Oh my...

My dad's side of the family is from Arkansas. This video is hilarious and reminds me of them (indirectly).

Enjoy an irreverent Christmas song before the New Year hits...

We'll be needing this tonight...

We are throwing a disco/murder-mystery party for some good friends tonight. If you know me, you know I am a lousy dancer (unlike Mrs. TBB and her two sons). I got no moves...

This might help:



HT: Utobia 2.0

Things I love about Cali...

Friends delivering tamales - hot! - to your door...

Being able to buy a patron saint candle in the Hispanic food section at the grocery store.

Beautiful...

Saw this on Flikr a minute ago... Wow!

Blogged with Flock

True Vibe

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.

Nathan was a part of the group True Vibe. Check out this mock VH1 Behind the Music (and Nathan jumping to his own music).

Hilarious!

Not Cool...

The older I get, the more I realize that I'm not cool. I would like to be cool... but I'm not.

And I never have been (as Randy is quick to remind me).

I think that for a long time, I wasn't OK with not being cool (or with who I was/am). But now, maybe I am (not totally, just more OK).

I have a lot of cool friends, people who have accomplished things, who are hip and with it, who have recognition and notoriety. I used to wish I was more like them (and still do). And I wasn't OK with the fact that I wasn't more like them.

But I think I'm coming to grips with the fact that I am just me. And being comfortable with who I am - with me in my own skin - is really necessary to being emotionally and spiritually healthy and mature.

Sure... I wish I was as hip as Carlos, as talented as Randy, as good a songwriter as Danny, as good at production as the other Randy, as creative as Tyler... you get the idea.

But I'm just me... good at what I'm good at (whatever that is)... as cool as I'll ever be... as talented as I'll ever be... about as good as I'm ever gonna get. But you know what? That's OK. My wife and my boys (and my God) love me for who I am and that's all I really need to worry about.

This completely honest, post-Christmas confession has been brought to you by Two Blonde Boys.

Merry Christmas

Cowboy Christmas

Enjoy the pix... It was a FUN show!

Top Quotes of 2007

It was the plea heard round the world.

"Don't tase me, bro" — shouted by a Florida college student as officers removed him from a speech by Sen. John Kerry — tops this year's list of most memorable quotes, compiled by the editor of the Yale Book of Quotations.

Second on the list is a quote from Lauren Upton, the Miss Teen USA contestant who gave a confused and mangled response to a question about why one-fifth of Americans can't locate the U.S. on a map.

"I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and Iraq and everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for us," Upton said.

The words of both young people were immortalized in videos posted on YouTube, the video-sharing Web site.

"These new media are spreading these things," said editor Fred R. Shapiro, 53, associate librarian and lecturer in legal research at the Yale Law School. "I'm not listing the most admirable quotes, the most eloquent quotes. It's the most memorable quotes."

President Bush dominated last year's list with quotes about the Iraq war, but this year he didn't break into the top 10.

That doesn't mean politicians didn't say anything memorable this year.

Third on the list is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comment at Columbia University in New York: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country."

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, took eighth place with "(I have) a wide stance when going to the bathroom," his explanation for his foot touching the foot of an undercover police officer in an airport men's room.

Shapiro released his Yale Book of Quotations last year after six years of research. It contains about 13,000 quotes, each extensively researched to verify its origin.

He expects to add roughly 1,000 more quotes — mostly modern — for the next edition in about five years, and in the meantime he plans to keep issuing annual top 10 lists.

He relies on suggestions from quote-watchers throughout the world, plus his own choices from songs, the news and movies, and then searches dababases and the Internet to determine the popularity of the quotes.

In the case of "Don't tase me, bro" — uttered shortly before the student was shocked with a Taser — he discovered the phrase was even printed on T-shirts and used as a cell phone ring tone.

"It's not Shakespeare, but there is a kind of folk eloquence in that. It wouldn't be a quote if he didn't say 'bro,'" Shapiro said. "That had just the right rhythm to make it memorable."

Shapiro said he struggled before deciding to include radio personality Don Imus' "nappy-headed hos" comment about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. The quote ended up fourth on his list.

"My book does mix the most eloquent and magnificent quotes with the sordid and sleazy materials from recent times. There are some real jarring juxtapositions there," he said. "I wanted to include the whole culture — the high and the low, the old and the new."

AP Story by Susan Haigh, Associated Press Writer
Reprinted from Yahoo News

Hmm...

Well, I survived the weekend. It really turned out great. I'll be posting pictures soon.

In the mean time, here's a little info on the song Auld Lang Syne...

"Auld Lang Syne" is a song by Robert Burns (1759-1796), although a similar poem by Robert Ayton (1570-1638), as well as older folk songs, use the same phrase, and may well have inspired Burns.

In any case, it is one of the better-known songs in English-speaking countries, and it is often sung at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. Like many other frequently sung songs, the melody is better remembered than the words, which are often sung incorrectly, and seldom in full.

The song's (Scots) title may be translated into English literally as 'old long since', or more idiomatically 'long ago', or 'days gone by'. In his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language, Matthew Fitt uses the phrase “In the days of auld lang syne” as the equivalent of “Once upon a time”. In Scots Syne is pronounced like the English word sign — IPA: [sain] — not [zain] as many people pronounce it.

Here are the original lyrics:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup !
And surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou’d the gowans fine ;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin’ auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin’ auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
And gies a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll tak a right gude-willie-waught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS


And if you're Scottish, you'd sing it like this...

