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To Hell In A Handbasket, No?

From his own mouth, speaking about his daughters: “I’m going to teach them first about values and morals — but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.” What an open-minded father, eh? What a wonderful life to live, knowing you're considered a "mistake" and "punishment" by your Grandpa. I'm not a 1-issue voter, but this just takes the cake six ways to Sunday.

And no, I'm not a fan of Jogré Bush, so don't bother going there. This isn't a partisan issue — it's an issue about the life of a child.

What a sad, sad world we live in.

Posted at 4:01pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (4)

Becoming Humbled, Helping the Children of Kenya

Compassion has never been one of my strong-points, and most people that know me, know that to be true. It's a character flaw of sorts, but at the same time, it causes me to be even more bull-headed and dedicated when I focus my attention on something.

That said, the Daraja Children's Choir of Africa visited our church this weekend as part of their first official tour, and it was simply amazing. I'm not going to post all their biographies and other information here in hopes you will all visit the above-linked site and read about them yourselves. But to give you an idea of what these children are all about, here's a blurb you will find on their site:

The Daraja Children's Choir of Africa is essentially an international Hope Exchange. Just like a gift exchange or a student exchange program, we each have something to offer the other.

Out of the most desperate of circumstances, these children possess unbelievable amounts of hope — which they offer freely through their songs, laughter, joy and incredible passion for the Lord.

In exchange, we can offer them hope for their future. Traveling with the Daraja Children's Choir gives them the chance to broaden their horizons, widen their world-perspective, deepen their leadership skills, and open the scope of their imagination. We invest in their future and the future of the nation of Kenya.

I had the honor and pleasure of doing a song with these children on Sunday morning, and it was one of the best Sunday's I've ever had. These children are so lovely, so full of hope, so full of joy — it's infectious. The more I watched them dance and listened to them sing, the more emotional I became. And when one of the adult singers, Moses, looked at me while he was singing dancing, smile beaming, I pretty much lost it on stage (but I don't think anyone noticed). What got me was that in the midst of the horrible crap our family is going through — and I am not belittling our struggles in any way, shape, or form — what these children have gone through is unimaginable. Yet, they are still able to have such joy and passion, having risen so far above their circumstances, emotionally and spiritually.

Yesterday evening, the choir did a full concert, and we got to hear even more of their personal journeys. The hope and love these children have for God was palpable, and I just stood in the sound booth with tears in my eyes the whole time. When it was over, I hung around to help pack and load gear, mainly because I just didn't want to leave. I had no personal connection with anyone from the group, other than the few minutes Moses and I talked — but I just didn't want to leave the building. I watched some of my fellow church family playing with these Kenyan kids, running and laughing and having a great time — and I knew that I could never be one of those people. I just never have had that kind of connection with young kids — and that's something I've always regretted in regard to my own family. The host families that "adopted" these kids for a few days had fully integrated them as their own, and it was nothing short of beautiful.

As I was finally getting to where I'd just force myself to leave, my good friend and adopted little brother, Jeff, asked if I'd be going to Kenya this summer. I just began crying, and barely made-out the phrase "I don't know if I could do it," meaning, I don't know if I could emotionally handle seeing these children in such horrible circumstances. He and I had a great talk, and he told me how life-changing Kenya was for him. He mentioned how horrible it was for him when a child would ask him for water, but there was literally none around where he could get water for the child. Being unable to provide something as simple as that was near earth-shattering for him. This frustration added fuel to his fire, and lit his passion for the children of Kenya even more.

But still, I don't know if I could do it.

With all that said, as I left feeling like I wanted to do so much — yet not knowing what to do — my bull-headedness began taking over in another one of God's great ironies. Like I said at the beginning, my seeming lack of compassion makes me more focused at times, and I began to have thoughts on how to turn that focus on Kenya, and the 410 Bridge organization. Come to find out, you can partner with BrightPoint for Children as a Point Person or Group/Organization Partner — which is something that's right up my alley. This would allow me to setup sponsorships outside of what our church already does, using the thousands of contacts I have amassed over my years of having a high-profile internet presence. Off the top of my head, I can tick-off name after name after name of persons and companies that would help — and all they need is to hear the message and motive of 410 Bridge and BrightPoint.

Almost immediately, my wife and I signed up to sponsor 2 sisters from the Rhema Kinangop Children's Home, and we're hoping to get on a waiting list to sponsor a child from the Havilla Childrens Home (the primary home our church sponsors).

