T-Bone's World

For I'm a Jolly Good Fellow (Apparently)

2010-02-27T21:29:00.003-05:00

I recently experienced an event in my life that I'm not sure how to handle. For the first time, at least that I can remember, I was the object of a public performance of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". It happened last week at a congratulatory dinner that my boss and some co-workers had for me in honor of a new job that I'm getting ready to start. I hadn't ever given any thought to how I would prepare myself for such an occasion but it all happened so fast that it didn't really matter. One minute I was enjoying a nice dinner with friends and the next I was saddled with this new responsibility that frankly, I never asked for and am not at all sure that I want.

As far as public congratulations songs go, I think "Happy Birthday" is probably the lowest pressure. You can't really argue with that one. If you were born on this day, then this day is your birthday and of course it's your right to be happy on it. That's pretty cut and dried. "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" though...that's a different story. I feel like that song carries a lot of pressure with it. It implies that you are indeed a jolly good fellow. What if you're not really a jolly good fellow? Or what if some people don't agree? I mean, it's perfectly reasonable to assume that in any large group there may be one or two people who may not be on board with publicly proclaiming my virtues to the world? Doesn't that put them in an awkward position? I don't want them to feel like they have to lie. On the other hand, how embarrassing would it be to have somebody who doesn't sing along? You know somebody's going to ask them why they weren't singing.

Marco: "Hey Alf...why didn't you sing along with us?"

Alf: "Shoooot...I'm not singing that song about him. Listen, I know that dude and believe me...he is not a jolly good fellow."

And what is my responsibility going forward? Is there a certain amount of time that I'm expected to remain jolly and good? A week? A month? A year? Is it a rolling 365 days or does it expire at the end of the calendar year? What if I do something that is not in line with the expectations of a jolly good fellow? I'm not perfect after all. Is there a governing body of jolly good fellows that could strip my title from me if I fail to represent them properly? It's just so much pressure. All I really wanted was a piece of cheesecake.

I think this might be why they hate us...

2010-02-17T21:39:00.002-05:00

I saw a commercial on TV tonight for a medicine that makes your eyelashes grow longer. It. Makes.Your. Eyelashes.Grow.Longerrrrrrrrrrr stack o ver flow errorrrr...rebooting.... Sorry, my central nervous system shut down for a second there because of how stupid that last sentence was that my brain just made my fingers type. My fingers were so pissed about that too...you have no idea. So just a thought here...science I'm looking at you...maybe let's spend a little less time working on drugs to make our eyelashes longer and maybe a little more time on things like AIDS, Cancer, Autism or maybe a cough syrup that tastes like a BLT sandwich.

2010-02-15T21:04:00.000-05:00

[via Minimal]

This is why I don't own a white couch...

2010-02-14T22:52:00.001-05:00

Am I who I want to be?

2010-02-14T21:04:00.007-05:00

There is a blog that I read once in a while called "Am I Who I Want to Be". It belongs to a friend of a friend who I have never met but I followed a link to her blog once because I was sort of intrigued by the title. I don't know the context in which she is asking the question, but it's a good question just the same isn't it? I suspect that the answer is probably the same for all of us. I'm not sure that I've ever really met anyone who is truly happy with who they are. Maybe these super contented people are out there somewhere, but I've never met them if they are. Maybe I've met people who didn't care enough to bother complaining about their life but I don't think that's the same thing. All of us have something that we want to change. We're too fat or too skinny or too tall or too short. Our noses are too big or too small and are a little bit crooked. We're too shy or we can't shut up. We're too lazy or we're workaholics. There's always something isn't there? Here's the thing though...I don't think perfection is really all that desirable a state. Don Miller has been talking for the past few years on the importance of using your life to tell a good story. I'm sure this means different things to different people, but here's what I know: the stories that resonate with me the most are full of characters that are almost always flawed and deeply conflicted in some way. This is true in film, literature, music and, most frequently, in real life. The quickest way to lose my interest is to tell me a story about somebody that I don't care about. (As an aside, this is why I hate most reality tv so much. With very few exceptions, it's people with no discernible talent living their rich people lives full of manufactured drama. It reminds me of (the criminally underrated) Mike Judge film Idiocracy where America's favorite TV show is just video of a guy getting repeatedly kicked in the groin . And believe me, it's a very short drive from "The Jersey Shore" to "Ouch! My Balls"...but I digress). I guess in the end, maybe it's OK if I'm not who I want to be yet. Maybe the struggle and the pain of getting there is what makes the story worth telling....or listening to. What do you think?

