Vintage Sesame Street-Rubber Ducky (Ernie)

if i'm posting duck songs today. . . i havta post my all time favorite. . . this one has a nicer, gentler duck. . .

The Duck Song

ok, i'm not sure if there are hidden meanings, fascist overtones, or moral lessons in this little ditty. . . but it caught my fancy so i thought i'd share. . .

violent video games and the coming post-apocalyptic futre

i have long thought about the question of whether or not violent video games can adequately prepare our children for the coming post-apocalyptic future. . .
i'm glad The Onion has done it's homework. . .The Onion's answer

30 Second Bunnies Minisode - Bunnies: Napoleon Dynamite

if you have never seen the Starz Bunnies condense a film into 30 seconds. . . well, you just haven't lived life. . .
they have a unique collection - something for everyone. . . Casablanca, Rocky, No Country for Old Men, 16 Candles. . . and if you are into slasher movies. . .
i am a chicken when it comes to horror flicks. . . so i just catch the bunny version. . . none of that building up of suspense stuff. . . or gory blood. . . it's a cartoon. . . i'm telling you. . .it's the way to go.
but here. . . enjoy Napoleon Dynamite - bunny style!

last night at ochestra hall

last night dave and i went into the city for a night at the symphony. . . ok, not something we do regularly or for that matter, have ever done before. but what made this special was Charlie Chaplin's silent film"Modern Times" was shown - exit organist - enter orchestra! how cool was that?

Chaplin's "Modern Times"
Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Timothy Brock, conductor
In the last screen appearance of the Little Tramp, the character that brought Charlie Chaplin world fame, the incomparable actor-director created a brilliant comedy about man’s struggle to survive in the industrialized world during the Great Depression.
Modern Times © Roy Export Company Establishment.

there we were - people from all walks of life - watching a film with no color (obviously), very few spoken words, and a plot that looked vaguely familiar - laughing our heads off at the antics and misfortunes of one man against the "machine." not to mention enjoying musical score that Chaplin himself composed for the movie.

i had really forgotten what a great "dancer" (that words hardly justifies Chaplin's incredible movements/body language) and performer he was.

anyway, if you ever get the chance to see a Chaplin film on the big screen - organist or orchestra - make the effort. you will be glad you did.

Left Behind (The Rapture Song)

as someone who didn't sleep for 12 days straight after seeing A Thief in the Night as a 5th grader,

debated pre-trib vs post-trib as a college junior,

converted to pre-wrath as a thirty-something,

and now holds strong to the apathetic eschatological view - i know its going to happen, i know i'm going, i just don't care about the when, where, and how - and i'm much happier for it. . .

as that "someone" - i found closure in the five minutes and sixteen seconds of this video.

comic books and church music part I

i work for a toy distributor. i was only there to help out before the holidays and ended up staying a bit longer than planned. it has been cooler than cool for one specific reason and it has nothing to do with the toys. . . i work with people who love sci-fi and comic books.

it is great to be able to talk about this stuff with other people. dave is ecstatic that i have found some "Trekkie" friends to play with. . . . he thinks all sci-fi fans are created equal - he doesn't understand that you can be a sci-fi affectionado without being a Captain Kirk fan - but i digress.

one of my co-workers loaned me "the watchmen" - a graphic novel in which the 12 individual series comics that make up the novel were released 20 years ago and is finally making it to the big screen this week. i don't want to do a review here but i do want to touch on one of the themes - what do super heroes do when they are forced into retirement? (you will have to read it or watch it to find out or you could email me and ask me and i might tell you).

do they fade gracefully into the night and make new lives for themselves in a world that no longer needs or remembers them? or do they they fade gracefully into the night allowing bitterness and anger to hijack their moral compasses and end up planning the destruction of said ungrateful world?

ok, i was reading the watchmen during the time i was talking with someone about the church music's evolution/revolution the last 30 years - organists, pianists, choirs, music directors, Hymns (spelled with a CAPITAL "H"), choruses and cantatas to guitarists, keyboardists, drummers, praise teams, worship pastors, worship songs and choruses, and hymns (spelled with a little "h").

what do organists and pianists and choir members and choir directors do when they are forced into retirement?

do they fade gracefully into the night and make new lives for themselves in a church that no longer needs or remembers them? or do they fade gracefully into the night, leaving that church to search for one with a pipe organ and robes?

part II tomorrow. . .

time for the current reading list

ok, here is what i happen to be reading at the moment. . .

Joe Carter and John Coleman's How to Argue Like Jesus: Learning Persuasion From History's Greatest Communicator
i literally just started this one today. . .

a friend sent me a copy of the purse-driven life: It really is all about me by Anita Renfroe - i sorely needed a good laugh and i got one - haven't finished it yet. . . and thanks a lot Joy!!!!

D.L. Moody on Spiritual Leadership by Steve Miller - found this on a bookshelf in our family room - odd really, have no pickin' idea where it came from - i'm a Moody grad so i've read a bit about the school's founder but not necessarily from a spiritual leadership point of reference. . . i'll let you know.

my boss knows i like sci-fi and handed me a copy of C.S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet which i haven't read since my senior year in college back in the 80's. . . it is as good as i remembered. and no, we're not in Kansas or Narnia anymore. . .

and lastly, thanks to a co-workers lending library of great stuff i am in the midst of numerous comic books and graphic novels. . . and the really truly big book of Marvel: the Characters and Their Universe. hey, i work for a toy distributor and the office i share with Sales is done in Super Heroes and Super Villians. . . the Villians ended up on my side of the office. . . hmmmmmm, i wonder what that means?