Oh! Gravity

On December 26 of this year, Switchfoot will release a new album - a short 15 months after the last album, "Nothing is Sound." Entitled, "Oh! Gravity," they seem set to bring us another amazing experience through music.

I have long loved Switchfoot as my favorite band - ever since before "The Legend of Chin" even arrived on the market and no one knew their name. I have met the guys and talked quite a bit with them. Never have I known a band to be so real and seem so personable. They are entirely honest in their music and never mince words or ignore their faith. In one interview, Jon tells of how their Christianity is part of who they are, as is their music. There is no separating those from each other.

With a newly designed site for the album, Switchfoot.com, talks about "Oh! Gravity," and how it came to be made. In Jon's own words:

And so this past summer when we set out to record a new record, we tried to put all pressures and expectations aside and focus on the music. We wanted to make a record that was honest. A record that didn't trip on itself. A record that represented everything that we first fell in love with about music. We tried to forget about theory and pitch and timing and focus on feeling. As a result, I think that Oh! Gravity is the most honest thing we've ever done. I am so proud of these tunes and hope that they resonate with you like they do for us.

And go back to the reason you loved music to begin with. We took a chance on this record, not to sound selfish, but to make something for ourselves. What other people think can't change our minds about these songs. And that's a good feeling. Because either you believe in it or you don't.

I am certainly always excited about a new Switchfoot record, but these guys always make me more excited about the newest one than any of the previous ones. And the biggest reason for that is their commitment to Christ and being Roaring Lambs.

Offense = PG?

I just found out about a movie today that is in theaters, but I've never heard about it. I wouldn't care, except I really want to see it, but it's an independent film, so it's not in my area. Bummer! The movie is Facing the Giants.

More importantly (because I can watch it on DVD), I'm annoyed by the MPAA and them giving it a rating of PG. I'm putting aside the fact that it's a Christian movie and that I want to support it for that reason, especially considering that it seems like a GOOD movie. According to this article, the rating comes because they're concerned that the Christian story will offend people of other religions. That may very well be the case, but that doesn't mean it should constitute a PG warning, especially considering the definition of a PG film:

The theme of a PG-rated film may itself call for parental guidance. There may be some profanity in these films. There may be some violence or brief nudity. ... The PG rating, suggesting parental guidance, is thus an alert for examination of a film by parents before deciding on its viewing by their children. Obviously such a line is difficult to draw.

So, if I'm offended that Mufasa dies in The Lion King, should it be rated PG? Offense hardly seems an adequate justification for such a thing. But maybe that's just me.

Why Bulgy Eyes?

I present to you, Exhibit A:


This is a picture of none other than ME, flaunting the fact that I got to play the yet-unreleased Nintendo Wii last night. That's all fine and dandy, and I had a great time experiencing "the gaming revolution," but why oh why must I have such bulgy bug-looking eyes when I smile?

All I know is that ever since I was young, I always tried too hard to keep my eyes open when the flash fired. Well, old habits die hard, I guess, because I've been trying to train myself ever since not to open my eyes as wide as I can when I smile.

That right there is a freak of nature. That's all I know.

So Bad It's Good

Who doesn't jump out of bed in the morning and dash to the TV in order to turn it on to TBS in order to watch none other than Saved by the Bell?

OK, I guess probably very few people. But, my wife and I watch it every morning while getting ready. It is really a perplexing show in that it's so corny and so bad, but at the same time, who can stop watching? Very little of it is funny. I think if I laughed along with the canned laughter, I would have to drown myself in the toilet just to wash myself clean of poor taste in humor.

But, my point in this post was to make note of an article on IGN TV about how bad Saved by the Bell is, and yet it's so good almost because of that badness. If you've seen the VH1 series, I Love the [Decade], you're well-versed in bad-but-good things.

IGN's article can be found here.

Hilarious Wife

I love my wife. I really do. Putting aside all the wonderful things she is to me and the joys I get from being married to her, we have great times together. Last night was one such time, and she had me rolling on the floor laughing from a comment she made. I was talking about a new USB port that I was adding to the computer. She knows what I meant, but what did she say to me, but this:

What’s USB? I know that we’re USA. Does that mean USB is Mexico?

I'm sorry if I'm biased, but that is so funny on so many levels that I had to share it online. We're US A; is Mexico US B. Because Mexico is... they're B... they... well, you get it. Too funny.

Refresh

I started this blog not too long ago mostly because I was excited to see that Blogger had made many significant changes and I am always one to jump on new beta versions. What can I say? I love technology.

Since then, I have been made to rethink my purpose and intentions here, as God has reminded me who I am in Him. Thanks to Boundless and a recent series about blogging, I have decided to proceed forward in a new vein. Most likely, I will still include thoughts and ideas that I have, but hopefully with a new vision in mind - one that is specific to honoring God.

I'm still just a normal guy with his little spot on the internet. But I want it to be obvious that I'm a Christian just as much as I am a guy. I believe in God just as much as I use a computer to blog.

