Gifts from fellow teachers.
Is there a place out there that’s like Blockbuster, but for books?
(Thank you, Peter and Laurel. This shall be printed and posted in the library tomorrow.)
Jeremy’s having a tough time coming up with graphics for the layout of the Joseph sermon series. Here’s my idea. (And an opening slide.)
Holding the mtd J5, a handcrafted prototype, since he had burned out the battery in his blue mtd 535 that he’d been using since 1997.
Aside from doing clinics and concerts, Norm Stockton also teaches some online courses. Check them out here.
It’s all about context. Bass players are the bridge between the rhythm section and the rest of the band: lend pitch to the drum kit. (Since on most Sundays we don’t bust out marimbas. Although this past Sunday we had a whistle and congas.) Bass players who understand how to be that bridge and keep it in context will have their cell phones ring more frequently.
This afternoon I got to hang out with Norm Stockton, who is currently on tour with Lincoln Brewster.
Ponderings from his free clinic:
Groove – an establishment of a motif that is consistent, predictable, reliable, and a movement forward
Groove is important for the whole band and congregation because a bad groove (in this context of groove) is jarring and has potential to break people out of a worship mindset.
We (the bass players) are the ministers of groove. Don’t be groovicidal. Each motif should consider context rhythmically, sonically, and harmonically. All that noodling? Yeah, it’s cool for a sound check or the last two minutes after a show as people are packing up their stuff, but unless you’re playing on a stool in a coffee house, it’s usually more than you need.
Norm knows his stuff, though, about having an entire song be just the bass. His solo version of “Angels we have Heard on High” is amazing. He also played a song similar to one on the Pondering the Sushi album. Norm was able to able to break it down to, “This is what the guitar would be strumming, this part’s for the horn section, and if I played bass, this would be the part…” Keep in mind he played all of the parts on his bass, mixing hits with pops and slaps and general flurries of fingers. (And yet he was able to show the difference between a constant stream of steady slap bass 16th notes and the annoying 12 year-old at Guitar Center.)
Best part? Very laid-back. Very Flagstaff. I would totally be his friend. He opened his clinic with a humble prayer and ended by praying for the hurt and for all of the different ministries represented at the clinic. Very cool stuff.
And who doesn’t dig a bassist who is into katakana T-shirts?
We’ll have to hear from Jeremy and see if he got his photo.
After being mindblown sitting down with Lincoln Brewster
Hold on…because of the VP debate, is the Office not on this week?
(If you thought I was frustrated with politics already…)
Eagle Eye = Enemy of the State + I, Robot
Want to watch Eagle Eye at home?
Switch the two DVDs every ten minutes and every so often look at a screenshot from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
I liked the movie. It was fun, even if it did borrow heavily from my favorite stories.
Now, the Heroes stream of consciousness (like Mohinder, except with less pheremones):
Rafiki’s rock paintings about Parkman are awesome.
Yes, villains! That fire guy has some of the coolest fire effects I’ve seen on a super. And the Haitian is in Germany, I guess. Villainy 101. They totally killed off Magneto too quickly, though.
“I was being awesome.” Boo to the bad sound effects in the Buster Keaton movie theater.
So sad, painting over Parkman’s happy family. And white eyes! Detective Sylar and his coffee. Decaf.
Nikki in the casket? Ah. Clones. i knew it!
“And then I’m gonna kill him.” Woot. Since we hated /got bored with Sylar, it’s intriguing how they’re re-inventing him.
Mike – with bringing down the Star Destroyer in Force Unleashed – it’s just a cutscene in the Wii version. I’ll bring the game over next time before you buy it. I enjoy the game.
Resistance 2 is the up and coming sequel to the blockbuster hit Resistance: Fall of Man. The story follows the psychotic and heroic Nathan Hale as he fights off the Chimera… and in co-op mode he gets the help of his no-name friend, who he doesn’t even know his own name he’s so random. There are no co-op games out for the consoles, which is really strange, and there are absolutely no co-op games out for the FPS genre, which is ridiculous. One of the many reasons for why Resistance as a franchise is the best of the console FPS genre is because of the offline co-op mode, and the co-op mode is taken seriously. With these co-op games, the story that you play through is the same as the single player storyline, but sometimes it is actually purposely made with variation and is amped up in difficulty.
