A Frustrating Christmas

Christmas this year really has to start improving soon. I'm going to start screaming.

The good. So far the best thing about Christmas so far is Disneyland's Candlelight procession. It was beautiful and really touched my spirit.

Church and every other Christian event has left a lot to be desired. It's our effort to be "contemporary" that has really ruined things.

I'm all about making the gospel relevant. But if you're going to make thing relevant, understand what relevant means. Changing the melody of a popular song does not make it "contemporary."

My company breakfast started with a video of war, disaster, hopelessness and a really somber need for a savior. As true as this is...whatever happed to the joy of Christmas.

I really miss the traditions of Christmas. Carols. Natvity scenes. As old as these traditions are, I still believe it's relevant.

There's 12 more days. Let's hope things improve.

Major Halo 3 Announcements

It's been 5 years since Halo made it's debut on the Xbox.  Bungie just made some huge announcements that I'm excited about. http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?cid=9182

 

First, on December 4 during Monday Night Football (ESPN), there is going to be a Halo 3 commercial.  This commercial will not feature game play, but it will be created by Digital Domain and utilizes Halo models and assets to create a photo realistic "movie" of Halo characters.  It should be cool, but it will not give any clues to the gameplay of Halo 3.

 

Second, Halo 2 is getting 2 new maps.  It will be available in the spring and will only work on the Xbox 360.  Since I have one, I'm excited about this, but it will cost money.

 

Third, Halo 3 beta is going to be available on the Xbox 360 in the spring and will allow gamers the opportunity to preview Halo 3's online multiplayer and allows Bungie to insure that Halo 3's online gaming will work correctly.

 

Other than a publish date, this is good news.  It appears that Halo 3 won't be available for at least another year, but it's not forgotten.

A Little Burnt Out

I'm back from Vacation...Republicans lose Congress...Britney Divorces K-Fed.  I'm just a little tired and I've not been in the blog mood.  So I'm making the attempt.

 

I have a lot of ideas at the moment for ways to move this site forward and make it more fun and dynamic.  It's now just finding time.  Thank you for those of you who have bought something from my website... www.themeparkshopper.com.

 

You help is greatly appreciated.  I'm back to playing a little poker at night.  I also have a new line of products available on the website.  Check out our Jim Shore stuff.  Anyways, look for things to come.

Sad Week Indeed for Me

This has been a rough week emotionally speaking.

 

1. Republicans lose Congress.  As much as I hated to see this happen, I was emotionally prepared for it.  I've got my opinions, but really the Republicans have a horrible PR machine and they let the Democrats control public debate.  The problem now is that the Democrats really don't have any solutions.  Their entire message this election was "we're not Republicans."

 

2.  Britney and K-Fed.  So sad.  We can all stop getting married now, because the perfect marriage is no longer attainable.  I knew things were going bad when Reece and Ryan broke up.  I have to believe this is a great reason to teach abstinance.

 

3.  Bud Black now the manager of the San Diego Padres.  All the Angels need is to lose one of their core coaches.  Good luck, Bud.

 

4.  Lost is off the air for 13 weeks.  What a cliff hanger too.

 

I should start drinking.

My Facsination with Professional Wrestling

It's the early 80's and I'm a young kid living in a home without cable. There's just not a lot of content on TV. that's when I stumbled upon wrestling. More specifically I'm talking about the World Wrestling Federation. My earliest recollection was footage of Hulk Hogan defeating the Iron Shiek for the World Heavyweight Title. Then there are the images of Cindt Lauper helping Hulk, Captain Lou and Mr. T stand up to Rowdy Roddy Piper and Cowboy Bob Orton at Wrestlemania. These were real images of real people fighting for honor, their image, etc. I have to admit I wanted this to be real. Even then I knew it had to be fake, but my heart wouldn't let me believe it.

Every week I'd watch my favorie wrestler battle it out. Each battle would lead to the upcoming live event at the sports arena in Los Angeles. My parents refused to ever let me go. They said it was fake. Sigh.

It would be 2004 before I would attend my first live event.

Next time...Wrestling.

Just a lazy day.

This blog comes to you from my palm pilot. I'm just a little bored. I'm going on vacation soon and I'm overcome with anticipation.

More to come.

My Christian Life

As many of you know, I'm an evangelical Christian in every sense of the world.  Well, maybe most senses but not all.  In my world, there are the extreme's. 

 

On the right, you have the ultra Conservative, take the Bibles literally and live by the strict interpretation.  These are the Bible Thumpers, suit and tie at Church, study the Word of God.

 

On the left, you have the free Spiritual charismatic, who loves God, loves the Bibles and loves to worship.  They love to spend all of their time reading the Bible and studying the Bible and loves being in the spirit when they sing and worship.

 

The difference to me the one likes the intellectual pursuit of God and the other likes the emotional pursuit of God.  I am in the middle.  Although my life is flanked by people on the extremes and the funny thing is.  I don't think either side believes I'm saved.

 

I find it strange that both sides are such polar opposites of each other, but at the same time they feel they have the right to judge me and my Christian maturity.

 

They like to criticize my role in the family, my leadership style has a husband and father, the amount of time that I watch television and my pursuits in witnessing.  Ugh.

 

On the right, they judge me because I don't follow what the Bible says, while on the left, they judge me because they don't feel like I'm following the Lord.

 

My response...I don't really care.  I'm not above criticism, but I am above judgment from others. And that's alright by me.  I gotta go. My TV show is on.

Blog, Blogging, and other Bloggery

It's almost been month since I began this active blogging.  I've somehow managed to create about 5-6 blog sites, all on different topics and created an automated system to post these blogs.

