In Jabez's - I mean Jesus' - name, Amen.

Here's what typing in "Jabez" on Amazon brought back.

• The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life by Bruce Wilkinson
• The Prayer of Jabez Devotional by Bruce Wilkinson
• The Prayer of Jabez Bible Study by Bruce Wilkinson
• The Prayer of Jabez for Women by Darlene Marie Wilkinson
• Jabez: A Novel by Thom Lemmons (I wonder if it's anything like Heart Of Darkness?)
• Prayer of Jabez DVD - Featuring Bruce Wilkinson
• Prayer of Jabez Stepping Stone (I'm feeling ill at this point)
• Beyond Jabez: Expanding Your Borders by Bruce Wilkinson (Beyond Jabez? What the...)
• The Prayer of Jabez: Music, A Worship Experience
• The Prayer of Jabez for Teens (Breakthrough Series) by Bruce Wilkinson
• The Prayer of Jabez for Kids by Bruce H. Wilkinson
• Prayer of Jabez for Women DVD
• The Prayer of Jabez for Little Ones by Bruce H. Wilkinson (A picture book)
• The Prayer of Jabez Journal by Bruce Wilkinson
• The Prayer Of Jabez For Women 2004 Day-To-Day Calendar by Darlene Marie Wilkinson
• Prayer of Jabez for Young Hearts by Bruce Wilkinson
• Prayer of Jabez Cotton Throw Blanket
• The Gift of Jabez DVD
• The Jabez Prayer Song Collection by the Jabez-Wonder Kids Choir

Does this look like the work of God or chasing an easy buck?

How tragic. We have "come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." And yet we find ourselves fascinated by the latest fad.

This is my father's world...

I drove into work this morning, through the Sacramento hills, to find a dramatically different landscape than the day before.

Trees that were bare had blossomed snow-white flowers. I wish you could see the drama of those stark black branches covered in new blossoms. It could not be painted better.

The fog was low and had drenched every blade of grass in the fields. I passed a heard of grazing cows. The close fog made the road and scene feel intimate. Like it was just me seeing these things.

Too soon the fields and scattered houses gave way to suburban sprawl: Shopping malls, traffic lights, and asphalt.

To taste the beauty of nature on a cold winter morning then to enter the city is to see an armwrestle of man against God. The landscapes we make pollute, uglify and quickly erode. We make dead things. The - even cursed - work of God is a endless drama of birth and life. He makes things that live. And even in death - the decaying tree, the frozen winter - they are beautiful.

What will I see walking through his redeemed creation? When the work of our hands no longer fights his? I can't even begin to imagine.

I repent

Here's a convicting song:

---

I repent
by derek webb

i repent, i repent of my pursuit of america's dream
i repent, i repent of living like i deserve anything
of my house, my fence, my kids, my wife
in our suburb where we're safe and white
i am wrong and of these things i repent

i repent, i repent of parading my liberty
i repent. i repent of paying for what i get for free
and for the way i believe that i am living right
by trading sins for others that are easier to hide
i am wrong and of these things i repent

bridge
i repent judging by a law that even i can't keep
of wearing righteousness like a disguise
to see through the planks in my own eyes

i repent, i repent of trading truth for false unity
i repent, i repent of confusing peace and idolatry
by caring more of what they think than what i know of what we need
by domesticating you until you look just like me
i am wrong and of these things i repent

Chimera - continued

Howdy, all. Here's 5 more verses to add to the poem.

6.
Remembering the day we wed in the storm
Her hands, sharp as knives on my breast
In silk, thin and pale as frost, she dressed
In one kiss, destinies tangled like thorns
With words of ragged fire to her I swore
And as one we cleaved to the quest

7.
A lady, fair as a child
A girl, dark as doom
Her words choice as silk on the loom
Could one so tender be so wild?
Could one so hard be so mild?
Yet she that burned life was quenched by tomb.

8.
Guinevere, your crown once fine gold
now a band of stones, a dress of clotted earth
Princess, royal maid, now dust is your worth
Her face, her skin too pale to line old
Her fire blazed fast and at a spear bled quick and cold
She, once so blessed, in the end Chimera cursed.

9.
Chimera, did your sword paralyze?
That day of sudden battles and attacks
When strength waned and death waxed
Did you turn deaf at her cries?
At your command did she die?
Did your hand plunge the axe?

10.
Here now, I reach a place flat as the cliff sheer
This new land pulls me from dreams of her
In my path, a stream moves with waters clear and pure
The drops and slosh tap like soft chimes on my ear
When last did I see a drink so sweet and clear?
This is surely a trap, my thirst to lure

So I was pretty sick over the weekend and rented a ridiculous amount of movies. Here's a few observations.

1) Van Helsing


"I wish that I wore more practical shoes."

