums who move on to play for Tampa), and this year the Bucs are great–much better than last year’s (underrated) stated skill level.

So things I don’t like about Madden are generalized to the franchise.  Specifically, the game is basically the same from year to year, and the only reason to release a new one is because the year is part of the title; e.g., Madden 2007, Madden 2008, Madden 2009…  And because there’s a new Madden every year, guess what?  If you buy Madden 09 in mid-2008 and pay $60 for it brand new, you can expect to sell it for about $15 used when the year actually rolls over.  This is just wrong.  Any item can of course depreciate in value over time, but a drop of over 75% within six months is atrocious for a game that realistically could have a playable life of well over a year.  Good games like Super Mario Bros. or Legend of Zelda, or even more recent games like Gears of War or Halo are still played long after they are released.  And while most video games take three to four years to develop, EA, the game’s publisher, somehow manages to pop out yearly sports games like Tic Tacs.  The only reason for rushing these games to market is because a) people are dumb enough to buy the newest one each year (regardless of lack of any substantial changes), and b) EA is savy enough to realize this.

With that said, I still must admit that I have really enjoyed playing Madden 09.  For anyone who is a football fan and a gamer, I recommend Madden 09–it’s pretty much the best thing out there (probably because EA has the exclusive license to make NFL games), and it’s (reportedly) better than the little brother NCAA 2009.  You can read more reviews of Madden 09 here.

Awesome: No Explanation Needed

Halo 4?

Bungie, the company that designed Halo for Microsoft, recently released this teaser trailer for  what could be an expansion to Halo 3, or the next installment in the Halo franchise.  Looks like the falling object is the ship the Master Chief was trapped on at the end of Halo 3–so who knows what enemies will be encountered since the Covenant has been fully dealt with.  Anyway, the teaser looks spiffy, and my curiosity is definitely piqued.

OKLAHOMA!

I know this title is misleading–no this is not a post about a musical–but it’s relevant.  And the reason for said relevance is that I finally know where we’re going with the Air Force–Tinker Air Force Base, near Oklahoma City.  Still not quite sure exactly when we’re going (other than some time in the next two months), but this is a good bit of information for Cori and I to look forward to.

Recommended Viewing: Terminator, The Sarah Connor Chronicles

There was a time when I thought all things Terminator required a certain Govenator to play the leading role of villain/hero.  But with “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” (I can already tell I’m going to get tired of typing that title!), Fox’s show that airs in prime time against NBC’s “Heroes”, I have seen the light, and now I know that it’s good to have a little Ahhnold, but it is not required.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, know that I frown in your general direction (said the Knights Who Say Ni!).  By way of introduction, the Terminator movies tell the story of Sarah Connor and her son John Connor, as they prepare to fight a war in the future.  They learned of this yet-to-be-war when cyborgs (terminators) from the future traveled back in time to try to interfere with the past, in hopes that if John Connor was killed before the machines came to power then humanity would never have a chance to mount a successful resistance.  Yes, it does sound quite a bit hokey, especially given the fact that time travel as a plot device always leads to logical inconsistencies–even in “Back to the Future”…

So possible time travel paradoxes aside, the first Terminator film starred a very young Arnold Schwarzenegger as the villainous cyborg-covered-in-flesh-but-with-a-red-glowing-eye-hidden-behind-dark-sunglasses, and coined the phrase “I’ll be back”.  Sarah Connor survived the attack from the terminator with help from one of the human resistance fighters who also traveled into the past; and a sequel loomed on the horizon.

The second Terminator movie–”T2: Judgment Day” also starred the Arnold as a terminator, but this time a good one, who had been captured and reprogrammed by the human resistance and sent back to aid the now teenaged John Connor and his mother in their fight against the very advanced, very creepy, “liquid terminator”.  I think you can see the basic pattern in how the plot works in these movies:  the evil machines in the future (controlled by a sentient computer system known as Skynet) send back a terminator to try to eliminate John Connor, and the human resistance sends back someone or something to fight said evil assassin.

The third film, “T3: Rise of the Machines“, features a terminator with a female exterior, and the Govenator reprises his role as the “good” terminator one last time.  Not much happens in this film that wasn’t already established other than the fact that Sarah Connor has died and “judgment day” is not avoided.  Not a bad movie, but not as cool as the first two.

Now that we are fully versed in Terminator history, I turn to the TV show I actually want to talk about.  So, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles takes place between the second and third films, and is essentially a direct sequel to Terminator 2.  Aside from being a direct sequel to T2, “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” is also supposed to set up a returning and new fans for the next Terminator film, “T4: Salvation“.  And, marketing for other films totally aside, I’ve watched “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” from first season, I’ve kept up so far with the second season, and I have been nothing but impressed with this show.