I say all of this to point out God's sense of irony. While compassion isn't my strength, my ability to focus on something is. When I think I won't be broken, I crumble at the sight of a Kenyan child singing and dancing to the Lord. When I think I have control, I can't even utter "how can I help" because I'm too emotional. When I'm looking for something to fulfill me as I grow weary of working the mundane, I hear and learn about BrightPoint and the 410 Bridge. When I wonder what good all my years of networking will do me, a potential opportunity comes into my line of sight.

And the opportunity? I am now in the Point Person for the Rhema Kinangop Children's Home, a home of 22 children, ages 4 to 17. These orphans are sleeping 2-3 children per bed, and are in desperate need of having their life basics provided for — things like food, clothing, school uniforms and medical care. Some of them are old enough to move to Secondary (High) School, and they need assistance in getting there because they have to pay to go to school and continue their education. Since most of these children can't afford this, many never move beyond the 8th Grade. The desire and goal is best shown here:

As you can see, the foundation of education has the potential for lifelong benefits — something we often take for granted over here. It's our hope, prayer, and desire to have these sponsored children grow up and play one small part in breaking the cycle of poverty.

And there you have it. It's easy to see struggle and poverty from afar, have something stir inside you, and then set it on the back burner. But sometimes, God just strikes you in your heart and soul, and reminds you that someone has to be Jesus to these poor, beautiful children — and sometimes, He shows us that it should be us. It's an honor to get to partner with BrightPoint, and it will be an amazing journey — and one that I hope lasts for many, many years.

I'm now waiting for packets to arrive — packets that contain information about each child, etc. — and then I'll begin the process of gathering sponsors for the kids. We've decided to leave 5 children online for sponsorship, and we want to do the rest personally — so don't be surprised if you get a call or an email from me next week. =)

Outside of all this, I urge you all to visit BrightPoint's web site and read all about their mission — and consider helping. If you're in my town or non-local friend, you probably know how to get ahold of me — so let me know if you'd like to sponsor a child from Rhema. More details will follow soon...

Posted at 9:16am CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally Friday

This has been a crazy week, and I'm glad it's over. This weekend will be busy, too, but I'll be doing stuff I love, not stuff I have to — so that makes all the work tolerable.

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I am going to spend my free time enjoying several fine cigars, as well as drinking my custom-blend coffee — which will hopefully not suck eggs. This weather is just too nice right now to not sit on the back porch and enjoy it, so I plan to do just that as much as I can.

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With the release of Dewese's new album, I've begun thinking back to my college days and how I'm still in touch with the guys I spent most of my time with back then. It's cool how Life leads different people onto the same path, and it's it even cooler when Life allows you to remain friends year after year after year. I'm already giddy with anticipation about the Metallica concert in November, and I'm equally excited about getting to hang out with my best friend from the Old Days. AND — we're doing our best to get Jim to come with us to Dewese's CD release party in Dallas the day after Metallica, which would be the first time in over a decade that Jim and I have seen each other. We talk quite a bit via email, etc., but there's something comforting and extra cool to actually be able to hang out with old friends.

And if things pan-out, that would put all of the final members of our college band — me, Dave, Jim, and Dewese — back together for the first time since 1996ish. How cool will that be?

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Here are a couple of random shots I snapped inside today...

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I think that I will eat a Hebrew National hot dog for dinner tonight — with lots of cheese and mustard — simply because they are the best dadgum hot dogs God ever allowed Mankind to create.

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Posted at 6:07pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (2)

CD Review: David Dewese, “Make The Best Of It”

My old friend, David Dewese, has just released his first solo album, and for some reason, he thought it would be a good idea to have me review it. Is he just asking for trouble? He knows what a nit-picker I am — but he was brave enough to ask, so that counts for something. That said, I'll do my best to be as unbiased toward my good buddy as I can.

Dewese's new release, "Make The Best Of It," is quite a diversion from the musical style of his other works with The Luxury Liners, The Foxymorons, and Jetpack. Those bands had a more straight rock and pop feel, whereas "Make The Best Of It" sports more of an "acoustic-playing busker-with-talent" vibe — and I mean in the best possible way. One can easily imagine Dewese standing on a street corner in Seattle, Dallas, or somewhere in London, acoustic slung over his shoulder, singing and playing to any and everyone he can. Accessible music has always been David's strength, and this new album shines in that respect more than any other.