Take a hike Grand Master Chief or whatever your name is with your wannabe Quake guy helmet.
Here’s a picture of what Halo wishes it could be:
I think that Cloverfield would have to take a timeout if faced with this:
On a side note…Per Booyor’s advice I got Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and as of today beat the game. It is very impressive, but is too short, as well as too limited as far as multi-player goes, a long with the potential it could have had had lucas arts used some common sense.
It’s all coming in November.
With both of these, a caution: It’s open to the Internet. The Internet is open to morons. Just, you know, in case you had any doubts.
If you’re like me and bored/frustrated about traditional news broadcasters, check out what Twitter and currentTV.com are doing with the debates:
Wired has a new Twitter widget, as well:
The next Hack the Debate occurs during the VP debate on Oct. 2 at current.com/debate
Sorry about that. But I consider it a good cause. I know, two politics posts in a row is tough, so if you need a breather, I’ll let you know that the Evil League of Evil is now accepting applications. Go think about that for a few minutes, and then come back.
Are you back now? Okay, good. A little cut-and-paste from the folks at Pandora:
Listeners we need your help… NOW!
After a yearlong negotiation, Pandora, artists and record companies are finally optimistic about reaching an agreement on royalties that would save Pandora and Internet radio. But just as we’ve gotten close, large traditional broadcast radio companies have launched a covert lobbying campaign to sabotage our progress.
Yesterday, Congressman Jay Inslee, and several co-sponsors, introduced legislation to give us the extra time we need but the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), which represents radio broadcasters such as Clear Channel, has begun intensively pressuring lawmakers to kill the bill. We have just a day or two to keep this from collapsing.
This is a blatant attempt by large radio companies to suffocate the webcasting industry that is just beginning to offer an alternative to their monopoly of the airwaves.
Please call your Congressperson right now and ask them to support H.R. 7084, the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2008 – and to not capitulate to pressure from the NAB. Congress is currently working extended hours, so even calls this evening and over the weekend should get answered.
The central congressional switchboard number is: (202) 225 3121
Or to look up your representative, visit: https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml
If the phone is busy, please try again until you get through. These calls really do make a difference.
This is a fork in the road. Only massive grassroots opposition will keep us from another 50 years of top 40 radio. It’s time to take a stand and break the stranglehold of broadcast media on radio.
Thanks so much for you ongoing support.
Tim
Founder, Pandora
So take a couple minutes out of your day, send an e-mail to your Representative, and pass on the word to other folk.
Also: Woot! implies that all Firefly fans should buy their current product. Well, it’s obviously crazy, wild stories. But maybe…
Debates are so clumsy. If it’s not Libcoln-Douglas, I don’t want it. Okay, so if Tina Turner ran one in the Thunderdome with a Trial by Arms, I might be annoyed but, really, am I not entertained? Chi-town versus Vietnam. But really…we don’t need another hero. Should we have an alternative? Not as clumsy or random as a debate; an elegant campaign for a more civilized age.
Something that we can all get behind: anagrams. (Not to be confused with palindromes/Palin Drones.)
Who should we as a collection of nerds vote for? Let’s look at the names:
McCain/Palin
– Serving up La Food
– It could be that McCain’s not good at Math, but I’m guessing it’s Apple becoming bigger than pi itself…Mmmm…Apple Pi…
– Is that a comment about his age?
– Either he’s got strong military training or refer back to his clinic nap
Obama/Biden
– To be fair, a knock on his age, as well.
– Insert your own Clinton/JFK/FDR/Buchanan joke here.
– Me Jill Centaur. Want dance?
– For Chef Ramsay’s show, right?
– All of the playground politics of Hussein/Osama references finally catch up.
– Possible healthcare reform. Also could be a promise of death by interstellar goo.
Okay, so this election is still crazy. But political commentators, know this: I reject your reality and substitute my own.
