Update :: PickensPlan

Back in August I wrote a short item on the PickensPlan here.  You may have seen ads on television in recent weeks increasing public awareness about the Plan and what they are proposing.  PIckens’ proposal centers largely on increased utilization of wind energy and switching our transportation fuel of choice to natural gas.

Today a friend of mine shot me an email letting me know that this :15 spot by the PickensPlan was initially picked up by every network but NBC.  NBC first rejected the ad based on a lack of conclusive proof for Pickens’ claim that the USA is “not doing a thing here” to alleviate our dependency on foreign oil.  After some lobbying from Pickens supporters NBC reversed their decision.

Pickens is a billionaire who is trying to get people in the public square to talk about our energy crisis.  He is proposing a solution that I find compelling.  One of the most critical issues I will be evaluating during this election will be Energy.  Since I was in college I’ve had an interest in this area, and have been longing to see visionary leadership that will move our country beyond oil dependency and toward the utilization of new technologies that are cost effective and sustainable over the long term.  Such a transition will likely require pain and discomfort in the short term, but eventually will yield to a better tomorrow.

I hope Pickens’ effort to spark an intense discussion on this issue proves effective and that a broad range of people will begin talking about this issue.  Pickens may be right on point, or he may have elements of his plan that need adjustment and critique.  Hopefully we’ll find out by undertaking the hard work of dialogue and debate.

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Short Film :: More

Today I watched this interesting short film on YouTube:

Among the many aspects I thought worthy of discussion:

 

• The fleeting innocence and joy of childhood.
• The quest for meaning.
• The use of color vs. black and white.
• The way joy and happiness are presented–elusive and illusionary.
• The desire to “look within” to find inspiration.
• The loneliness which comes with success.

What do you think?

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Guitar Praise?

In yet another case of “Christ Against Culture,” video game developer Digital Praise is set to release “Guitar Praise.”  Here are some details:

NEW YORK —  For Christians who’ve always wanted to dabble in “Guitar Hero,” but can’t bear riffing to songs like “Cheat on the Church,” “Cowboys From Hell” or “The Number of the Beast,” finally, there’s a video game for you.

Next month, video-game developer Digital Praise releases “Guitar Praise,” a wireless guitar game that promises “inspirational fun” as players jam to 52 hits by the likes of contemporary Christian musicians TobyMac, Newsboys and Skillet.

Like “Guitar Hero,” the game requires players to hit the correct notes as the songs play, but unlike Activision’s popular Xbox, Wii and PlayStation 2 and 3 game, “Guitar Praise” is strictly a Mac or PC affair.

Set for release on Sept. 25, with a price tag of $99.95, “Guitar Praise” isn’t cheap. But developers see it as a game perfect for the masses.

To read the rest of the FoxNews article, click here.

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Fronk N Dego Films

I enjoyed this installment enough to post it.  This film is entitled, “The Most Dramatically Normal Day Ever.”  Hope you enjoy.

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Biblical Commentary in TMQ

I enjoy Gregg Easterbrook’s writing.  I read his NFC preview this morning, but the AFC preview will have to wait.  I did peek at the Chiefs preview.  Easterbrook had this to say:

Scripture note: The apostle Paul’s Letter to the Romans notes at 14:2, “Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.” Obviously Paul never played flag football with [Tony] Gonzalez, one of the NFL’s few vegetarians. The translation is from the New Revised Standard Version, endorsed by most biblical scholars. The New International Version, favored by evangelicals, renders the passage as, “One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.” Evangelical translators want being a vegetarian to sound wimpy!

Interestingly enough, in the past six months I’ve read numerous allusions to biblical passages in sports writing and news reporting, and have wondered just what percentage of people in our culture are familiar enough with some of the basic components of the Old and New Testaments to get it.  My guess: that number is fairly low.  E.D. Hirsch might agree.

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Springsteen :: 100% Awesome, and Prophetic to Boot

Well, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience at the “Broooce” concert.  The experience carries along with it a story, so here is the telling.

