best 3 minutes

New blog

2011-06-23T13:15:00.002-05:00

It's been a while (year-ish) since my last post. There are several reasons for this departure but the important thing is that I'm back. But I'm not back here. I've started a tumble blog. If you're interested, here it is.

Bye bye blogger.

UofM prediction

2010-09-03T22:14:00.002-05:00

This is a big weekend: College football begins!!

I consider myself a U of M fan, but I don't think it looks good for them this year. A lot has been said about Rich Rod and the team he's put together and my prediction is that they'll only win 4 games this season. I don't base this on their win-loss ratio over the past two years, but on how they have responded to the hardships they've gone through. They have not shown any life, any heart, any character when faced with adversity. And those traits come straight from the coach, and he doesn't have it.

Your football predictions?

Amazing Vocal Master

2010-08-27T10:38:00.005-05:00

It gets funnier with each note

Worst Candidate Interview Ever?

2010-08-25T14:25:00.002-05:00

Yes. It is.

Jason Bourne doesn't stand a chance...

2010-08-18T19:37:00.002-05:00

The phenomenon can't be stopped...

2010-08-16T08:50:00.001-05:00

I love this.

click on it to make it bigger

Tebow's New Do

2010-08-09T07:49:00.001-05:00

I'm loving this hair cut. He would be the awesomest guy ever to keep it like this the entire season.

Shocking Voltage

2010-07-29T14:27:00.004-05:00

The much anticipated electric powered Chevy Volt was given a pricetag today... $41,000!!! Yeah, I typed that right, Fourty One Thousand American Dollars!!! This vehicle does qualify for a $7500 tax credit, but it still comes to $33,500. (source)

Now, I understand that this car is brand new technology and that you are paying a premium for being on the cutting edge, but I think they have priced themselves into a pretty tough corner with this. Afterall, the key market for a car like this is people my age, young and environmentally conscious, who aren't known for having a lot of money to spend on a city commute car.

And at the same time, it doesn't appear luxurious enough to compete with the BMWs and other cars normally found at that price point. The Prius is such a huge success because it is a hybrid under $25,000!!!

What's your reaction to the Volt?

P.S.
In looking for a picture of the Volt I read that the President of Audi called anyone who buys the Volt an "idiot".

The Decision

2010-07-15T13:30:00.002-05:00

Almost as funny as the real thing:)

... so intense.

2010-07-13T13:20:00.002-05:00

I'm sure many of you have seen this already, but if you haven't... you need to see the video from Double Rainbow guy. He is more happy about seeing a double rainbow than you are about anything in your life. (warning: it's full of OMG's)

This viral video is only made even more awesome by this AutoTune parody. (warning: they do add a bleeped f-bomb)

Here's the weird thing about these videos: the first dozen times you see it you can't help wondering what's wrong with this crazy guy, but then a funny thing happens when you see it some more... you start to wish YOU got that excited about double rainbows and the other amazing things we're surrounded by in life. How cool would it be to have a guy that positive around you?

I can't wait until I see a rainbow.

How do you Connect?

2010-07-12T21:04:00.003-05:00

I've been thinking lately about using a social media client to manage my various networks. Twitter, Facebook, IM, Buzz... they're all fighting for my attention, not to mention to other social media apps which I'm not currently using. Right now there are 3 apps that look center stage right now:

Digsby

TweetDeck

HootSuite

Anyone have a recommendation? Testimonies?

I'm really not sponsored by Old Spice

2010-07-08T07:14:00.000-05:00

I just love their commercials.

More Old Spice

2010-07-02T09:55:00.002-05:00

Remember this amazing old spice commercial?

Well they made another sequel that is almost as awesome as the original. Here's a clip from G4 interviewing the actor and telling us how they made it. You have got to see this...

Game Trailers - E3 2010 - Movies and TV

Oldest Postal Worker in America Retires at 95

2010-07-01T11:59:00.002-05:00

This guy is amazing.

He attributes his health to eating an onion and mayonnaise sandwich everyday. In my opinion, it's adding years, but that ain't really living:)

Summer Reading

2010-06-29T14:28:00.003-05:00

It's book season! I'm trying to select a new summer book and here are a couple list that I'm using as references. None of them stick out to me yet, any recommendations??

CNNs Top Ten Summer Reads

EWs LOST: the essential reading

Fake YoYo Master

2010-06-28T14:03:00.003-05:00

In case you didn't know, I am personally going through a big transition right now. I have begun a new career in Kalamazoo and we are between homes. I'm staying with the endlessly generous Cryderman family while my family is staying with her extended family. It's difficult and very busy so blogging has taken a back seat. But I don't want this space to wither up and die, so I am going to make a renewed effort to keep supplying you with the best 3 minutes of your day. I probably won't be posting much original material, but I'll try to keep a fresh roster of links going so you can engage in what I'm following around the web.

I just saw this today. It's a hilarious interview with a comedian who has tricked a TV station into believing he is a YoYo master. Very funny stuff.

See more funny videos and Entertainment Videos at Today's Big Thing.

LOST Finale thoughts

2010-05-24T15:42:00.002-05:00

I hope to write a complete entry on my reaction to the series finale of LOST soon, but my initial reaction is that I loved it. I have not been able to stop thinking about it all day. I found it very moving.

No matter you're reaction to the last episode you should really take 10 extra minutes and read "Doc" Jensen's LOST review here.
"Doc" has been covering LOST since the beginning for Entertainment Weekly and has been following every trail and thought the show has ever put out there. He's researched all the literary and philosophical references and is about as big of a LOST geek as you can get. I really like his review.

My complete thoughts will follow soon. What did you think?

Lost Supper

2010-05-21T10:02:00.005-05:00

Give me a break...

2010-04-26T20:54:00.002-05:00

I took a bit of time off from blogging early in the year so that I could focus on searching for a new job. Now I need to take some more time away from the blogosphere as I search for a new home.

I'll be sure to post pics once we buy one.

See you soon

Warriors... come out and pla-yay

2010-04-20T20:00:00.000-05:00

I shared on Facebook a couple days ago that Evan (5) and Aaron (3) have been interested in a variety of non- mainstream sporting events lately. It has been a lot of fun to watch the things that they get interested in. Aaron has always been a sporty guy. He has a knack for golf and baseball and pretty much any other game or sport. Evan likes sports too, but he doesn't have the same natural ability. However, they both love to imagine themselves as celebrated, world- class athletes.

It started with the 2010 Winter Olympic games in February. They were mesmerized and inspired by the speed skaters and cross country skiers; they ran around the house in circles as fast as they could. They even went to the point of inventing fictional persona's of T-breaker (Aaron) and Thomas Jansen (Evan).

Then a few weeks ago we watched "the World's Strongest Man". Aaron was especially inspired, but they both walked around picking up everything they could over their heads. Chairs and tubs full of toys were no match for either one.

And yesterday, they found a new favorite: Ninja Warrior.

It's a Japanese competition of the most ridiculous obstacle courses ever invented. While at first glance it may look a bit like summer reality fave "Wipeout", it's actually a serious competition. 100 people qualify to compete each year, and if (or when) you fall, you're done. Finished. They have four separate stages (3 are timed) and after 23 competitions it has been conquered only 3 times. Yeah, it's possible for nobody to win.

Evan and Aaron were inspired by there modern warriors to climb and jump off of everything in the house. Stairs, beds, chairs, and tables all became obstacles to overcome. So today Becky and I put together our own ultimate obstacle course for our boys to try. Here they are in all their heroic glory:

Aaron's Amazing Song

2010-04-15T20:00:00.005-05:00

Last week we spent a family vacation at the Wisconsin Dells. It was a great week and I'll take some time to share those experiences over the next couple of days. One of my top memories of the trip was from the car ride back to Indiana.

Aaron started singing this verse over and over and over. At first it seemed like nonsense, but then I figured out that he was singing the "bridge" of Fee's Glory to God Forever. But as kids do, he was singing with his own interpretation of lyrics.

Original Lyrics:
Take my life and let it be
All for you and for your Glory

... and Aaron's version. Listen to the whole thing, he changes up the song like a pro:

Aaron's Lyrics:
Take my life and Kevin me
All for you and glore your baby

He sang it for at least 10 minutes straight. I've been singing it ever since.

A little refreshing honesty

2010-04-01T23:05:00.001-05:00

Brian Kelly on Irish: 'We stink right now'

You have go to read this blurb on the new football coach of Notre Dame talk about how much his team stinks. It is so nice, and surprising, to hear a coach actually talk about what is going on with his team rather than spew out a few cliche's. I don't know anything about Brian Kelly, but I'm already a fan.

Rock you like a hurricane

2010-03-30T22:57:00.003-05:00

I've been listening to David Crowder's Church Music a lot recently. I think it's a great album, but I am particularly moved by How He Loves. Here's the music video, but I actually prefer the album cut (it's slightly different), they are both great.

I love the opening lyrics:

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.

I love the imagery of God's love as an overwhelming force. It reminds me of another powerful Crowder song, Here is our King. You can listen to him tell the story behind the music here, but the song is an allusion to God returning as a tsunami to sweep us back to him. I think that both of these are amazing and moving thoughts about the power of God completely changing the landscape of our hearts and lives. After all, when a hurricane or tsunami passes, everything left behind is totally transformed; there is no mistaking that an unstoppable, unwavering force has been there.

We often use themes from nature to talk about God, but I think most of the time it tends to be a soft, whispering wind or the brightness of the sun. We rarely talk about God in terms of the terrible forces that we fear (hurricanes, forest fires), probably because of the devastation and loss associated with them. However, I appreciate and am awed by this lyrical re-interpretation of those incredible events.

I hope you are touched by it too.

The End of Bauer Power

2010-03-26T19:39:00.005-05:00

Well Bauer-ites. It's been confirmed... this is the last season of 24.

It's not over until Jack says it's over

Through 8 'splosion filled seasons, Jack has un-apologetically shot, fought, and tortured his way through friend and foe alike to protect the USA (and you and me). Eight television seasons in this century should be measured in dog years, there aren't many series that last that long in an era of instant criticism. So it's really like 20 seasons.

I must admit that after watching the first 4 or 5 episodes this particular season I gave up. Perhaps we've been desensitized to the constant action and ever impending doom (there's always another terrorist...), but I just didn't find it as compelling as past seasons.

Too soon? or is it time to pull the plug?

No 3D for me

2010-03-24T23:54:00.000-05:00

Am I the only one bothered by the recent explosion of 3D technology? I am not interested in this emerging technology at all, and I'm normally excited about tech trends.

I saw Avatar in 3D because I wanted to see what it would be like. I loved the movie, but I didn't really feel like the extra dimension added to the film. It was cool, but it didn't make it better. And I was not happy with the fact that it cost FOUR MORE BUCKS to watch it in 3D. Not cool. I plan on seeing very few other films, if any, in 3D if I have to add a premium onto an already pricey ticket.

That is one of the reasons why Avatar made a bazillion dollars, because they charged even more money per ticket. And that's one of the reasons why Alice in Wonderland is making so much money right now. Eventually the public hears about how much money a film is making and they don't want to miss the action, and they pay up for a new pair of shades for one use.

I am really not looking forward to every new film rushing to become 3D. And it's already happening. They are retrofitting movies already in post production to cash in on the fad; Alice was the first, Clash of the Titans is next. They aren't filmed in 3D, they just use computers to make it 3D (which James Cameron hates). They are even making a 3D computer animated Popeye. Yeah, that'll be awesome...

And now they are releasing 3D blu-ray, 3D tv's (which you have to watch wearing stupid goggles).

Although they'll be less conspicuous once they develop transitions lenses

Nintendo, just today, announced a new 3D handheld DS system to be released next year. An my fear is that all of this is going to lead to crappier and crappier media getting shoveled at us just because it's "the next thing".

Call me old fashioned, but I'll be looking for 3D in real life, not on a screen.