If the above image doesn't tell you all you need to know about this amazingly stupid film...

I think that the following sums up the film pretty well:

Villagers: Look, Vampires in the sky! Run! Aieeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires: Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers (running): Aieeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires:Yesss! Blood! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Look they've brought their vampire children! Run! Aieeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires (to their stupid computer-generated vampire children):Yesss! Feed my dhalings! Feed! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires: Feed! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires: Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

There, now you've pretty much got the idea of Van Helsing. The whole time I wondered why the villagers put up with their daily sackings by vampires. Why don't they just move? I mean it's not like the weather in Transylvania is all that great. France is just around the corner.

2) Little Voice



This was an interesting movie. I can't really recommend it but it did have some charming moments. Jane Horrocks is an immense talent. And she's so cute too. You just want to pick her up and cuddle. (You'd understand if you saw the film.)

The scene where Ewan Mccgregor pulls his ladder to her window to "check the wires" was priceless.

3) Hellboy



Overrated. The makeup was amazing and there were some decent scenes - but every character felt like a throwaway.

4) Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban



This movie is such a step above the other 2 it's ridiculous. It must be embarrassing for the previous director to look at this film and realize what a lousy product they pushed out.

Everything about this film works. The design is flawless and (unlike the first 2) actually feels real. The acting has vastly improved. The cinematography is lovely. And the plot is a doozy. Great job. This should be a contender for Best Picture of 04.

5) Muppet Treasure Island



I'm such a sucker for Muppet movies, and though this film is definitely a step down from the earlier films, it still has plenty of funny moments.

One note, the kid who played Jim Hawkins has the most annoying voice in the world. Every time he opens his mouth to sing, it's like listening to a wounded mouse squeal. Gosh, I hated that kid.


So there's all the time I wasted over this weekend. Hmmm.

Daily Oingo Boingo musing

Dead Man's Party is a great song but is it just me or is it about 1 minute too long?

Oh if you're looking for something of substance today read Bo's insightful post.

Chimera, part 1

Another update:
Suzanne read this and called me wondering if I was okay (or if I was sucidal). Just one note, this isn't from my point-of-view. It's looking through a fictional character's eyes. Sorry, Hon. Aside from being tired, I'm perfectly fine.

(Updated with 2 more verses)

I don't know why I'm even trying this but I've lately been inspired to write a (sort-of) epic poem or a poem that tells a story. So here's the first 5 verses. They will be followed by more and, hopefully, in the end a story will be told. (Apologies for the breast-related metaphor.)

Chimera

1.
See now the scar in rock
The ragged tear in cliff, my path
Fingers fumble, they clutch, they grasp
Arm’s sinews tick like the work of a clock
Air sucked like a child and breast so locked
And watch the inches drag away and pass

2.
Stubbled clouds stack the sky in slate
Throwing snow petals to pattern the soil
Now caught by wind and turned in a cauldron boil
And there the mountain spear and sky mate
“Come and see the cold light generates.”
Says your voice or only the distant thunder roll

3.
Chimera, did your hand?
Your forge form the precipice?
Or knife cut the crevice?
Or mill grind the rocks to sand?
Did the fingers that drew mountain from land
pull tight the wires of my wrist?

4.
Soul, no longer muse, for I have sworn
To cast him from the cliffs and see his fire fade
He who dug the pit will also low be laid
Hero, the earth has made me so and I will not scorn
the path that paws of beasts have yet only worn
“Come and see the life death made.”

5.
Guinevere, her kisses calmed, feet no longer tread
Her voice, a bell of mercy, in these silent hills
Her fingers smoothing frost from a pane so chilled
Dashing like a deer on our path, she led
Sudden as a laugh, sharing in my bed
With her waters and whispers, dry riverbeds filled

Don't ask, just click.

The Kingdom of Loathing

A funny little time-waster.

I've added some links...

on the right hand side, to some other blogs worth reading.

I just watched The Rescuers Down Under...

It was one of my favorite movies as a kid and I still really enjoyed it. It reminded me of a time when Disney actually put out quality products and not just what they thought would make the quickest buck.

This movie was a sequel but unlike Litter Mermaid II, The Return of Jafar, Etc. this was released to theaters. Sort of in the vien of Toy Story 2.

And it's a funny, well-animated, charming movie.

One character that still cracks me up is Joanna! Whoever animated that lizard should win an award. The scene where she steals the eggs from George C. Scott (great voice job as the poacher) is hilarious.



I wish kids movies were still this good.

Than again, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was aimed at the kid market and it wasn't half bad. Actually it was pretty darn good. Hmmmm.

Check this blog out...

Bo Salisbury has joined the blogger ranks.

Hey, Scientists, aren't you supposed to be curing cancer or something?

