The countdown to December 2010 begins...

New Line Cinema has just announced that Peter Jackson will oversee the production of J.R.R. Tolkein's "The Hobbit" as producer. This is great news for Lord of the Rings fans everywhere. This is actually quite a surprise because P.J. and New Line have spent the last few years in a legal battle over the revenues from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In fact, the head of New Line said (not too long ago) that he would never allow Mr. Jackson to be a part of "The Hobbit" (New Line owns the rights to the film).

I am excited about this news, but I don't think that Producer is enough of a role for Peter and Fran (his wife and production partner). Producer is an important role and it won't be the same film without him, but it's the director that creates a vision for the film and translates it into the frame. Here's my non-negotiable MUST list to make "The Hobbit" films (they're making 2) as good [or better] as the Lord of the Rings trilogy:

-Peter Jackson as Director
-Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh adapt the screenplay/write the script
-WETA does the special effects
-Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins
-Andy Serkis as Gollum

and Ian McKellan as Gandalf

anything i'm forgetting???

bad boy, bad boy, whachha gonna do..

You've gotsta check this story out. A wallet thief in Lewiston, Idaho was quickly apprehended with the accidental help of a local newspaper.

On Tuesday morning a woman absent-mindedly forgot her wallet at the counter of a local convenience store. Surveillance video captured the image of a man taking the wallet and the Lewiston Tribune included the photo on the front page of it's Thursday paper. Immediately above the surveillance photo there is another picture inserted as a "local man prepares for the holidays" picture. Now here's the best part...

...the two pictures are of the same guy in the same clothes!!! [see the newspaper here]

Not only are the pictures of the same guy, but the top photo includes his name. Someone from the police noticed it and they went to his house and arrested him. [read a full explanation of the story here]

If only the Mitchell Report had the same editors...

mo lies

Here we go again! How far the mighty have fallen.

Just a few days ago Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison (but of course, you already knew that if you watch t.v., listen to the radio, or read a newspaper... or go on the internet... or talk with people). It's so sad to think about how much he has messed up his life and the lives of the people around him. Once again we find that lies are at the heart of the issue.

The judge who sentenced Michael doubled his prison term because he felt that Michael was not honest with him or the police. The Atlanta Falcons organization is furious over the lies that they were told. And I'm sure that Vick was even deceived by the lies he told himself (no one will find out, it's not a big deal, etc.).

I believe that he absolutely deserves the punishment that he deserves and i hope that he can use this situation to turn his life around and get rid of the negative influences and habits in his life.

Alot of the sports talk is not so much about his personal life, but about his future in football. My prediction for his professional future: after serving his sentence he is suspended from the NFL for one year (let's not forget that he lied to the face of Roger Goodell AKA the commish). He then spends the next year or two playing in an arena league or the CFL (they did take ricky williams). At that point he'll have performed well enough that some NFL team will hire him as a backup QB. [just look at the league now, how many teams are desperate for any success in the QB role? all of them. How many have played more than one QB? most of them.]

I hope Michael learns that the truth, while not releasing him from prison, will set his soul free and give him a start at a new life.

Poll ReCap

some of you have noticed that i have been posting polls in the sidebar from time to time.

I'll try to keep them fresh and interesting, but there seems to be no way to archive them so they just take up alot of space. Here's a summary of the poll results thus far:

How many turkey-based meals did you eat in the past week? (the week after thanksgiving)
One 1
Two 1
Three 0
Four 0
Five+ 0

Why do you Blog?
I don't 1
I like to share my ideas and opinions 2
I like to get responses and comments back 0
Everyone else is doing it 0

Do you have a fantasy football team?
Yes, I live for it! 0
Yeah, but i don't track it much 0
No 5
What's fantasy football? 0

What is your favourite online social networking site?
Blogger 0
MySpace 0
Facebook 4
Flickr 0
Other 0

are you ready to rock? [or rawk]?

many of you are aware that i am the proud owner of a nintendo wii (thanks a&j!). For the past week i have been playing guitar hero III and I cannot get it out of my head!

I purchased the game about a month ago when it was first released. I was planning on getting it as a Christmas gift for myself with my Christmas money, but we were in Target and I saw it and i knew that it was going to be hard to find later in the season. I walked up and picked up the last one just as another couple came after me trying to get their greedy hands all over it. Since it was purchased as a Christmas present, Becky and I agreed that wii would wait until thanksgiving to open it with our Teal family Christmas (held now since mom and dad are moving).

I've had tons of fun with it and i must admit that Jared is better than I am (at least until i can practice more). One of the songs that we unlocked is DragonForce's "through the fire and flames". this song is unbelievable. i literally cannot believe it. watch it for yourself.

then shred some metal. and pick your face up off the floor.

it took alot of hard work and dedication

Detroit has finally reclaimed it's title as "America's Most Dangerous City". Hooray!!