A Tale of Two Dunks

2010-03-24T19:30:00.002-05:00

I was listening to Jim Rome today as he debated between the which is the top slam dunk of the year: Amare Stoudemire over Anthony Tolliver or Dwayne Wade over Anderson Varejao. They are both devastating dunks, but Jim went with Dwayne Wade because he's a smaller guy throwing down over a big guy. I respect that argument, but Amare absolutely destroys Tolliver, crushing it with everything he's got. I've got to give it to Amare.

Which do you think is better?

The Cove

2010-03-17T21:15:00.003-05:00

Becky and I watched the "The Cove" a last week. It won the '010 Oscar for best documentary feature, and boy was it good. It is about the slaughter of dolphins in a cove in Japan, looking at it from two angles: the first is the needless and brutal killing of such a beautiful creature, and the second is the health hazard created by putting the meat into the marketplace (they have extremely high levels of mercury).

I recommend this film both the for compelling story and the quality of the film-making. If you think documentaries are boring, this one isn't. You should watch it.

A week later I find myself unsure of how to respond. I mean, I was genuinely moved by the storytelling and frustrated by the unbelievably convoluted politics surrounding the entire operation. But nothing has changed in my life, and that's got me thinking about the process of change: how it moves from inspiration to action to commitment.

I saw "Super-Size Me" a couple of years ago. Another fantastic documentary. It really makes you reconsider fast food. But I still eat it, still love it, just as much today as I did before I saw the film. Facebook is inundated with cause after worthy cause, but does being a Fan really mean anything?

There are changes that I want to make in my life. Personally and Professionally. Spiritually and Socially. However, we all know that there is a big difference between desiring change and creating change. So here I am at the crossroads between the two... what's next?

Why do you LOST?

2010-03-16T19:55:00.006-05:00

LOST gave us another fantastic character developing story last night. It gave us more and more insight into the motivations and development of the individuals who make up this complex drama. It also continued to set up the pieces of the final chess match (or backgammon match if you prefer) that is the overarching drive behind LOST.

Smokie/ Bear

I have really enjoyed these last few episodes, they are very reminiscent of season 1. However, the last several episodes have answered very few questions that LOST has raised over the last 6 years. And as a result, many viewers are frustrated over the lack of answers; but I, on the other hand, am just enjoying the journey.

It reminds me of the competing belief systems of Locke and Eko in Season 2. If you recall, in the swan station there was a computer, a computer which needed to have a code entered every one hundred and eight minutes. Locke oversaw the responsibilities of entering the code once the oceanic survivors found it. As time went on, he became more and more frustrated with the experience because he never saw results, he never got the answers he wanted. Mr. Eko, on the other hand, found purpose in the data entry. He wasn't concerned with the outcome, but found his place as part of the Dharma experiment.

There are many people who are watching LOST to get answers. And I don't blame them, this show has constantly walked the line between too many questions and too few answers. I, however, am more focused on enjoying the journey as it happens. I certainly hope we get some answers, but I certainly won't see this season (or series) as a failure if we don't get them. I'm loving season 6!

What's your take?

Sundown

2010-03-02T22:30:00.003-05:00

LOST was incredible tonight.

I might blog about it later, but I just had to put it out there that if you are not watching this show you are missing something remarkable. Go rent/buy/download season one, thank me later.

Picking Dandelions 2: Electric Book Review

2010-02-24T17:18:00.003-05:00

Short review:

I really enjoyed Sarah's exploration of her own spiritual journey and was challenged to examine my own acceptance of the spiritual status quo.

Long(er) review:

I was unsure of what to expect as I opened up "Picking Dandelions". I knew the author as a friend from my college days and that it was written as a memoir. That's it, so I braced myself for a dull history lesson of a really nice person. I was quite sure there were not going to be any juicy, scandalous revelations which would be sad to read, but would certainly spice up the reading experience. I am glad to confirm that there are no scandalous tell all moments, and I am even more excited to say that I was engaged and challenged throughout Sarah's honest and insightful look at herself.

I found it to be just the right length, long enough to draw you in a provide a solid background on the upbringing that helped form her journey, yet not extended with irrelevant stories as filler. I found her writing to be fun and clever, full of 80's pop culture references (the BEST kind of pop culture references), and also honest about the short-comings of her own faith. I really admire her strength to ask those closest to her to identify her biggest weaknesses and her courage to try to change in order to become more like Christ.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who may be looking for a great read about someone who may not be unlike yourself and anyone looking for a bit of a push to re-evaluate where you stand in your faith.

You can find out more about Sarah @ http://www.sarahcunningham.org (she's also on my blog roll)
You can purchase "Picking Dandelions" @ http://www.amazon.com/dp/0310292476/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

Picking Dandelions: the Interview

2010-02-24T15:03:00.003-05:00

I have a friend named Sarah Raymond Cunningham. I met Sarah about 9 years ago as students on the campus of Spring Arbor University (then College). I've always admired Sarah, she has an obvious passion for her faith and for living that out in real ways to impact people. A few years ago Sarah wrote a book titled “Dear Church” in effort to raise here voice about what she felt the church was missing, a church she loves dearly and wants to see meet the challenges of a new era of faith and culture.

Sarah just released a new book, “Picking Dandelions”, a personal story about her own faith and the path upon which she is being led.

Before I give you my take on the book, I asked Sarah a few questions to help you, dear readers, to get to know her better. You should read it because it's my best interview on this blog:

1. Thanks for sharing your time the readers of The Best 3 Minutes. What are the best 3 minutes of your day?

During a snow, it'd be the three minutes it takes for the news to get around to announcing the school where I work is closed. Don't get me wrong. I like my job, but few people in their right minds would turn down a free day off.

My all-time favorite minutes (in any weather) are the minutes when Justus (my ten month old son) erupts in hysterical laughter over something simple. It happens like ten times a day. Its awesome to witness someone enjoying life at that level.

2. We met back to SAU and as your friend I was interested in your book, why would someone who doesn't know you want to read this book?

A. If they are avid readers, they might get into it as a piece of literature. Its a collection of stories. Some of them are funny; almost all of them are quirky. Its a pretty easy read.

B. If they are non-perfect humans (as opposed to the perfect kind), they might relate to my plight in life--to see faith as something that prompts me to grow through my ever-present flaws and dysfunction.

C. They might pick it up just so they can claim they read a book by someone who went to school with the infamous Alex Teal.

3. What's the deal...are dandelions a simple, misunderstood flower or an invasive weed?

Haha. I think that it depends on a person's perspective. You can see a dandelion and think, I hate this weed. Its ruining my landscaping. While another person (often a little person) can see the exact same plant and pick it and give it to their mom with a sense of pride.

I identify with the dandelion that way. Its a bright, intense flower that brings wonder to children who blow its feathers into the air, but in the end, it has some characteristics of a weed. I can be the same way, intense, energetic, trying to nurture love all around me, but in the end, I'm still very marked by my own weaknesses. The great thing is, in the light of Eden, even the dandelions end up looking pretty snazzy. :)

4. Picking Dandelions is written as a memoir, but aren't memoirs reserved for old people? Why write one now?

I think memoirs used to be seen that way--as something that 80 year olds wrote in the last years of their life. Or as celebrity tell-alls about adventures in Hollywood. But in the last five, or even ten years, memoirs have grown into a larger genre of books that are just "based in someone's personal observations". Hopefully all of us, especially those who follow God, are living ongoing stories that constantly teach us things worth sharing in every stage of life. Writing is my way to bring what God is stirring in me to expression.

5. In your book, one of the key steps to initiate change in your own life was to ask people about your weaknesses. How did you get people to open up about the hard to hear truth rather than just tell you some mild bad habits?

Great question. For some people, asking them to speak to you honestly about your flaws goes against everything they've been taught. They feel like its better to shield people from truths that could offend them. But in my case, I've got a lot of like-minded friends who were raised to VALUE the people who care enough about them to help them walk through their weaknesses to a better experience.

The important factor of course is love. And at some level, shared values. If you don't agree about a basic standard of what is right and wrong, what is healthy or skewed, noble or hurtful, you might generate more friction than growth.

6. I love funny commercials, any commercials out there that you like?

There are a lot of them. I tend to like the subtly funny ones like this one--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4gsLVjI9jY-- rather than the outlandish singing animals kind of thing.

I've got a fever... and the only prescription is more Olympics!

2010-02-22T00:08:00.002-05:00

The 2010 Winter Olympics have been playing around the clock here at the Teal household over the last week. Evan and Aaron have even caught the spirit of the games and race around the house competing in speed skating and cross country skiing (as Thomas Jansen and T. Breaker, respectively.) I have really enjoyed the winter games this year, but I enjoy them much more as a Canadian than as an American.

I grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan cheering on our athletes against the US and the rest of the world every four years. I remember jumping up and down with joy when Ben Johnson won the 100m in the '88 summer games [that gold didn't last long]. But watching the Olympics these days I can't help but feel a bit torn because of my close ties to both countries.

I have dual citizenship, but I live as an American. I have a US drivers license, birth certificate, and passport. And I am nearing the point when I will have lived in America longer than I lived in Canada (June 2012!). I have a great life here in the states and I think this is a great country. But watching the Olympics stirs up my Canadian blood.

So as I continue to watch the competitions (sans figure skating or ice dancing *bleh*) I'll be cheering Canada first and the US second.

For what countries do you cheer?

we'll be back after this brief commercial interuption

2010-02-12T21:59:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted a fave commercial. I think this one is better than any of the super bowl ads.

What do you think?

so much to say...

2010-02-11T00:10:00.002-05:00

I haven't blogged in a while, but soo much has happened lately that I've wanted to comment on:

- smowmageddon, or is it snowpocalypse?
- the end of Conan
- Palin writing her talking points on her hand
- Google buzz

But I'm going to skip all of those to focus on What Kate Does.

"What Kate Does" is the title of last night's episode of LOST. This final season of the most ambitious television show in history began last week and constantly seeks new ways to tell compelling, character driven, action packed episodes. One of the storytelling devices that LOST used in a powerful and innovative way during the first few seasons was the Flashback. Then in season 4 they flipped the format on it's head by inventing the Flashforward. This season they are once again transforming the way they tell the story by introducing the Flashsideways. They are basically showing what would have happened to the people of Oceanic 815 if the island had been sunk to the bottom of the ocean in the late 1970's following the "incident". It's a risky move, and I'm not sure how I like it so far, but it is exciting to see the producers continuing to take risks.

I really liked this past episode, but it seemed to me the best moments were the ones which weren't centered on Kate. Claire's baby attended by Ethan... wow... I can't wait to see who they are going to show us next (Tom? Michael?). The emergence of a Rousseau'd Claire, and revisiting the "infection" from season 1. Sawyer's heartbreak over the loss of Juliette (maybe his best scene all series). But my favourite moments were with Jack and the other Others. Over the past couple of seasons we've watched Jack fall apart over the events on and off the island that he helped put into motion. He lost confidence in himself and was confused. Now he is emerging from that depression to take lead once again. I don't that this is just a case of better writing. I think it's part of the plan of the journey and development of the character of Jack. We are actually watching a television character grow and learn.

I'm can't wait to see what is going to happen next.

Day at the DIA

2010-01-31T21:44:00.004-05:00

Becky and I took Evan to the Detroit Institute of Arts today.

We received some free tickets in the mail and we thought about taking the whole family. Then we estimated the repair bill from a visit with all 3 of our kids and decided to just take Evan... and we had a great time! Evan enjoyed the art, but I think he enjoyed being with just the 2 of us even more.

It was my first visit to the institute and I really enjoyed it. I was especially impressed by the helpful staff. Everywhere we went people were giving us directions and smiling at Evan (but then again, he gets that a lot).

Here are a few picture highlights:

Check out more art.