If I had to pin the album down a specific named style, though, I'd have to call it Acoustic Rock/Pop with a healthy dose Folk and County undertones. The album's songs are lead by either an acoustic guitar or a piano, and those lead instruments are supported with strings, banjo, steel guitar, and various percussion instruments. Dewese's voice is as effortless and pure as ever, and it gives you the feeling you're sitting in the room with him while he sings his songs to you.

Before I get into the individual tracks, let me say that one of the things that impresses me most about the album is the way it's mixed. The harmonies, steel guitar, second and third-tier instruments — they all fit nicely in the back of the mix, right where they should. There's no competition between voices (literal or instrumental), and the support is treated like seasoning to the melody, just as it should be. So, hats off to Brush for the board work.

There are several stand-out songs on the album, but for brevity's sake, I'll just hit the high points. Here we go...

The opening song is titled "Dear Self," and it's a relatively light-hearted look at introspection: "Dear self, I met someone new, and I want to be the first to deliver the news." Laced with steel guitar and piano, there are plenty of hooks that will get this song stuck in your head — and that's a good thing. "Dear self, I think that we'll be better off as friends." Simple, catchy, and a great mood-setter for the album.

The title track, "Make The Best Of It," begins with some lo-fi piano and vocals, then kicks-in with an acoustic/djembe groove that's absolutely wonderful. This song is about lost love, and Dewese goes through a list of all the things he loved about a former flame, ending with the chorus "I thought I forgot how much I missed you." This is one of my favorite songs, and if this song is about who I think it is, I can totally see Dewese spilling his emotions and feelings on his sleeve — then just saying "there you go, that's how I still feel." The song's outro chorus says it best: "I never wanted this but it's what I've been given, so I'll make the best of it." A beautiful song, with great piano, strings, and timpani — and history you can truly feel.

"Without You" is another sweet and simple little gem of a song, and another favorite track. When I listen to it, I get the mental image of Dewese sitting in a dimly lit room with just his acoustic and some paper, sitting there writing out his feelings after a crappy day of thinking about how things used to be. This is one of the more "personable" songs on the album to me, and it's emotion and simplicity are what make it one of the best in my opinion. Great string work, great guitar lines, great melody.

"Moment Too Late" has some great mandolin work throughout, the chorus is full of great hooks, and it's crazy-catchy. This is another love song with a kind of a "ships passing in the night" feel. I really love the chord progression and overall feel of this song — and it sports one of the best tuned mandolins I've ever heard recorded.

"Heart Of The Matter" is a really, really good song, and it's about having Faith in the world as it is today. The lyrics are simple and honest: "What was mine has now been offered up to You / What was once a barrier has been fully broken through / I have sacrificed my selfish dreams and plans / Because the only prayer I have is to be molded by Your hands." And the chorus says "I've been focused on the heart of the matter / Trying to filter out all the useless chatter / Heart of the matter / To lead the way, and guide me through this life." This is just an all-around good song, lyrically and musically. Solid, interesting, and one I may have to steal and play myself sometime.

"Lake Tawakoni" is another reflection song, and it has a wonderfully simple piano solo in the middle, which is surrounded by spacious banjo picking. While I don't know the history or relevance of Lake Tawakoni, I still really like this song — there's just something about it that gives me a desire to know what in Hades Dewese is talking about. I don't know if it was his intention, but I feel like he's partly opening a curtain to some significant event in his life, but he's sure to not let us see too much. That feeling of getting a glimpse keeps me intrigued every time I listen.

Other songs that are pretty dadgum good are "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" and "Why Can't I Stop Thinking About Her" — and off the entire album, the only song I just can't get into is "This Too Shall Pass." There's a blend of hoe-down and Christmas song feel that's just not working for me — but I can see the lady-folk really liking this tune.

All in all, I really do think this a great solo album, all bias aside. There's a boat load of lyrical content to explore, and as I said in the beginning, the songs are easily accessible. There's a little bit of all of us in each song, and the simplicity and open feel of the album makes it easy on the ears. After dozens of listens, I still find it refreshing and a great change of pace from the typical, overly complicated and overly produced music we're inundated with. And from a musician's standpoint, this is busking material at its best, because all of the tracks will be easy to reproduce live without a full backup band (if necessary).

So pop over to the iTunes Store and give it a listen — and buy "Make The Best Of It." This is great stuff, Dewese. Great stuff, man.