Although the idea of robots from the future might sound a bit cheesy (ok, yes it is definitely cheesy), “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” manages to bring realism and gravitas to the story–especially in showing the daily stress of knowing the future is a very dark place and there are things coming to kill you.  The show also deals with themes ranging from the obvious ideas such as man-versus-machine and the possibility of non-human sentience, machines with emotions, all the way to profound issues like forgiveness and redemption, creation of life and playing God, and the purpose of religion.   Major philosophical and religious concepts are featured in almost every episode, cropping up via songs and art, dialog and scripture quotations, or even episode titles, and this really does add a layer of thought provoking material.

All the cool sci-fi aspects of the show like liquid terminators and time travel make for a fun story, but it is the serious treatment of serious themes that keeps me coming back for more.  I recommend you check out “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”, starting with season one, episode one, since this is very much a serial progression.  (And for all you “Lost” fans, I think this might be the perfect show to tide you over until new episodes begin to air in 2009.) You can watch full episodes of “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” on Fox’s website at http://www.fox.com/terminator/.

Rob Bell, Meet “The Man With the Horn-Rimmed Glasses”

Rob Bell is an author, rock star (kind of), speaker, and pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids Michigan.  I am a fan of Rob Bell, and since I have seen him in a few of the “Nooma” videos, as well as on the back jacket cover of his books, I have a general idea what he looks like.  Meanwhile, in the part of my brain that watches TV, I have caught sight of a Rob Bell doppelganger.  Jack Coleman, who plays Noah Bennet, aka Claire’s father (whoops, mild spoiler if you’re just now watching season one), aka “The Man With the Horn-Rimmed Glasses” on NBC’s TV show Heroes, could pass for Rob Bell at a distance, and vice versa.  This is probably mostly due to the aforementioned horn-rimmed glasses, but still I think there is an uncanny resemblance between the two.  Uncanny I say!

Rob Bell is on the top row, while Jack Colman/Noah Bennet is on the lower.  Am I right?  Do you see it?  Am I reaching???? 

Rock Band Drums: Quiet for Cheap

I’ve posted before about Rock Band’s drums, and how noisy they can be.  In case you’re wondering, no I didn’t get the Rock Band 2 drums (and have no plans to), but I did make a much cheaper purchase.  For twenty bucks, I picked up a pair of drum silencers.  While they don’t actually “silence” the drumming, it is much quieter than the clack-clack of the regular drum heads, and the rubber gives a nice drum-like bounce back when doing faster rhythms.  The one complaint I have is that you really have to be dead-on in the center of the drum head, otherwise your accuracy will really suffer with the addition of the silencers.  Other than that minor complaint (which really isn’t much, since you probably should be hitting in the center of the head anyways), I highly recommend getting a set of silencers for yourself (and for your neighbors sake too!) if you’ve got Rock Band drums.  Check out these silencers and read reviews on Amazon.com.

My Results From the Bar Exam

Results of the July 2008 Florida Bar Exam were posted earlier today, and while I was prepared for either option, I got the preferred alternative:  I passed!  I do have this little worry that maybe the online results weren’t right or my file number (used to post the scores) might have changed…  Scores are being mailed, so I still have to wait a few days to find out if I’m just being paranoid, and the margin I passed by.

UPDATE:  The scored results are in (via mail) and I did pass–so yes, I am a little paranoid, but a passer none the less. 

Stress Alert: Florida Bar Exam Results

Deep breaths, deep breaths…  Monday Sept. 22nd results from the July 2008 Florida Bar Exam are announced.  As far as I can tell, results should be posted on the Florida Supreme Court’s website sometime around 2pm 10:30am (try this link: http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/barscores/index.shtml for more information), and individual results should be arriving by snail-mail within the next few days.  Good luck to all those checking, just remember two things: first, you need your applicant file number (the Florida bar file ID number) to make sense of who’s scores are who’s, and second, pass or fail, it’s just a test, not the end of the world.

Fox News: Barbie Anchors?

I don’t want to sound like I have anything against Fox News (I don’t), but I’ve noticed that there’s a certain… look that most of their female anchors have.  In the style of Fox, I’ll report, you decide.  So here’s the lineup.  See if you can spot the anchor that doesn’t belong.

Megyn Kelly

Page Hopkins

Molly Henneberg

Martha MacCullum

Lis Weihl

Laurie Dhue

Laura Ingraham

A new up-and-coming Fox News anchor?

Janice Dean

Jane Skinner

Jaimie Colby

Gretchen Carlson

Greta Van Susteren

E.D. Hill

Courtney Friel

Ainsley Earhardt

Suzanna Sena

Stephen Colbert: Charlene (I’m Right Behind You)

Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report”, apparently moonlights as an 80s inspired stalker-singer.  This song, “Charlene (I’m Right Behind You)” has a very distinctive Police “Every Breath You Take” feel, and is, I think, destined to be remembered as an even greater classic.  Or not.  At any rate, Rock Band owners can download this track for free (over Xbox Live or Playstation Network–you Wii owners are just plain out of luck…), and I recommend you do so right now.  And while you’re waiting for that to download, check out the video to the song.  Funny stuff.