To Tablet or Not to Tablet

2010-01-26T22:10:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow at 1pm eastern, Apple will stop time.

or at least that's what the hype would lead you to believe.

The maker of the Macbook, iPod, and other desirable gadgetry has scheduled a special press conference to unveil a new product. Speculation around the industry is that they will announce a new tablet computer that will make Mac lovers drool. A tablet computer is basically an giant-sized iPod touch. It would likely be a step between the portability and a lower cost of an iPod touch and the power and utility of a Macbook Pro.

Now, I'm not an Apple slappy, but I was privileged to have the use of one of the new Macbook Pro's for several months at the end of last year. I loved it, I miss it, and the only thing that keeps me from buying one myself is the price. I don't think that they are overpriced, but you certainly pay a premium for what you get.

We were in the market for a new laptop a month ago and we were able to buy a decent PC for just under $400 where the base Macbook model starts at $1000. I hope that I can own at Macbook Pro in the near future and if the price and specs are right a Macbook tablet might be the right thing for me.

Then again they might just announce a new 100gig iPod the size of a grape.

Mo' Bunk Pics

2010-01-19T22:28:00.003-05:00

Here are a few more shots of the boys enjoying their new beds:

.

Beds of Bunk

2010-01-18T23:05:00.004-05:00

After a lot of time and hard work the bunk beds are done!

I started this project in mid-November. We built them almost from scratch and I'm really proud of the finished product. The boys seem to really like them so far. They wanted to climb up and down the ladder all afternoon:)

We were so busy getting their room set up we hardly had time to take some pictures. Here are the first few images, I'll post some more tomorrow.

Evan the Engineer

2010-01-14T00:12:00.005-05:00

I have an old desktop computer that has barely been running over the last several years. It was kept all these years because it stored all our digital photos and video plus I hoped to repurpose it for a basic computer for the kids to use.

Our great packing adventure has provided me with the perfect excuse to take the next step in wiping the hard drive clean and reinstalling windows. But it wasn't meant to be. After shredding the disk it just couldn't recover. I might have been able to get it back in working order, but it really wouldn't have been worth the effort. I am trying not to be a hoarder.

I was going to take out a couple of parts that I thought might be useful and Evan said he wanted to help. He got really excited about unscrewing and disassembling EVERY part. It was great. I just showed him what to do and he undid every piece by himself.

He was really into how it all came together. It was great to see his mind and personality come alive as he pulled each part out. We talked about which part what which, but he was mostly interested in the deconstruction.

He has a really analytical mind (he also loves puzzles), perhaps he has a future in engineering?

O'Brien Strikes Back!

2010-01-12T22:29:00.003-05:00

Just a couple of days ago I blogged about NBC's new plan to return Jay Leno to 11:35pm with a new 1/2 program. They cited the low ratings for the current Jay Leno show and Tonight Show as well as pressure from the local NBC affiliates.

It seems like this just creates huge problems. The network looks foolish for making such a strange move and then totally stepping back from it after only a few months. Leno and Conan look like rejected losers for those time slots; and Conan fired back today. He released a statement that was very direct about his reaction. At one point he says:

I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of the Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

You can read the entire letter here.

Wow. I think Conan is must watch tonight. It should be really interesting to see that will happen at NBC next. This is way better than most of their programming, maybe they can just make this the new 10pm reality show.

Hoarder!

2010-01-11T22:05:00.003-05:00

A couple of months ago Becky and I started watching a show on A&E called "Hoarders". This is a reality show, but in a documentary kind-of-way, not a game show. This is definitely a can't look/can't look away program.

It highlights the lives of compulsive hoarders and the mental health and cleaning professionals who try to help curb their addiction/habit. For those of you who don't know, hoarders collect stuff; lots of stuff; any kind of stuff... in many cases their homes end up looking like this:

It's scary to look at the way these people live. A couple of years ago I led a group of teens to clean out the house of a hoarder; we sold some of the stuff in a garage sale, the rest ended up in the trash. I couldn't believe how much stuff she had in her tiny house.

My family is spending alot of time cleaning out the house as we pack up and anytime I come across some old box or can't decide whether to keep something or not I just think of Hoarders and throw it in the trash!

I highly recommend watching this show if you lack the motivation to clean your home. I usually spend about an hour cleaning around the house after each episode.

Leno returns again

2010-01-10T21:22:00.004-05:00

NBC has finally admitted defeat.

The Jay Leno Show has been steadily losing viewers over the scripted dramas they so boldly shunned less than a year ago. Local NBC affiliates are furious because they rely so heavily on the 10pm lead-in to their local news programming. Not only have they been pressuring the network, but Conan's Tonight Show has been consistently losing out to Letterman.

Speculation has been rampant that changes were eminent, but tonight NBC officially announced that Leno will have a new 1/2 hour program at 11:30pm.

This was a huge bombshell and basically a complete admission that their plans failed miserably. They will try to remedy the problem following the Winter Olympics, but I think it may already be too late for the struggling network. I didn't follow NBC latenight much, and I'm sure that I won't be interested now. NBC is currently renegotiating with Conan and Jimmy Fallon, it's not certain that they will agree to move back the half hour. (source)

You can read Adam's take on it here.

Will any of you miss the Jay Leno Show?

How Tweet It Is

2010-01-07T23:29:00.003-05:00

It's no secret that the US auto industry is hurting. Living in Dearborn we've got front row seats to the whole show. Ford is in a better position than GM or Chrysler, but I've not been personally persuaded to look into their vehicles. When I was looking for a car, all of Ford's attention was on SUVs; when I was looking for a minivan they stopped making them. And I've not seen much to make me look back from my Hondas until now.

Sync.

It just keeps getting cooler and cooler. Sync is basically an in car computer that allows you to have seamless integration between your vehicle and portable devices, such as your ipod or mobile phone. At first I was pretty skeptical, it seemed that they were just throwing some flash tech into a car to be able to mark up the price, but sync keeps getting upgrades which make it more and more appealing. The latest addition reads your twitter feeds to you. You can be totally in touch with your calls, texts, and tweets while staying hands free. (source)

It's going to be a few year until we look for a new vehicle, but I might be looking at a Ford with snyc when the time is right.

Any testimonies from someone who uses it?

blogUPdate

2009-12-17T23:58:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a while since my last entry. It may be a while until my next.

Life is pretty crazy right now, and blogging needs to take a back seat. I won't be gone long, but I won't be posting as frequently over the upcoming weeks.

Thanks for reading:)

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2009-12-14T00:41:00.003-05:00

Our boys, Evan and Aaron, were a part of our church's christmas children's pageant this morning. They were, of course, incredibly cute and they did a great job. They also did some pretty funny things throughout the songs. Here are the highlights of the program:

Amazing Grace

2009-12-07T21:42:00.006-05:00

I saw this on TV the other day and got super excited. I love the metaphysical and spiritual dimension to LOST and I know that the song they chose for this promo was selected very intentionally.

2009-12-04T09:25:00.002-05:00

What's better than LOL Cats? LOL Cats re-enacting "New Moon"!

enjoy:)

[source]

LOST Connections

2009-12-03T22:23:00.004-05:00

My good friend, and fellow LOST enthusiast, Adam just blogged about a book he just began to read, "Island". This novel is one of the many books referenced throughout the mythology of LOST.

Characters are frequently shown reading books which have themes/inspiration/clues connected to this intricately detailed tv universe. I've often thought about reading one of the books, but I've never gotten around to it. I can't wait to hear more about how this book relates to the show.

Have any of you read a book connected with LOST?

LOST

2009-12-02T22:28:00.003-05:00

February 2nd marks the beginning of the end for my fave TV show, LOST. The sixth and final season has finally arrived and I am eagerly awaiting the opening and simultaneously dreading the conclusion of this engaging series.

You probably haven't seen much promotion regarding this season premiere, and that is by design. The producers have tried to remain very tight lipped about anything that happens this upcoming season, which includes not showing any of the currently filmed scenes. [source] I totally agree with this perspective, I don't like spoiling surprises (as mentioned in this previous LOST-related post). The less I know about this season, the better.

The result of ABC going Tiger Woods is that local media outlets have to develop their own promo spots. A network in Spain came up with this really cool teaser. Whoever made it must be a huge LOST fan because they put a ton of thought into the meaning of each image on the screen. A spoiler-free must watch for any LOST fan:

Bunk in the Trunk: UPDATE!

2009-11-29T23:34:00.003-05:00

I told you that I'd try to take pictures next time... and I did! I took these last week, but I just didn't have to time to post 'em.

Notice the striping pattern across the grain? This is Tiger Oak. Yeah, nothin' but the best for my boys!

These will become part of the headboards and footboards. They used to be 8ft planks 5 inches wide. A whole lotta cuttin.

These are the corner posts. 2 and 7/8th inches square. Sweet tools in the background.

Bunk in the Trunk

2009-11-21T23:43:00.003-05:00

Our family has been blessed with a great home, but it's starting to get tight with our growing family. To make more room for our kids, we've decided to get bunk beds for the boys; however rather than purchasing them, I've been excited about making the beds. It will save us money, we can customize it any way we want, and I think it'll be something to take pride in. But I can't do it on my own.

Fortunately, the man we rent our home from is a master carpenter. He has modified his entire garage into a woodshop with more tools than I can name; it's really impressive. Wayne has been gracious enough to allow me to help him build our beds and we started work yesterday.

Becky and I found a design on the Pottery Barn Kids website that we really like and fortunately they list most of the dimensions of the set. Armed with the measurements and several pictures, Wayne and I have began an adventuring in woodworking. We spent several hours chopping, ripping, joining, planing, and glueing. It's pretty much as close to building it from scratch as you can get without growing the tree in your own yard.

In retrospect I wish I would have taken a few pictures to document the process, I'll work on that next time I go in. What projects do you have going on?

NFL preview: Browns v. Lions

2009-11-18T23:34:00.003-05:00

This is a big week in the NFL. You may think that last weeks Pats v. Colts was a big game, but it pales in comparison to the match-up at Ford Field on Sunday. The lowly Detroit Lions take on the deplorable Cleveland Browns to determine which football team is the biggest disaster.

Both teams have continually proved to have confused defenses, ineffective offenses, and no clue how to win football games (don't even talk about the lions special teams. They have redefined just how badly 11 men can play at the same time). Both teams have a 1-8 record so far this season, but Detroit has only won 2 of their last 33 games.

And once again, there is no chance that I'll be able to watch the game on TV. The team has announced that they are still 7,000 tickets short of a sell out. No sell out = no TV broadcast (we've already established the stupidity of that rule here).

My prediction? I think the Browns will win. Detroit has more talent, but they can't ever seem to pull it together.

Rise and Sing

2009-11-14T22:03:00.003-05:00

I have purchased a slew of new music recently and now I'm trying to catch up on listening to all of it. One of the CDz I bought was the new release by Fee called "hope rising". Yes, I actually buy the physical disc. I know it's not as cool as downloading it, but i just prefer to have something I can touch and see.

Anyways, I haven't listened to every song yet, because I keep replaying the first 3 over and over. The first song is a rock anthem called "rise and sing". It's reminiscent of the breakout hit "we shine" from their last CD, yet fresh and new a the same time. Watch the youtube clip (not the greatest audio, but you get the idea)...

... then buy the album. Any recommendations from you?

Words of Wisdom

2009-11-13T22:52:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Nov 12, Tennessee native Corey Zickefoose was held up at gunpoint by 3 young men. Corey and his companion showed the robbers that they didn't have any money and the robbers made a quick getaway. In many cases that may be the end of the story, but not this time.

The 3 'alleged' robbers were found to be 3 University of Tennessee football players. Nu'Keese Richardson, Janzen Jackson and Michael Edwards allegedly held up Zickefoose with an air gun and are are being charged with attempted robbery. The University hasn't yet made any announcement as far as punishments are concerned, but poor 'ol Corey has made his opinion clear:

"I think they should still be able to play football, regardless," he said. "Tennessee is my place. It's my football team."

