Friday, March 31, 2006

:. Drug Smuggling

Sounds like someone's been watching LOST.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

:. Desaparecido

I came across information on this ad campaign on a Brazilian blog that tracks Latin American and South American advertising trends. I thought it was a pretty cool idea and I look forward to using a version of it for events in Tucson in the years to come.

Desaparecido (missing person)
is a new ad campaign in Brazil (created by the Publicis agency of São Paulo) promoting the second season of Lost.

The campaign spread photocopied posters of "missing people" with profiles on characters from the show, with info on where they can be found (the local TV affiliate).

Postings appeared throughout the
city on telephone poles, signs, buildings and in bathrooms and bars.

What I found most interesting is that some of the posters use the actor's name and some use the character's name. Either way, it's pretty cool. I really like the way that they plastered the posters all over town and that they really are pretty interesting to look at and would probably catch people's attention, even though they are relatively "low tech" in their approach.

Leave a comment for me and let me know if you've seen any cool advertising or leave a suggestion on how we can use this idea to promote a ministry event.

:. Real Life Simpsons Intro

Wow, this is cool, but what a huge amount of time to film all of it.

Monday, March 27, 2006

:. Ministry Display

Here's the promised pic of
our ministry display from Cornerstone's ministry fair this weekend.

We made it out of $1-a-yard material and copper pipe.

Those of you who were at the send-off for Ryan & Liz in Kirksville might remember the wood pieces with pictures of Tucson on them.

:. You've Restored My Faith in Marriage

A trip back to Kirksville gave us a chance to spend time with friends we hadn’t seen for a while.

A birthday party was the convenient excuse to see each other and one friend graciously offered up her pad for all to chill.

After a revealing game of I’ve Never, she pulled us aside.
She said, “I’ve always thought of marriage as the end of your life. That you are happy and carefree and enjoy life, then you get married.

“Seeing the two of you together,” she continued, “makes me think that’s not the case. You’ve restored my faith in marriage ... er, I mean, maybe marriage isn’t the end of the world after all.”

It turns out that we were the first married couple She's come across who actually enjoy being married to each other.

It is wonderful to share our lives with our friends and discover they are changed by our discussions and friendships.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

:. Time Well Spent

We spent the last week-ish with my parents in Troy. It was really great getting to spend so much time with them. We watched movies, played games (my mom loves Settlers of Cataan!) and just got a lot of time to talk. Mom and Dad are planning a new business, looking for land to house that business and designing a new house.

On the first day of spring it snowed about 6 inches. Rachael and I had a good time walking in the woods and taking pictures.

We bought a bunch of copper pipe and pipe fittings to make a display for this Sunday. We're starting to support raise at Cornerstone Baptist Church
(we're we've been going while in KC) and this sunday is the 'introduction of our ministry to the church'.

It's exciting to get the chance to start talking with everyone we've been meeting and working with over the last 10 months about what we'll be doing when we move in July. Every time we get a new supporter, it helps encourage us and excite us all over again. Shout outs to Sarah, Amanda, and Dave - thanks for joining our support team.
We'll have a new newsletter done this weekend and it should be e-mail out to everyone by Monday.
Blessings.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

:. Film & Theology Presents: I, Robot

Rachael and I are sponsoring a new KC Film & Theology Event this Friday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. We’ll be meeting at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Lee’s Summit (501 N. Missouri – just off Douglas).

We’ll be watching and discussing I, Robot (Directed by Alex Proyas, rated PG-13) and discussing the question: Have we been made for a purpose? After a brief introduction, we’ll view the movie and have a short discussion about the issues it raises.

Childcare will be provided and the event will last about two hours.

In the year 2035, robots are an everyday household item, and everyone trusts them, except one, slightly paranoid detective (Will Smith) investigating what he alone believes is a crime perpetrated by a robot. The case leads him to discover a far more frightening threat to the human race. Inspired by the classic short story collection by Isaac Asimov.

How far can mankind come technologically in a 30 year period in history?

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

:. Chef’s Voice has Left the Building

Isaac Hayes recently announced that he would no longer be working on the popular animated satire “South Park.” Hayes citied the show's treatment of religion as his main reason for ending his tenure as Chef the school cook and master of romance.


"Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored," said Hayes. South park co-creator Matt Stone responded bitingly, saying that Hayes’ behavior shows intolerance.


Check out the AP article here and share your take on the issue with a comment.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

:. Not a Good Time

I was sick last week - afraid to move for fear of instigating more dry heaves kind of sick.

After a day or two I started noticing a few weird things that were definately new to me.

First, tiny red dots appeared around my eyes. Now, every once in a while during college I'd get a couple of small red dots under my eyes (where most people get 'circles') after extended periods without much sleep, but this time they were underand around my eyes, on my eyelids, forehead, and cheeks.

Then I noticed a red spot in my eye. It started very small at the bottom of my eye and within a few hours extended to the edge of my iris.

The best guess around the house is that I burst blood vessels around and in my eye from the strain of the dry heaves. (One set did last for about 25 minutes) Is this even possible? If it is, it sure doesn't sound safe to me.

Anyone have any other explanations?

Monday, March 06, 2006

:. Another Fine Mess ...

Just when you think Christianity can’t get a worse name, along comes someone with a harebrained idea that misses the whole point of both what Jesus taught and how our country works.

House Concurrent Resolution 13, currently pending in Jeff City would name Christianity as Missouri’s official "majority" religion. State representative David Sater of Cassville in southwestern Missouri, sponsored the resolution, but he has refused to talk about it on camera or over the phone.

The resolution would recognize "a Christian god," and it would not protect minority religions, but "protect the majority's right to express their religious beliefs. The resolution also recognizes that, "a greater power exists," and only Christianity receives what the resolution calls, "justified recognition."


Every time I hear of something like this, I cringe. It signals yet another round of conversations on the horizon where I have to explain that people like Pat Robertson don’t speak for all Christians.

Oh boy.

Friday, March 03, 2006

:. She's Been Accepted!

We just found out that Rachael has been accepted into the University of Arizona's Speech & Hearing Sciences PhD program!

The acting department head will be her advisor and
Rachael has been hired as a research assistant. This comes with a out-of-state tuition waiver and an assistantship that will cover the cost of school plus some. Awesome!

Our next step is finding a three or six-month lease on an apartment so we can be in town for a bit before we buy a house.
She celebrates here with Santa, because Christmas came twice this year.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

:. Autistic Team Manager Amazes Crowd

Thanks to the Thinklings for bringing this one to my attention.

Jason McElwain is a student at Greece Athena high school, and served
as the team’s manager for his entire high school career. He was a gofer, he kept track of the team statistics and made sure everyone was supplied with Gatorade. Until the last home game of his senior season.

The 17-year-old, who is autistic and usually sits on the bench in a white shirt and black tie, put on a uniform and entered the game with his team way ahead. McElwain proceeded to hit six 3-point shots, finished with 20 points and was carried off the court on his teammates’ shoulders.


Watch the last few moments of the game or read more about it.

:. RFID: Should We Worry?

So, I'm home sick for a second day and there's not much to do but check out what's happening online. I came across an article in Wired's online news pages that highlights a new book by Katherine Albrecht in which she argues that RFIDs will develop into the mark of the beast.

Her detractors say that people have freaked every time we have something new from the printing press to social security numbers to credit cards, but there are RFIDs designed to be implanted under the skin of one's hand. These seem a little more likely than other technologies.

Thoughts?