Two Boundless articles really caught my attention:

Blogging: The History and the Spirit talks about the traditional use of blogs - many times it is a place for people to spout off their frustrations or just do something extreme so as to be noticed by the internet community. However, the blogosphere can be used for telling others about Christ just as any other method of communication can be.

Christ seeks us out in interesting ways. Sometimes He uses a friend, sometimes a stranger, sometimes a song on the radio or a book found in a yard sale. We know He uses word of mouth — after all, that's how He got started. He may even use blogs.

The second article, Blog Responsibly, focused on what we say online. I don't want to simply resort to first reactions or extreme frustrations and sarcastic comments dispelling things I find. Sure, I'm still going to have fun here and I'm sure that will include sarcasm, but I will be careful not to insult others in doing so. I hope to be held accountable to that by God, myself, and anyone out there reading.

I know this will be a great thing for me and my blog, as I am aiming to please God. What better goal could there be? If it only helps me, I will praise God for that. If others join in, may God receive all the blessing exponentially.

Amen.

Cubic Men Are Fun

These sound like a great deal of fun, and I really think I want to get some. Remember Game & Watch games (something else I also want)? These cubes make me think of that.


Apparently, these little men each have a different personality (one's a handy man, one is muscular, etc.). Depending on what personality they have, they will act differently. They "live" inside their little cube, as though it is an apartment. Rounding out this idea, is the fact that there is gravity – turning the cube upside-down will cause the pixel person to fall to the ceiling. Even more so (and what REALLY makes these things cool and worth a look) is the fact that these guys can interact with each other per magnetic connections on all four sides that allow the cubes to be stacked in any number of configurations and presumably with any number of cubes.

This sounds like one of those great waste-of-time toys, but I would love wasting time this way; especially at work.

Check this out for more info about them.

Like Having 12 Middle Names

My wife works for an insurance company that supplies for a lot of companies. As she was entering info for these, she came across one that listed the following in the "insured section" of the certificate:

North American Propane, Inc.
Energy USA Propane, Inc. dba
EUSA Heating & Air Cond. Dba
EUSA Allied Acquisition Corp.
Allied Energy/Propane

Apparently, they want all of these to be their name. But, this is ricidulous.

I mean, I get that they’re using propane for SOMETHING, but does anyone really know WHAT?!

It’s like they know what words they want to use in their name, but they just don’t know how to organize them. This isn’t Scrabble, folks!

I propose the following for their name. They get to keep ALL the words they want, but in a MUCH more concise form (yeah, that’s sarcasm):
North American Allied Energy USA Propane Heating & Air Cond. Acquisition Corp Inc. dba

Disturbing Results

Someone noted this poll on AOL's People Connection site. I have to say, I'm incredibly disturbed. Nearly 50% of the population says they'd "go all the way" on their first date. Now, considering the audience of People Connection, that's not representative of most people, I'm sure. (I hope.) These are most likely the people who are going online to find someone else who will go all the way on their first date. Either way, I'm bothered by it.

What confuses me is the fact that "a kiss on the cheek" comes in second. So, if you're not will to go all the way, you're next most likely to kiss your date on the cheek. How's that for drastic!

We Threw a Rod

I purchased a 1998 Ford Escort a couple months ago. Last month (only a month and a half after getting the car), one of the rods managed to bust through the engine block. I think most people have heard of such a thing happening. But, frankly, I didn't realize those things still happened. Anytime I think about it, all I can picture is Elwood Blues telling his brother, "We threw a rod," to which Jake responds, "Is that bad?" Now I can say from experience: that's bad. Until we pulled out the engine, I didn't even realize how bad. Now I have proof.

Here's the side of the engine, with said hole straight through to the piston.

... and a closer shot of it.

If that looks bad, it gets better (and by "better," I mean "worse") when you take a gander at the bottom.

And, just for fun, I took some pictures of the car without an engine in it. I think if I remember correctly, I was able to lift this thing with my pinky finger.



Mmmm... radiator.

I Want This

I'm going to cry. Club Nintendo (only available for those in Japan) has released a Game & Watch Collection for the DS. I had a Donkey Kong G&W (and still do somewhere), and I thought it was the coolest thing. Until Super Smash Bros.: Melee, I hadn't actively realized that Nintendo fashioned these. But, SSBM rekindled my enjoyment of G&W, especially as I rarely played any character in that game besides Mr. Game & Watch. Anyway, checking eBay shows me that the only way I'll be getting this game is to spend upwards of $50 for a DS game. I hope IGN proves prophetic about Nintendo someday releasing a full collection of G&W for the DS in their Touch Generations line.

PD is for Vendatta

I deliver newspapers. Yeah, you read that right. It's a good gig and I earn some serious green for it. I don't have my own route now, though I used to. I just substitute for other people who deliver the Plain Dealer.

Anyway, I'm delivering a route that consists of 425 papers on a weekday. (For those who don't know, that's a lot – 200 is normal.) And, everytime I deliver a significant amount of papers, the front page arrives late to make things even harder on me. Truly, I think someone has it out for me.