Molly and I happened to run into an old friend on Saturday night before the concert who is part of the production team on the Springsteen tour.  He asked if we had tickets, and we said yes.  Back when we bought tickets in late June I had jumped on the Ticketmaster sale late enough the day of sale to end up in section 210 at the Sprint Center, which is located in the upper regions of the building.  Molly’s friend had said that he could possibly get us on the floor, and also provided us with the tip that the E Street Band wouldn’t take the stage until after 8:15.  Show time was 7:30 so we timed it well, grabbed a shake from ChefBurger, and headed in to the concert around 8:00 or so.

From there we decided to set up shop on the concourse and wait for a return text message from Molly’s friend, who let us know to touch base sometime shortly before 8:15.  As we hung around waiting for a response, a Sprint Center employee approached us and asked us if there were two in our party.  We said yes.  She said that there were a couple of other patrons who wanted to trade seats.  They happened to have GA tickets on the floor, and didn’t want to stand for the duration of the concert.  We met this other couple and made the trade.  Can you say upgrade?

Once we headed down to the floor we ran into Molly’s friend who hooked us up with a pit pass.  We went from being in the upper deck to being about 25 feet from center stage in the midst of Springsteen diehards.  As we waited for the concert to start we met a guy from San Fran named Hank, who had been to somewhere around 45 Springsteen shows.  He had drank a few beers, had seen the show in St. Louis the night before, and was pumped for another performance.  He was with us for the first couple of songs and disappeared after that.  Before he left, it was a blast to watch him dance.

The show was incredible.  Springsteen played some stuff off the new album, Magic, but treated the crowd to plenty of classics.  The music was great, the band was energetic, the crowd was in to it and singing along–this is the reason I love live music performances.  We got to see an E Street first in the process.  Springsteen has been gathering signs from the crowd during this tour that have requests hand written on them.  Someone passed up a sign that said “Let Max Sing.”  They got the man a microphone.  When the band saw the sign they got a pretty good chuckle, and acquiesced.  I really like Max Weinberg, so this was a bonus for me.

As a bonus, Springsteen demonstrated his ability to not only offer the gift of his music, but to speak prophetically about our culture, our reality, he even invited his audience into the presence of God.  Springsteen, before singing the Song “Livin’ in the Future” let us know that this was a song about our time.  Before playing the song he repeated again and again, in revivalistic fashion and intonation, “It’s still early, but it’s getting late.”  He called for change.  He claimed that America in recent years had not been the type of country we were called to be.  He denounced the Iraq war. If you know anything about Springsteen this shouldn’t be too surprising.

Springsteen also told the audience that the E Street Band “could only take us so far.”  He said that “E Street would make the music, but you must make the noise,” and that the sound we make would be ringing “in the ears of God.”  Springsteen also said that the band could not go certain places without us.  The concert was a participatory gathering.  Everyone mattered.  He also used an enthusiastic, preachy delivery to say that he’d done down to the river of life, he was going to build him a house, and he was going to find him some life.  He repeated the same sequence for faith, joy, happiness, and hope.  All the while Clarence “Big Man” Clemons was saying into his microphone “yes Lord,” and “preach it.”  At one point he took a wet sponge and shook it over the first few rows, calling it a “Jersey baptism.”

The Christian-oriented discourse that was woven in to the concert experience made it quite something to watch.

All in all, this was one of the most incredible concert experiences I have ever taken part in.  ”Born to Run,” live, is all that it is hyped up to be.

If Bruce passed back through KC, I’m there.  It’s automatic.

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Um…Actual Answer from a Physics Test

Courtesy of my friend Ryan.  I laughed out loud.

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Too Good to Pitch? What?

There has to be more to this story.  The short version: a 9 year old in a New Haven baseball league has been banned from pitching in the league due to his superior talent on the mound.  His velocity and control are too intimidating for other 9 and 10 year olds.

I faced guys in Little League that were tough to beat.  We never forfeited and packed up because an excellent player was taking the mound.  This is baffling.

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Springsteen. Tonight. Sprint Center. I’m there.

I’ll post thoughts after the concert.  Until then here are a couple of YouTube videos that have prepped me for the E Street madness.

• BtoR
• Born in the USA
• Glory Days
• Pink Cadillac
• Radio Nowhere

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Blink Count :: Pelosi vs. Cheney

I thought this was a funny video from eBaum’s World.  If you’ve got 30 seconds to waste today, check it out.

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