We get it NBC: Chuck is in 3-D

Budweiser, the Clydesdales are a good staple.  For one commercial per year.  Not 17.

Miller High Life, you did the 1 second ad and I’m proud of you.

Transformers 2.  I’m in

Land of the Lost.  I’m not in.

Year One.  Probably won’t be as funny as I want it to be, but I’m still in.

Sobe, those lizards are lame…3-D doesn’t make it any better.

Coke, Wil.I.Am does NOT equal Bob Dylan, nor should you ever try to make him.

Disney, you’re going to make a whole movie about an old guy floating in his house?

A little more guided now: this commercial was, in my opinion the best commercial during the broadcast.  Because it just didn’t let it go.

But hands down, this was my favorite…did you know there were 3?

Amazing.

Finally, after a year of thinking, talking, and developing: Liquid Resource Group

The concept is simple:

When a youth pastor plans an event, he has to book talent (like Isaac) from different agencies.  Then they have to coordinate with all the different groups about travel, the theme of the camp, and payment.  We offer everything in one spot.  Also, since all of us involved know each other, we’re able to create different patterns for the worship services.  We’ve actually based a lot of it on the principles of improvisation, where we can feed off of each other and let the audience participate in different ways.

We’re really excited about it, and to promote it we set up a pretty awesome booth where we challenged people to Wii games.  To reward them we sent them away with some stellar 1992 style water bottles.  We dressed the part both days as well…because at an event with 200 vendors, you’ve gotta be memorable somehow.

We also took some time today to visit the Georgia Aquarium…where we saw…WHALE SHARKS!!:

Those are some large fish.  Very large.

Totally unrelated side note…..I’m stoked for this.

But to make this easier on me to write (and you to read), I’m simply making lists of things I liked this past year.  We’ll start with forms of Media (file under Watching Listening Reading) in no particular order:

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

I’m finishing this book right now and it is great.  I haven’t read a newer “Christian Living” type of book in a while that actually impacted me (maybe Blue Like Jazz 4 years ago).  I remember Francis Chan speaking at TMC Chapels back when I cared more about figuring out ways to avoid going to chapel.  I regret that now of course, but at least he wrote an awesome book that I can learn from.

Wall-E

Seriously–did you see this?  You need to.  If you wrote this off as another Disney kid’s movie, you should give it a shot.  It really is some of the absolute best storytelling I’ve seen.  I’m going to be disappointed if it doesn’t get nominated for Best Picture.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I just wrote about this last time I posted.  And it wasn’t actually released this year…but I didn’t see it until this fall.  So I don’t care.

Viva la Vida by Coldplay 

And I also wrote about this–but upon further listening, I really do find it to be an incredible album.  The Prospekt’s March EP is also a very worthwhile companion to it.

Follow the Roar by Bob Smiley

Mike Forrest told me about this book when I was in San Diego a couple weeks ago.  I read the first three chapters in what seemed like no time.  I bought it for my dad for Christmas and he really likes it.  Neither of us are golf fans if that helps you understand the type of writing it is.

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

Did you read The Road?  Read that first.  I read this while traveling through Europe this Spring.  Forrest is on me to finish The Border Trilogy, I’m a busy guy though.  

Iron Man

Call me a nerd, but I really liked it.  I never read the comics when I was a kid.  I went to a matinee one afternoon to kill time and I came away totally surprised.  

The Dark Knight

I already wrote about this.  And you probably already saw it.  But if you didn’t see it IMAX, you should…and you’ll have the opportunity to when it comes out in theaters again in January.

Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket

Attack and Release by The Black Keys

If you like rock and roll, check either of these albums out.  They’re a little different from each other, so give them both a preview to see which you like better.  Their previous couple of albums are different from these–and also some of my favorites.

LP3 by Ratatat

I like Ratatat because of Jaro.  They’re awesome if you’re working/reading/studying/jamming out.  

That’s all I’ve got for now.  Up next is  a list of events/happenings I like this past year.  But I’ve got to be in California from the 26th-31st.  So look for that list next year.

How about a brief update?

Very well then:

-I still live in Nashville.

-I shot an Uzi last weekend.

-Natalie and I made the best dinner we’ve had in recent months last night.

-I’ve seen 2 amazing films in the last 2 weeks.

Here’s some expansion on 2 of the topics:

This is what I look like when I’m holding an Uzi:

(Oh yeah…I officially live in the South when I can rent fully automatic weapons to fire at my whim)

2 movies for you to watch for totally different reasons:

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Amazing.  One of the 5 most brilliant stories I’ve ever seen.  The execution of the storytelling and the story itself is unbelievable.  You can’t help but feel alive after watching it.  You need to see this.

Call+Response

On Sunday afternoon, my Church hosted a screening of this movie.  It’s a very revealing look at the modern slave trade.  Thanks to my friend Mallory, I’ve been made much more aware about just how bad sex trafficking is, but this project definitely sheds a lot more light on the situation of slavery in general.  Did you know that Atlanta is currently ranked #13 in terms of active slavery/slave trading IN THE WORLD?

A very good movie that you should see if it’s playing anywhere near you.  It deserves your time and thought.  Not to mention that Dr. Cornel West is in it–and he just seems to make anything cooler.