 

If you notice, I have various topics that I'm interested in.  I have a few blog spot accounts as well as a myspace account.  So all I have to do is create a blog in an email, send it.  It's posted to my blog spot site and then it's posted on my personal website (www.mypalal.com) and I'm done.

 

They only way that I can make this work right is to basically make it easy to update.  And I believe I'm at a point where I'm happy.

 

Here's some things to consider if you want to get into the blog business:

 

Have something to say.  I'm still working on this.  I comment but I don't necessarily say anything.

 

Get in the habit.  Just start writing.  Don't be afraid.  Just do it.

 

Maintain your privacy.  You're more or less making your life public on the internet.  Don't do anything stupid.  A few years ago, I wrote about my horrible manager on my website.  That wasn't good.  Good thing now that I have the best manager who ever lived.

 

Sorry, I'm wiping some brown stuff on my nose.

 

I want to let you know what I think, but at the same time, I don't want you coming over to my house.  Let's talk through this forum first.  OK.

 

That's all I have to say now.

Lost, Veronica Mars, Heroes

I'm going to continue to talk about some of the season premieres that I've encountered so far.  If you'd like to know more about previous shows, please read my previous blog - www.mypalal.com. Spoiler Alert.

 

Lost - The season premiere of Lost was awesome.  I like how all of the premiere have started with the plane crash.  This time with the perspective of the others.  It's amazing just how the writers like to mess with your mind.  My understanding is that the first 7 episode will deal primarily with Jack, Kate and Sawyer.  Who will Kate end up with?  I don't care.  The "Henry Gale" character is getting creepier and creepier and I like that.  I also like the fact that the show at this point is very different from the first two seasons.  The whole "others" question is going to be fascinating to watch over the next 7 weeks.

 

Veronica Mars - I missed the first half of the season opener.  My TIVO didn't pick up on the fact that the show moved to the CW and I didn't find out until too late.  Nice start.  Veronica at college.  It's kind of Saved by the Bell - College Years, because lo and behold everyone is going to the same college. I just watched episode 2 last night and I like the fact that Veronica is not perfect and she can ruin two people's lives in one show.

 

The Nine - Great show so far.  I have to give it a few episode for final judgment, but a very strong open to introduce and kill off characters.  This show is in danger of becoming cheeseball very easily.

 

Heroes - I hesitated watching this show for a while.  It was sitting on my TIVO for a few days after the second episode.  I like this show, but it has the danger of becoming cheeseball too.  It reminds me a lot of Unbreakable a movie I loved.  People with powers discovering it's effects in subtle ways.  I think this show is going to go the way of Surface.  Great show but only one season in it.

 

Ugly Betty - Sticks.  I would like to like this show.  I'm not a big fan of the fact that pretty people are on all of the other shows, but It's just not that compelling and a little overrated.

 

The CSI series - So far, kudos to Las Vegas (the original) great start.  Great cliffhanger with Catherine's "rape".

 

More to come on this season.

Compassion Peddlers, Mediums and Ghost Whisperers

If you are in a profession of compassion, you have a responsibility to use your power for good.

 

Remember that I'm a conservative, born-again Christian before you read this.

 

I just ordered the 3rd season of Penn & Teller's Bullsh*t.  I am such a big fan of this show, except for the part where they discuss religion.  What I like about this show is that they expose people who exploit people who are hurting.

 

The biggest villain in my life are those who I will call "Compassion Peddlers."  These are people who use compassion to manipulate others for their own selfishness.  You will recognize they frauds because they will show you a great amount of compassion and in return you'll give them money, fame or power.

 

Who are these people?

• Psychics
• Mediums
• Herbal Medicine Peddlers
• Some Ministers, Healers and Pastors (especially those on Television)

These people basically tell you what you want or need to hear, take your money and move on with life.  The problem is that rather tell you that you should follow basic common sense, they tell you this advice is from nature, aliens, the psychic aura, a dead relative or God.

 

In the article, I'll discuss for a moment Mediums.  People who claim to talk to the dead.  Watch any show where there is a person talking to the dead, like John Edwards.  I won't go into how they do it but it's all B.S.  Essentially what they do is claim to speak for a dead loved one and then offer a peace of advice, such as I love you, be strong, let me go and be happy.

 

To some degree this is nice, they are at least not telling you to do something stupid like rob a bank.  The problem is that they are Bastardizing the memory of your loved one.  For this example, your father passed away.  You have memories of your father, both good and bad.  But these are real memories and you should cherish them, because it defines that person in your life.

 

Now comes a medium who tells you that your father loves you and admits that he wasn't a perfect father and now is the time to let go and let him "cross over."  The problem is...YOUR FATHER NEVER SAID THAT.  Now you have this "medium's" words and this session to screw around with your real memories of that person.  Sure the words of the medium may be benign but again, that's not your father saying it.  It's a false father and now they have damaged your memories of someone special.

Good Job, Phil Angelides

I thought your attack ads on Governor Schwartzenegger during the 20/20 special about the death of Steve Irwin was so well timed.  Thanks for taking a touching moment and using it as a platform to promote your political career.

 

Why not run some 9/11 ads while you're at it.

Shocking News from TNA

Few people know this but I am a big fan of Professional Wrestling.  I followed the WWE in the early 80's.

 

Today there was a huge announcement from TNA wresting and that was the signing of Kurt Angle.  I have never had strong feelings about a wrestling announcement until now.

 

My understanding is that the WWE released Kurt Angle to allow his body to heal and to fix his marriage and family.  Now he backstabs WWE be signing with their competitors.  I understand the benefits of going with TNA (e.g. easier traveling schedule, less politics, etc.) but come on.

 

Anyways, good luck Kurt, but please take care of yourself.