Posted at 10:18am CDT | Permalink | Comments (3)

Tuesday, With Randomness

First off, we're still kicking Dad's cancer's butt, which is awesome. We're all confident that Dad will get the seal of "Cured" — which is an awesome answer to gobs and gobs of prayer. That said, we're now dealing with something called Pneumomediastinum. There's air in the cavity between his lungs, and air is not supposed to be there — so we just have to see what happens with it. There's a likely chance it will simply be reabsorbed and we'll never see it again. There's also the chance it could have something to do with the pre-existing condition of his lungs (he has asbestosis). So, while we went up on the roller coaster knowing we're killing the cancer, we're heading back down due to this new, potential problem.

Please continue to keep Dad and the family in your prayers and thoughts if you're so inclined.

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I've committed myself to getting my old Dual 2.0GHz Power Mac ready for sale this weekend. It's a great system and it's hopped-up with all kinds of goodies. Stay tuned for more...

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I am SO ready for this election to be over and done with. These things are getting as bad as stores putting out Christmas stuff in July. ENOUGH ALREADY! I also think early voting is absolutely ridiculous because there are people on both "sides" that have already cast their vote — and we still have two more weeks of campaigning to sit through. That may seem to contradict my previous statement, but all kinds of stuff could happen in two weeks, and some people may end up regretting their vote.

It's November 4th. If you have to stand in line, then stand in line. If you have to miss work, miss work — your boss ought to pay for the time off.

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Karen is totally digging her MacBook Pro. I still can't get used to the single button trackpad, but she doesn't let me play with it enough to give me a real chance.

When we bought it, I got another look at Apple's 30-inch Cinema display. Sweet Moses on a wagon, I want that thing like stink wants a monkey. Do I need it? Heck no. But do I want it? Oh yes. Oh so very yesssss. That said, Dell makes a 30-inch for les than half Apple's price, and one thing Dell makes great are monitors — I just wish it had a built-in camera.

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I only buy coffee (whole beans, of course) from The Roasterie. These guys and gals have their stuff together, and after trying out over a dozen online roasters, The Roasterie stood out as the best in freshness and consistency. And now this already great store has added an awesome new coffee-snob feature: custom blends.

You answer 10 simple questions about flavor, strength, roast, and more, and when you're done, The Roasterie will make a custom blend just to suit your profile. HOW COOL IS THAT?!? I just went through and made my own blend, which will be labelled "The RAILhead Blend," and I'm stoked to try it out. You have to order at least 4 12 oz bags at $13.75 a pop — and that's a decent price in my coffee-snob book.

Check it out here: MyBlend.

Posted at 2:42pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Roombas, MacBooks, Dreams, and More

As I mentioned Saturday, we got a Roomba after me pining for one for I don't know how long. I felt like a dork ordering one, and I feel like a dork talking about it — but the things are really dadgum awesome. It's like when you get a damp paper towel and wipe your TV screen, and you can't believe there was so much crud on the screen — the Roomba finds crap everywhere. Our house is all wooden floors and tile, so our biggest issue is the much-maligned Dust Bunny. I've let the Roomba (aka Katie) run 4 days in a row, and she's still finding stuff to pick up. I have no clue where she's finding stuff, but I'm glad she is.

As far as how she works, she's basically just a blind vacuum. You program her start time, then she leaves her Home Base (where she gets charged) to find the center of the room as best she can. She then picks a direction and hauls off, sweeping and vacuuming as she goes — until she hits something. If it's a wall (or some other solid, close to straight object), she'll follow it, getting everything out of the edges. If it's not, she'll spin and go in a different direction until she hits something. This hitting and turning and direction changing results — in an ideal Roomba experience — in the Roomba vacuuming the entire area. Of course, this only works if the room is empty, simply because the Roomba will bounce off chairs, tables, etc. This is why it's good to let them run every day or two, so they'll eventually get pretty much everything. And this is why, after 4 days, Katie is still finding stuff — but she's pretty much gotten all the floors, now.

It would be cool if they could make the Roomba remember where it's traveled — and this would be possible by implementing a simple gyro, speed sensor, and compass combo (like cars do with their GPS systems). However, it would require a boat-load of caching memory since the Roomba would have to remember the specs of an 800 square foot house as well as a 4000 square foot house. The unknown factor of how much area mapping will have to be stored wold require the hardware to to either increase in size (substantially), or lead to an increase in overall cost. You could have the unit wirelessly transmit the mapping data back to the Home Base and store it there — but then the base would end up increasing in size as well.

