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I’ve made a couple movies in my day. None of them were blockbusters in the traditional sense but one or two of them gained minor recognition around the Stouffville Uxbridge area about a month after their YouTube Debut. By that I mean someone’s mom came up to me and told me she saw it.

James Cameron isn’t the only one with good ideas.

I can only imagine what these movies could have been with 240 million behind them…

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…”

Honestly, one of my favourite things about this season is the degree to which we’ve sunk as a society in our consumerism.  There is no better time to see this than during the weeks leading up to Christmas. Just take a walk down your town’s main street or go into a Walmart, or better yet – a mall, and actually pay attention to what’s going on around you. I may sound as though I’m being sarcastic but I’m really not. I truly love this about Christmas. I find it equal parts amusing, fascinating, and sobering.

Today I was at Fairview Mall trying to find a pretty basic cord for transferring video from my camera and I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity I witnessed in the parking lot as I walked back to my car. I noticed two separate showdowns in which several cars were refusing to back off from a soon to be available spot. I tried to hide my smile as this sweet looking old lady hammered down on her horn repeatedly at the line up of cars in front of her desperately trying to make it out of that madness. And of course there are ‘the Trailers.’ Those people who are so desperate for a parking spot close to the entrance of the mall that they actually follow people back to their cars and wait for them to leave. I like to try and screw with them by leading them to a different car and then cutting quickly back to mine. They don’t usually have the same sense of humour as I do…

As I said, I kind of like it all. I deliberately try to put myself in the middle of it with no agenda or need, just there to observe and maybe demonstrate some much needed kindness and patience when I can. Plus it usually supplies me with some good material for Twitter (such as the two photos I’ve taken while out and about this week).

Yes, we’ve lost our way as a society. Yes, we care more about spending and shopping than giving and sharing. And yes, we look like pigs to most of the world while we do it.

But I can’t help but stop and think, while some 30-something yuppie mom cuts me off in line at Coles Books, that Jesus loves us all. Sure, sometimes we look like selfish little kids fighting over toys in the sandbox but hey, we “know not what we do” and we’re all selfish sometimes so let’s just stop contributing to the madness and learn to find joy and laughter and forgiveness and love in the middle of it all. May Christmas be a blessing and not a curse for us and may the scandalous love of Jesus change us all.

(written for the Alive Movement blog)

This year I’ve decided to take a different approach to Christmas.

Usually I get bogged down feeling guilty because I spend too much money or don’t give enough away or just don’t have enough of it to do anything useful at all.
Or sometimes I go on a ‘Jesus-kick’ and go all crazy over how Christmas has become a commercial, all-inclusive, generic holiday rather than focusing on the birth of Christ (which is what it’s all about right?)

But this year I’ve opted for craziness in a different way. There’s really nothing crazier than real love. I got to thinking about this whole ‘Christmas spirit’ thing and ’tis the season’ and all that ‘good tidings’ and ‘holiday cheer’ junk that everyone goes on about. Everybody talks about being nice during Christmas. Instead, I want to live love. Real, practical, down-in-the-mud dirty love. It’s sacrificial, it’s selfless, it’s reaching out to those who need help, it’s giving of yourself when it’s not convenient or fun, and it’s life changing. Holiday cheer is more about feeling good about yourself but real love is about reaching out to others in need when you don’t have to or don’t want to. This is my challenge and I want to extend it to you as well.

It can be as simple as a kind gesture while you’re out in the middle of all this crazy shopping madness and it can be as powerful as finding someone who really needs help and getting right into their lives and helping them. Food banks, clothing drives, shoveling driveways, helping your mom with dinner, buying someone’s groceries, inviting someone over for a meal, making a meaningful phone call, buying a stranger a coffee, being polite to people in the mall, listening to someone who needs it, showing kindness to the outcast, letting love be your priority during this crazy and stressful season; this is the kind of life changing stuff that the kingdom of heaven is made of. Love, kindness, generosity, selflessness.

What is the alive movement? It’s love transforming lives and bringing about positive change. It’s real “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” kind of stuff. Let’s bring this Christmas to life.