"Even after they put a gun in your face, you say let them play football?" 6 News asked.

"Yeah, it's Tennessee. That's the way it is sometimes," Zickefoose said. [source]

Hun?? Is this guy serious? I definitely think that our culture is too eager to sue and get revenge, but this guy needs to get his priorities straight. It's horrible to think that he would rather have them not be punished just because he doesn't want to hurt his fav football team. They are the ones who made the choice to put their egos and greed ahead of the team. They need to learn a tough lesson.

And if that's the way it is sometimes in Tennessee... yikes!

Subway Survival

2009-11-10T20:44:00.004-05:00

I was reading my friend Adams recent blog post about a very close call when a woman fell on the tracks on a subway. It reminded me of this amazing near disaster the saw recently:

If you didn't know, a pram is a baby stroller (short for perambulator). It is a miracle that the baby was (practically) unharmed. Stroller technology and God are a pretty good combination:)

And now, the circle is complete...

2009-11-05T00:07:00.005-05:00

Wednesday night. I get to watch one of my fave shows, Man vs. Food. [you can read my previous thoughts on MvF here and here]

The host, Adam, travels to cities around America looking for the best places to eat, as well as tackling some of the most outrageous food challenges ever conceived. Tonight's stop was... DETROIT!!

He opened up by trying out Coney Dogs at two competing Coney restaurants which are located next door to each other downtown. Then he tried a "Triple Threat" at Slows BBQ (bacon, pulled pork, and ham on a poppy seed bun). And finally, his challenge was to break a world record by eating a 190 pound hamburger. Not a typo: one hundred and ninety pounds.

Of course, he didn't attempt it on his own. He had a 40-man team eating along with him, but they had to eat it all within 2 hours. They managed to get about 160lbs. of it down, but they fell short in the end.

I was sad to see them not accomplish the task, but proud of my city. When I checked out the official website I found a vlog of Adam visiting the Heidelberg project! I was just there and just blogged about it!

Cool.

Detroit Art

2009-11-03T22:20:00.003-05:00

This morning I took our youth group to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit. They didn't have school today because it's an election day and I thought it'd be a great way to get involved in the heart of this region that is suffering so much. We had a fantastic turn out (18 middle and high schoolers) and we hung up clothes to allow the homeless to "shop" for their clothes (much more dignifying than taking a hand-out). We also packaged food into boxed kits for a couple of hours. We ended the day by eating lunch at one of the centers where they serve warm meals to homeless and struggling folks. In between those two events we took a trip to drive through the Heidelberg Project. I've heard of this art experience but didn't really know much about it; now it know that it's really cool.

It's an entire block (both sides of the street) that has been claimed as an outdoor art exhibition/experiment to draw attention to the center of this struggling community. The project is a multitude of sculptures and art pieces all constructed from trash.

It is really hard to explain in words, so just check out the website... or visit it sometime.

Also, here's some info on the Capuchin Soup Kitchen if you'd like to support them too.

Your backyard friends the...

2009-11-02T21:16:00.003-05:00

BACKYARDIGANS

Halloween is an awkward event. Culturally, it is a celebration of fear and horror, and while much of it may be "in good fun", it doesn't feel right to me. In my opinion devils, demons, and evil creatures shouldn't celebrated. I don't think my kids (or most people) will turn around and start worshipping that stuff, but it lessens our defenses; it turns evil into a plaything when we should be centered on Christ alone. But I love the chance to dress up and act a fool. Trick-or-treating was always a fun family event growing up. And I want, I choose, to make this a fun family event for us.

I know most of you have already seen these on my facebook page, but here are a few pictures of us from this past Halloween weekend. We were dressed as the popular children's tv characters, the Backyardigans. There are all homemade; we did alot of thrift store shopping and Becky did some amazing work on all the details.

Lady and Gentleman, I give you...

TYRONNE

UNIQUA

TASHA

PABLO

AUSTIN

THE WHOLE GANG

Danna- danna- danna-danna BATMAN!

2009-11-01T21:35:00.002-05:00

Manu Ginobli is a phenomenal basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs. And his mythos just grew as he swatted a bat out of mid-air during a game yesterday.

Yes, he knocked a bat out of mid-flight during a basketball game on HALLOWEEN NIGHT!

You've got to see it to believe it:

Electro

2009-10-30T21:06:00.003-05:00

My office at the church is bipolar. When it's hot, it's really hot; when it's cold, it's really cold. Our hvac system is dated and ineffective, so I use a space heater throughout the fall/winter to stay comfortable. It's my litium.

This morning I unlocked my door and bent down to plug in the heater, as is my custom upon entering the room, but the results were anything but usual. I still had my keys in my hand and I think one of the keys entered the outlet as I plugged in the heater. POP!!! A nice sized spark lit up the room and I jumped back... luckily unharmed. The plate surrounding the outlet was metal and another key grounded the shock to the plate blowing the fuse and saving me from a big buzz.

Any close calls for you lately?

Goodnight Moon

2009-10-09T19:30:00.003-05:00

Every night we pray with our kids before they go to sleep. We invite them to pray as well, but they don't always want to participate [we don't want to force them to pray]. But tonight they both said some things that are worth sharing.

Aaron tends to say just about anything that comes to his mind. Tonight he thanked God for "golfing and Tiger Woods"; then he thanked God for "not talking and don't touch the curtains or Mommy will get mad". I almost laughed out loud at that one.

Then Evan thanked God for being strong and for helping us.

Two prayers to put a smile on your face:)

Family Archives

2009-10-07T00:10:00.003-05:00

I finally dug out the video camera in an effort to put to some of our memories in a shareable format. It's not riveting stuff, but here are some fun clips of Evan as a 2 and a half year old:

DudePerfect

2009-10-05T20:32:00.002-05:00

Real or Fake?

Remember those old McDonalds commercials where 23/45 and Larry Bird would play an outrageous game of 'horse' [nothin' but net]? Dude Perfect is a group of guys who actually make those ridunkulous basketball shots (check out their website). I've enjoyed their videos, but I am even a bigger fan since discovering that they're a group of Christian guys using this as a platform to share God's love.

I think the shot is real.

For all the Parents out there:

2009-10-01T21:51:00.005-05:00

I love the blog Stuff Christians Like. Funny, funny stuff.

But every once in a while, they slip in a little truth and I found this entry to be really applicable to where I'm at as a parent: Raising dorks.

The entry can be summed up by this fantastic quote, "You can fast forward childhood, but you can’t rewind it."

Evan is in Kindergarden and I really want him to connect with his classmates. I think it's important for him to grow and learn how to make friends and adapt to new situations. I want the other kids to like him and to think that he's cool. But I don't want him to get caught up in thinking that fitting in and being cool are critical to who he is as a person. Maybe it can be cool to be a dork.

new blogroll

2009-10-01T21:01:00.002-05:00

You may have noticed a new blog recently added to my blogroll ("what I'm reading" on the right). The Detroit Blog. I can't remember how I came across it (I think maybe on someone's tweet), but it's an online platform developed by TIME magazine. They actually bought a house in Detroit to serve as a base to discover/explore/discuss/share the stories found in America's Automotive center (and murder capitol).

The more we live here, just a couple miles from the city limits, the more I have heart for this broken city. I'm excited about any program that rallies behind this struggling community and gives a voice to the people trying to survive and make a difference around here.

Give it a look sometime.

Lions win. or so I heard

2009-09-27T23:19:00.004-05:00

The Detroit "football team" Lions defeated the Washington Redskins today 19 to 14. But it's hard for me to celebrate because the game was blacked-out for every TV within a 75 mile radius. Why can't I watch my home football team try to win their first game in "644 losing days, 21 losing months, 18 losing Sundays, one losing Thursday, four starting quarterbacks, one fired coach", and the disaster known as Matt Millen? [source]

Lions QB, Matt Stafford, counts the number of Lions victories since December 23, 2007

The National Football League has a rule that a game can only be shown live to local markets if the stadium sells out. 100%. Every ticket. I cannot understand this outdated and obsolete rule that has been in effect since the late '70's. It seems totally backwards that any sports team would EXCLUDE people from supporting their local team. Supposedly, the reason for this rule is because TV executives don't want to show empty seats in the stadiums. Which is totally stupid. I'd much rather watch my team, no matter what the attendance was.

Why can't TV execs and advertisers realize that I'm only going to glance at the Vikings games, but I'll watch the whole Lions game?

Why aren't teams furious that they can't connect with fans who are faithful customers and potential customers. I might be enticed to attend a home game if I see what a great experience it is. How can I see what I'm missing if I can't see the game?

I'm happy that the Lions won, but somebody needs to change the blackout rules, cause one win isn't going to fix the Lions attendance issues.

wow

2009-09-24T22:26:00.005-05:00

I thought our kids were big.

An Indonesian woman has given birth to an 8.7-kilogram (19.2-pound) baby boy, the heaviest newborn ever recorded in the country, a doctor said. The baby boy is pictured here next to a baby of average size at a hospital in Medan, North Sumatra.

(AFP/Dede)

[source]

For Barry (and any other hunters)

2009-09-24T21:24:00.002-05:00

I saw this on cnn.com today. If any of you readers are hunters, be inspired!

July 12- last day

2009-09-21T22:22:00.005-05:00

Here it is. The final blog entry reviewing my trip to Taiwan. I know it's been a long process, but this has been really helpful for me to relive the experience and relearn some of the things God taught me along the way. Thanks again to Becky and the kids for supporting me on the trip and to my dad for inviting me along an amazing journey. Well... that pretty much covers all my readers, on to the story!

I set my alarm for the ridiculous time of 5:30am on Sunday. I really didn't want to be up that early, but I wasn't sure exactly how long it would take to get to the airport and how long it would take to get through customs, so I figured I should err on the side of early rather than late. Oh, my departure time? 9:30am.

I got up and packed and walked out of the hotel by 6 and walked about 4 blocks to the bus station. They had buses leaving every 20 minutes to the airport. I happened to board a bus just as it was leaving, so that saved me 20 minutes at the station. I also wasn't sure how long the bus ride would be; my guess was about 1 and 1/2 hours, but it only took about 45 minutes. And there was almost no wait to go though ticketing, security, or customs. Yeah, I was seated at my terminal at about 7:45. I really wished I had my hour and a half of extra sleep, but it was better than being late. As the flight ahead of mine boarded I couldn't believe the number of people who ran up in the last 15 minutes.

I ended up flying back the same way I came to Asia. The flight from Taipei to Tokyo sat on the tarmac for quite a while before we left and there was a lengthy walk to my connecting flight so when I got to my gate I walked right on with only about 10 minutes to spare. I was a bit nervous because I didn't want to sit in a foreign airport and try to figure out the mess of getting home, but I would have liked a chance to check out Tokyo. Next time, I guess.

The flight back to Detroit was Loooong! The problem with a 12+ hour flight is that you try not to look at your watch for as long as possible, and then when you feel like you are almost home and you can't stand to be in your seat any longer you look to see that only 6 hours have gone by. It was tougher because I finished all the books I brought along and the movie they were showing were totally lame chick flicks... and we were only halfway home. I tried to sleep on the plane to help with the jet lag, but I wasn't tired much even though I didn't get much sleep the night before. We arrived a bit early in Detroit (about 45 minutes ahead of schedule) but only one set of the doors worked on our 747. Of course, I was seated near the back of the plane so it took FOREVER to get unloaded. Back on American soil, I got a ride home (it is so nice to live within 10 minutes of the airport) and then drove 3 and 1/2 hours to spend time with Becky and the kids at her parents place in Indiana. It was great to see them and get some huge hugs from all the kids and Becky.

And it only took about 3 days to get my body and brain back on Detroit time. Then I went led a youth trip to Washington, D.C. the following week. Whew!

It was an amazing adventure and I really hope to go back someday.