So, you take what you can get, and what they make is really fantastic. I ❤ my Roomba. =)

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Apple released the new MacBook and MacBook Pro yesterday, and I think they're awesome looking. I would LOVE to have the glass screen, and I can't wait to check out my wife's when it gets here. Of course, a lot of people are whining and moaning about the shiny screen and how Apple is leaving it's Pro users in the dust by not providing a matte screen option.

Here's a tip: move around 2° and the glare will go away — or get better dadgum lighting.

I'm doing graphic design and photography work on my Macs for I don't know how many hours a week, and I don't have any issues with a shiny screen. Furthermore, the vast majority of people whining about gloss screens never took it upon themselves to actually perform and entire workflow using the "shiny-screened devils" to see if it really is that big of a deal. I swear, Mac users are such prima donnas sometimes.

Apple's also catching a lot of flak for not including FireWire in the new base MacBook. The truth of the matter is that the MacBook is Apple's most popular portable, and the research shows that the vast majority of MacBook owners never hook up any peripherals that are FireWire only. Most people use and external backup via USB because they're using USB hubs — and most never hook up to an external monitor (which is another gripe with the new portables: the Mini DisplayPort). There just really aren't a whole lot of consumers hooking-up their MacBook to FireWire cameras in relation to the number of users who aren't. In fact, the majority of "Mom and Pop" film makers are using iMacs, not a portable.

Anyway, to each his own. As with all things Apple, you either like them or hate them — and I like the new lineup.

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I've been thinking, as the stock market dropped and I bought more shares (stock market drop = ON SALE), about what I would do if I could retire right now (which I can't, of course). So here's my list...

• I would get more involved at church, getting back onto our Creative Team (if they'd let me back in). I'd do more to help with sets and logos and graphics — all of which I had to stop because of work. I'd like to take a more active role in helping with planning, with music, and all that good stuff — all of which I'm unable to do (with much ease) right now.
• I'd like to be able to devote more time to my photography in general.
• I'd like to get back into software development, and finally finish some of the programs I started working on so long ago. I'd like to rekindle the old apps, and bring them to the iPhone, etc. But, I just can't right now because there just aren't enough hours in the day.
• I'd like to be able to travel here and there with the family once Dad gets well, and spend as much time with them as possible — just doing nothing but enjoying the company. We all have placed we'd like to see before we kick out, and it would awesome to be able to pick up and go.
• I'd like to be able to devote my time more fully on my guitar effects simply because it's the ultimate dream job for both Karen and me. I love the engineering side, and she loves the painting side — and it's something we both can do together and love it. I wish I had nothing to do but get up and head into the shop to build pedals.
• I'd like to have time to write music again. There once was a time we would crank out new songs every week, and I miss that release.
• I'd like to just be able to relax for a change.

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Today is my Dad's battery of re-tests to really nail-down how well the chemo has been working. We'll be at MD Anderson most of the day today, and we'll get the results on Friday. Feel free to say some prayers and send good mojo to him, as we look forward to the Doc telling us he's in 100% remission — if not cured already.

Posted at 10:09am CDT | Permalink | Comments (3)

In Case You Haven’t Heard…

Tomorrow will be a big day for Apple as they release all-new MacBook and MacBook Pro portables. The internal specs are still unknown, but it looks like Apple will make a move toward using NVIDIA support chips, while keeping the Intel processors for the main brain. This will be nice, as NVIDIA makes better graphics chips than Intel, six ways to Sunday — so MacBook users will end-up having decent video capabilities when compared to the integrated chips in the existing MacBook lineup.

The new Macs will also be quite a bit thinner, with the main body only being just thick enough to house an ethernet port. There won't be any body tapering like we have on the MacBook Air, and the edges will be more square and refined compared the existing body style. There's also a rumor that we will see Blu-Ray support — but that may only be a pipe dream.

Lastly, there's a dadgum good chance we'll see a starting price-point well below the current $1099 and $1999 for the MacBook and MacBook Pro (respectively). While that would be awesome, we won't know for sure until tomorrow.

So, it looks like we'll finally be putting my wife's original iMac (sunflower) to pasture and getting her into the 21st Century tomorrow — I just hope there isn't going to be a 2 month wait...

Posted at 3:03pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (3)