One of the internal battles I’ve fought over the years has been over the necessity of coffee in my life. I was drinking it like a back-alley crack addict a few years ago, 4 or 5 hits before lunch, until I realized my problem (awareness is the first step) and decided to cut it out of my life. After a couple months of headaches and strange coping techniques (tea???) I successfully quit and began to feel okay with it.

Then, two years later, I just up and started drinking it again one morning at school. The smell of it finally got to me or something. Reminded me of all the good times we once had… So, after our two year break, coffee and I were back together. We just had one of those on-again-off again relationships you know? But we’ve both matured and grown into ourselves since then and we really know what we want this time around. Point is, it made me realize the degree to which coffee has played a part in my life, and a lot of people’s lives. We’ve been going strong since b t w. I’m even considered a “regular” at a local coffee house.

So what does this have to do with anything? Well, I’ve often considered the relationship between coffee and churches, or the church to be more specific. Seems to me that every time we gather, coffee is there. I can’t help but imagine the early church sitting around with a new letter from Paul and a fresh pot of Galilee’s best dark roast. I bet it was even served with dessert after the last supper. (too soon?)

Regardless of my mildly inappropriate joking, coffee certainly plays a significant role in the church and my question has always been whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Finally this morning I think I’ve come to a conclusion. Coffee is a community oriented experience. Yes it can be enjoyed alone, but it is so much better shared. Whether you’re sitting down deep in conversation with a friend or driving in to work with your carpool, coffee is there and it somehow enhances human interaction. The amount of times I’ve heard “let’s go out and grab a coffee sometime…” It seems to me that coffee is more than a drink, it represents a deeper human need for relationship.

Rather than resist this, churches need to make efforts to embrace this experience as a way to build community. Serve the stuff, provide a place to sit, sip and chat, and even allow people to bring their coffee into the service with them. I know this isn’t life-changing, thought-provoking revelation but sometimes a practical thought can transform into a much more profound realization. The church is community; what are you doing to encourage that?

I realize that my blogging of late (past 6 months) has been mostly uninteresting, uninspiring, and most likely unuseful…? unusable? Useless.

I can’t say I’ve got any real good reason for it. Maybe I’ve really just been trying to hone my skills and limit all my intelligence to the 140 characters I’m allowed in Twitter. Or perhaps I’ve been training myself as the world’s most efficient Wikipedia browser. Mostly though I’ve kind of just been doing as opposed to writing about doing. I’ve heard experience is the best teacher and I guess I’ve been doing a lot of significant learning over the past little while. Youth ministry has never been so clear of a calling to me as it has been of late. Love is a strong word but I love what I do. Anyways, innovations are stockpiling and ideas are flying all over the place and I’m sure I will be back at this blog soon enough with some crazy new plans but until then, here’s some more of my hobby in graphic design as it works itself out around here.

I had this photo of Alex that I thought he kind of looked like he was dying in.

Anyways, I let my imagination take me the rest of the way…

When the Zombie Apocalypse comes at least he’s still sort of fashionable.

This is why I have always loved Conan O’Brien.

I never thought I’d say it, but Jimmy Fallon may have actually changed my mind about him. His show is everything a late night talk show for this generation should be. Great guests, funny ideas for segments, amazing music*, he even utilizes Twitter to talk with his fans. He also gets an added bonus just for being involved in a process that finally removed Leno from network television. After years of turning me off with everything he was involved in, it seems Jimmy Fallon has finally won me over. That, perhaps, may be his greatest achievement of all.

Check out Late Night with Jimmy Fallon weeknights at 12:35 on NBC.

*Anyone who can get the Roots as their permanent house band deserves some respect.

** Disclaimer: For the record I never actually said that I enjoy his show. I’ve actually only watched it once. I guess my point is that his show seems to be cooL in every way that it should be. Although now that I think about it, that’s always been Jimmy Fallon’s downfall. Lots of hype but just doesn’t fulfill in the long run. We’ll see how he survives the test of time. I’m not about to start watching or anything, but I still dig the concept.
I’m really only mostly impressed by the Roots.

I’m wondering if anyone else finds it comforting that there will always be a book to read.

