I know, I know, its been a long time but i come bearing gifts. My friend Brian Merritt told me about this website that is pretty stinking awesome.
imeem is an online community where millions of fans and artists discover new music, videos, and photos, and share their tastes with friends. (I might have just copied and pasted that from the website)
Here is the skinny--You can listen to specific songs, music videos, or playlists by users in really good quality in its entirety.
What this means for is that I can listen to music that I didnt have to buy and If I like it I can click the download button and it sends me to itunes.
It also means that when I am sitting in a creative meeting and we all want to listen to a song we are thinking of using, we can listen to the entire song instead of a random 30sec preview.
It is completely LEGAL! Most record labels have signed on with this website for the exposure aspect alone. Check it out and enjoy.
Many more posts to come
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So I separated my shoulder the day after thanksgiving playing flag football. Still really hurts. I wish I was 18 years old again because I would probably be up and running around.
This may be the start of a quarter life crisis.
Maybe I'll go get x-rays on it tonight...
This morning I was driving into work and very much like every morning I went to change lanes to let a more "urgent" driver pass on my left. As I turned my directional on and began to drift over into the lane to my right, I spot, out of the corner of my eye, a giant mini van. I think we have all had those types of situations and your reaction was probably a lot like mine. It wasn't until about a mile down the road when it hit me. Incoherent images of a life lost flashed through my head and lead me to giving thanks to God that I didn’t have to leave this world, this life, my wife because of some freak lane-changing catastrophe.
How long does it take for us to turn our thanks to God?
I started thinking this morning how our prayer life and our thanksgiving our so tightly woven. If I were praying for safety, than I think my immediate reaction would have been thanks. How often do we pray that God would help us with a financial situation and we accept that $100 check in the mail from the tax commissioner’s mistake as mere coincidence? Or how about your prayers that work would "just get better", and you completely miss the new person who just got hired that will change your outlook on why you are at work in the first place.
Do I think God gets glory by doing things that go unnoticed? Yes. I also think that he becomes so much bigger in YOUR life and the lives around you when you are super sensitive to how God is answering your prayers. And after those prayers are answered, making the biggest deal out of him for doing it.
This is pretty awesome. I had never seen this until this morning and it has made Sunday better already. Check out the Voltron reference. Enjoy.
So while on my trip through Orlando, I stopped by the school I went to study film, Full Sail. They have made a ton of improvements to what was already a pretty stellar facility. One of the not so great improvements is a gift shop. In fact, if you take a tour of the school, the tour ends at the gift shop. Kind of like every ride at Disney or the Georgia Aquarium. Weird. Anyway, they sell these slammin' Full Sail Jerseys. I almost bought one but they didn't have my size.
Check out the school at www.fullsail.com.
So for my birthday last month, my amazing wife Talie got us Nickel Creek tickets at the Fox theatre here in Atlanta. Pretty much one of the best shows I've seen Nickel Creek perform. Bela Fleck opened up the night with just him and his banjo. One by one each member of Nickel Creek would come out and play one song with him and then leave the stage to make room for the next. That dude can shred some banjo like I've never seen. Its funny when you take all of the effects and amps out the mix and you allow the real tone and musicality to come out, it has this raw organic movement that affects you.
Watching Nickel Creek in the Fox Theatre under the simulated stars during one of their last shows for who knows when has earned its way into one of those unforgettable memories. Chris, Sara, Sean, and Mark were perfect as usual and with it being one of their last shows for a while, they seemed very nostalgic on stage. Sean Watkins is pretty much a freak at flat-picking.
Did I mention that my wonderful, amazing wife got us 8th row seats?
I've gotten to see a lot of amazing shows this year from my favorite artists.
John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Edwin McCain, Nickel Creek, and Sean McConnell (whom I'll write about in upcoming blogs)
P.S. They came out for the encore and played Toxic by Brittany Spears...Killer!
So on my trip to Orlando I experienced many things that I will share with you throughout the upcoming days. One of which was a monumental milestone in any adults life... when your car surpasses the 100,000 mile mark. I had to explain to Talie why it was a priority for me to pull over to take the picture. I mean who wants your speedometer finger cranked at 85mph blocking your glorious moment of mileage? Not this guy. My 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac is now considered old. No more original new car scent here.
In response to Carlos' game over at Ragamuffin Soul, here is one that I got a while ago
Click on the Snow Creature once for the jump and a second time for the swing.
http://n.ethz.ch/student/mkos/pinguin.swf
Check it out and post your high scores
Finally something fresh and different and amazing. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about my staple shows such as Lost, 24, The Office, and my new guilty pleasure Kid Nation. But the creative side of me has been waiting for something this inventive.
Last Wednesday, Pushing Daisies premiered on ABC and within the first 5 min I was drooling. All I am saying is that you need to go online and watch the first episode for free and then watch this Wednesday to get caught up. http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing
It truly is refreshing. Pushing Daisies may be one of my new favorite shows. Check it out and let me know what you think.
So I went for it. I got a tattoo. A flipping henna tattoo! At the North Georgia State Fair for crying out loud...how sweet is that? After watching Carlos over at ragamuffin soul get his sleeve done on
LA Ink last night, I sorta feel like a wuss. It will only last for about a month so I guess life is about taking steps towards the ultimate goal. Check out how tough I look standing there after a long grueling couple of minutes in the chair. Nothing like getting some ink done with the smell of funnel cake in the air. Don't forget to see "Big Red" at the state fair.
FREE PUPPIES!!!