Recommended Music: Death Cab for Cutie

In case you don’t know, Death Cab for Cutie is basically The Postal Service.  If you’ve never heard of the Postal Service, you a) have never seen the movie “Garden State” and b) you should check them out on Amazon.com, and then c) go out and get everything they have ever made, which is all of one CD.  If you like The Postal Service, you will probably also like Death Cab.

Although Death Cab has been around for quite a few years, and I’m sure they have lots of great songs I’ve never heard, I highly recommend Death Cab’s 2003 album “Transatlanticism” (preview it here), which was my first non-Postal Service exposure to the group.  If you’re looking for something a bit more recent to sample their sound, their album “Narrow Stairs” may be right up your alley (or up your stairwell).  You can preview pretty much the entire Death Cab library on Amazon.com, or just enjoy this video of one of their more popular tracks.

Lego Batman

Batman is a great character–full of believable inner turmoil, enviable gadgets, and a twisted-yet-righteous desire for vengeance.  The latest Batman film, The Dark Knight, was anything but a kids movie, and I was really pleasantly surprised at how well, and how seriously, the movie told the story of a man dressed as a bat fighting crime…  And if you’re in the same boat as me, thinking Batman is truly an icon above kiddie stuff, you’re dead wrong.  Yes friends, coming soon, to a video game console near you:  Lego Batman!  In case you’ve never played Legos… I’m guessing you’ve been living under a rock your whole life.  And in case you’ve never heard of Lego Star Wars, or the more recent Lego Indiana Jones, these video games take the cutesy world of Legos and meld them with not-so-cutesy movies in order to create the ultimate Franken-merchandising.   Seriously, is there anything at all even remotely childlike or fun about some weird guy chanting “Gali-ma, gali-ma” as he pulls the still-beating heart from a man’s rib cage???

Temples of Doom aside, I guess Star Wars is a pretty good fantasy world for kids (in general–don’t even get me started on some of the bad dialog Episodes I-III force on audiences).  After playing through Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga earlier this month, I can say without shame that it is honestly a really fun game.  Nothing too mentally challenging about it, but it’s still a fun game, with some clever in-game humor geared towards adults.  Beyond the jokes, I think what makes Lego Star Wars so much fun is, first it’s fairly simple to play, and secondly, there is a huge number of characters and a wide range of diverse abilities across the cast to keep things interesting (through all six episodes, plus quite a few unlockable levels).

While I have not played Lego Indy (mostly because I am not that into Lego video games), I have caved enough to read some of the reviews.  Most of the reviews aren’t great, but I still think it’s a neat idea.  Still, based on the reviews I’ve seen, Lego Indy tried to recreate too closely what Lego Star Wars did, but fell short because there’s just not that much variety to the cast (no force powers, no light sabers, no flying jet-packs or droids to give a realistic reason for special access to certain areas…).  And I can’t say I’m all that in to seeing Lego Indy anyways, since he’s a playable character in Lego Star Wars.

On the other hand, I admit I’m curious to see how Lego Batman turns out, because, unlike Lego Indy, there are enough unique character abilities built in to naturally move the action along.  I’ve watched a few trailers (like the one at the bottom of this post), and it really does look like fun, both for younger gamers and more mature folks who maybe grew up on the comics or the (campy) films of the 90s.  Oh, and in case you don’t think I’m trying to convince you to run out and buy a copy of this game, here’s one last plug:  If you (or your little ones) are interested in Lego Batman, you might want to pre-order (before Sept. 22nd) since most retailers are offering a “free” Lego keychain, of either Batman, Robin, Cat-woman, or Joker.  And who doesn’t love a keychain, even if your son has a one-in-four-chance of winding up with Lego Cat-woman? (This little keychain tidbit came to my attention, by the way, when I visited the Lego Store in Downtown Disney and tried to buy a Batman keychain for myself as a souvenier–and they were completely sold out, though they did offer me the video game route as an alternative…)

Ok, enough from me, here’s the Lego Batman trailer, as promised.

Weekend Trip: Universal Studios

This past weekend (and a little more, since we didn’t get back until Tuesday) my wife and I went to visit her grandparents in Orlando.  While we were there we went to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Downtown Disney.  I had actually never been to Universal Studios Florida (though I did get a back lot tour of Universal L.A. a few years back, thanks to our friend Will).  Universal was a lot of fun, and even more so because one of Cori’s grandparents’ neighbors (whew!) loaned us his employee guest pass card, so we got in free and were able to skip to the front of all the lines.  Cori’s grandma came with us, and it was just a really fun day.  Here are some pictures (on our own digital camera, and not like the dinky disposable one I complained about from our trip to the Smokey Mountains).  Enjoy.