Shid ald akwentans bee firgot,
an nivir brocht ti mynd ?
Shid ald akwentans bee firgot,
an ald lang syn ?

CHORUS:

Fir ald lang syn, ma deer,

fir ald lang syn,

Wil tak a cup o kyndnes yet,

fir ald lang syn.

An sheerly yil bee yur pynt-staup !
an sheerly al bee myn !
An will tak a cup o kyndnes yet,
fir ald lang syn.

CHORUS

We twa hay rin aboot the braes,
an pood the gowans fyn ;
Bit weev wandert monae a weery fet,
sin ald lang syn.

CHORUS

We twa hay pedilt in the burn,
fray mornin sun til dyn ;
But seas between us bred hay roard
sin ald lang syn.

CHORUS

An thers a han, my trustee feer !
an gees a han o thyn !
An wil tak a recht guid-wullae-wocht,
fir ald lang syn.

CHORUS

And finally, here is the English translation:

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine (dinner time) ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Info from Wikipedia article.

What Flies Do at Christmas

Warning... if you are offended by burping and flatulence sounds, do not play this video.

For those who are amused by a mild bit of junior high humor... Merry Christmas!

Time to Cowboy...

We have 6 days to finish the set and props.

Actually, we'll need them in 3.

From church stage to the Old West. Let the transformation begin!

Tired & Thrashed...

Been burning the midnight oil to get ready for next week's Christmas shows, so here's some random stuff:

• Watch The Next Great American Band on Friday and vote for DMHO.
• Check out these hilarious ads.
• This cake looks yummy - anybody want to make one for me?
• I love this commercial. This describes my junior high and high school years perfectly. I get it 'cause I did it.
• And this guy is very funny!

The Clap...

"Hello! I'm Kent French... but you can call me toast."

What more needs to be said?


721 Claps Per Second - Click here for more free videos

HT: Ragamuffin Soul


tags: Kent French | fastest+clapper | food | clapping | clap | Guinness World Record

Tongue in Cheek and a Reminder...

I was reminded this morning that tongue-in-cheek doesn't always come across in writing. I got an e-mail response from Robert Leary, Director of Promotions and Communications at Multnomah Bible College and Biblical Seminary. He wrote in response to my "Banned" post. I had posted an article about some really weird food that could be purchased, including a show where chef Anthony Bourdain ate warthog anus. Apparently, the word "anus" is on a list that flags your blog as unacceptable by my alma mater.

Here are Mr. Leary's comments:

I wanted to clear up a little misunderstaning about the MBCS Blogosphere located here:

Just so you know, there are so many posts that are published on the Blogosphere that it is set up with an automatic filter - and the word "anus" (amongst others) is on the list of words that can't be posted on our domain - especially when it is from content that we don't create (like blogs populating a page via a RSS feed).

It's not that there is an inherent problem with that word, it's that given the breadth of our audience and what we stand for, Multnomah MUST err on the side of caution in these issues - if for no other reason than for the sake of viewers who would stumble over such language.

Also, please note that the list of words that get automatically flagged is a list that thousands of organizations use and that we at Multnomah did not think up - we simply weeded out the really legalistic words (a chore that would make even the most rowdy of creatures blush, I assure you!) and plugged it in as our filter. However, given that this list is very long, we know that it is possible that some words were left in that we would otherwise not worry about - like "anus" in this case.

So, in an effort to serve our Alumni and affiliated bloggers better through the free service that was designed with you in mind, we will be revisiting this list of words this week in an effort to make it even more realistic.

I hope you understand our position and respect the heart behind why we do it (please lend us some grace too and think twice before flaming MBCS in the posts and comments section - we all do our best for our Alumni).

Above all, keep blogging and speaking your mind and taking advantage of the extra free exposure that www.multnomah.edu/blogosphere provides you!

So let me clear the record: I completely understand, respect, and support what Multnomah does and did. My post was meant to be understood as tongue-in-cheek and not a rip on Multnomah or the great faculty and staff there.

I'm sorry if the post came across as a flame. It wasn't intended to do so.

Thanks, Mr. Leary, for your thoughtful response. I am going to remove my previous post, as I do not want it to reflect negatively on the great school the Multnomah is or show me to be a big idiot!

In light of this, I would point you, my readers, to THIS GREAT POST by Steven Furtick on keeping your mouth shut (or risk looking like an @nu$ - if you get my drift!).

And that is my lesson for today.


tags: retraction | apology | stupid human tricks | Multnomah Bible College | grace | redemption | keeping your mouth shut

I'm in a Christmas kind of Groove

You need this album. That's right... it's not a want. It's a need.

Spirited Christmas by the Jimmy Calire Piano Trio. Download it from iTunes HERE. Don't be cheap. You can afford $9.99.

Don't say I never did anything for you.

Sunday Set List: 12.02.07

Here's the set we did this Sunday. We just started a series called "Together for the Holidays." The sanctuary is decorated for Christmas and we had a jazz trio in the lobby playing stuff from Vince Guaraldi. It was a great morning!

• Lord, I Lift Your Name on High
• Offering (the Christmas lyric version)
• O Come, Let Us Adore Him
• Better Days (Goo Goo Dolls)
  

Innovative Christmas

I love what Granger Community Church is doing this Christmas. Check it out...



HT: Mark Waltz