I just got this email today. I wish I could take one with me. If you want one, please contact me asap as you will read time is of the essence.
Scott rescued 6 black lab (mix) puppies out of the middle of the road on Saturday. PLEASE help me find them homes -
otherwise, it's Animal Control - which means they only have 5 days. We've bathed them, sprayed them for fleas and wormed
them....but we can't keep them.
They are currently in a kennel in my basement since I don't have a fence. I've lost count of the number of rescue groups that I've contacted, only to be turned down due to no room. Please check with every dog
person you know to see if they need a puppy.
I think the thought of maintaining consistancy is kinda funny. I think a lot of us try to hold tight to the norm and whenever lifes boat rocks one way or the other too much, we start to freak out. Simalarly, when everthing seems normal, when everything seems relaxed, it seems right. I just think its sometimes hard to see the greatness in life without first being able to see obscure side. Its lifes ebs and flows that give character and movement to our life. There is not one without the other and as hard as it is to say, I dont think I would want it any different. Im pretty sure that this philosophy can be applicable to any arena in life. As a video director, I feeling like things are getting a little normal. Its nobodys fault but my own. I just always want to push the envelope and be an inovator not somebody who is catching their breath trying to keep up. If this is an "eb" that I am in its not a deep one, Im just trying be aware of the movement in life. Its okay to have low times as well as high ones. Contrast is what makes things interesting.
I have waited years for this day...okay maybe months. Finally, today is GAME DAY!
The Georgia Bulldogs meet the Oklahoma State Cowboys for only the third time in history.
Previously, in 1946 and '47, the Dawgs defeated the then Oklahoma A&M Cowboys both times.
Kick off at 6:45pm at Sanford Stadium. ESPN2
So as many of you know, I have been obsessed with the Flea Market Montgomery commercial. You have heard me sing it. You have heard me compare other things of mini nature to a mini mall. I have even been known to go "to the left, to the left, to the right, to the right" at any given moment.
After reliving this 8th world wonder on youtube, I found a hidden gem. Check it out.
So I am thinking about getting a tattoo. Actually, maybe two. It hasnt really been a big topic of discussion in my world or even thought about that much in the past. For so many years I thought that I would never get one. Nothing against them, just not for me. Like most of us, my style has changed physically as well as my personallity over the years. It just seems like every time I watch Miami Ink I am glued to the TV and find myself wondering what I would get if I were to get a tattoo. I even lean over to my wife and ask her what she would get and she replys with a "Nothing!" like I was a freak for even asking her.
So here is my next step. I think I am going to get a henna tattoo to start with. This of course was my very wise and level headed wife's idea. She's pretty much the smartest person that I know. So I will live with it for a month or so and see how I feel. Now I want your thoughts...concerns...suggestions. I mean, dont get me wrong, Im not going to get a flaming basketball on the small of my back or anything.
This video got me excited because we are right at the cusp of my favorite season, autumn. Just a reminder of why pranks are so awesome and how we should do them all the time.
I know it has been a couple of weeks since my last post. This may be one of a few that happen in the next couple of days. I figured that I would jump back in with this:
If I were a Simpson, I would look like this:
I am reading a book called "The Spark". I am only 4 chapters into it but I think it is drastically changing the way my team and I look at our lives and how we do church. It's a story about the main character, Frank, finding the passion that he once had in his job. I can't tell you how much this book hits home. So many of my friends live in a world where their creativity has been stifled by bosses who just want the job done or organizations who don't value the art of creativity.
I was reading one evening and almost passed by a line that deserved more than just a second glance. I think I read it and said to myself, "I believe that", but moving on without giving it more thought would have been a tragedy. I thought profound statements like this one would not be reserved for a character that would be considered less than a supporting character.
He said, "Nothing of significance could be accomplished without taking a leap of faith."
I guess you could also say, you won't make that big of a difference in the world unless you take some risks. My dad always used to tell me something that I will probably keep with me all my life as one of those filters I run my life through. He would say, "If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always gotten."
I wonder how big of a difference we could make if we were a people who took leaps of faith. Leaps of faith in the insurance world, in doing church, in our marriages and our friendships. Taking leaps of faith don't always turn out right, but at least you can say that in your life, you took some.
I’m not sure if everyone has this moment or if it is reserved for only certain people in life. This moment came to me as I watched a TV commercial for a new upcoming show on Fox called On The Lot. This particular show accepted short films submitted by aspiring filmmakers in search for the next big Hollywood director. Now I am pretty into film and video and after getting some knowledge dropped on me at film school, am pretty sure that I want to spend the rest of my life telling stories through this medium. I devoured every bit of that 30 sec preview. It stole all of my attention and when it ended and the next commercial played, I made the decision to get Tivo so that I can relive such glorious moments. That wasn't "THE MOMENT". You would think that my reaction would be something in the ballpark of excitement. Nope. I was so pissed. I missed it...my opportunity. I didn’t even get the chance to try. Now enter "The Moment". I decided that I was not going to be a passive leader anymore. For the past few years I have gotten by on a just having some good ideas, doing my job well and designing videos that people thought were cool. I wasn’t really leading anything. So I decided to change from being a "Passive Leader" to an "Active Leader". I want to be an innovator. I want to develop fresh ideas that help shape the way church is done. I want to actively pursue greatness not mediocrity. So here is a step. I have started a dialog with you. This blog is an effort to push myself to refine who I am and who I want to be. Not everything on here will have to do with church or production or film. It’s just an opportunity to share with you my life and pursuit of more.