News, Rants

Dancin’ Jack Caught in Partisan Politics

A few weeks ago, President Bush nominated John Roberts to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by Sandra Day O’Conner. During the speech, one young man just had to… DANCE!!!

Dancin' Dancin' Dancin' Machine

Robert’s young son, Jack, had happy feet just off camera during the announcement ceremony. It was awesome!

NOW, FOR SOMETHING DECIDEDLY NOT AWESOME:

According to the Drudge Report the New York Times is seeking the adoption records for young Jack and his sister, Josie.

Drudge writes:

The TIMES has investigative reporter Glen Justice hot on the case to investigate adoption records of Judge Roberts’ two young children, Josie age 5 and Jack age 4, a top source reveals.

Judge Roberts and his wife Jane adopted the children when they each were infants.

Both children were adopted from Latin America.

A TIMES insider claims the look into the adoptions are part of the paper’s “standard background check.”

What the crap!?!?!?!

Glen Justice, I want to hit your mama in the mouth!

Books, Ministry

The End is Nigh

The end of my summer “vacation” that is.

As the campus minister I am on a twlve-month calander. So I don’t get the traditional summer off that all the other teachers get.

I am up at the school everyday which is good because… there are always students here. Right now the band is here, the football team is here, and the volleyball team just left. Later today, the cheerleaders will practice down the hall from my office. Being here at work is great because I get to be with these students.

The summer has been good. I have had a lot of work to complete and I have finished most of it. I am teahing two Bible classes this fall on two different subjects but I’m not sweating it. I feel really prepared.

I have my fall reading list lined up. Here is a sneek peek:

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith
Rob Bell

The Naked Christian
Craig Borlase

The Spirit of the Disciplines
Dallas Willard

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I am working hard on collecting a handful of books to live with over the next few months. Much prayer and preparation come in choosing just the right books. I am working through The Chronicles of Narnia right now as well. I’m gearing up for “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” this Christmas.

That is all for now. Have a great day.

Popular Culture, Rants

Breaking Into the Music Biz?

2 Comments

Become a rapper.

Ten years ago, if you wanted to break into the music business you would have done well to put on a pair of boots, grabbed your acoustic guitar, and strutted your stuff at the Blue Bird Cafe down in Nashville. Country music was hot, thanks to Garth Brooks, and it was relatively easy to become a star in honky-tonk. After the country music phase the country moved into a teeny-bop world. For every Britney there was a Mandy Moore and for every Backstreet Boy there was a 98degrees. Thanks to Lou Perlman and men of his ilk, manufactured music became a staple on America’s airwaves. If you were 13 and had a set of pipes there was money to be made. The teen scene became an easy market to cash in on.

Now in 2005, I would argue that the easiest market to break into is the Hip/Hop/Rap/R&B hybrid currently riding the crest of cultural popularity. I call this a musical hybrid because even 5 years ago R&B was a different genre than Rap. I don’t remember Toni Braxton (R&B) spittin’ rhymes or Will Smith and Jazzy-Jeff (Hip-Hop) gunning each other down. Today, for every talented rapper like Common, Kanye West or Jay-Z there are dozens of Ray Js, Playaz Circles, Twiztids, and Mike Jones’ (Who is Mike Jones?). I’m still not convinced that rap’s darling boy, 50cent, isn’t some corporate creation. For some guy who has sold crack and who has been riddled with bullets he sure raps about tropical islands and sex a lot. Some hardcore life?!?! G-G-G-Unit!

Anyway, go by your local Target or peruse through iTunes or, heck, watch TRL. There are a slew of untalented rap artists out there that are making money hand over fist. With the recent Sony payola scandal, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out just how manufactured these new “artists” really are.

You too can be the next B Rabbit. Just furrow your brow, look tough, and sell out.

Rants

Suck Flags over Georgia

Yesterday, the power was out at work due to construction so we decided to take a little day trip to Atlanta. After a great lunch at the Varsity we headed to Six Flags over Georgia to ride some rides. I was so excited about riding a slew of awesome rollercoasters but, in the end, I was met with HUGE disappointment.

Six Flags over Georgia is, hands down, the worst amusement park I have ever been to. That includes Sandy Lake. Sure, Superman: Ultimate Flight was great. And yeah, Acrophobia made me smile. In fact, the rides were good. The real problem was the employees. They were surly and they were uncooperative. In fact, one employee was fraternizing with a friend while some lady blew chunks all over the ride platform. The employee just kept waving people through completely oblivious to the mess. Serenity Now!

To top it all off, the park also smelled like raw sewage. I know that yesterday was very hot and humid so that might account for some of the smell but not all of it. No joke: Raw Sewage.

All of the Time/Warner execs who frequent this blog need to go down to Six Flags over Georgia and rattle a few cages. As we exited the park, my sweet wife stated that we will never go back . Never is a broad brush to paint with so I’ll just simply say that we will try to never darken the gates of that park ever again. Bottom line: Six Flags over Georgia was a big disappointment.

Popular Culture, Theology

Is Praising Lance Armstrong the Unforgivable Sin?

3 Comments

Apparently for some, it is.

In the circles I travel in, a curious reaction has been occurring over the last few weeks. Unless you live in a cave you are well aware that the Tour de France, a grueling three-week bicycle race across France, has just concluded. The winner was, again, Lance Armstrong. This was the seventh consecutive win for this Texan, an accomplishment that no other man has achieved. Not only has Armstrong achieved this great victory but he also triumphed over testicular cancer (a fact he gleefully shamed Vince Vaughn with in the movie “Dodgeball”). Whenever the subject of Lance Armstrong comes up that is when this curious reaction rears its ugly head.

Here are two examples of this curious reaction to Lance Armstrong that my fellow Christians have been displaying these last few weeks:

Me: “Hey, is Lance Armstrong still in first?”
Christian #1: “It really doesn’t matter. He doesn’t believe in God.”

Me: “Wow, seven wins!”
Christian #2: “Too bad he hasn’t given God the credit for his wins or for curing him of cancer.”

I have even seen someone react with anger at the mention of Armstrong’s win.

I feel like singing the Debbie Downer theme song to these people. Yes, apparently Lance Armstrong is not a card carrying disciple of Jesus Christ but the real problem lies at the heart of our reaction to his life and to the lives of every single person living on this blue sphere we call Earth. When someone is not part of our little circle how do we treat him or her? Are they met with derision or open arms? Are their accomplishments written off because they do not recognize God? Have we effectively told them that they do not matter?

Because Lance Armstrong is not a Christian, guess what, I do not expect him to go around thanking God for everything! I am more concerned with Christians acting like Christians. When we react with anger, disappointment, and disgust at someone who is not a part of our faith we effectivly tell that person that we never want them to be a part of our faith. We, in essense, write them off as a failure and not worthy of the hope we so strongly “profess.” Get with the program people. It’s not about you.

Lance, great job! Congratulations on your win!

The Goal Is Soul