We're number one! we're number one!...



read the details here

Teal on Bonds on Bonds

Let me state for the record that I am not an authority on the details of Barry Bonds career. I have not read "Game of Shadows". I only watched the highlights of the congressional hearings last year concerning steroid use in baseball. I don't know Barry Bonds personally, but i think we can learn alot from him. and (full disclosure) i believe that he knowingly took steroids and other performance enhancing drugs.



We should all be paying attention to the struggle that he is going through right now (following the federal indictment). Mr. Bonds, or Barry if i may be so bold, chose worldly treasures over spiritual treasures and he is paying the price for that decision. Even if he never faces jail time, even if he wins his case, he will never be viewed the same again. The court of popular opinion [which was already swaying against him] will view him as a cheater, and even worse... a liar.

Barry had an opportunity to value spiritual wealth above worldly wealth during the congressional hearings last year. He had the chance to tell the truth (with total imminuty i might add); but instead, he chose to hide his misdeeds and value his single-minded pursuit of a written record and fame. His constant grasp for athletic glory and honour came at the cost of his integrity. I think we can see that his choice was of benefit to him temporarily, but now that the truth is being exposed, he's in a whole lotta trouble.

I think there are few things worse in this world than lying. Afterall, it was a lie that got us in this situation in the first place [and by situation i mean separation from God, selfishness, death, ... you know the rest]. But lying sometimes seems the easiest way, the simpliest way, sometimes even the better way. However, God not only values truth, but He is the Truth... and He calls us to no less.

What's your take on Barry? What's you take on truth?

fantasy letter

Dear Philip,

Why do you hate me? What did I ever do to cause you so much pain that you would seek revenge upon me at this crucial moment?

I just needed you to play half-way decent. I didn't need a record breaking game, or even a good game; even average would have been good enough. But no, you had to play a horrible game; a ridiculously embarrassing game. I mean, 104 yards passing, 2 interceptions, and a lost fumble? You tease me by playing great when I bench you and then as soon as I start you, you play a game like this one.

We'll no more. I've found someone else, and his name is Jason, Jason Campbell. He's not much, but he's much more reliable.


[for those of you reading this letter who are not Philip Rivers, this message is in response to the fact that I had a really big match-up this week in fantasy football and all i needed was for him to score 2 points. 2 measly points. but what did he get?... -3. MINUS THREE. i'm moving on.]

are you ready for some football?

are you?

I am. I'm all about the pigskin.

We'll maybe that's a bit of an overstatement. But i'm getting in to it more and more every year. For me the big drive behind following the nfl is fantasy football. it's the ultimate combination of geeky strategery and macho athletic compulsion. I have alot of fun making my picks, setting my active list, trying to find the "diamond in the rough" free agents. I've even tried to make a few killer traders, but haven't had any takers so far.

and i've been winning for the past few weeks, which makes it a whole lot more fun. my current record is 4-4-1. I know that's not great, but i'm making up for a couple really bad weeks in the beginning of the year.

I'm also pumped that the Lions are 6-2. I'm not a huge Lions fan, but living just outside of Detroit and 1 mile from their practice facility i feel a certain connection with them. they are the team that i root for the most. I'm not going to jinx the Lions by proclaiming their greatness this year, but it's good to see them win for a change.

Be sure to check out the new poll in the next column.

Where for art thou Heroes?

One of my favourite shows last year was Heroes on NBC. I enjoyed it alot, no show is perfect, but they did a fair amount of things right (owing much to shows like 24 and lost).

This second season has been a bit of a disappointment; there are so many stories lines they try to fit into each episode that there is little time to advance any single story. the show struggled with this last season (especially the nikki/dl/micah storyline) and i really thought that they would learn from their mistakes. I'll still watch the show this season, but I hope they can turn things around. here is a list of the things i would have done differently this season (in no particular order):

- not bring back sylar. i know he was a great villain, but it took so much of the strength out of the season finale to find out he survived. at least they could have saved him until midway through the second season and brought him back as a surprise. this would allow the writers to...

- drop the maya/alejandro story and characters. they are not compelling characters and they have the same thing happen to them every week. i understand the need to create new characters to keep things fresh, but they are taking valuable time away from the stories we actually care about.

- stop the "ando reads the story of the past from a note left from hiro" storytelling device. it just slows hiro's story down and it's not believable that hiro would have all this time to write these notes, but not use his ability to travel to the time when he left. if they really need to keep ando, they should figure out another way to keep him around [he gets a job at "the company", but doesn't realize who he's working for... eh?]

- kill some more people. i'm not trying to promote violence, but there seems to be nothing at stake this season. we felt that new york city was on the brink of imminent disaster last year; we need to get that feeling back. it looks like the latest episode might be providing this type of tension, i just hope they don't recycle the same story.

what would you change about one of the shows you follow?

you have GOT to see this

watch this video of the last second play by the Trinity Tigers, a division III football team.