The Problem with Google Buzz

2010-02-12T12:27:00.003-05:00

[Via Gizmodo]

A Delicious Cycle

2010-02-07T08:09:00.001-05:00

It's been a minute...

2010-01-30T17:29:00.009-05:00

So I haven't updated this blog in a while in case you hadn't noticed. It's not that I haven't had anything to say, I just haven't been making the time to sit down and write. I'm trying to pay more attention to things like that this year. It's hard to make the time to organize my thoughts and sit down to get them on paper (so to speak). I tend to do almost all of my updates to Facebook or Twitter directly from my phone and my blog has suffered as a result. I got a new laptop a few weeks ago though so I'm hoping it will allow me to be a little more mobile and maybe free up a little time for writing.

One of the things I've been spending some time on recently is photography. I know that's kind of the default hipster hobby these days and like Stewie says everyone who takes a black and white picture of a lawn chair thinks they're super deep. I have managed to take a couple of shots that I'm pretty happy with though and I'm learning how to use Photoshop and some of the other really cool Mac tools that make your pictures look better. Here are a few of my favorites. Let me know if you love them or hate them...or anything in between.

Really AccuQuote?

2009-07-16T12:18:00.004-05:00

Is this really how we want to sell life insurance? We can only assume from the picture that this little girl lost her mommy or daddy and is now homeless because her parents did not care enough to purchase life insurance. Could there be a more blatantly manipulative advertisement? The only other possibility I can think of is that this is such a low budget outfit that they could only afford to take one picture and the kid just wouldn't cooperate. Either way...this ad sucks.

Haters gonna hate...

2009-07-13T17:29:00.000-05:00

Do you?

2009-07-06T12:42:00.001-05:00

“While you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.” -Tony Campolo

The Death of George Tiller and My Thoughts on Abortion

2009-06-07T12:25:00.016-05:00

Around lunchtime last Sunday I began to feel the pangs of a looming internal crisis. My wife Regina got a text message from her sister saying that George Tiller, notorious late term abortion provider, had been shot and killed at his church in Wichita, Ks. As I processed that information over the next hours and days I experienced a range of emotions that I hadn't fully prepared myself for.

Being raised in a fundamentalist Baptist church in the suburbs of Wichita , George Tiller played a prominent role in the formative years of my spiritual and political development. He was equal parts bogey man, Adolf Hitler and the devil himself. He was the face of evil incarnate and he carried out his grim work just a few miles away from the mall that I frequented as a teenager. Long before I could ever grasp the complexities of an issue like abortion (I'm not sure that I do now), I was standing outside his clinic holding poster board protest signs. I have a vague recollection of one late night vigil where I was actually interviewed by a local TV news crew. I don't recall the exact reason for the protest but I remember that it was cold that night so the January anniversary of Roe V. Wade would fit I suppose. In any case, the news crews shows up and somehow I end up in front of a reporter with a bright light in my face and they're asking me why I was there. My brilliantly succinct 13 year old answer was something like "Um well, because um, I don't um, think it's right um for them to um be able to kill um babies, you know?" That was literally all I knew about abortion...it involved killing a baby, and of course that was wrong right? I couldn't even understand why we were there. How in the world could we even be having the conversation? This was the most black and white issue I could possibly imagine. In my mind, the typical abortion case file involved a teenage girl or twenty-something young woman who got pregnant as a result of her sinful lifestyle and was too selfish to make room in her life for a new baby so she decided to take the easy way out and get an abortion. People got abortions because they wanted to fit into a prom dress and not have their freshman year of college interrupted.

Of course this was before I had ever heard of words like anencephaly, a condition where the baby is born essentially without a skull or the major part of their brain, usually blind, deaf and unable to feel pain. This particular birth defect is fatal 100% of the time. This was before I read the accounts of families who discovered that the precious baby that they were hoping for and planning for and praying for and waiting anxiously to hold and love and raise was essentially on life support inside the womb and had no chance of survival. Let that sink in for a moment. Fatal 100% of the time...no chance of survival. What do you do with that? As a young prospective mother how do you even allow your mind to process that information? Do you get a 2nd opinion? A 3rd...4th...5th opinion? Do you experience denial and anger and bargaining and all the other stages of grief that humans go through when a loved one dies? Do you carry the baby to term and allow it be born and die naturally? Do you have an abortion and end the pregnancy on your own terms? Do you name the baby and bury it and have a funeral like any other baby who dies tragically? I read of families who did all these things. Which of these choices is more right than the other? And who decides?