I’ve turned browsing Chapters into a sort of therapy session, the end result of which is a sort of calming effect. I’m obviously never going to read the all the books that have been written and will probably miss out on some great ones; but that doesn’t seem to worry me. Instead, I have discovered a great pleasure in simply looking at books and slowly searching for a good one. It’s a feeling that I don’t have to worry about losing either because people will always write books.
I get a similar feeling going into HMV and looking through cds; though browsing music usually makes me anticipate certain releases which takes away from the zen-like state I’m aiming for. Books seem to do it for me. There’s no rush, no waiting for a new arrival, no sense of urgency or regret. I can take my time, sip my Starbucks, and stumble across good finds in a somewhat accidental way.* I especially like going to different Chapters locations and getting an even deeper sense of loss in the book stacks. It’s quite nice.
I was recently told by a doctor that the best way to deal with anxiety is to try to find a calming exercise. What’s yours?

On a completely separate thought, I wondered today how I would feel if I died before Lost resolved itself. I think it might be the first question out of my mouth when I’m reunited with someone who lived long enough to see the end.

*I was able to find Marvel Zombies: Dead Zone and Scott Pilgrim 3 last time.

I caught myself thinking the other day how awesome life is during your mid-twenties. You’re no longer a teenager and, let’s be honest, those years sucked. But your’re also not yet thirty and I can’t imagine any more doomed feeling than actually being thirty.
I believe I may have possibly come to the pinnacle of my life’s existence. I’m newly married, I enjoy my job, I can still appreciate being active, I don’t own a home or have any kids to support, and retirement/old age is years away.
Obviously I’m exaggerating slightly but it did cross my mind that I might be at the best it’s ever going to get. I subsequently then began to dread the fact that it’s only going to get worse and every year will take me further away from this period of bliss. This turned my moment of sheer happiness into an anxiety ridden precipice of despair. All I could think about was the fear of losing my twenties.

So I guess the Jedi were right all along, posession leads to loss. It’s better to appreciate life as it comes rather than try to hold on to something that will inevitably end.

I’m currently struggling to live my life without my blackberry. It was fried during a software update last Monday afternoon. I’m convinved the PC I was using at the time is to blame. As a result of this horrific event, I’ve been forced to live my life outside of my usual means of connectivity. I have to check my emails by going online and signing in to gmail, I have none of my contacts stored in the loner phone they gave me so I have no real way of calling anyone, my voice mail seems to be disconnected, and I can’t get Miley Cyrus’s Twitter updates as frequently as I like. I might as well be trapped in Northern Canada in an ice fishing shack.

Today, as a result of this, I took a bus into Stouffville on faith that someone would be around to drive me to the church. As it turns out, nobody was available. I then made the 6.9 km trek, heavy laptop bag in tow, to the church from my dining spot in downtown Stouffville. I got some exercise and I had the company of Chuck Klosterman IV on my ipod but I can’t help but feel this could all have been avoided if I had my phone. Telus, I hate you for making me wait 5-10 business days and giving me no clearer or reassuring advice than that.

Since I feel proud of myself though for actually getting to work, I thought I would chronicle my journey with google maps.

The funniest thing to me is that it’s only a 9 minute drive by car. I think it took me an hour and 10 minutes.

It’s been about a year since I last posted anything here. I’ve been meeting all my blogging needs over at Springvale Youth Dot Com and more recently through my new love, Twitter. I recently stumbled back over here after shamefully neglecting it for so long and thought that maybe I would use this a bit more often. In the process I gave the blog a facelift, something a bit more new and bright, hopefully it’s enjoyed.

Here’s a shout out to something awesome!

Mac has done it again. This time with software that allows you to catalog, browse, and keep track of your books, movies, music, and games. It’s called Delicious Library and after using it for less than a day, I’m hooked. Yes I am aware that this is not a new program, but for someone who has finally made the switch from the dank and gloomy world of PC, it’s a breath of fresh air.

It costs $40 and its well worth the coin. I’ve already scanned most of my movies and books as well as my 5 X-Box 360 Games (I’m waiting for a good chunk of time to start on my CDs).

Sounds cooL already right?

That’s not even all of it. One of the best features is that it allows you to scan the bar codes of your stuff using the isight on your computer where it will then locate the product on Amazon and get all the information on the product for you.