July 11

2009-09-16T21:49:00.005-05:00

My last full day in Taiwan. It was bitter-sweet to think about that fact as I woke up that morning. It was Saturday and all there was on the agenda was for me to speak to some of the youth from the mountain villages and then Ben and I would return to Taipei. Dad, Foster, and Kelsey would stay in Taiwan until Monday and then spend a couple days in Hong Kong.

It was really cool to wake up and step out into the streets of the village of Tuban. It looked like something out of a movie or painting: the mist hanging low in these jungled, mountain peaks. It was breathtaking. I'm not a morning person, but I would enjoy mornings a whole lot more waking in that environment.

MeiMei prepared an amazing breakfast for us. The table was filled with assorted breakfast foods and fruits. MeiMei asked me if I wanted some mango juice and then picked up some fresh mangos off the table and dropped them in the blender. Wow, it was sooo good.

We decided that since we had plenty of time before I needed to speak that we would drive down the Taiwan coast and visit one of the popular local beaches. We didn't really have enough time to swim, but we thought it would be a cool last place to visit. We loaded up the van and... grind, revvvVVV! Matthew was stepping on the gas, but we weren't going anywhere. So we all stepped out as he kept shifting in and out of neutral all the while he starts rolling backwards down the sloped street. He eventually reached a point where he had to back into a wall/fence or else he has going to back off cliff. We started praying (and laughing) really hard and finally Matthew got it into first and rolled around town for a bit at 50,000 rpm to warm up the engine. It goes without saying that we were a bit unsure about getting into the van, but there was no other choice.

We ended up at a beautiful beach on the southern tip of the island. It was at this point that I really wished I had a swimsuit on because the coolness of the morning had faded and the water looked really refreshing. We followed up our brief visit to the beach with a stop at McDonalds. Oh man, I'm not a huge Mickey D's fan, but it tasted sooo good. I had a hard time going back to chinese food after that meal.

We were a little bit late arriving back at the first mountain village, so we had to walk in after the service had already started. Fortunately there was a group of four seminary students from England who were also there and they started off with a game, a few songs, and a short devotional. Having them start helped me to not feel as nervous and I shared with the students the lessons that they need to be active in teaching to their home churches. There were around 50 Paiwan students there, and we recognized some of them form the week of camp, so it was nice to feel like I could relate to them a bit. I had a great translator in Caleb, a native Taiwanese who is studying at Asbury seminary.

After I spoke, Caleb, Ben, and I headed back to Khaoshuing to take the high-speed train to Taipei. I ended up back at the YMCA hotel at around 11pm and ran into trouble.

They didn't accept the credit card that I had on me, I didn't have enough Taiwanese "new dollars", and the couldn't accept the American cash that I had on me. So I walked the downtown of Taipei all by myself from about 11pm to midnight looking (unsucessfully) for an ATM. I even had the desk clerk draw me a map to an all night money changer, but it was a dead end (and I know I followed the map correctly). I texted Becky for help and fortunately she happened to answer and was able to get me a different credit card # that I could actually use.

It was actually pretty cool to wander the streets alone. It's a really nice city and I'd love to go back someday.

With my hotel paid for all I had to do was go to bed for the last time in Taiwan.

Kids these Days

2009-09-15T21:33:00.003-05:00

Evan completed his first week of school today. And he's doing great!

Obligatory 'leaving the house/first day of school' photo

He seemed to do good emotionally for the first couple of days, but on Thursday night of last week he became very sad and didn't want to go to school the next day. I asked him why and after a bit of working him he told me "I don't have any friends". My heart broke for him. I did my best to encourage him that he's a great kid and everyone is new, that he just needed to ask some kids to play; but what I really wanted to do was hold him in my lap and tell him that he never had to go to school again...ever:)

When I picked him up on Friday he had a big smile on his face. I asked why and he said "I made a friend!" I was soo happy to hear him say that. Then I asked what his name was and he had no clue, haha:) Becky thought it was a bit strange, but I told her that's just what to expect with a young boy. He probably won't know any other kids name that he plays with, and even if he might learn it by chance, that's all he'll know.

He was glad to have the weekend off and has seemed to like school the last couple of days as well. With a little encouragement he even found out the names of some of the kids he plays with (Joseph, Peyton, and Liam). We're also excited that a girl who goes to our church (Ella) is in the same class with him also. She's a fun, outgoing girl and I know that helps him through the day.

The strangest thing about him going to Kindergarten is that I have almost no idea what he does for 3 hours during the morning. I've always known what he's up to and now I can barely find out what he does. All I know is that between 8:45 and 11:45 he has recess, practices counting, and eats lunch. I have a lot more sympathy for my parents trying to talk with me about what happened during school hours. Sorry mom:)

I do think it's pretty amazing that Evan says they are learning to count to 30. Thirty! Kindergarten ain't ABC's and counting to 10 no more.

He also came back sick after the second day. It's like a germ factory in there. But he seems to be getting over it pretty well.

July 10

2009-09-13T21:49:00.004-05:00

Friday. The last day of camp. After a long Thursday I was glad to be done, but sad because our time was over. It was tough to connect with students because of the language barrier, but it was fun to be with them and it was sad that our time together was coming to an end.

We started Friday with one last service. Before the service, Dad had asked me to say one more thing during his 30 minute sending message, but fortunately he didn't call me forward. I just didn't have any idea of what to say other than "thank you".

The camp ended after the service; to send everyone out they did a really cool balloon drop. Then we took another hundred pictures and said our good-byes to the students. Then we (our team of 8) drove back into the mountains and "enjoyed" another beautiful/terrifying drive.

It was even scarier than last time because we had all our luggage with us (adding a couple hundred pounds to our rear end) and we got stuck behind a semi-truck hauling rebar. If you've ever seen a rebar truck before you know that the steel hangs several feet off the end of the truck. So we are winding back and forth, going up hill, with 8 people and our luggage, with cliffs on our left and the "trench of death" on our right, in the rain, and Pastor Matthew is tailgating the rebar truck like he's in a NASCAR race. Our windshield could not have been more than a few feet away from the truck on many occasions. I sat mildly terrified in the back seat of the van, but my Dad got a great look at it from the passenger seat. There were times when he was literally hanging on to his seatbelt with both hands as a nervous reaction to our proximity to the huge truck in front of us.

We made it to the mountain village that we had visited earlier in the week (wednesday) and dropped off some of our luggage to make the trip further into the mountains a little easier. After the drop off we drove across the bottom of the country to end up driving back up north along the coast along the pacific ocean. We turned off the highway and across a one lane bridge (but not a one way bridge) and headed up to Tuban. This is the village where Pastor Matthew recently accepted an appointment from the Taiwanese FM conference.

I need to take some time to comment on how Pastor Matthew, his wife MeiMei, and daughter Cindy were fantastic hosts during our week together. They are warm, friendly, inviting, energetic, charismatic, fun-loving, caring, Godly people. They live in a tiny 3 room apartment attached to the church (2 of the rooms are bedrooms) and have little of the comforts we are accustomed to here at home. Still, they offered us everything they had and were very generous, I really enjoyed being with them.

We arrived at the village late in the afternoon and had some time to walk around the community and meet the people. The mountain villages in Taiwan are small, poor towns inhabited by the aboriginal tribes of Taiwan. Tuban is home to people from the Paiwan tribe (the other major group is the Rukai). We met a young man named "Tennis" (with a T) who gave us a ride though the narrow winding streets on a scooter. It was fun to have a second motorcycle ride. The excitement made me really want one here at home. That night Dad gave another sermon, bringing his weekly total to 7 different messages in 6 days! It was amazing to listen to how God lead Dad's messages to be uniquely fitted to each congregation and audience; I know if it were me it would be really tempting to just give the same lesson 7 times, but Dad really poured out his heart and listened for what God wanted to say to each group.

That night I stayed up to prepare for the message that I would be delivering to a group of students the next day. I had a pretty solid idea of what I wanted to do, but after listening to Dad all week the bar had been raised. Plus I knew with speaking through a translator I would need a better outline since I would be constantly pausing and I didn't want to lose my place. We went to bed that night on the floor in the apartment. It was a rough night not just because of the hard wood, but also the sweltering humidity. I was also excited because there was just one day left in Taiwan!

July 9

2009-09-08T21:13:00.006-05:00

Let's pick up where we left off in Taiwan, shall we?

Thursday was the roughest day. There were definitely some fun and interesting moments, but it was a tough day emotionally.

Like Tuesday, the day began with my dad leading 2 back to back teaching sessions. In the first session I led the students in a battle of "we love Jesus yes we do, we love Jesus how 'bout you!". For those of you unfamiliar with this Christian arena competition, a group of people yell out that phrase and then point at another group/section on the word "you". Then that new group repeats and returns the phrase a little bit louder and a little bit worse. They caught on pretty well; we did it in English since I can't lead it in Chinese:)

The second session was all about encouraging the students to go out and make a difference. I shared stories about the things that the students I work with are doing in Dearborn to make a difference. It was really cool to stop and think about all the ways that these kids are involved in the church and community. Once again I led the band with "How Great is our God" as Dad led an altar call to pray for students who wanted to be blessed to take a new step of faith.

Dad "bringin' it"

Then we went out to lunch with the ministry leaders who put together the conference. We went to a Japanese restaurant. I had never been to a Japanese restaurant, but I'd already tried just about everything else, so why not, eh?

It was a really nice time to share with the leaders of the Free Methodist youth in Taiwan (most of them were youth pastors in the conference). Pastor Craig, who was the main speaker in the evening, shared with us that he has made it his mission to start 30 churches in his lifetime (he's currently started 5). The food was fun as well; the first first thing we had was sushimi... raw fish. I first tried Black Tuna sushimi, an expensive fish, which was actually not that bad. It wasn't slimy like I thought it would be. It was firm, moist, and flavourful, I'd probably eat more of it. Then I tried some swordfish sushimi, which was just ok. There was some other food that I tried but I can't remember as well a huge breaded shrimp that was pretty good. I has some wasabi on something... too much wasabi. HOT HOT HOT! One of the last things we had was a strange coffee- flavored jello. It looked just like regular jello, but it tasted like regular coffee.

That afternoon we just went back to our rooms to crash. We were all tired and needed a break from the constant travel, but sitting down gave me a lot of time to think about how much I missed my family. Becky took the kids with her to her parents house where she could have some help wrangling all 3 of them around. We couldn't talk on the phone because mine isn't enabled for international calls, plus it wouldn't do us much good anyways since there is only a tiny window to make those calls happen with the 12 hr time difference. We were able to chat on facebook a couple times and we sent a few texts, but I was really missing the kids and especially Becky.

Not only was I tired of being apart from family but I was getting tired to the food. I had been doing my best to try new things and stretch myself, but I just wanted "normal" food. The food issue was ever more difficult because as an honored guest I was offered everything first; it was getting hard for me to face plate after plate getting shoved in my face. I couldn't just refuse everything and sit unnoticed in the corner, and I wanted to be sensitive to the cultural differences and expectations as well. I don't want to be too negative about the experience, they were all great people trying to welcome me to their culture and some of the stuff I tried I liked, but I was getting tired.

But I had a chance to get out of my funk when we met up with a friend from when I grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (yes, that is a real place). I hadn't seen Melissa Wriston in about 15 years, but we both grew up in Lakeview FM church as kids. Melissa has lived in Taiwan for about 5 years teaching english and living as a light for God in Khaohsuing. It was crazy to think about catching up with her after so many years... on the other side of the world!