So these were the things that were running through my mind last week when I heard that Tiller had been murdered. As a lifelong opponent of abortion the coldly pragmatic part of my mind reasoned for a moment that the death of George Tiller would result, at least in the short term, in less abortions. On the other hand, the murder of this man would likely set the pro-life movement back by decades and turn Tiller into a martyr for the pro-choice movement. Worse still would be the damage to the peaceful, prayerful, non-radical arm of the pro-life movement who would likely be painted with the same broad brush as the murderer who pulled the trigger. Further still, what about the women who used Tiller's services as a legal if not horrible option for dealing with a fatal neural birth defect like anencephaly? Could it be that on some level this man who was the face of evil to me as a youngster was in some way, to some women, the hero that so many people are saying he was? Was it possible that by providing a less terrible option than carrying and giving birth to a baby with a death sentence that he was in some way bravely doing what needed to be done but few others in the medical community had the constitution for? Is it possible that for some people, in some circumstances, the services he offered were the more humane choice? The bile rises in my throat as I type that. It breaks my heart and makes my head spin to say it but I just don't know anymore. Does Pro-Choice mean pro-abortion? If you allow for abortions in extreme cases (like anencephaly) are you ethically and logically obliged to allow and approve of abortion on demand for all reasons? If you concede a little ground on this issue have you, in effect, conceded everything?

Here is what I do know - too often Christians who hang their hats on the sanctity of life seem to mysteriously disappear when the logical end of their stance on abortion comes knocking on the door of their church. Without the intervention of the church or other community minded organizations, poverty stricken, poorly educated people whose lives spiral into a vicious cycle of crime and poor decisions result in more tragically unwanted children destined to repeat the mistakes of their parents. We say we are against freely available condoms and sex education, the morning after pill and Plan B contraception for spiritual, ethical and philosophical reasons. But we fail to remember that ideas have consequences in real life. The effects of these philosophies we espouse are very often the victims of the abortions we fight to prevent. Pro-life has to mean more than just caring for 9 months and then moving on to the next girl in line at the pregnancy crisis center. As Christians we must value life in all of it's forms and stages.

I'm a lazy writer...

2009-06-07T11:53:00.004-05:00

So it's been a while since I've posted anything substantive on this blog (some would say years...but that wouldn't be very nice of them). Basically, I just came down with a nasty case of blog-slack. I went on vacation for a week and some other stuff and just haven't made the time to sit down and write. I need to do better about that. I love to write but it's very easy to get out of the habit. Writing isn't always easy and frankly, watching TV is much easier. Consequently, TV has been winning the battle for the hour or so of free time I have at night that isn't consumed with family or work. Anyway, my summer resolution is to write something, anything, at least once a day. It might not always be a blog post, but even if it's just some free verse that I dump out of my brain into Google docs I think it would worth the excercise. Any other aspiring bloggers/writers feel the same way?

Your Business Card is Crap...

2009-05-17T14:53:00.002-05:00

How do I know this? Because this dude says so...

[via Monkeysforhelping]

The Bike King and the 10 Commandments

2009-05-17T10:08:00.003-05:00

If Fireproof is the Citizen Kane of "Christian" movies then The Bike King and the Ten Commandments has to be the Evangelical answer to Plan 9 from Outer Space. Please to enjoy 3:47 of the finest performances ever captured on film. My favorite part is when the God tree magically spits out an unlabeled CD-R of what I assume to be the 10 Commandments. Sigh...no, I'm not kidding...

For a more detailed (and slightly snarkier perspective) check out Patrol's review of this instant classic.

The Weepies - Can't Go Back Now

2009-05-03T20:12:00.001-05:00

I am so into this band right now...they just make me smile

My blurry-ass pictures from my stupid camera...

2009-05-02T19:48:00.005-05:00

I took a few pictures on this trip that I was happy with. My Olympus digital camera sucks only slightly less than the Kodak Disc camera I was when I was 12 so most of my snaps come out blurry which is very frustrating. Here are a couple that I was happy with...

Here is a link to the rest of the pics from my trip in case anyone is interested...

Never again...