On the topic of nerds aging: Do you remember PC games where you had to flip to parts of the manual for different words? I think Mechwarrior had a crazy wheel like Penny Arcade mentions.
Slap Michael Scott because of the tickets. Yay, also, for not dragging out what could have been sitcom cliche at the rest stop. Much cheering in multiple households.
Check out the football recruiting.
Imagine my surprise when I browsed upcoming releases for my library.
Considering that invertebrates are in a state of open revolt and it has and always will be our firm policy to smash any invertebrate insurgents, this one got off easy.
We had hoped that perhaps the mantis would be lured by a garden. (For some reason it reminds me of Dustin Hoffman.)
The mantis must have spent significant time in Flagstaff to realize not to trust a home-grown herb garden sitting in a windowsill. (Have you seen what those “Elfin knight herbs” could mean in that song?)
My daughter was the keen observer to notice the self-righteous intruder today. (With my artsy wife catching the photos.) I should mention that something crawled on my toes while I slept last night.
While I was safe in my library, my wife and oldest approached the abomination with terms of its surrender. Certain conditions were met: the mantis was taken outside on a piece of cardboard and we would not terminate its existence, as per my wishes in accordance with the Demosthenes Treaty (it was fortunate that I’ve read more Orson Scott Card and not as much Robert Heinlein.)
My oldest had to go get her “watermelon hat” in order to protect herself. When they were carrying it outside, my daughter apprehensively told my wife, “It’s staring at me, Mom.”
Big day for all, including a second lost tooth (through age and not mantis-related causes):
And my wife and I watched Chuck Season 2, Chuck versus the First Date. “Sleeper has awakened” reference. Yay. (And Slade, you’ll appreciate that as Chuck alarm clock turns to from 6:59am to 7:00am, the radio starts playing “Power of Love”.)
At first when I viewed the link that Peter sent, I thought, “Okay. Wario Land. Looks like a fun game, but why is every comment ranting and raving?” Watch the full video and you shall see Flash movies within movies. Pretty fun advertising, once you see it.
We have entered the second day in our stand-off with the mantis. Other reputable news sites have now picked up our story.
My thoughts can best be described in the comment I left:
You would think twice about allying with such an abomination as it buzzed towards your chin.
And yet, I can’t squish it. It is a thing of beauty.
And I can’t find it.
(And sidewalk driver, it’s a little bit greener than that one. Today at school a girl was like, “Ooh! Check out the praying mantis!” and I was like, “Yeah, great…” That one was white. Albino abomination.)
Yahoo Week 3
Booyor’s Blog’geists 141.22
Jedi Wrestlers 141.46
Fox Week 3
Booyor’s Reallymeanpeople 94.3
South Philly Aztecs 94.8
The only good thing about decimals this week:
Thanks, Peter, for the heads up.
Also, I guess we’re all connected – through the Petrelli family. Who isn’t their brother?
I was off on the Noah Bennet shooting Nathan Petrelli, but our commentors got it right. (We’re still number one for the “Who shot Nathan Petrelli?” and “Who killed Nathan Petrelli?” in Google. Woot!)
Let’s look at our predictions:
With regards to the viewer-created Heroes – The female is the same as Hiro. Santiago, on the other hand, has some potential with his predicting possible outcomes. Finally we can see a director do a good job with something like Paul Atreides of Muad’dib fame.
I would love to see a picture of Darth Ando (or even an Ando Calrissian) fighting a Star Wars Boy Hiro (complete with broomsticks).
Another fun highlight was the commercial for Bedtime Stories. Directed by Adam Shankman of Step up 2 the Streets 2? Hairspray? So You Think You Can Dance?
There is a mantis loose in the house. It slipped my mind that these bleepers can fly.
House rules for the Star Wars Saga Edition Role-playing game:
Force Grip (Force Power)
You use the Force to choke or crush your enemy. Time: Standard action. Target: One target within 6 squares or within line of sight.
Make a Use the Force check: The result of the check determines the effect when compared to the target’s Will Defense and Fortitude Defense, if any:
Below the target’s Will Defense: No effect.