Thursday evening we attended the evening session eld by Pastor Craig. This was the first evening session we attended since Monday and it was similar in many respects (loud, charismatic worship; powerful preaching) but at the end of the sermon there was an invitation for the students to come forward an receive the Holy Spirit. I have been at services before where there was laying on of hands and people falling, or being "slain", in the Spirit, but only a couple of times. At least half of the 500 students came forward and I was sitting front row watching it all happen. I should include that I wasn't sitting next to anyone who could translate for me, so at the time I could only guess as to what was going on. I'm not about to begin a debate about the theological/doctrinal implications of those expereiences and whether or not God can work in that way, but it really pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Then the hammer dropped. All of the sudden I recognize that Pastor Craig just said my name. He called my (and my Dad and one other guy) up to the front. I had no clue what was going on. I tried to ask my dad what was going on, but we couldn't really talk about what was happening and I started getting really uncomfortable. Then students start coming forward and lining up to be prayed over. I finally got the information that these were students who wanted receive a special blessing as they felt called to go into ministry and it was up to us to pray for them. WAAAY out of my comfort zone! I did not want to be the next Benny Hinn and I wasn't sure what to do, it's not like I could back out. So I prayed a prayer for me and then went about laying hands on the students as they came to me. It was even stranger because I was praying for them in English with no translation, so they had no way to know what I was praying. I put my hand on their forehead like Pastor Craig had done, but I didn't push anyone. Some fell, some didn't. But I just didn't feel right about it, mostly due to just being thrown into the situation without being asked or warned.

After the service we took about 1000 pictures with various students and leaders. I'm sure there are a whole lot of facebook pictures of me out there that I'm totally unaware of.

Finally we [the 8 of us, plus Laura (the head honcho), Melissa, and a couple others) headed to a local night market. During our late night adventure they tried fish head soup and stinky tofu soup. I was in a bad mood at this point (I hate to admit) and didn't try any of it. However, Kelsey tried the stinky tofu soup and ate this cube of something. The something turned out to be congealed pigs blood! Gross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!more exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!

What a way to end the day.

Where did the last 5 years go?

2009-09-07T21:55:00.003-05:00

I know I need to be more consistent with reviewing/revisiting/reliving my Taiwan trip, but there is something HUGE happening in our lives right now. Evan is going to Kindergarten tomorrow!

Our tiny baby boy is going to school.

It really hit me hard last night and I started freaking out. I felt like I had done nothing in the past five years to prepare him for this day. All of the sudden I was cramming data into his tiny ears: this is how you make friends; this is how you treat your teacher; don't take a ride from someone you don't know; don't talk with strangers, but it's ok to talk with the kids you don't know in your class; etc. I had to stop myself cause I didn't want to freak him out, or maybe because I didn't want to freak myself out anymore.

I'm so proud of who Evan is. I think he's probably better prepared for this experience than we know, but you can't help but panic when you think about the radical changes that are headed his way.

Several months ago I blogged about the options that we had been debating regarding half day vs. full day K. We decided that Evan will attend the local public school (Snow elementary) for half days for the first few months and then evaluate a transition to full day after that. I think it's a good option for us and for him, but it's definitely one of those landmark sad/exciting days that are unfolding in our lives. Good Luck Evan, we'll be praying for you.

July 8

2009-08-31T20:05:00.005-05:00

Wednesday at the conference is sports day. During the other days they have various team-building activities and workshops, but midweek they put all that aside and have a series of sporting competitions (we saw sprints and 3-on-3 basketball). When we woke up it was already overwhelmingly hot and muggy... I was very glad not to be participating (although, for the record, I would have totally came in last at every event).

We stayed around the campus for the morning, taking some time to mingle with the students. The conference was at what appeared to be a private school campus. The buildings were quite old, but they had everything we needed: dorms, auditoriums, a track, and basketball courts. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the campus; for all the video and pictures we took it seemed like there was so much more that we missed.

After a morning of mixing it up with the students we headed out to lunch where I ate some of the worst food during the trip (no offense to the lovely people of Taiwan:). I tried pigs ear (which had a light bacon flavor) and this is me trying stinky tofu:

It doesn't do it justice to see it in video form. Stinky tofu is called "Stinky Tofu" for one reason... it reeks!!! It's tofu fried in some devilish blend of spices and ingredients which combine to create a super nasty blend (similar to how your powers combine to create Captain Planet, only instead of enviro-powers he makes stuff smell and taste horrible). I barely got it down.

After narrowly surviving lunch we headed into the mountain county. The country of Taiwan is an island (duh) where the urban, metropolitan population lives along the flat coastlands. The center of the island is comprised of a ridge of mountains that divides the country north to south. The mountain range is beautifully covered by dense jungle forests like a living emerald canopy; fog would hang down like a fantasy landscape painting or digital dream. The mountains are where the native peoples of Taiwan live in tribal villages.

On our van ride we stopped along the way at a small village where we picked up about 20 boxes of fresh mangos. Pastor Matthew then sells those mangos to vendors in the city and passes the money back to the villagers. Microeconomics at work!

To reach the villages in the mountains it becomes necessary to leave the highways and drive up and down the local roads. That was an adventure! The roads are an endlessly labyrinthine trail that weaves through the volcanic hills; two lane roads barely wide enough to be labeled as two lanes. On one side, cliffs and bluffs that fall hundreds of feet; on the other side...well, a feature that we affectionately called the "ditch of death". Instead of a right hand shoulder, like we have on our roads, there was a 3 feet deep, 1.5 feet wide concrete walled trench. I assumed it was designed to carry the runoff which sweeps down the mountains, but all we could see was a hole that was seemingly designed to be the exact size to swallow a truck tire. our van tires. It was a frightening ride on more than one occasion.

That night we visited Tuban, a native Rukai village. My dad preached a fantastic sermon for the people there. It was funny having Dad preach in english, and then having Pastor Matthew translate into chinese, and then the pastor of the tribal church would translate the chinese into the Rukai dialect. Double translation ftw!!

Oh, and the Tuban church served us a native feast, which only means one thing... even crazier food!

I can't remember everything, but there was squid and a strange mushroom things (which I tried). And the number one, strangest thing I tried during the entire trip is featured here:

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Yeah, that's a fish. The whole fish and nothing but the fish. Head, scales, bones and all. It was cooked so it was crispy and crunchy. And I actually thought it wasn't that bad; I even ate another!! Then they told us it's an endangered species. Yummy:)

July 7; Tainan

2009-08-30T22:47:00.006-05:00

Dad was the main speaker for two sessions on Tuesday and Thursday morning. One of the main reasons I went along was to help speak during these times to break up the rhythm since it could get pretty rough to speak to 500 students in back-to-back hour long sessions. During the first session I lead a tournament of "rock-paper-scissors" that we adapted to "comet-planet-star" to fit the theme. It went really well considering the size of the group and the language/translation barrier. Many of the students spoke simple english phrases, and there were a few who spoke english quite well (those tended to be the older students), but most students only knew "hello" and "bye bye".

During the second session I shared the story of Evan's birth (keeping the c-section description intriguingly detailed, yet age appropriate). I talked about the wonder and blessing that they are in my life... it's not hard to share that:) At the end of the second session I led the worship team with "How great is our God". It was another challenge to lead the worship team because only the keyboard player understood a word I said, but fortunately they were a really talented group.

After the morning sessions we went with Pastor Matthew, his wife Mei Mei, and their daughter Cindy to Tainan. I love those guys. Pastor Matthew is a Taiwanese FM pastor who has a really warm and captivating presence. They were a ton of fun and gave us the VIP treatment everywhere we went. So the eight of us (Dad, Foster, Kelsey, Ben, Matthew, Mei Mei, Cindy, and I) drove in their church minivan to the urban city of Tainan. Tainan is one of the oldest modern cities settled by the Europeans when they "discovered" Taiwan. There were some fantastic historical sites we can across including:

These beautiful statue/shrine/attractions.

I had a hard time capturing the scale, but these are several stories tall.

We were going to go to the Taiwan history museum, but for some strange reason it was closed so we went to the Taiwan Poetry Museum. Here I am, listening to a reading of Taiwanese poetry.

And it was at the poetry museum that we met John Wayne. The story of John Wayne is too long to fit in blog format, but ask me about him sometime.

Dad and his new friend, John Wayne.

Tuesday, July 7th also happened to be a ridiculously hot day. I didn't remember the actual temperature, but I'm pretty sure it was 1 billion degrees. And Taiwan is also EXTREMELY humid, it may technically be underwater. So we walked up and down the streets of Tainan nearly melting when we found a sparkling oasis in the form of an Iced Mango drink. I never really liked mango, but this was the beginning of a new and beautiful relationship.

Waiting for iced mango drink.

(not pictured, face-melting heat)

As we explored the streets of Tainan we also came across many food stands featuring native Taiwanese cuisine.

As identified by my friend, Justice Hung-

from left: pig faces(pig ears),duck wins,

duck necks with heads, and the bottom are duck lungs.

the things right dish are pig skin.

And I nearly forgot! Near the end of the day we walked past one restaurant that was filming a commercial and Dad was lingering trying to see what they were doing. Well, the director turns around and they asked him to take a sip of the drink and smile for the camera. Seriously, watch for Glenn Teal starring in a Taiwanese wine commercial. It was so funny to watch the whole thing unfold. Another great day!

July 6

2009-08-19T22:50:00.007-05:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to fill in the rest of the blanks on my trip. It's been a busy couple of weeks. I hope to finish the outline of this trip before the memories start to fade away... so let's get back to bidnas:

Monday was the first day of camp. It actually was more of a conference than a camp, but I'll get into those details in a few paragraphs. We got up early in the morning (around 6:30 i think) because we had to find our way through the underground central rail depot in Taipei to the high speed train to Kaohsiung. Fortunately we had a guide in Pastor Dinh (from the previous post) and his son, Ben. Ben is a high school student who joined us for the week. He was born in Vietnam, but was raised in America, so he speaks English and Vietnamese, but very little Chinese. He came to Taiwan a few years ago when his Dad felt called to minister to the Vietnamese in Taipei. I think it meant alot to him to have some Christian Americans to relate to, and it was great for us make a new friend and have him along.

The high speed train was very cool. I've never been on a "fast" train before and it was definately a fun experience. You may be asking yourself, how fast did it go? close to 200mph. Oh Yeah!

We arrived in Kaohsiung and rode by car another hour to the campus. There were 5 of us in a tiny car with all our luggage, so I sat in the middle with my suitcase on my lap. I couldn't see anything but canvas for the entire ride.

As mentioned earlier, the "camp" was really a conference. For you Free Methodists, it was like IYC, just on a smaller scale. It was a conference for all the Southern Taiwan FM middle school and high school groups; a total of over 500 students!

The conference opened on Monday night with incredible and exciting worship led by Taiwanese college students a powerful sermon by Taiwanese Youth Pastor Craig (who was the main evening speaker).

Another great day!

July 4-5

2009-08-05T22:36:00.004-05:00

I forgot to mention in my previous post that we decided to visit the Shilin night market late on Friday. Yes, we were still tired, but in a foreign country you never want to miss a chance to visit something exciting.

And we weren't disappointed. It was really cool. Vendors on every side, on every corner, using every inch of available space. I would say that a large majority of the stuff for sale was clothes: hats, shoes, jean, shirts, accessories. The next most common goods were food: corn on the cob, squid on a stick, duck hearts, pig ears, all kinds of other crazy foods, and mango. I've never really liked mango before, but after a week of amazingly fresh mango it's grown on me. It was loud, smelly, and crowded... Just my kind of place:)

Saturday was another sight seeing say, we went to the Taiwan National Museum and the Taipei 101. The national museum was amazing because it basically holds the national treasures of China (taken as many Chinese fled to Taiwan during the 1949 revolution). There are plenty of items that we got to see that are just too beautiful to describe [no photography allowed:(] My faves were the 30 meter long paintings and the unbelievably intricate ivory carvings.

