The Shining

I saw The Shining when I was much too young and it cost me years of sound sleep. To this day, I still have some latent issues associated with that movie. To be sure, it is a horror masterpiece and Stanley Kubrick was one sick individual - as can also be seen by 2001, Eyes Wide Shut, and Clockwork Orange. But there was something about The Shining and the young age at which I was first exposed to it which had a lasting effect.



I thought I was alone until I was listening to This American Life recently. This is an NPR weekly radio show that I've listened to for the past 14 years. Here is the six minute clip of the show about people who are afraid to fall asleep:

Giving Blood.....and Receiving It

I've given blood a handful of times in my lifetime - perhaps a few dozen. But I am by no means religious about giving blood every eight weeks - that would be my mother. My wife is unable to give blood because she has a disease which makes her an ineligible donor.

All the same, I would like to thank everyone who gives blood. The look on the doctor's face after my wife's surgery was positive about the outcome and yet equally grim concerning her blood loss. Immediately after her blood transfusion, my wife looked noticeably improved in appearance and mood. Her lips and face actually had color again.

After this experience, I'll try to be more proactive about giving blood - like my mom.

Spending the night in the hospital.....again

Please pray for my wife. We are spending our second night in the hospital tonight. She has internal bleeding from an unknown source and they are most likely going to perform surgery tonight to find the source.

BIL CORNELIUS

This is a new venture for me but I couldn't pass it up. A while back, our church had a guest speaker named Bil Cornelius. He is a young, humorous pastor from Texas. During the sermon, he told a story that has stuck with me ever since. So I felt compelled to share it with you. This story is about twenty minutes long, but it is worth it. Please give it a listen and tell me what you think.

Why I love James Bond

Spike Channel (the channel for men) shows a James Bond movie every morning at 9 am. Now, most mornings I am at work during this time. But occasionally, I get to sleep in and catch a 007 movie. And, of course, there are those occasional "James Bond Marathons"that certain channels will run.



There are a variety of reasons for my love of James Bond movies:

• they are long, often clocking in at more than 2 hours
• the story lines run kind of like a play - with Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3
• they are simultaneously sophisticated and primal
• Roger Moore is my favorite
• they rarely spare expense
• they consistently abide by a proven formula

One of these days, I need to buy them on DVD. Actually, I think I only need to buy the Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan movies.

UFC Cage Match in Church? Not Quite.....

We arrived at the worship service at our church tonight to find that they had installed a full-size UFC style Octagon Cage in the middle of the auditorium, with the seats situated around it rather than facing the stage.

It made for quite a spectacle and a pretty powerful worship experience as well. In the eight years, we've been going to this church, This is probably the most impressed I've been upon entering the auditorium - that is saying a lot considering how far they've gone in the past to create an inspiring atmosphere.

The cage will remain in the auditorium for the next four weeks, as they continue their series - The Cage. Today's topic was "The People You Find In Your Entourage". The band performed their set from within the cage at full volume - I'm pretty sure they had it turned up to 11 and I was loving every minute of it, the louder the better. And then the pastor was led to the cage by his entourage of dancers, an announcer and obligatory posse of thugs.

Here is my guerrilla video / via mobile phone in all of its grainy wonder:

The Bleach Pen

For three months now, I've been wearing a dress shirt and tie every day. No matter how careful I am, I can't seem to get through a week without something hitting my shirt. These aren't major spills, but minuscule spots that appear upon my shirt - coffee, yogurt, curry, etc.

Thank God for the bleach pen. I hit the spot with the pen and it disappears. I wouldn't say that I am a messy person, but with a white dress shirt, chances cannot afford to be taken.

Wrong Phone Number

I've been working at my new job for 3 months now. I work in the E-Commerce department for Maroone - the South Florida Brand for Autonation, the largest auto retailer in the country.

I call people every day and leave them a friendly message with my office number, asking them politely to call me back.

I've had a few people tell me that they couldn't get through on my office line, that it just rang and rang, but I've blown them off as dolts who didn't know how to correctly use a phone.

Today I decided to call my own office line from my cell phone. I don't know why exactly, just a whim. It never occurred to me that anything could be wrong.

I discovered that my number does indeed ring directly into Limbo - with no response. When people call me on the inter-office extension, it works. When the receptionist transfers a call to me, it works. But if someone tried to dial my office line directly from outside the premises - they got nothing but ringing.

How many calls did I miss in the last three months?

Do you know how many times I gave out my phone number in a three month span? - around 20,000 times.

I could have thrown myself from a bridge with the frustration of knowing that I've been giving out the wrong number for so long.

I'm going to go home and watch office space now.

BMX is Back! I hope.

BMX will be added to the lineup of the Beijing Olympics this year. Why is this important?



Because Rad is out of print. Rad is one of the greatest movies of all time. As a child of the 80's, I watched this movie countless times before risking death on the handlebars of a BMX bike.



And Rad is now out of print. This is a travesty. An utter travesty.



But there is hope. With the inclusion of BMX at the Olympics, perhaps the studio in ownership of Rad will consider re releasing this 80's classic on DVD.



Here is a scene from Rad, for those of you who might be unfamiliar with it. This scene captures Rad in all of its glorious wonder.

The Highlight of my Summer?

Be warned: these are Red Band Trailers.