At the target’s Will Defense or higher: The target takes 2d6 points of damage.
At or exceeds the target’s Fortitude Defense e: the target can take only a standard action.
Special: You may maintain your concentration on the targeted creature to continue damaging it from round to round. Maintaining the Force grip is a standard action, and you must make a new Use the Force check each round.
You can spend a Force Point to deal an additional 2d6 points of damage with your Force grip.
Recently there was an article by Clive Thompson in Wired about how elections are very much like a video game, with certain rules and even legitimizing the slandering-pandering. The part I really dug (because I’m not a fan of non-representative candidates trash talking) was addressing people’s concerns about the electoral college. If we take it out, it would be like changing the damage modifiers for Force Lightning. It might totally make the game unbalanced. (Although if we were in a Republic of Sean or Benevolent Dictatorship of Devinistan we could craft some sufficient house rules.)
Favorite quote? “Democracy needs a patch.”
But if Election ’08 really is a game, I want to trade mine in at Bookman’s for the next New Jedi Order book.
If you haven’t already, check out the celebrations of Gabe’s birthday around the world.
FEAR 2: STCOY(Scare the Crap Outta You) is the sequel to the much acclaimed, and nightmare inspiring FEAR. The original game was the first game besides Penumbra to really make me hesitant about going down darkly lit staircases…even with an automatic rifle in hand. The storyline is based around a supernatural entity disguised as “Alma”, a young bizarro looking red-riding hood that appears in your soldier’s dreams and likes to freak you out with regularity.
This is Alma:
All I remember about this game, and I won’t name names, but a specific person played the original FEAR game and chucked the controller up in the air and ran away from the TV screen saying, “OMG I’m done, I’m done.” during a part where your soldier has a close encounter Will Smith style(Independence Day) with a spirit.
As Per IGN.com:
“The second heart-stopping shooter by Monolith (after F.E.A.R.) continues the spine-tingling supernatural suspense story of an escalating paranormal crisis that threatens to destroy a major American city. At the center of the calamity is the mysterious Alma, whose rage against those who wronged her triggered a chain of events that has spiraled completely out of control. Now that she has been loosed upon the world, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
I remember joking with my brother as well as discussing this thought with some other friends, and asking, “If this game were real, what kind of a person would be not only willing, but actually enjoy fighting all these demons and spirits, how in the world would you deal with it?”
There’s only one man who can do it…and it’s psycho-Casey Jones. That’s right, the psycho version of the hockey stick toting tough guy from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the only guy who can sustain a high level of intensity in fighting these freak shows off and actually doing it with enjoyment.
Here’s the man psycho-Casey Jones:
Real quick: I love how the Body of Christ is diverse – many different cultures, many different generations; many parts, one body. Even in one location, many variations. This morning, played Happy Day. Tonight, just got back from singing Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus in the congregation. Lovers of Jesus through the generations (had fun talking about William Tyndale and Fanny Crosby with Danjo tonight).
I must say that I kept thinking of Grandpa H tonight singing some of those songs, like “Great is thy Faithfulness”, belting it out in the pew at the old Methodist church. I do miss him, Mom. Dad, no “Lord of the Dance” from the old Presbyterian church, though.
Everyone else, go check out Jeremy’s new blog. If you need help subscribing to RSS feeds, I can help. ([cough]Laurel[/end cough])
By the way: If you are a site specializing in hymn lyrics, please don’t set up MIDI files to play automatically. I love hymns, don’t love websites from 1996.
First – William, we have a solution.
To be honest, I’m looking forward more to The Office starting up. Have you seen Jan’s candle page? Or this crazy commercial with Ronnie the Receptionist?
If you remember, Devin and The Master Predictor had some great insight for this season of Heroes. Here’s a quick re-cap if you’re like Peter (and myself, to be honest) and will only browse quickly through an RSS reader.
To add my own: Super-fast girl will be Hiro’s archnemesis.
And someone will die. And Jack Bauer will have to go rogue against CTU in order to get past bureaucracy to defeat a terrorist.