It also has a feature that allows you drag the items to people in your Mac address book and keep track of who you lend it to and when to get it back. For someone who consistently forgets who he lends stuff do, its much needed. No more losing DVDs for me!

As of right now it’s strictly Mac based, though I’m sure they make similar programs for those dreadful Windows PCS.

Anyways, yet another good reason to get a Mac.

Apparently a 12 year old kid was arrested last Thursday for throwing a rock through Soulja Boy’s tourbus windshield.

The reason I enjoy this so much: The kid’s justification to the police was simply “I hate Soulja Boy.“

I’d have let him go right then and there.

Read the whole story here.

Easter’s most deadly by-product: Cadbury Mini Eggs.
They’re probably as addictive as heroine, and definitely as dangerous to a lifestyle too. I can’t stop eating them. I feel horrible but I just…can’t…stop…
I smell, I haven’t had anything real to eat, my stomach hurts. And yet I just keep going. I have a problem.
Can you overdose on Mini Eggs? I think I’m close. Someone send help.

Somehow I think I missed the point of Easter…

I went on a mad downloading spree of cover songs today. Good gosh I love cover songs (and good golly gumdrops too). There is just something entirely satisfying about a good band taking another good band’s art and paying homage to it. Sometimes they bomb, but that’s usually when the band’s intention is to improve on something that is already proven to be wonderful (like Coke, you just can’t improve on Coke no matter how hard they try).

The best cover songs are tributes; paying your respects in a sense. Anyways, here’s some of my favourites from my growing collection. Check ‘em out.

Anberlin – “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” (The Smiths)

Aswad – “Roxanne” (The Police)

Braid – “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” (The Smiths)

Cake – “War Pigs” (Black Sabbath)

Cartel – “Wonderwall” (Oasis)

Copeland – “Another Day In Paradise” (Phil Collins)

Everything But The Girl – “Alison” (Elvis Costello)

The Get Up Kids – “Close To Me” (The Cure)

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – “The Redemption Song” (Bob Marley)

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – “Rudie Can’t Fail” (The Clash)

Norah Jones – “More Than This” (Roxy Music)

Saul Williams – “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (U2)

Smashing Pumpkins – “Landslide” (Fleetwood Mac)

Stereophonics -“Angie” (Rolling Stones)

Trust Company – “Rock The Casbah” (The Clash)

Good news.

The Junction is playing at Sneaky Dee’s next Saturday (29th).

It’s only $8 for a great show.

I’m in need of a great, cheap show.

I did these on the podcast this week but since they were originally conceived for this blog I figured I might as well post them. These are cultural influences that I truly believe if removed would actually alter my life in some way. They’re in a chronological order.

5. Action Figures. I’m not thinking of one in particular, just action figures in general. I had a bin of them that I used to play with for hours of imaginative cultivation. Every now and then my parents would take me to the mall and we’d go into Toys ‘R Us and I would be allowed to pick out a new one. I had everything from Batman to Ninja Turtles to Earthworm Jim to Reboot; you name it. Those times definitely instilled within me a very powerful and definitive imagination that still exists to this day.

4. The Chronicles Of Narnia. C.S. Lewis’ seven book fantasy masterpiece that I first read during a summer up at my cottage. These books appealed to my previously mentioned imagination and took me to places I still fondly look back upon. The idea of discovering a secret world was about the greatest thing I ever heard and to this day I keep my eyes open just in case. I re-read them almost every year and still enjoy what they have to teach; the guy was one of the smartest men to ever write.

3. Boy Meets World. The symbolism behind the title to this show was certainly true in my experience with it. Corey Matthews’ misadventures (seemingly) taught me more about life than my own limited experience could ever hope to achieve. Of course that’s the irony of watching a show about a character roughly the same age as you learning from everyday life situations; you end up living your life vicariously through them and miss out on your own opportunities. I have certainly never been more concerned with the outcome of any relationship, fictional or not (possibly including my own) than I was with Corey and Topenga’s. To this day I still believe in my heart that those two are still together since I am incapable of separating their existence with reality.

