Check yourself before you wreck yourself

I've always wondered how Laura rolled whenever she took the kids to the playground. Now we know...Bye, Criminal!

Jesus Is My Friend by Sonseed

My friend, Terry, just passed this SWEET vid along a few minutes ago. I've been taking a much-needed break from my Sunday AM duties for the past few weeks and I'm thinking this is a sure-fire way for me to come back with a BANG! LOL

SNL - Palin/Hillary Open

I agree with many who claim that SNL has lost touch in recent years. That said, they have absolutely nailed Gov. Palin and Sen. Clinton in this sketch. Hilarious!

On a side note, if you've yet to experience the joy/addiction that is www.hulu.com, consider me your pusher.

Biological Fail - On Obama's Origin

"...the son of a black man from Kenya and white man from Kansas..."

LMAO. I wonder if that guy from abc News has since been fired?

Hot Lunch/Cold Lunch

Link to Article: Edmonds takes away hot lunches from kids in debt

"Some cafeteria workers say they aren't cooperating with the new school policy. Staff at Hazelwood Elementary in Lynnwood have been donating money to buy lunches for kids who would otherwise be served a sandwich, cashier Barbara Burley said. The donations won't last much longer. Burley said she will refuse to take milk and fruit away from young kids.

'They're children and it's not their fault,' said Burley, who has worked at Hazelwood for six years. 'For some of these kids, it's the only decent meal they get in a day. Could you do it? Could you look into a kindergartner's eyes and take away their lunch and give them a cold cheese sandwich and nothing else? I just can't. If I lose my job over it, OK.'"

WOW. I'm all for government entities being fiscally responsible, but this seems pretty harsh. Thank God for Barbara Burley and how she sticks up for the kiddies.

Five Rules of Christian Civility

Link to Article: Obama, Perkins, Palin and a Please for Christian Civility

Five Rules of Christian Civility (by Jim Wallis):

1. We Christians should be in the pocket of no political party, but should evaluate both candidates and parties by our biblically-based moral compass.
2. We don't vote on only one issue, but see biblical foundations for our concerns over many issues.
3. We advocate for a consistent ethic of life from womb to tomb, and one that challenges the selective moralities of both the left and the right.
4. We will respect the integrity of our Christian brothers and sisters in their sincere efforts to apply Christian commitments to the important decisions of this election, knowing that people of faith and conscience will be voting both ways in this election year.
5. We will not attack our fellow Christians as Democratic or Republican partisans, but rather will expect and respect the practice of putting our faith first in this election year, even if we reach different conclusions.

On Nov. 4, Christians will not be able to vote for the kingdom of God. It is not on the ballot. Yet there are very important choices to make that will significantly impact the common good and the health of this nation -- and of the world. So we urge our Christian brothers and sisters to exercise their crucial right to vote and to apply their Christian conscience to those decisions. And in the finite and imperfect political decisions of this and any election, we promise to respect the Christian political conscience of our brothers and sisters in Christ."

Great stuff! Thanks to Jeremy for making me aware of this article. If you're interested in hearing passionate people try and debate some of Wallis' "rules" in a civil manner, check out the rest of the article.

Who knew that I was a centrist?

"We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort." - Sen. Barack Obama, 08/28/2008

Immediately after Obama's speech last night, a number of analysts from various news networks pointed to this passage as Obama's nod to the large portion of the country that could ultimately swing the election. I'm personally tired of politicos saying that the answers to such important issues must be either black or white. I've been living in the gray for years--irrespective of how I vote in November, I find this stuff absolutely refreshing.

Link to full transcript: http://www.demconvention.com/barack-obama/

Yet another sign of the Apocalypse...

Link to Product: Guitar Praise - Solid Rock

Who needs Guitar Hero when you can have your very own bastardized Christian sub-culture version (aka Guitar Hero for the Godly)?

I suppose I can appreciate the concept of "redeeming something worldly" to make it appropriate for those who are earnestly and sincerely trying to follow The Way. In reality, though, how often have we seen straight rips fall horribly short of the real deal? Think copycat Christian contemporary music, cheesy tv, video games, etc., etc. Here's hoping this doesn't suck, too.

Please Holmy, Don't Cut 'Em

Justin Forsett is my top candidate for this year's "I'll be sick if this guy doesn't make the team" award.

There are rumors abound that the 'Hawks can't afford the roster spot because they're saving room for a couple injured WRs. I say boot David Kirtman and eat TJ Duckett's signing bonus and make sure Dave Meggett Part Deux doesn't end up on some other team.