Cori’s grandparents (both of whom are older than John McCain…) are crazy-fun and love to cut up.

Cori and me, at dinner with Cori’s grandparents.

Cori and I had to stand here for a good ten minutes to properly time the spinning of the globe and the passing crowds, in order to get this shot.

Yes, he does have a bit of a gut. And so does Homer. :P

Never underestimate the power of large props and easy photo-opps.

Look out–it’s a slightly out of focus t-rex!

In case you can’t tell, we were majorly pumped to see that Harry Potter was coming to Islands of Adventure. Must go back in 2010!

Ahh, tourists. Made completely of Legos.

I don’t mind smooching my bride in public, even if a giant Lego mecha-droid is watching.

What’s New With Me: Bar Result Jitters

I’ve mentioned before that I’m waiting on results from the Florida Bar Exam, which I took at the end of this July.  So far I’ve managed to spend most of my free time writing, reading, playing a lil’ Xbox 360, and generally doing whatever I want.  But my total lack of structured time may soon come to an end.  Depending on whether I pass the bar exam, I will go on active duty with the Air Force as an attorney.  Results from the bar exam come out September 22nd, in less than a week.  I can’t tell you how anxious I get sometimes, at the amount of not-knowing.

If I don’t pass then, according to my Air Force liaison, I will stay on inactive reserve status until I take and pass the exam again–meaning a few months after the February 2009 exam.  That’s a long time to sit around playing video games and blogging in a poor man’s imitation of Seinfeld.  So I guess if I don’t pass this time around, I’ll need to find some kind of a job to do until it’s time to start studying for the February 2009 exam.  I don’t know what I’ll do for work–I’ve thought about something easy, like the old paper route I had one summer, or, preferably, getting a legal related job, working maybe as a researcher for a local law firm.  As much as I want to pass the bar exam on the first try, I think I’ll go stir-crazy if I don’t start doing something more productive (i.e., working) soon.  And if I don’t pass, I know studying for the bar exam again is going to be a beast.  I dread the thought of going through Barbri’s review course again (all day, every day is study-questions-review, study-questions, review…), or even just paying for the review course again (FYI, it’s a few grand to cover the course, books, and the exam itself).  The one good thing about failing is that I know basically what to expect.

If I do pass–which is definitely what I want–I have even more uncertainty, because I don’t know where I’ll be stationed once I go on active duty.  I know I blogged about this a month or so ago, but it really is a bit unsettling to not know where we’ll be living in the near future.  I don’t know if I’ll be stationed somewhere far away, where I’ll see my family only once or twice a year (my Dad is just a little afraid of flying), or somewhere so close (like Tyndall or Moody) that I don’t even have a real reason to say any “goodbyes”.  Plus there’s also the low-level fear that I could wind up at a really really bad base, or in a bad town, or in a bad apartment, or just a bad office.  I think most folks in the military are pretty top-notch, with no lack of good work ethic and positive attitudes, but these are still concerns that bubble up.

Location aside, that’s not the most unsure bit of business, since I don’t even know when I’ll go on active duty; it could be October, or it could be as late as January or February.  So Cori and I feel torn between investing our time with our friends here in Tallahassee, versus traveling as much as possible to see our families.  And we’re unsure how much time and energy we should invest in our church, our apartment (we signed a year long lease a few months ago, hoping that our landlord doesn’t give us any trouble over the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act if we’re forced to rely on it…), or even our cars.  There are moments when it feels like we’re skimping on things or people that we should focus on, because time feels like such a precious commodity right now.

With all this uncertainty I’ve been having a bit of trouble going to sleep lately, mostly because these nervous thoughts creep up on me when I most strongly don’t want them to.  I’m not usually a worrier, but, in case you’re wondering, this is what it’s like to try to get into the JAG Corps after law school:  loads of school debt with repayment deadlines approaching despite lack of paying employment, plenty of paperwork to fill out, in triplicate, lots of unknowns to wonder over, not many details on anything important to pass along to curious friends and family, and a handful of anxiety before bed; shake well before consuming, refrigerate any unused portion.   Seriously, I guess I’m pretty much ok with whatever happens, it’s just that I’d like to know what to expect.  And on a positive note, I am being stretched to be patient, and to “lean not on [my] own understanding,” so there is value to this time of not knowing; I just wish it would be a little less not-knowing.

Hopefully this doesn’t sound too much like me whining, I usually like to keep things pretty light here.  And if this is too much of a Debbie-Downer rant, then maybe this demotivator will help put a grin on your mug.

iTunes and Digital Rights Management

I’ve been a fan of downloading music for a while–it’s much easier, and cheaper, to buy the one or two songs I’m after, rather than an entire album.  I admit (with shame) that I used Kazaa during the early 2000’s, but I quickly went legit.  I’ve used everything from Napster (the paid version), MSN music, Wal-Mart’s online store (via Windows Media Player), iTunes, and Amazon.com.  One of the reasons I made the move from “free” (i.e., stealing) music was a talk from one of my roommates, who made a very compelling argument that peer-to-peer music sharing was not fair to those who actually own the rights to the music, regardless of whether they make tons of money or charge disproportionate amounts…  So I believe in paying for music, and I respect the rights of those who own the songs.