It's both hilarious and amazing.

the wait begins...

my dad came up with tickets to the michigan game today, but i was unable to go because we hosted a "true love waits" ceremony at the church this evening. when turning the offer down i admit i was disappointed, but the ceremony was really amazing and i'm so glad i could be a part of it.

there must have been at least 30 kids who made the commitment (14 from our youth group) and it was really powerful to see them each pledge to answer God's call for sexual purity.

As a youth group we have been discussing the topic over the last month, which has provided for plenty of awkward moments. But every awkward moment, every embarrassing comment was totally worth the joy of watching these young men and women stand with their parents and commit to live sexually pure lives.

I'm really proud of each of them!

g'day

today was a good day. days off (whether weekend or weekday) often fill up so quickly with trips to meijer and other odd jobs that they rarely feel separate from the busy-ness of every other day. As a family man with "adult responsibilities" i understand that days off don't mean "lay on the couch all day", but it's still nice to have something that feels like a sabbath. today's activities included:

got to meet with fellow youth pastors at crossroads
family had lunch with mom, dad, and angela @ fazolis
lengthy nap in the afternoon
becky's awesome cheesy chicken for dinner
washed dishes with evan



played video games with evan and aaron (mariokart 64)
put together puzzles with evan
played catch with aaron
watched "the office" with becky (great episode, i laughed at the kool-aid man joke for 2 minutes)
played wii tennis and bowling with becky
blogged

not a perfect day, but pretty good
how was your day?

... more like snoreball

so the first game of the world series just ended. sox demolished the rox 13 to 1.


i've gotta admit, i'm not much of a baseball fan. in fact, i don't really care about baseball. i think it's slow and boring.

now, let me clarify that i'm not a baseball hater. I've been to a number of baseball games (pro and am) and those were fun. going to a game in person is about the experience and sharing it with the people around you. that's cool; but watching it on tv is painful. baseball on the wii is fun too.

i'm happy to talk sports with you, but just a word of warning... i'll run out of baseball conversation quite quickly.

and, oh yeah... i call the sox in 5

global what?!?

I managed to catch the last 1/2 hour of CNN's "Planet in Peril" and I was really touched by the personal stories demonstrating the impact of environmental issues around the globe. Those of you who read my previous blog on myspace know that I also recently saw the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth". I think that these programs start important conversations and give strong evidence for the serious environmental problems that we are currently facing.

Now I know what you are thinking... have i turned into a pawn in the left-wing environmental agenda?

I don't think so; I do think most of the projections for how these problems will destroy the future are based on worst-case scenario projections and interpreting data to fit established theories. but there is no denying the changes and struggles that are already happening around the globe.

I think it's important that we all act to make a difference in how we treat the environment through personal and political action. I'm trying to recycle more (especially at work) and I really appreciate our families (i.e. becky's) efforts to purchase organic goods. They're good for you and the environment. Environmental policies will definitely influence the choice of which political candidate i vote for in '08.

I'm also saving trees by writing my thoughts in electronic form instead of writing a chain letter to everyone I know (btw, you must send this to 10 of your friends or else the polar ice caps will completely melt in the next 24 hours!).

check this out for a better look at the cnn doc.

humano uno

I just started a new devotional book today that I'm really excited about. Inspired by the "warrior weekend" with dad and jared (and Way of the Wild Heart by john eldridge), i sought out a new book for my personal time with God.

I wasn't really sure what i wanted in a book, just something other than the traditional 1 page thoughts on a theme with a verse tacked on the end. I found "Men of the Bible" at the local christian book store and got excited about it immediately [when was the last time that happened?].

As stated above, i just read the first entry today. Adam. as in, Adam and Eve.

It made me visit the story in a new way and i was really blown away by the thought that Adam was created AS A MAN. He never had a childhood. He never "grew up". What was that like? to wake up and take your first breath. to become self aware from the first time. to look in the water and see yourself (or any person) for the first time. How amazing those moments in the garden would have been. How incredible to wake up with the perfect woman next to you, formed of your own flesh.

I've always thought stories of explorers were cool. Men who sailed and wandered and blazed trails and blasted into space for the first time. I always thought it would be cool to be the first person to discover niagara falls, or the grand canyon, or an island.

But what would that have been like to be the first person to see anything. To see a bird, a cloud, or watch the unveiling of newly created stars during the first sunset ever witnessed.

oh yeah, and he got to walk with God. pretty cool.

Grand Re-Opening

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen of all ages.

I am officially rebooting this blog and using it to communicate with friends across the interweb.

I had been bloggin' on my myspace page, but I've stopped using it as much; and as far as i can tell, many of you have stopped using it too. If you want to catch up what i've been thinking 'bout for the past year you can read up here.

As for this site, what can you expect?? Only the greatest and most insightful thoughts ever conceived by humans!!! [double question mark followed by triple exclamation point!! awesome.]

Be sure to comment back and let me know what you have to say about my thoughts.