French Work Week

Link to Article: France steps back from 35-hour work week

OK, so I never really had reason to care enough about entering the "do I love or hate France" conversation. However, after reading this completely whiny quote from some French guy protesting the end of his country's 35-hour work week, count me in as one of the haters:

""If I'm forced to work 235 days, my personal life will suffer," said demonstrator Arnaud de la Bergerie, a 27-year-old mechanical engineer. "We'll have more pay but less time to spend our salary."

Waaaaahhhhh!!!!! Whatever.

Delirious? - Say it isn't so!

Link to Article: Press Release - The End of an Era...

Whoa, I didn't see this coming at all.

I was one of the early few who shared the privilege of watching the band (called "The Cutting Edge" back then) play in little schoolhouse auditoriums in Littlehampton circa 1994-1995. Who could have guessed that they'd have such a massive impact on the worldwide worship music scene just a few short years later.

I tip my hat to the one Christian band that has been a huge influence on me personally for the last 14 years.

Goodbye, Sonics...Good riddance, NBA

Link to Article: Sonics, city reach settlement

I'll be the first to admit that I don't have an intimate understanding of the inner-workings behind the city's decision to settle--effectively meaning that the team will be leaving Seattle for good. My gut reaction is that the city feels that it was going to lose the lawsuit and decided to simply sell out for a little bit of cash.

I grew up admiring David Stern for sheparding the NBA to lofty heights on the backs of Magic, Bird and Jordan. Now I sit here feeling like I'd be just fine if I never saw an NBA game again.

Come on NFL Football Season...You can't get here soon enough.

Let Your Love Flow

Whoa! How cool is it that there are only 2 degrees of separation between me and Warnato? There's no way anyone can deny the charisma and the amazing way he rocks not only the song but the straw Dallas Cowboy's hat. Let your love flow!

With the 4th pick of the 2008 Draft, the Sonics take...

UCLA's Russell Westbrook.

So he can play defense (Pac-10 Defensive POY) and he can definitely dunk (whoa!). Here's hoping he figures out how to pass and shoot.

New games from Foundation 9 Entertainment

Link to Article: Capcom Launches Street Fighter II HD Remix Beta (XB360)

The 2 games referenced in this post were developed by one of my company's studios (Backbone Entertainment). I'd be excited about the Street Fighter with the ridiculously long name even if I didn't work for Foundation 9 Entertainment. The Super NES version was the sole reason I bought the console in the first place.

HADOKEN!

The Millennials Are Coming (60 minutes)

Whoa! The implications for how we "do" life (work, church, community orgs, etc.) are a bit daunting. As I look back on my own experiences with Millenials in those contexts, I find myself in near-complete agreement. Suddenly, I feel like an out-of-touch old fart.

[NOTE: Be sure to watch Part 2 if you find this at all interesting.]

My Heart Will Go On...

This is the perfect example of what can happen when a bunch of geeks combine 2 of my favorite things: karaoke and team deathmatch. Absolutely brilliant!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Woo-hoo! August 15th, 2008 cannot come quickly enough.

NFC West Analysis

Link to Video: NFL Live Breaks Down the NFC West

Nice to see the 'Hawks get some love from the national media. I'm tired of those knuckleheads pimpin' Arizona every stinking year.

Los Angeles Lakers - Ridiculous

39 points. And that's ALL I have to say about that.

"You ever go to school," he said, finding the perfect words, "and you had a bully mess with you every day? I know everybody ain't no tough guy here. It's like that bully that you go to school every day [with] and you know when you get out of your mom's or dad's car, you know you're going to see him as soon as you walk through the doors, he's sitting there waiting to pat your pockets and mess with you. Then one day you say, 'This is going to stop today!' You walk in and as soon as the bully pats your pocketss you lay his ass out and you see the expression on his face. You're sorta shook because you know what, you just knocked the bully out and you don't know how he's going to come back. The next morning when you come in and he's not there, it's like a sigh of relief. It's like getting rid of the bully. It's like I knocked the bully's ass out! I knocked his ass clean out. That's what it feels like. For all y'all who ain't been bullied, y'all got no idea what I'm talking about. But for y'all who have, you understand my story." - Kevin Garnett

Tiger Woods - Ridiculous

Link to Article: Tiger won US Open with torn ligament, 2 fractures
Link to Video: Woods likely won't return until February 2009

For the past few years, one of the more interesting debates in sports has been whether or not a golfer could be considered a "real" athlete. Count me as one of those who lands in the "abso-friggin-lutely" camp.