What I don’t like about dowloading music is the embedded digital rights management.  Digital rights management (DRM) generally works to prevent you from sharing a download, usually by limiting the number of times you can transfer the song file, or even preventing you from reformatting the file.  Probably the most annoying example of this kind of DRM is iTunes.  I love the iTunes store because it has a really clean interface, easy to find artists and songs, and it shows all kinds of extra information like song popularity or suggested similar artists.  What I hate about iTunes is that I can’t put any of their songs on my mp3 player, because I don’t have an iPod.  I won’t get in to the lengths I have to go to in order to get songs onto my phone’s mp3 player (hint: it involves a bit of old fashioned high tech converting from digital to analog to digital).

Even more annoying than iTunes file format is iTunes DRM. I like to burn MP3 formatted CDs for my car stereo for long road trips–unfortunately iTunes doesn’t like for me to do this with its songs.  Argh.  So, in the past, I would wind up falling back on Wal-Mart’s online store if I was desperate, or just forgo any songs and focus on bundling Podcasts for my road mix.  I say “in the past” because I’ve started using Amazon.com to buy single mp3s, because Amazon doesn’t use DRM.  That’s right, pretty much all of the songs on Amazon are DRM FREE! And if you like to use iTunes to play your music (all you Mac-o-philes out there), Amazon downloads the song directly to iTunes–so you don’t have to do a separate file search of your hard drive or any extra work.  I recommend you try Amazon.com for buying music–and if you’re a big Pepsi drinker you can take advantage of the “Pepsi points” promotion to get your mp3s for cheap (or free).

I think this is a great way to send a message to iTunes and other companies that don’t trust purchasers to make responsible choices to honor the law and their ownership rights.  And in case you’re wondering what can happen to a company/product that insists on using DRM to limit the end-user’s ability to transfer files, check out the reviews for “Spore,” a computer game which is getting mostly one-star reviews on Amazon.com, (so far over 2,000 after less than a month) based largely on its use of DRM to severely restrict the end-user’s ability to install the game.  Hilarious and scary.

The (Original) Office

With the imminent return of new TV episodes as part of the networks’ Fall lineup, it’s worth looking back at one of the roots of a big time current hit.  Before there was the NBC cult classic in the making, there was the original BBC “The Office”.  One of the most appealing aspects of “The Office” is that the show (both BBC and NBC) use a fake documentary filming approach to follow the antics of an office of paper retailers–and the mostly believable situations are hilarious.  But there have been some changes from BBC to NBC.  For those who followed the evolution during the show’s transition from British to American TV, you can’t help notice overall change in tone.  In the BBC version, the overall tone is a more crude (generally not appropriate for children), and the humor is definitely much more dry–and I would recommend using subtitles to be sure you catch all the subtle jokes.  Beyond tone and drollness, perhaps the biggest change is to the character of the boss.  NBC’s boss (Michael Scott) is a sort of lovable incompetent who often does a pretty good job as a salesman, while the BBC boss (David Brent) is almost totally unsympathetic and far beyond occasional incompetence (he goes so far as to try to sell out his own employees in order to get a promotion).  Still, there are strong common threads of false political correctness and general boss-seeks-approval-from-employees.  Here’s a (rated G) clip–”have a laugh, yeah”.

Nintendo, a capella

I don’t know how much introduction I can give for this video, as I basically just randomly stumbled upon it.  It’s a college a capella group performing a few classic themes of the early days of Nintendo  such as Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, Mortal Kombat (which will always belong on the Sega Genesis in my mind), and Tetris. If you need more information then I suggest you pray for divine revelation.  No really.  So go ahead and check it out, it really is funny, and also a sign of the sometimes weird efforts a capella groups must go to in order to stand out from the crowd.

The Function of Escapism

A while back I posted on Don Miller’s talk on “Story”.  I really enjoyed his thoughts, and if you haven’t listened I highly recommend it.

Some of the ideas Don Miller talks about are what kind of character you would be if your life was a book or a movie.  Would you be an interesting character?  What would be the big struggle that helps move along your story?  Would you be a hero, or a villain?  I like this line of questioning, and I think it’s useful for gaining some insight into the “themes” of my own existence.  I also think it’s helpful for understanding the nature of literature and film that might be casually described as “escapism”.

“Escapism” is, in its worst form, the kind of entertainment that is totally devoid of any message or meaning.  Escapism also carries a negative connotation in the sense that it is often associated with low-brow, mouth-breathing “I hate my life so I’m going to pour my energy into something totally apart from the real world” mentality.  So, if this is the dark side of escapism, I think it’s important to understand the light side, or the “good kind” of escapism. (And yes, that is a somewhat awkward reference to my own blog.)  This good kind of escapism is that which points to meaning, to important themes in the real world.