Scientists Zero In on True Color of the Sea

This headline made me laugh. Who knew that this was actually a subject of scientific research?

The funniest thing about this story is that they actually haven't found the true color yet. They're just "zeroing in".

I quote,

"We haven't made it to Oz yet," Behrenfeld said, who recently left NASA. "But today we are announcing we have found the Yellow Brick Road."

Yeah, let us know when you get to Oz. Until then...

Actually maybe this is good. The way scientists are hastening in the end of humanity, what with their genetic engineering, cloning, etc. - maybe we need to distract them with silly projects like this. Hey, scientists, when you finally figure out the sea's color, could you check the sky out too?

This cracked me up

Latest Bin Laden Videotape Wishes America 'A Crappy Valentine's Day'

"Come Monday, as you pry open your fancy, red Russell Stover box, take heed," bin Laden said. "For in the place of tasty caramels and buttercreams, you will find the flaming sword of righteous jihad!"

Very funny stuff...

Phantom of the Opera thoughts

So me and my wife went and saw The Phantom of the Opera movie over the weekend and I came away impressed. Especially after the savaging this film received from the critics (just reinforces the point that critics are cattle - joking, of course).

But here's a few observations I had.


First there's way too much of the above going on. Namely, guys with their fluffy shirts open and chests hanging out. (Don't they know it's snowing?) In the end it looked like the cover of a cheesy romance novel and didn't do much for my sense of masculinity.

Raoul (pictured above) needed a haircut. He had the 18th century version of a mullet. I don't know why directors love the long-haired hero. "This guy looks good but y'know what would really put him over the top is a glamrock hairdo!" Is that what goes on in their head?

There's also this point in the last act where The Phantom has Raoul tied and noosed (is that a word?) and Raoul gets this look on his face like, "Woah, how did the situation disintegrate to this?" that made me laugh. I don't think that was the director's attention, however.

Also, this film wins the award for most shots of people taking long drinks from a bottle. This image occurs an amazing number of times, to the point that I felt like shouting, "Okay, they're alcoholics! We get it!" I foresee liver problems for the opera house.

The Phantom's come a long way, hasn't he?

From


To


Pretty soon they're going to pull off the mask and he'll only have a bad mole or acne.



Christine is lovely. Suzanne and I wondered afterwards if Emmy Rossum paid off God. I mean, she's incredibly good-looking, a fine actress and an amazing singer. Where's the trade-off? Is she dumb as a rock? I doubt it.

The Phantom was the biggest surprise, however. He has a presence that ignites the movie whenever he's on screen. And his voice gives chills.

In short, good movie, great music. Ignore the critics and go see it.

Chimera - continued

Howdy, all. Here's 5 more verses to add to the poem.

6.
Remembering the day we wed in the storm
Her hands, sharp as knives on my breast
In silk, thin and pale as frost, she dressed
In one kiss, destinies tangled like thorns
With words of ragged fire to her I swore
And as one we cleaved to the quest

7.
A lady, fair as a child
A girl, dark as doom
Her words choice as silk on the loom
Could one so tender be so wild?
Could one so hard be so mild?
Yet she that burned life was quenched by tomb.

8.
Guinevere, your crown once fine gold
now a band of stones, a dress of clotted earth
Princess, royal maid, now dust is your worth
Her face, her skin too pale to line old
Her fire blazed fast and at a spear bled quick and cold
She, once so blessed, in the end Chimera cursed.

9.
Chimera, did your sword paralyze?
That day of sudden battles and attacks
When strength waned and death waxed
Did you turn deaf at her cries?
At your command did she die?
Did your hand plunge the axe?

10.
Here now, I reach a place flat as the cliff sheer
This new land pulls me from dreams of her
In my path, a stream moves with waters clear and pure
The drops and slosh tap like soft chimes on my ear
When last did I see a drink so sweet and clear?
This is surely a trap, my thirst to lure

Movies over the weekend

So I was pretty sick over the weekend and rented a rediculous amount of movies. Here's a few observations.

1) Van Helsing


I wish that I wore more pratical shoes.

If the above image doesn't tell you all you need to know about this amazingly stupid film...

I think that the following sums up the film pretty well:

Villagers: Look, Vampires in the sky! Run! Aieeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires: Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers (running): Aieeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires:Yesss! Blood! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Look they've brought their vampire children! Run! Aieeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires (to their stupid computer-generated vampire children):Yesss! Feed my dhalings! Feed! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires:Feed! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Stupid Computer-Generated Vampires:Ha! Ha! Ha!
Villagers: Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

There, now you've pretty much got the idea of Van Helsing. The whole time I wondered why the villagers put up with their daily sackings by vampires. Why don't they just move? I mean it's not like the weather in Transelvania is all that great. France is just around the corner.

