ajwired.com

Kim and I took in Iron Man last Friday night. It was a great way to kick off the summer blockbuster season. As mentioned before, I love going to movies and this summer looks like it has some good ones coming up.

Iron Man did a really good job of setting up the background of the story, the reason for the existence of the super hero. Let me just say that while men and women will enjoy this flick, it is definitely a man’s movie. It had just the right amount of humor, action, techno geek stuff and general coolness. The only part of the film that I wished we could have seen more of would be the final fight scene. It was cut kinda short and could have used just a bit more action. Overall, the billing didn’t disappoint. A- Up next, Narnia….or Indiana Jones

One big hint: Stay through the credits. There’s a scene at the end that sets up the next movie and will please most avid comic book readers. That’s all I’m saying.

written by admin

Today, Richard, Blue and I drove down to Parris Island to watch Logan Marshall’s graduation ceremony. He is now officially a Marine. I even took photos to prove it. I had to see it with my own eyes I’m so proud of Logan. Logan was one of my interns in the student ministry at CCC when I was student pastor. Just the discipline that these guys display is unreal. Logan was saying that they had to walk everywhere it seemed. He said that the crucible (a 48 hour test of endurance, strength and willpower) they slept maybe 5 hours if that. I think he has lost a total of like 65 lbs through this whole process. He was excited and was definitely looking forward to going home for a visit.

Just to be on Parris Island for the first time and then to witness the ceremony is something that I am very thankful to have the chance to see. For me, it was almost like when you go to Washington DC for the first time. I just felt incredibly proud and blessed to be a citizen of the U.S. I’m sitting next to a man that was a retired Marine and a Pearl Harbor survivor……unreal.

To all of you who serve our country and lay your life on the line, thank you for all that you do. We get to experience the freedom that we do because of that service. Logan will be home for 10 days and then heads to Camp Lejeune for combat training. He’ll be at church Sunday in his dress blues so be sure to look him up.

written by admin

Actually, I’ve had a lot on my mind about some pretty heavy stuff. Usually when that happens, I’m trying hard to press in to the Word more and try to listen to what Jesus wants. The bad part about times when I have a lot on my mind is that I spend probably too much time processing through it and usually lose some sleep over it. I also usually clam up and get really introspective. I guess that’s not all bad. There are some cool things going on. Anyway, I’ll be a better blogger….I promise…really

written by admin

I don’t watch a whole lot of reality tv, but I do watch Survivor. It has become one of my favorite shows, especially this season. There have been 3 total blindsides that have just been too good. I was watching American Idol, but I stopped after they voted off Carly and kept dreadlock boy.

The cool thing about Survivor is that you can watch the full episodes online which is very nice. Check it:

Survivor Online

written by admin

We used this Sunday during Phillip’s message on being World Class locally. An example of a woman who opened up her life and made a huge impact in the life of one young man:

written by admin

I have a pretty eclectic taste in music although I do have some favorites and some not so favorites (cough, cough..country..cough). My favorite is rock/metal that would probably scare most small children When I’m designing, I like to get in a creative “world” so I throw on the headphones with some trance/progressive jam. Trance is a vein of techno/house music. Kinda atmospheric. Think very cool matrix like soundtrack without a whole lot of words being sung. Lately, I’ve been in trance kinda mood. Here’s a sampling of somethings on my playlist:

Trance Tunes

written by admin

“Before we can pray ‘Your Kingdom come’, we must be willing to pray ‘My kingdom go’.” - Alan Redpath

hmmmm….that one hurts. But to be the man of God, I have to be willing to seek the Kingdom of God….not alan. Chewing on this one. Whose kingdom am I ultimately building?

written by admin

wow..you have got to check this video out. This is a must for leaders, minister, Christ-Followers..period.

Rick Warren Interview

written by admin

Sitting here watching Star Wars Episode I on tv. I’m a big star wars fan. I remember one Christmas when I was a kid my older brother and I got just about every star wars figure conceivable. I was really excited when I first heard that they were filming the prequel and completing the saga. However, in retrospect, the original movies are still better than the newer ones.

Here’s why I see it that way:
1. In the original series of movies, Star Wars had excellent acting - Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Mark Hamill (probably the weakest of the lot) and the voices of James Earl Jones and Frank Oz (yoda). They really sold it. You believed what they were saying and doing. It had a lot of layers and depth. With Portman, Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor, so much of their dialogue seemed forced and stiff. You just had a hard time believing them. The one exception was probably Liam Neeson, but his character was unfortunately killed in Episode I. McGregor had a few good moments, too. Still, overall the acting was flat. And don’t get me started on some of unforgettable animated characters like Jar Jar Binks. You know that George Lucas had to be shaking his head over that one. Which leads me to my second point.

2. Too much reliance on CG (Computer Graphics)
- I would be interested to know what percentage of sequences in the new Star Wars were completely CG…it has to be a bunch. Don’t get me wrong…I love good CG and some of the CG in Star Wars is UNBELIEVABLE. Still, I felt that too much of the movie relied on CG as a crutch for poor acting too much of the time.

That said, do I own all of the new Star Wars DVD’s? In the words of Yoda: “Own them all, I do!” It’s Star Wars after all

written by admin

I’ve began to do something that I’ve been putting off for a while. I have finally taken the dive into After Effects for creating some motion graphics (that’s cool looking animations/video for the non-techies). I love Final Cut Pro for editing and assembling projects, but for those very cool backgrounds, bumpers, and text effects - After Effects is the standard. I will say this, though: it has a VERY steep learning curve. I’m seriously loving tutorials right now as they have been a big help

I want to continually sharpen my tools and learn more as I go. One thing that I heard Rick Warren say one time is that “Leaders are Learners”. It’s critical in ministry and life that we be continually learning and teachable. Okay, it is getting late on Saturday so I’m going to chill for a while….l8r!

written by admin