2009-05-02T18:39:00.012-05:00

Although there are many days when I question my career choice, I can say that working for Massive Dynamic (shout out to all you Fringe fans out there) has given me many opportunities that I don't know that I would have otherwise. Among these opportunities is the chance to travel a bit every once in a while. I actually enjoy travelling so the few trips I take a year are not bothersome and other than getting a bit homesick towards the end, I am usually glad for the opportunity to see and experience new places. Last week I had the chance to spend about 6 days in Germany and Austria. If you've never been I can't recommend it highly enough. It is breathtakingly beautiful country. I spent the majority of my time in a small village at the foot of the Austrian Alps called Jenbach. It was like stepping into a postcard. Everyone there was wonderfully kind and welcoming. They serve a fantastic Austrian beer called Zipfer (almost exclusively). Like when you order a beer, they don't ask "what kind would you like?" they just pour you a Zipfer. So I had a few of those...

Last Friday, my colleagues and I stayed in Munich, Germany and spent the evening with a fellow employee from Munich, a gentleman named Karl-Henz who showed us some local beer halls (are you noticing a trend here?) and an amazing Italian restaurant where we enjoyed dinner late into the evening.

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to spend a few hours at the Dachau concentration camp memorial. I can honestly say that this was one of the most profound experiences of my life. I don't know how you can really prepare yourself emotionally for something like this, but I was not. As you approach the camp you are met by an iron gate bearing the German phrase "Arbeit macht frei" which means "work will make you free".

As I walked through the gate to the camp I broke down and had to stop for a few moments to compose myself. It's literally as if you can feel the weight of everything that happened in that terrible place.

Gate to Dachau Camp

After viewing a brief film on the history of the Dachau camp and the atrocities that took place there, we walked the grounds and toured the prisoners barracks and bath house.

Prisoner bunk house

Prisoner toilet facilities

Guard Tower

There really aren't words to describe what it's like to be in a place like this. I was overwhelmed by feelings of sadness for the people who suffered and died there and simply for the human condition that allows people to hate so much and to commit such atrocities. In the midst of all of that sadness and despair however, there was a tiny flickering hope that maybe as a people we learned something from that dark period in our history and remain committed to ensuring that it never happens again.

Make 'Em Say Uhh...

2009-05-01T13:30:00.004-05:00

So I'm playing (and I use that term loosely) in this basketball league at my church. It's an open league which apparently means that it is made up mostly of guys who are rehabbing a knee before they can return to the NBA or possibly sitting out a year due to academic reasons before they can transfer to Duke or North Carolina to finish their NCAA careers. I am the slowest, fattest, whitest guy within 10 miles of this gym and I am fully preparing myself to be humiliated every Monday for the next 8 weeks. We had the season opening Jamboree on Monday...it iterally looked like this (complete with the dude in the gorilla suit dunking from half court):

But I'm not going to quit...I signed up and I'm playing. At the very least, I should learn how to take an elbow to the solar plexus without vomiting. Wish me luck...

Colbert on the Origins of Evil

2009-04-05T19:13:00.002-05:00

If you're a member of the Colbert Nation (like I am) then you've probably already heard this exchange between Stephen and Dr. Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University on Lucifer and the origin of evil. My favorite part of the clip:

Dr. Zimbardo: "You've obviously paid attention in Sunday School."
Colbert: "I TEACH Sunday School motherf****!"

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Philip Zimbardo

comedycentral.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

NASA Name Contest

Subscribe to this blog...

2009-04-05T18:51:00.003-05:00

If anyone is interested in subscribing to my blog you can do that here via Feedburner. If you don't already know why you would want to do this, then you probably don't need to. If you do know and haven't already, then go for it.

Where the Wild Things Are...

2009-04-05T18:16:00.005-05:00

I know very little about this movie other than the fact that it is a film adaptation of the beloved childrens book by Maurice Sendak. That and the fact that it will be mind blowingly awesome. Here is a brief list of all the awesome things I spied (or heard) in the trailer:

1. Shadow of monster head (:14)
2. Glimpse of monster horn in sunlight (:21)
3. Monster's eye (:25)
4. Arcade Fire - Wake Up(:30)
5. Max's sweater (:39)
6. Max's rabbit costume (:52)
7. Catherine Keener (1:06)
8. By the Author Maurice Sendak (1:32)
9. From Director Spike Jonze (1:36)
10. Where the Wild Things Are (1:56)

And for the one thing that sucked about this trailer:

1. October 16 (2:06)

A brief moment of pause...