2) Little Voice



This was an interesting movie. I can't really reccomend it but it did have some charming moments. Jane Horrocks is an immense talent. And she's so cute too. You just want to pick her up and cuddle.

The scene where Ewan Mccgregor pulls his ladder to her window to "check the wires" was priceless.

3) Hellboy



Overrated. The makeup was amazing and there were some decent scenes - but every character felt like a throwaway.

4) Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban



This movie is such a step above the other 2 it's rediculous. It must be embarrassing for the previous director to look at this film and realize what a lousy product they pushed out.

Everything about this film works. The design is flawless and (unlike the first 2) actually feels real. The acting has vastly improved. The cinematography is lovely. And the plot is a doozy. Great job. This should be a contender for Best Picture of 04.

5) Muppet Treasure Island



I'm such a sucker for Muppet movies, and though this film is definately a step down from the earlier films, it still has plenty of funny moments.

One note, the kid who played Jim Hawkins has the most annoying voice in the world. Every time he opens his mouth to sing, it's like listening to a wounded mouse squeel. Gosh, I hated that kid.


So there's all the time I wasted over this weekend. Hmmm.

It's good to be in love...

Isn't it? What a wonderful thing to love a beautiful girl and her love you back.

And if that girl happens to be named such a wonderful name as Suzanne... well than, what more can you ask?

Suzanne, I know you don't stop here often, but if you read this, I just want to say, it's wonderful to be in love with a girl like you.



(Apologies to anyone else grossed out by this post, the House Of Commons post is much less embarrassing.)

Britain's House Of Commons VS The US Senate

So did anyone notice the hisses and jeers during the State Of The Union speech last night? I've never heard anything like that and, from what the commentators said, it's never happened before. It reminded me of Britain's House Of Commons (the British version of The Senate) and I slightly liked it.

Watching speeches in the House of Commons is like watching a Pentecostal church service. Tony Blair gets up and says something and everyone groans ("Uggghhh...") but Blair continues to make his point and you hear some people coming around ("Yeah... Yeah... Eee's right!") than by the end you got a good portion of The House whooping while the other shouts their disapproval.

I wonder if were headed in that direction in the senate? Part of me likes the dignity with which we approach speeches but still, The House Of Commons is a way more rockin' joint than our senate.

On another note, what a great speech last night. That was one of the most ambitious State Of The Union's that I've ever heard. It made the Iraq war seem very worth the cost.

King Arthur: Most Over-Used Legend Ever!

While I browsed through the Amazon bookstore, I was astounded at the number of books based on the Arthur Legend. I started to think of all the books I've read that incorporated Arthur into their story and it got weird. Than it hit me that the book I'm writing incorporates Arthur into the plot. Ugh.

Here's a smattering of the books I found:

• Grail Prince and Queen of Camelot by Nancy Makenzie
• King Arthur by Frank Thompson
• King Arthur: Dark Age Warrior and Mythic Hero by JOHN MATTHEWS
• The Young Merlin Trilogy by Jane Yolen
• The 5-book Pendragon Series by D. J. Machale
• The 5-book Pendragon Cycle by Steven Lawhead
• Avalon: Quest for Magic - the 5-book series by Rachel Roberts
• Avalon: Web Of Magic - the 5-book series by Rachel Roberts
• The Mists of Avalon - a 5-book series by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Lost Years of Merlin - a 5-book series by T. A. Barron
• Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur (The Warlord Chronicles: III) by Bernard Cornwell
• The Young Merlin Trilogy by Jane Yolen

I could go on for quite a while...

Ladies and gentlemen, we need a new legend!

Oh by the way, I had this great, totally original, idea for a series. I'm thinking of calling it: Really young Arthur and teenage Merlin: Quest for the magic mists of Avalon. (Book 1 in the Pendagorn Chronicles)

I don't know... maybe it's too radical.

Kate Rusby...

I'm sitting at my desk listening to Kate Rusby and my, but her voice is lovely. (What a wussy thing to say...) She sings clear as bell with all that emotion just behind each note.

To anyone enjoys traditional folk music you absolutely have to give her a listen.

A little Pablo Neruda, anyone?

There's something about Pablo (we're a on a first-name-basis, me and Pab) that paints pictures in my mind. This is a lovely poem.

Puedo Escribir
By Pablo Neruda

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

Write for example, 'The night is shattered
and the blue stars shiver in the distance.'

The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

Through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.

She loved me, sometimes I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great still eyes.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.

To hear immense night, still more immense without her.
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to a pasture.

What does it matter that my love could not keep her.
The night is shattered and she is not with me.

This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

My sight searches for her as though to go to her.
My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.

The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.

Another's. She will be another's. Like my kisses before.
Her voice. Her bright body. Her infinite eyes.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is short, forgetting is so long.

Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms
my soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer
and these the last verses that I write for her.