The Taipei 101 is the tallest building in the world. The observation deck is at nearly 400 meters. The view was incredible. You could see for miles and miles. Here are a few pics:

After those amazing sights we crashed at the hotel for a bit and then I went to speak with a college group at one of the Free Methodist Churches in Taipei. It went pretty well. I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked and it was my first time speaking with a translator. Luckily the group was really friendly and they were excellent hosts. The highlight of that day was the ride I recieved back to the hotel. The streets of Taipei are crazy! Super crowded streets and thousands of motorcycles flying everywhere in between. My new friend Justice gave me a ride through the city streets on the back of his motorcycle and it was too fun. I hope to have the video up soon.

Late Saturday evening we welcomed Foster Chase and his daughter Kelsey to Taiwan. The Chase's attend my Dad's church and it was great to get to know them throughout the week.

Then Sunday morning, we Teal's went back to the same FM church where my dad preached (proached?? praught??) a great sermon. We ate lunch with the church and had tea at the Grand Hotel with our friend James. Then we met back up with Foster and Kelsey and attended a Vietnamese FM church which meets once a month in Taipei. That was an experience:)

I could tell Dad was quite a bit worn out from the day, but he gave a fantastic evangelistic sermon translated by Pastor Dinh. It was fun to listen to him translate. We all seemed to sense that he was helping my Dad out a bit, adding and explaining things in a better way. And that was a good thing, after the invitation about 10 people came up front to accept Christ in their lives. Whew! Praise God.

After the service was over Dad became a celebrity and became surrounded by the vietnamese people as they took picture after picture. Here's a couple of my faves:

Then we finished of the day with taking Foster and Kelsey for a visit to the Shilin night market.

And this is just the beginning:)

July 1-3: Taipei

2009-07-31T21:16:00.005-05:00

I flew out of Detroit on a direct flight to Tokyo. Yes, you read correct, a direct flight from Detroit to Tokyo. I left Wednesday at 3:20pm and I arrived at 5pm on Thursday. Over 12 and a half hours on the plane plus you lose 12 hours with the time change. That will mess you up. That messed me up.

I met up with my dad in the Tokyo airport and after a 2 hour layover (just enough time to get through security) we had a 3 hour flight to Taipei. We arrived in Taipei late Thursday evening exactly 12 hours ahead of home. We were met at the airport by Jimmy Tsai and his friend Do-do. Do-do is a college student who's mother is a music teacher (his brother's name is Rey-rey. no kidding).

The flight wasn't too bad. I had an aisle seat and there wasn't anyone sitting in the seat next to me. So I had a bit of extra elbow room plus I could get up and stretch whenever I needed. I never got stir crazy, but your brain shuts down after about 6 hours.

When in Taipei we stayed at the YMCA hotel. It was nice and conveniently located right in the heart of downtown next to the MRT (subway system), bus depot, and high speed railway. We pretty much just spent friday recovering from jetlag, but I did have a food challenge on that first day.

As a reader of this blog, you probably know me well enough to know that I am a picky eater. I knew going into this cross-cultural experience that I would be challenged, but I hoped to have some time to ease myself into this new food experience. So when given a few restaurant options for lunch, I chose Italian, what I beleived to be a safe bet. What I didn't know is that the "Italian" served by Cafe Grazie is just chinese food on top of spaghetti. I really struggled with that meal (especially the lettuce wrap appetizer). It was especially difficult since, as an honored guest, we were offered all of the goodies first. yum.

more stories tomorrow:)

Catching Up

2009-07-31T21:09:00.002-05:00

As mentioned in my previous post, July has been a very long and very exciting month. I've spent the past week reconnecting with family and ministry, as well as attempting to recover from some very demanding days.

Part of my recovery has been spent on thinking about what to do with my blog; should I review the past month, or do I just move forward?

I think I'll try to review my journeys not only to keep you in the loop, but I hope it will be a tool for me to keep my experiences fresh.

July.

2009-06-28T22:03:00.003-05:00

July is going to be an awesome month. July is going to be a crazy month.

On July 1st, I fly from Detroit to Tokyo. non-stop. Then I meet up with my dad and fly to Taipei, Taiwan. From there we take the train to Kaohsiung, Taiwan. We will be speaking at a week long youth camp (he's doing most of the speaking; I'm there to support, learn, and share a little). Then I fly back to Detroit and have a short visit with my family (who will be staying with family in Indiana).

5 days later I lead my youth group on a week-long misisons trip to Washington, DC to minister to a group of inner city kids.

I hope to share pictures and video of my adventures as well as many stories of the amazing things that God is going to do. But as you may have guessed, I'm going to be quite busy. If you don't see a post for a while, just keep praying that God would continue to speak to me and through me.

Don't Break the Ice

2009-06-23T22:50:00.002-05:00

I had a chance to play "Don't Break the Ice" with Evan and Aaron tonight. What a ridiculous game. Who came up with the idea that this would be a great game for kids to play??

For those of you who aren't familiar, Don't Break the Ice is a game for kids where plastic white cubes are placed inside a plastic blue frame and the only thing that keeps the whole thing from collapsing is the pressure of each piece pushing against the others. The point of the game is to use a small plastic hammer to strategically knock out the proper blocks to not cause the platform to collapse on your turn but on that of your opponent. It's a bit like Jenga, but you don't but the blocks back on top. And you don't work together. OK, It's nothing like Jenga.

The problem is that kids don't understand the concept of strategically plotting your opponents downfall. They don't even get the idea that you should try to keep the blocks standing as long as possible. All they see is an opportunity to knock something apart in about 5 seconds. Did I mention it takes about 8 minutes to reset everything?

We had a great time, but they should really change the age rating to 12+.

Eight plus Kate with occasional guest cameos by Jon

2009-06-22T22:12:00.007-05:00

Tonight marked a sad day in the history of the Gosselin Family. This hour long episode of TLC's prized reality show ended with Jon and Kate announcing their separation (with the closing credits confirming the legal filing for divorce). It was a really painful episode to watch. I kept hoping they would pull a switcheroo and edit the episode to create tension and end with a Jon and Kate announcing a recommitment to their relationship. But it wasn't so.

In a previous post, I've already shared my opinion that Jon and Kate would love their kids most by investing in their relationship. It just seems like they keep talking about how much they are "there" for their kids without realizing the pain and heartache that they are leading them though; without seeing the contradiction between the lessons that they are trying to teach and the their actions. Both Jon and Kate have issues to deal with in their individual lives and as a couple, but I think that Jon has more blame in the decay of this relationship.

He needs to grow up, act like a man, and take responsilbility for the committment that he made to Kate and to God to always love her, no matter what. Yes, Kate is hard on him. Yes, it must be ridiculously difficult to raise a family of 8 kids. Yes, the pressure of the papparazzi/media/and fans has got to be nearly overwhelming. But that's what being a man is all about; taking on the challenges that would seem to break us.

And as I was reminded in church on Sunday, you can't do it alone. You need other men. You need a supportive and encouraging wife. Above all, you need a powerful, loving, and relentless God. Let's pray we can learn from Jon and Kate.

Bloggin bout Blogs

2009-06-15T22:57:00.004-05:00

My good friend Robbie just sent me a link to Stuff Christians Like.

It's a fantastic blog which humorously explores the often ridiculous world of American Christian culture. As often is the case, there is alot of truth and insight in these entries as well. We should take our journey with Christ seriously, but in a way that is intentional and persevering, not in a way that prevents us from being able to laugh at ourselves.

I've only read a fraction of the entries, but here are a few of my favourites so far:

#17- Unspoken Prayer Requests
#71- Calling Things Postmodern
#93- Riding on the Cool Van in Youth Group
#560- Writing Twitter Messages that sound 14% Holier than you usually are (can also be applied to facebook status updates)

God texts the ten commandments

2009-06-12T09:48:00.002-05:00

1. no1 b4 me. srsly.

2. dnt wrshp pix/idols

3. no omg's

4. no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)

5. pos ok - ur m&d r cool

6. dnt kill ppl

7. :-X only w/ m8

8. dnt steal

9. dnt lie re: bf

10. dnt ogle ur bf's m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.

M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl.

ttyl, JHWH.

ps. wwjd?

(source)

Eye of the Tiger

2009-06-12T00:44:00.004-05:00

I like to root for the underdog. It's something I picked up from my dad. Unless it's a team or individual that I closely follow, I'll almost always cheer for the little guy. That's why I want the Lakers to lose. That's why I don't like Lebron. But lately, there's one big dog (actually, a big cat) that I can't help but cheer for ... Tiger Woods.

As I said earlier, I picked up the habit of cheering for the underdog from my dad. He could never want Tiger to win. not once, ever; but I can't help but be amazed and inspired at Tiger's recovery following surgery last year.

For me it started last year when Tiger won the the U.S Open with one leg. One Good Leg. How bad was his other leg? He had season ending surgery on it 9 days after he won. And he was out of the game for nearly a year following the procedure. Now sure, it's not like he didn't pick up a golf club during that time, but for over 8 months he had no competition to compel him, no tournaments to keep him sharp. Despite that fact, he's won 2 of the 6 tournaments he's played in since he came back.

That's just ridiculous. Nobody should be coming back from major surgery at the top of their game. and I can't help but obsess about what is driving him to succeed. He didn't have to come back. What motivates the most dominant athlete in the world?

I don't know, but I'm sure it's not money. Like he could really use an extra $1 million... or $20 million. He could have had his surgery and then sailed the seven seas for the rest of his life, played video games all day, and never trained or dieted again. But he came back.

Maybe it's cementing his legacy, or his ego, or something else, but something drives Tiger Woods enough to bring him back day after day. I found this quote from him online:

“No matter how good you get you can always get better and that's the exciting part.”
(source)

You would think the exciting part for a guy like him is all the stuff he gets as a result of winning: Money, fame, anything. You would think the exciting part is being lauded as one of the best players of all time. But he says that the exciting part is getting better. Improving one detail at a time. Let me put it another way, the excitement is in the journey not the destination.

Now that's something worth thinking about. That's something worth trying. That's something you can cheer for.

It's alright 'cause...

2009-06-09T22:16:00.003-05:00

Becky heard about this on TV today and although we didn't catch the original airing, the beauty of the internet means we're all able to catch gems like this anytime, anyplace. If you watched nbc on saturday mornings in the late 80's/early 90's you need to watch this:

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

I loved Saved by the Bell. But as big a fan as I was (am?), my sister Angela was (is!) a huge SBTB fan. I'm sure she knew those interview questions easily and with no studying would totally dominate in a Saved by the Bell trivia contest.

I hope Jimmy Fallon succeeds in the Bayside reunion. That's what I call Must See T.V.

Eh, Steve!

2009-06-01T21:48:00.003-05:00

Tuesday, June 2, 2009 may be a day for the history books.

Steve Weibe will make a live attempt at the Donkey Kong World Record.

Don't know who Steve Weibe is? Rent/download/watch the documentary "King of Kong: a fistful of quarters" (I'm watching it right now!). Steve is a regular guy, a middle school science teacher, who happens to be one of the top Donkey Kong players in the world. His rival is Billy Mitchell, a cocky, hot sauce mogul who has battled Steve for the DK world record over the past few years. I won't spoil the movie for you, because it really is worth watching.

This week is Electronic Entertainment Expo (or E3), which is one of the largest video gaming conferences in the world. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and most of the third-party developers all make big announcments about upcoming new releases and unveil new games.

As part of the conference, Stride Gum has decided to offer Steve a chance to not only claim the record, but will reward him with $10,001 in quarters if he can beat the current top score of 1,050,200 (source).

I'm really rooting for him. He seems like a the kind of guy you'd like to be your friend.

Good luck Steve!

Detroit vs. Pittsburgh 2: frozen boogaloo....

2009-05-30T15:44:00.005-05:00

...and this time, it's personal!

Tonight is the first night of the Stanley Cup Finals. In a rare occurrence, the two competing teams are the same teams that played in the finals last year. Detroit won last time 4 games to 2, using their experience to beat the younger Penguins (led by "the next one" Sidney Crosby). It's a similar story this time around, but with one difference that I hope gives us the edge... Marian Hossa.