There is a strong desire, I think, in most folks for something more in life.  Literature or film that might otherwise qualify as “escapism” is one of the ways to feel the pull of this something-more.  Books like Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, Dune, television shows like Lost or Heroes, and even lots of comics and video games all fall into this category–there is an admittedly fantasy-like quality, but there are also important real world ideas present.  Writers like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein wrote about places of magic, with trolls, elves, and fanciful happenings; their works are also technically “fantasy”, but they also point to important concepts, such as an epic struggle between good and evil, and the nature of choice by single individuals.

I think this resonates so strongly with most folks because these are very real themes in our day-to-day existence.  Whether we often think of ourselves as characters in a story, we are–to paraphrase Don Miller, the question of “what kind of story are you writing?” is an important one for personal reflection.  And even if you don’t believe in God or good and evil, there is still no way around the fact that who you are as a person matters to those around you–the choices you make have an impact beyond your reach, much like a pebble thrown into a pond produces ripples.

Escapist-literature and film can stir us, can open our eyes to our own desires for excitement, for quest, for some kind of cause to fight for.  I bet you can’t read Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, or even Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth books, and not feel at least a tinge of a wish for some  sword-swinging adventure.  And if you don’t feel the yearning for questing, then maybe I’m wrong at least about those books.  But I do think it’s true that we identify with the themes of fantasy and escape because we were designed to be part of something more than what we generally encounter in our carpeted, air conditioned lives.

Sword of Truth: Legend of the Seeker

The past few weeks I’ve been reading Terry Goodkind’s epic Sword of Truth series.  It’s good stuff, surprisingly rich in philosophy and allegory, and I recommend it for any adult (i.e., not friendly for little ones) looking to do some leisure reading.  And in case you don’t read many books of the thousand-page-persuasion other than Harry Potter, here’s a trailer for the upcoming ABC TV series based on the books.

The trailer actually doesn’t inspire much confidence in the quality of the translation to TV, although if you liked Hercules and Xena you may be pleased to learn that “Legend of the Seeker” is being made by the same folks who brought you those, um, interesting shows.  Sigh.  Another reason why reading is generally better than TV.

Rock Band 2: Let there be rock!

In a recent post I mentioned that the first Rock Band was sadly lacking any tunes from AC/DC.  If this also saddens you, rejoice–the Aussie’s will be back in black, er, will be present on the upcoming Rock Band 2.  Here’s a trailer with some flashy lights to prove it–and also to rub in the fact that Xbox 360 owners will have the virtual rock-making market cornered for a month or so before anyone else gets a taste.

Smokey Mountain High

My wife Cori and I spent last week in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina.  Here’s a breakdown of what we did, with some pictures along the way.

Day 1: We left Tallahassee around 8:30 am, stopping to get some grub for the road (including coffee!), and we were away.  Total travel time was about eight hours.  Once we arrived, we were greeted by the sight of this not-too-shabby cabin (especially considering it was free for us–thanks Holland family!).

After getting settled in, we decided to sleep in sleeping bags on the upstairs porch/balcony, to get the full effect.  Crickets, frogs, and a local stream lulled us to sleep each night.  It. Was. Great.

Day 2: We made the 30 minute drive into “town” (if you could call it that) to buy a few groceries.  The only local grocery store is an Ingles (no, that’s not Spanish for English…).  Here’s a look at where we got our groceries, and ran into some hillbillies (who for some reason were just hanging out around the checkout area, and kept making jokes about how I should make Cori pay for the groceries…).

We also spent the evening relaxing, sans TV, since there was not television in the house.  We did try to find some local radio stations, but the only signal we could get was a really twangy local country station, featuring local advertisements for Ingles and “the only locally owned drugstore” Ditmore Drugs (complete with a full description of the over four varieties of cough syrup available).  I managed to do a good amount of reading, and Cori had some fun putting together a puzzle.  Here’s the finished puzzle: note that it’s missing one single piece–and it was very tough to get all those blue sky pieces to the right spot…

Day 3: Groceries in the fridge, we were ready for some sight-seeing, away from the guffawing of the local yocals.  We drove up the Cherohala Skyway–over 40 miles of scenic highway, over a mile high in a few places.  There were some decent hiking trails scattered at intervals near the skyway, and near the end, just off the road a ways, there was a really pretty waterfall.  Here are some of the better shots from our dinky disposable camera.