2. The Get Up Kids. Do you ever listen to songs from the past that seem to conjure up old memories and feelings? That was the Get Up Kids for me. They truly were a significant part of my teenage life, though I don’t think I realized it until later looking back. I had love affairs with many bands, referred to several as “my favourite” and yet none stick out quite like the Get Up Kids. They were by no means extraordinary and certainly will not stick out in music history; there were “better” bands by far. However, their music was with me through so many standout points in my life, both happy and sad, that the vault of feelings and memories that are triggered when I listen to them now make them truly the most important band of my life so far. Certain songs such as Anne Arbour, Campfire Kansas, and Valentine and the memories of their live show will probably be with me for the rest of my life. They shaped those important moments and for that reason, they did play a role in my life.

1. High Fidelity. Despite my love for the cinema, few movies have left quite the impact that this one did. I first saw it in high school and have been watching it ever since. I confess I actually own two copies of it, though that is a separate story. Not only is it funny, witty, and thoroughly entertaining, it has taught me more about relationships than any other single source in my life. This is the movie that taught me that settling isn’t a bad word. It taught me about knowing when things are just good enough. I found a strange semblance of familiarity with Rob Gordon’s sad excuse of a life and realized that I always wanted to own an unsuccessful record store and sit around all day making up top five lists and talking about music. Though many have disagreed with me on the “greatness” of this movie, I will still hold it as my favourite and most significant movie of the past 7 years and for that it takes the number one place on my list.

Just some random stuff that I’ve enjoyed over the weekend and past few days that I thought I’d give a shout out for. These are by no means brand new or anything like that. It’s just stuff that finally made its way into my experience and I figured I would give a brief recommendation.

Mass Effect (game) – Upon the urging from a friend I bought this game on Saturday and have been playing it almost nonstop since. It’s an RPG that takes place in the future during a time when space travel has become possible. At first I was a little hesitant but once I learned more about it and started playing, I realized just how sweet this game is. You play as Commander Sheppard, a soldier in whose hands the destiny of the galaxy rests. But here’s the sweet part, not only is his appearance fully customizable, you can choose a back story for him and then go on to make decisions throughout the game that will slowly define your characters morality. Supposedly the first of a trilogy, this game is big enough on its own with up to like 200 planets you can visit and run missions on. Oh, and the choices you make not only determine the outcome of this game but will go on to shape your role in the next two games. 4/5

The Darjeeling Limited (film) – Wes Anderson’s latest and a strong follow-up to 2004’s Life Aquatic. It’s a typical Wes Anderson flick in all the usual ways, including colourful cinematography, obscure subtle humour, a great soundtrack, and a brief Bill Murray cameo. In it, 3 estranged brothers (Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody) meet up on a train in India to embark on a spiritual journey in which they make a pact to “say yes to anything” no matter how strange or painful. It is an attempt to reconnect and become friends and brothers once more. It will have you to the point of laughter and sadness as their relationship fluctuates and is shaped by each enlightening situation. Wes Anderson never fails to disappoint and this is no exception. Most definitely worth a rental. 4.5/5

Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple (music) – The sophomore follow-up to St. Elsewhere. I just started listening to it and although I was not too impressed with St. Elsewhere, this one is growing on me. Pulling in a variety of styles and sounds beneath Cee-Lo’s soulful wail this album seems to be of much stronger quality. Although it seems to lack any sort of annoyingly catchy radio hit the likes of Crazy, that might actually be a favourable aspect, contributing towards a stronger album overall. I’ll be interested to see how the sales go and also whether or not I’ll still be enjoying it within a week. Either way, give it a listen (itunes).
Standout tracks include Going On, Run, Blind Mary, and A Little Better. 3.5/5

This weekend marks the first real “holiday” I’ve had in ages. I planned on doing some blogging but never actually got around to it. I’m still working on the second half of the evangelism post that I promised almost a week ago.

Anyways, I did some reading, some movie watching, a lot of snow shoveling, and best of all some music creating and producing.

I finally started fooling around on Garageband and I think I have the hang of it. Anyways, in the process I have created a musical side project* using royalty-free loops. Right now I have the first 3 songs of my ep, Music For Beginners, finished.

Anyways, it’s really not a big deal since its just Garageband jam loops but it still sounds pretty cooL. Maybe eventually this project will start creating its own.

*Project name still under wraps for the time being.