Hossa played for Pittsburgh last year and became one of the most sought after free agents following the '08 season. He turned down multi year, multi-multi million dollar contracts with other teams (including Pittsburgh) to sign a one year, 7 million contract with Detroit. He picked a team that he thought he could fit well with and win a Championship, and the Penguins will want to make him pay for leaving them.

Marian Hossa as a Penguin, putting the hurt on Detroit in 2008.

Marian Hossa with a new look in 2009

But I think that gives him extra motivation to step up and prove that he made the right choice. Watch Hossa tonight, I think he's going to be one of the keys for Detroit to win (along with some more great goal tending by Osgood).

Zoo Review

2009-05-29T21:36:00.005-05:00

Our family went to the Detroit Zoo today and we had a great time. The weather was nearly perfect, but we happened to pick the same day to visit as every elementary school in metro-detroit (or so it seemed).

Pros: Reasonable price
Plenty of animals to see

Cons: Dated facilities
Lots of walking between exhibits and main entrance
Sparse restrooms

I've never been to the Detroit Zoo and I wasn't quite sure what to expect... it is, after all, the Detroit Zoo. Part of me expected to see most of the animals running around free range and they just pass out tazers at the door. I was pleasantly surprised by our experience. While the zoo facilities were quite dated (it's not like Detroit has much money to spare) the enclosures were all in good repair and clean. I didn't feel like the animals were trapped in unsafe or inhumane conditions.

But the bathroom facilities were few and far between. You notice those things when you take 3 small kids with you.

Would I recommend it? Yes and No. I would not recommend it as a one day experience. The cost for our family for a one day pass would be about $35 (including parking) which is a decent deal, but the Toledo Zoo isn't much further away and I would say that it is a better one day value.

But I would recommend it if you are willing to purchase year round membership ($64 for us). It not only covers all family members for a year, plus parking, but it they have a reciprocal program that allows our membership to cover zoo fees at dozens of zoos across the country (including the Toledo zoo and the Ft. Wayne Children's zoo); so as long as you visit more than once it's a great deal.

What 2 watch

2009-05-28T23:14:00.002-05:00

Longer days, shorter nights, and a new American Idol can only mean one thing... the summer T.V. schedule has begun! Back in the '80s and '90s, this meant no original programming outside of soap operas and syndicated game shows. Then reality T.V. was born (or summoned from the depths of hades) and we were overwhelmed with quality programming like Big Brother and Temptation Island.

But there is one show actually worth watching this summer: Wipeout.

Ripped off from Japanese "reality t.v." it features people competing to win $50,000 in challenges designed to make people fall in hilarious ways. [It's mXc that the whole family can watch]. They just had the first episode and I can't wait to watch the rest.

However, there are two T.V. disappointments. Psych is another show I'm looking forward to, but it doesn't start until August. and there's no American Gladiators. How did that show not get picked up?

Wondering how the season premiere of Jon & Kate plus Eight fared? An amazing 9.8 million viewers. (source) That's double the season 4 finale (which had been the most viewed JK8 episode). I'll probably watch that all summer too (cowering in fear, peeking between my fingers)

Go Wings!

2009-05-27T21:19:00.002-05:00

The Detroit Redwings just scored a thrilling goal in overtime to take them to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Back to back baby!

Jon & Kate plus... hate??

2009-05-25T22:22:00.004-05:00

"So what do you think of the whole Jon and Kate plus 8 stuff?", Becky asked me as we were driving home from visiting her folks over the weekend. I said that I thought things were probably being blown out of proportion; that it certainly must be extremely difficult to raise such a large family; and hopefully the new season would show a clearer picture of what is going on in their lives. Becky added that they are Christians so not only should they have their faith to rely on, but that they would also have people giving them Godly advice/assistance as well.

Then we watched tonight's Season 5 premier of Jon and Kate plus Eight. Oh my. It looks bad. Like really, awkwardly bad. (if you didn't see it, here's a pretty accurate review of what happened) I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the show, but I've followed it over the years. Becky watches every episode and I've seen most of them with her, and full disclosure, I read their book (multiple blessings) when she borrowed it from the library. I've become less and less interested in the show as it has changed from "how this couple handles the real life challenges of marriage and parenting" to "jon, kate, and the kids go on product placement adventures". But no matter my feelings of the show, it was really sad to see the poor status of their relationship.

Obviously there has been alot of public attention surrounding their family and the tabloids/paparazzi/scandals regarding jon and kate and their marriage. I know that I am not in their shoes and it has got to be incredibly difficult to keep that family together and raise those kids in a loving and responsible way, but both Jon and Kate appear to be totally missing the point in their family right now. Both of them, repeatedly, said that they are totally focused on the kids and they will always love them, but someone needs to tell them that they need to show their kids what love really is by loving each other. Love does not mean giving everything to one person or group at the exclusion of another. You don't teach your kids anything by telling them about it, you teach them by living it. Loving their kids should mean showing the kids how to love another person when times are tough.

I really hope Jon and Kate can save their marriage. So they can teach their kids what love really is. So they can learn what love really is. So America can see what love really is.

At The Red House!

2009-05-20T23:27:00.002-05:00

This is the best commercial I have ever seen. I may drive to North Carolina just to buy something from this store.

See more funny videos and Funny Videos at Today's Big Thing.

It's not fake, check out the Redhouse website.

Denim Impossible

2009-05-19T22:08:00.003-05:00

I went jean shopping again today. (you can read about my last jean shopping experience here)

I thought it would be really easy this time since I had synthesized the correct jean formula last time out, but i forgot about two critical components: brand and size. Unfortunately during this season, most stores are stocking up on shorts so the jean selection is a bit thin. The jean identification key that I had formulated only works with one particular brand and there were only a few pairs of that label available... and none of them were in my size. So I had to start from scratch with a new brand. Trying the clothes on in the fitting room became an even bigger chore when Evan and Aaron started play-cagefighting in the cubicle we were in (Aaron has some MMA potential). Thankfully, Becky was able to take the boys, but I ultimately left the store emptyhanded.

Just when I think I've got clothes shopping all figured out...

Movie Review - Star Trek

2009-05-16T22:44:00.003-05:00

I really liked it.

I should say up front that I am a fan of the 'Star Trek' universe, but I wouldn't categorize myself as a trekkie or trekker or whatever they call themselves. I've only seen a handful of episodes from the original series, but I've seen all the original 6 movies. I've watched alot of 'The Next Generation' and a couple of those films, but I haven't followed 'Trek' outside of that. I probably fit right into the demographic this movie is targeted at (male; 18-35; fiction fan, but not too hardcore).

To my surprise, I found myself really sucked into the film during the first 10 minutes. They did a fantastic job setting up the characters while still progressing the story (unlike xmen:wolverine) and there only a few moments, as a whole, where it dragged. It felt fun, but not too lighthearted; I was invested enough to ignore the logical jumps and criticisms that can often pop-up in movies like this (I'm looking at you, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Waste of Two Hours).

I continue to be impressed by director J.J. Abrams. He has a great feel for action and skillfully telling a complex and compelling story. He has mastered working with ensemble casts (LOST, Mission Impossible III, Cloverfield) and does a fantastic job of casting the right actor for the right characters (Alias, LOST, Fringe). Here in Star Trek, each character feels right and gets a few moments of screen time that fit both this film and the established history of the franchise.

I think that was what stood out to me most as I watched the movie; it felt uniquely 'Star Trek' (as opposed to Star Wars, or other "space" films) but it still felt fresh and exciting. If Abrams and the cast are on board for sequel... I'm there.

the Incident

2009-05-14T09:47:00.003-05:00

WOW!

LOST was at it's mind blowing best last night. Just when you think you've figured out where this show is going they throw in new tricks and twists that make you even more excited about what's happening; it's what LOST does best. I loved last night's season finale and I'm so amazed at how the show has evolved over the past 5 seasons.

Season 1 was a character study about each person: who they are, what they did prior to the crash, and how those events influenced their choices and actions on the island. We were introduced to the mythology and history of the island, but the focus was always on the motivation of each character.

Season 2 explored the struggle between faith and science. How can a person (Locke, Desmond, Mr. Eko) believe in something that they've never seen? How can a person (Jack, Sayid) disbelieve something they've never seen? The focus began to change more to the mythology of the island with more revelations about the stations throughout the island and a good look at the smoke monster.

Season 3 was about relativism and morality. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? Who chooses which group or individual is good or bad? Each different clan (crash survivors, the others, the dharma initiative) saw themselves as good and right. The show explored much of the history of the island as we found out more about the others and the dharma initiative.

Season 4 looked at destiny and fate. Where they meant to leave or meant to stay? Or similar to season 2, was there no meaning at all, just action and reaction? This is where the show fully embraced the sci-fi underpinings with the introduction and use of time-travel.

Season 5 lead to, and ended with, Free Will vs. Determinism. Do you have the freedom to choose? or has your destiny already chosen? Time travel and mythology take central roles as the story moves forward.

The show has morphed and changed over the years (while maintaining and continuing to add to a gargantuan cast), but it still retains the same intensity and excitement and heart that it had in the beginning. 2010 cannot come fast enough.

cubism

2009-05-12T20:36:00.006-05:00

Have you ever see a car that you thought was just plain ugly? Which models/makes are on your list?

I'm not old enough to has seen such classic disasters such as the Edsel, but there are plenty of vehicles on the road that I think are design failures: PT Cruizer, Chevy HHR, and the worst offender, the Pontiac Aztek.

Early Aztek Engineering Design

Now there's a new polarizing design on the horizon... the Nissan Cube. It is reminiscent of the boxy styling of the Honda Element or Scion xb. The windows have rounded frames and the rear hatch opens via side mounted hinges.

Forward design or huge mistake?

Where a kid can be a kid

2009-05-11T23:33:00.004-05:00

I just uploaded a couple hundred photos from our camera when I came to the realization that waaay too many of them are located within Chuck E. Cheese. Someday our kids are going to look back through all these pictures and think that they were raised inside of one.

It is one of our family's favorite places to go, especially when the weather is cold or rainy. You can sign up on the chuck e cheese website to get a "buy 40 tokens get 60 free" coupon which really sweetens the deal.

Aaron loves skeeball. He could play that the whole time. Evan likes the racing games. Becky is the wheel spin queen. and me? Fast Fingers World Champion!! It's a game where you trace a LED maze with your finger against a 15 second clock. I usually beat it the first or second time, but then the prize ticket count resets and it's not worth doing again. Plus it kills your finger to drag it across the surface as fast as you can more than 4 or 5 times.

But now that the weather is finally warming up we'll take some more pictures outdoors (and maybe even spend some time out there while we're at it).

I'm Baack

2009-05-10T22:48:00.003-05:00

Hi. I hope my extended absence hasn't driven you fine readers away. I was having some serious PC troubles and it took quite a while to figure things out.

As mentioned in my previous post, my folks were in town and we spend several days in Canada visiting my Grandparents in Niagara Falls. However, just before that trip we started having some serious problems with our laptop (actually, the churches laptop). It turns out that it had become a large collection of viruses contained within a plastic shell. We got it back several days later after it was wiped clean and rebooted. Then the power cord stopped working. Since I had received the laptop secondhand the battery had very little usable life (and by very little I mean 5 to 6 minutes), but it was not a big deal because I always had the power cord in order to use it. Until now. So I had to order a new power cord, which got to me several days later. The laptop worked great for 1 day... and then it really broke. Gone. Dead. Garbage.

I spent about a week shopping around. I was really hoping to get a mac. but our church doesn't have much budget for technology and price drove us to go with a Dell Inspiron. I'm sad the mac didn't work out, but someday it'll happen.

I'm glad to be back in the blogosphere. Hopefully we can get back in the ongoing conversation that is 'the best 3 minutes of your day'.