I try imagning myself with a torn ligament AND 2 stress fractures IN THE SAME LEG and I'm left with victory dances over being able to simply get from my front door to my car. This week's PGA Championship was truly the stuff of legends.

The (Bleeping) Mariners Really Suck

Check out what Mariners Manager, John McLaren, after the 5-4 loss to the Angels on 6/4.

For the record, the loss put the M's 18 games under 0.500 and leave them with virtually no shot at the playoffs (it's only June for goodness sake!)--all despite a $120M payroll.

Somebody needs a hug.

Center of the Universe

Link to Article: Fast Times at Punahou

Already known for it's academics, Punahou was recently named SI's #1 high school athletic program.

Link to Article: Punahou School - Wikipedia

Check out the section on notable students and faculty.

Just think...Only $15-16K/year to send your kid to my alma mater in Honolulu (day only; no boarding). Wow, I feel like such an underachiever. *grin*

Isis - Click - It's a Wonderful Life

Link to Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtTnCrQ_1lc

Props to Fish for pointing out this vid as well as a few other old-school Marvel characters. I can't believe that I actually used to watch this junk as a kid (OK, maybe I can).

Anyway, it just dawned on me that we may have stumbled upon at least 50% of the inspiration for the recent Adam Sandler movie, "Click." Think about it: put George Bailey in today's world and give him a remote control that lets him do Isis-like things with time. What you end up with is a much better movie than one would typically expect out of good ol' Mr. Sandler.

FWIW, while I'm glad they didn't try to put Sandler in a gold tunic and costume jewelry, I wouldn't have minded it if they'd put Kate Beckinsale in that outfit. I'm just saying...

Mmm, Boobies.

Link to Article: Funcom apologises for Age of Conan breast reduction

For those of you who don't already know, I currently work in the video games industry. Since a significant part of my job is recruiting artists and animators, I look at more than a fair share of portfolios during the course of my week. Inevitably, boobies com up in one form or another (no pun intended).

As far as this article is concerned, I can't decide what's funnier: the fact that a company had to publicly apologize for their boob errors or that there had to be enough weirdos out there who actually complained about the "adjustments" in first place.

California Sweatin'

A week ago, Laura and I took the kids to Cali for a 5-day whirlwind trip that included Legoland, Disneyland, 12 people sharing 1 vacation rental, a fairytale wedding and 100-degree weather. The kids had a blast, it was great hanging out with my family, and my cousin Shane tied the knot with his Princess. By the way, did I say that it was hot? To this day, I just don't understand why Man insists on living in desert climates, by choice. Silly people.

Check out these vids of the kids:

• Lil' Miss Speed Racer
• Jedi Training

Enjoy!

Online Mock Drafts...A cure for the fantasy football jones

It's the first day of the long weekend and I've just spent a couple hours doing really important stuff--preparing for the joy that is Fantasy Football Draft Day sometime every August.

I'm a Yahoo fan for team management during the year, but for mock draft goodness both ESPN.com and CBS Sportsline.com have tools that do the job just fine. I think the latter is the only major site that has their online mocks working right now. Click here if you want to give it a shot.

Here's how I did when picking 1st in a 10-Team mock:

• Tomlinson, LaDainian RB SD
• Colston, Marques WR NO
• Brees, Drew QB NO
• Turner, Michael RB ATL
• Boldin, Anquan WR ARI
• Johnson, Calvin WR DET
• Cooley, Chris TE WAS
• Bowe, Dwayne WR KC
• Green, Ahman RB HOU
• Berrian, Bernard WR MIN
• Williams, Cadillac RB TB
• Kaeding, Nate K SD
• Giants, DST DST NYG
• Mason, Derrick WR BAL

Someone is a bit rusty, I think.

Man, I really need to get my fat bum outside in the fresh air.

Sonics to get another top pick?

Link to Article: Draft lottery preview: Follow the bouncing balls

The probability table is fun at first.

That fun becomes a bit of a nightmare when one realizes the possibility of adding Derrick Rose to Durant and Green and then watching them turn into contenders IN OKLAHOMA CITY.

I just can't wait for the Football Season to begin.

Disposable Children?

Link to Article: 17 babies are left in anonymous drop box in Japan


Although I've been an avid blog reader for many years, this is the first time that I've felt compelled to actually start writing.

After reading this article, I literally felt like puking. As a proud father of 2 beautiful (and beautifully messy) kids, I simply cannot fathom what circumstance or state of mind would allow me to "return" my kids the same way we do with library books or dvd rentals.

This makes me sad, angry, frustrated, and more sad. What a world we live in.