Finished Perelandra last week and I must say that Yes, absolutely Yes–Natalie was right.

I read it in about 24 hours while traveling and was incredibly satisfied.  What a magnificent picture of the fall and redemption of man.  It is absolutely worth reading the first book to get to this second one.  C.S. Lewis himself says that it’s not necessary to read the first one, however I felt a little more grounded in this story because of the first one.  

You know, like you don’t have to see TMNT 1 to appreciate TMNT 2….but it helps.

(I highly recommend clicking on the links)

I’m not so sure how this will all work, but I wanted to have something where people can share/discuss what they’re into currently.  I thought I could set it up as a separate page–but alas I can’t create separate posts on that other page (at least I couldn’t figure out how) and I wanted to be able to update it without losing the good stuff from previous posts.

So for now I’ll simply try to update on a pretty weekly basis.  I’d encourage you to engage the discussion via comments as to what you’re viewing and why.

So here’s mine for right now:

Coldplay-Viva La Vida :: Yeah I know it’s been out for awhile, but I still can’t really stop listening to it.  I try to, but it seems like this is on an every other CD rotation

The Space Trilogy from C.S. Lewis :: I just finished book 1 today and Natalie assures me that it picks up in Perelandra.  In fact, she thinks it might be his greatest work.  Better than The Great Divorce?  I’ll be the judge of that.

Planet Earth :: It’s like pixie sticks on your eyes in the Blu-Ray.  And it’s narrated by a british guy so I feel like God’s talking about His planet.

The Dark Knight :: Did anybody else think this was the best movie they’ve seen in a long time?  And also–if you didn’t see it in IMAX, you owe it to yourself to experience maybe the best cinematic experience ever.  I’m giving it one more week to let it fester before I go back and see it again.

So until now I’d only experienced these at one airport in all of my travels…I think it was O’Hare…but anyway I’ve now partaken twice.
We were killing time in San Antonio today at some ritzy mall by the airport and after a ritzy food court stop I went into the bathroom (again, ritzy) only to behold the DYSON AIRBLADE. (see photo below. Then google it)

This is not just some hot-air-blowing hand dryer. This thing is a force to be reckoned with. You stick your hands down into it and pull up slowly through what is literally a hurricane force stream of air. Water doesn’t stand a chance.

If you’ve experienced this before then you know what I’m talking about.
The Airblade leaves an impression.

If you’ve yet to partake, I’m not saying it’s worth a trip to San Antonio….but the Alamo’s here too.

Here’s a picture of me being a gangster.

Did it work?

1) Remember that one time I went to Africa?  Yeah it was pretty awesome.  Well one of the people I went with was Ellie.  She’s 14 now, but back when she was 11 she decided she needed to raise money for Africa to help out kids there who didn’t have the option to go to school like her.  So she started this thing called Ellie’s Run For Africa.  A 5k race and a 1-Mile (I don’t know how many K’s that is) family fun run that would give people the chance to do something for Africa.  Her awesome idea also included having a bunch of other stuff going on during the event that would help people learn more about Africa and give families a chance to hang out after the race.

So to date the race has raised about 100k and taken care of a lot of the needs of kids specifically in Kibera, Kenya.  It’s the second largest slum in Africa (the largest slum created from natural socio-economic problems, not apartheid).  

This is what it looks like:

When we were there we saw the school building and visited the classrooms.  In order for kids to go to school, they have to have uniforms, shoes, and books.  The cost of all that is about $25.

For the year.

For a kid to go to school.

Here are a couple pictures I took at the Blue School:

The kids in the first picture weren’t actually in the school-they were just hanging out around it.  They couldn’t go because….you guessed it!  They didn’t have uniforms or books.  The average income in Kibera is less than $1 a day.  The only chance these kids have of breaking out of these conditions is through getting an education.  So you’re going to help a kid out right?  Good.  Here’s how it works:

Since I’ve been to Africa before, I was recruited to help tell people about how this all works.  I committed to making sure that 40 kids will go to school.  That’s $1000.  But I didn’t give the entire amount…I wanted you to help and receive the joy that comes from knowing that you’re literally changing the entire course of a life of a child (or 2 or 10) that you’ll never meet.  Go to elliesrun.org/donate and put in your name and my name in the line of the person that referred you (I think it says Hero…which is kind of lame, because let’s face it–I’m not a hero).  Then donate dolla dolla bills ya’ll.  This way they can track and see if I’ve fulfilled my commitment.  I don’t win a free cruise or anything like that.  Though I think if I do get 40 kids in school they’ll give me a framed Jeremy Cowart picture (which would be sweet).  

If you want to make a ginormous donation and you’d rather write a check for it…then let me know through an email and I’ll get you the info.  Donations are tax deductible as well.

2) Tim and I are going to Haiti on Saturday for a week to check out New Missions and figure out if we want to partner with them and help them raise support through some Isaac events.  I literally have no idea what I’ll do while down there.  I just know that a good friend of ours, Brent Gambrell, works really closely with them and if he says they’re OK, then they should be OK.

I’ll let you know how it goes.  

Here’s a recap of my European adventure:

Blue Steel (topped out at 135 mph)

Schnitzel I ate in the basement of The Castle Church.  With a Lutherbier to drink

Romania:

God is good.  As is my life.