Day 4: After our day of driving, we decided to hang around and do some hiking up the ridge near the house.  We went up what I guess was an old logging road, with lots of fallen trees and washout ruts up along the trail.  We hiked for about an hour before we reached the end of the road, where it abruptly terminated at the top of a big hill.  It was a nice hike, and Cori got a chance to pull out her Palm Treo to check on the status of Hurricane/Storm Hannah (which was nearing the coast of South Carolina about this time).  We also explored some rabbit trails that intersected the logging trail, and made a good afternoon of hiking.  After our little hiking expedition we spent the evening roasting hot dogs and marshmallows (unfortunately none of these pictures turned out–thanks a lot Kodak for a nearly worthless $12 disposable camera…).

Day 5: Cori had a hankering to do some swimming, but I was not up for a dip in the (comparatively) frigid seventy degree waters.  So we managed a compromise and went canoeing in the nearby Lake Santeetlah.  We rented a canoe from a local bait and tackle/small boat rental shop, where the owner told us in confidence that he kept pet bats in the upper cabinents, and he fed them left over crickets.  So.  This little weirdness aside, this was maybe my favorite day of our trip.  The lake itself is a true mountain lake, with crests of hills and mountains rising all around it.  Cori and I both grew up near lakes, and we both really like canoeing, so we spent a fun afternoon out on the water.  Our pictures don’t do the lake full justice, but here’s what we got:

Day 6: On our last full day in the Smokey Mountains we went hiking in Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.  This was kind of more-of-the-same as far as things we saw, but it was still a really pretty setting to be outdoors in.  Some of the trees in this area were really big, and I don’t know if you can get a sense of the scale from the picture, but it really was a great place to see.

Day 7: After a full week in “God’s country” we packed up and headed back home.  Our drive back to Tallahassee was a little sad, because we had such a good time, but it was good to be back home.  We recommend a visit to the Smokey Mountains to anyone, and if you can’t do that, then get outside where ever you are (and for all you Tallahassee residents, check out some of the many local parks and wilderness areas…).

We’re baaaaack…

Although this post has absolutely nothing to do with dinosaurs, I couldn’t resist using this image.  Anyway, the wife and I spent the last week or so in North Carolina in the Smokey Mountains.  It was a great trip, very enjoyable, very relaxing, and I have lots of stuff to write about for the next few days.  Because we forgot our digital camera at home, we had to pick up a few disposable cameras to take pictures, so I’ll post pics as soon as I can.  As a teaser, I’ll tell you some of the things we did: we went hiking at Joyce Kilmer Park (fittingly named after the guy who wrote the poem “Trees”), we drove along the Cherohala Skyway (over a mile above sea level in a few places), canoed on Lake Santeetlah (and the second “t” is silent by the way), paid over $50 for two questionable souvenier tee-shirts, we were crowded along the narrow twisty mountain roads by locals, were accosted by some scary hillbillies, put together 499 pieces of a 500 piece puzzle (one was missing!), fell asleep each night listening to the sounds of crickets and a nearby stream, roasted lots of s’mores, and much more…  Check back soon for pics and some fun stories.

Recommended Music: Flyleaf

Flyleaf is one of those bands that falls into the weird quasi-Christian genre. Their lyrics are spiritual, mention God explicitly, and yet they can still get a fair amount of radio time on “secular” stations.  My first introduction to this band was “Fully Alive”–and when I heard it I was all “whoa, Barlow Girl went screamo!”  The lead singer does sound a bit like Barlow Girl (such a cheesy name for an otherwise solid band), but other than that this Flyleaf has a pretty different sound (if you ignore the other maybe twenty or so really popular punk-metal-emo bands), one that’s easy to enjoy regardless of faith or even your repressed emo angst.

Despite their typical emo look (see above–and this is a “sunny” picture of the group…), Flyleaf has quite a few very uplifting songs.  One of my favorite is the song “Cassie”, which at first listen seems to be pretty dark and even murderous, but upon closer inspection is about Cassie Bernall, one of the students killed in the Columbine school shootings.  I love the acoustic version of this song, and here is the first verse and bridge:

The question asked in order to save her life or take it/ The answer no avoided death and yes would make it/

‘Do you believe in God?’/ Written on the bullet/ Say yes to pull the trigger/ And my Sister Cassie pulled it

They didn’t love their live so much/ As to shrink from death/ Inspired in their footsteps/ We will march ahead./ Don’t be shocked that people die/ Be surprised you’re still alive.

For a borderline emo/screamo band, there are a lot of really soft worship-y songs from this band, in addition to their harder hits (like “Fully Alive” or “All Around Me”).   Another great acoustic take is “Red Sam”, and here’s a sample.

Lately I only buy one or two CDs a year, with iTunes or Amazon’s mp3 store taking the brunt of my music purchasing, but I like Flyleaf so much I downloaded most of their self-titled CD and I also went out and bought a copy for the car. I recommend you do the same–this is a great band, with a distinct sound and some really meaningful lyrics.  Check out their website for more info and tour dates.

Guitar Hero, a la South Park

I mentioned in my last post an episode of South Park poking fun at Guitar Hero. If you’ve never seen the clip I’m talking about, you should definitely check it out, it is very very funny (and there’s only one swear, which is pretty good for South Park).  Click here to see the South Park clip.

Rock Band: “playing” music

I have mixed feelings about Rock Band, the video game. On the one hand, it is a really fun rhythm based game, featuring some of the best rock songs you’ll ever hear (though it is missing AC/DC), it’s good for small parties, and great for annoying the down-stairs neighbors (the drums are at least). On the other hand, Rock Band feels kind of plastic-y.  If you’ve ever played Guitar Hero or Rock Band–or seen the South Park episode making fun of Guitar Hero–you probably understand what I’m talking about.  And the guitars are kind of not really musical instruments–they’re just glorified controllers to mash buttons on.

Flimsy guitars aside, the drums are super loud.  Our neighbors have in fact complained, and we have had to ask friends to “take it easy” on the drum heads.  I wish the drums were quieter, seriously.  But, lo, I lift up mine eyes to the hills… And what is this?  Looks like Harmonix, the makers of Rock Band (and also the original makers of Guitar Hero), have answered my prayers, by releasing Rock Band 2, featuring an incredible amount of new songs, quieter drums, self-calibrating guitar strummer, and wireless everything!

Of course now I’m feeling like a jilted early adopter, left to either trade in the current Rock Band instruments towards the yet-to-be-released RB2, or to stay put and keep getting complaints from the neighbors.  I’d like to just upgrade the drums…  Don’t know if there’s going to be a drum-and-game only option, but it looks like Harmonix thought of the possibility of folks trying to be cheap; now you have the option of spending nearly $500 on a video game!  It seems Harmonix decided to tempt the ultra-hardcore, ultra-affluent fanbase by offering a $300 stand-alone electronic drum kit (seen below) that can be played with Rock Band, or just used on its own as a real drum set.

In case you’re wondering, I am in fact planning on collecting a “love offering” for Rock Band 2, and yes you can totally play the drums first if you want.

Recommended Reading: Donald Miller

A few days ago I posted a sermon from Donald Miller.  If you’ve never heard of Don Miller, he’s a Christian writer, and one of my favorites.

The first book that comes to my mind when I think of Don Miller is Blue Like Jazz.  I think it’s fair to say that even if you’re not a Christian there’s a strong chance you’ll really enjoy this, Don’s best known book.  I came to this book with some apprehension, fearing it was a bandwagon-book, but my fears were quickly allayed.  I read Blue Like Jazz last summer, and maybe it was just the time in my life, or maybe the sum of a lot of things on my mind at the time, but I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed reading it.

One of the best things about Donald Miller’s books is his writing style.  He has a very natural writing style, very conversational, and at the same time very poetic.  He writes like a person who enjoys writing, and like a person who enjoys reading the writings of others.  I think this is, for me, one of the reasons I so enjoy reading his books, because it’s a small connection (not that I think I write as well as The Donald…).  Relating to the audience is the author’s primary task, and I think most people can and do relate to the questions Don Miller writes about, the struggles that define his life.  He describes in his writings how he grew up a Christian culturally, but didn’t like it.  He talks about deciding to walk away from God, about seeing God as a slot machine that grants wishes, and many other anecdotes that bring a sense of both the mundane normalcy and the sublime to his conversations with the reader.

I’m currently reading a re-write of his first book, Through Painted Deserts. So far I would only recommend this book to someone who loves Don’s other books and is looking for a less deep, much more roundabout discussion of the issues he presents in Blue Like Jazz.  Through Painted Deserts is, as I see it, less about faith and more about Donald Miler; it is very much a memoir of a time in his life.  Still, there are some glimpses of the deep sense of who-Don-is-as-a-Seeker, and I am enjoying reading this little re-write.

Don Miller’s other book that I’ve read is sort of a follow up to Blue Like Jazz and it’s called Searching for God Knows What.  In this book there’s definitely a more refined presentation, easier to follow, and at times it seems that Don Miller has backed away from (or at least clarified) some of his more controversial theological positions (from Blue Like Jazz).  I also really enjoyed this book, arguably even more than BLJ, but I think if you’re only going to read one book by Donald Miller it should be Blue Like Jazz.

For more info on Don Miller check out his website at donaldmillerwords.com or read his blog at donmilleris.com.

Vacation Holiday

I have a secret.  Want to hear?  Ok.  Well, I’m not really posting this week.  Yup.  Thanks to wordpress and the clever folks who program the user interface, I’m able to schedule posts to go up in advance.  So all the things that have gone up, and will go up this week–I had to figure out a week’s worth of posts a few days ago.  Again with a “yup”.  Cori and I are on vacation, taking a belated bar exam holiday.  So this week we’re up in the mountains of North Carolina, gettin’ our nature on.  I’ll be sure to post on what we did and how all that nature works out for us; until then, look forward to a few more written-in-advance-and–carefullly-scheduled posts.