2009-04-05T18:00:00.005-05:00

I didn't realize it until just now, but I just crossed the 200 post mark here in T-Bone's World. I've been at this since June '05...almost 4 years. That's about 50 posts a year. If I'm really being honest, I have to say I'm not too proud of the pace there but then again, I'm not a guy who's ever gonna hit a 4 minute mile. Quality over quantity baby...quality is job #1. So let me take a moment to say shalom and thank you to all of my friends in the interwebs. Thank you for taking a moment to read what I have to say, listen to what I recommend or watch what I think is funny or compelling. It means more to me than you know...

Such Great Heights...

2009-04-02T20:10:00.003-05:00

Not that anybody really needs another reason to dig David Bazan but if you're looking for one here it is...him singing backup for Ben Gibbard on "Such Great Heights". I got to see this tour a couple of years ago and yes, it was amazing, thanks for asking. I've probably talked about this before because I've really only got like 3 or 4 cool stories that I just keep recycling. Me driving to Nashville to watch David Bazan open for Ben Gibbard is one of those stories. And yes, I am also aware that my blog has been a little Bazan heavy over the past week or so. Will I be changing that any time soon? I don't know...probably not as long as he continues to be the most awesome thing I have to write about. You've got your Jonas Brothers...I've got my David Bazan, mmmkay?

Slow and Steady Wins the Race...

2009-04-01T18:50:00.002-05:00

So that David Bazan show I told you about the other day? Yeah, it was only about 1000 times more awesome than I even thought it would be. Here's a little taste. Oh and if you're not a fan after this, please follow the advice my brother Justin would give: Do the world a favor and go ahead and punch yourself in the face.

The best Radiohead cover ever...

2009-03-24T19:32:00.002-05:00

This is how much I love David Bazan as a singer/songwriter...I am making the trek all the way from Atlanta to Wichita this weekend to watch him play a "house show". I'm actually really psyched about it. He's literally playing a series of shows in private residences through the end of April. There were about 30 tickets sold for this and I was lucky enough to score 2 of them. So my bro-bot Justin and I are going to enjoy an extremely intimate acoustic performance with one of our very favorite singers of all time. I don't think it can really get much better than that can it? I doubt he'll sing this but if you've never heard Pedro the Lion or David Bazan this is a really good intro. So this is my favorite singer covering my favorite Radiohead song. I think my awesome gland just experienced a full aneurysm.

Free music SXSW style...

2009-03-18T12:53:00.003-05:00

If you're looking for oh, I don't know... say about 6GB worth of free tunes then go ahead load this link up in your favorite BitTorrent client and begin sucking up your share of Comcast or Cox bandwidth. This is all of the music currently available on the SXSW (South by Southwest for any non-hipsters out there) website. If you aren't familiar with BitTorrent or how to use it then the good folks at Lifehacker have you covered here.

[Via TorrentFreak and Lifehacker]

Fireproof

2009-03-16T19:03:00.005-05:00

Last Friday, my small group from church gathered to watch a movie called Fireproof. If you are a Christian, know a Christian, have ever seen a Christian or have ever heard the word Christian, then you probably already know about this movie. If you don't fit any of those descriptions, here is the gist of it: Kirk Cameron (yes, that Kirk Cameron) plays a firefighter whose marriage is on the brink of collapse due to his long hours on the job, a formidable Internet porn habit and the fact that he generally treats his wife like a doormat. His wife, tired of being screamed at for not doing little things like cleaning the house, grocery shopping or leaving any pizza for her husband, decides she's had enough and wants out. Our protagonist's father intervenes and asks his son to give the marriage 40 days before he complies with his wife's request for a divorce. He gives him a notebook called "The Love Dare" which contains a different task for each of the 40 days designed to show his wife that he still loves her and is committed to their relationship. He promises his son that if he will commit to "The Love Dare" for 40 days it will make a difference in his marriage. So now you're up to speed on the plot.

A couple of items to note. First of all, this movie was made by the folks at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga. It was filmed for a budget of $500,000 and according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, it has grossed about $33.5M. For most pictures, a return like that should be enough to have the Spielberg's, Katzenberg's and Wienstein's all fighting over the visitors parking spaces on Sunday morning. Naturally, when this movie was released last year it was enthusiastically embraced by Christians of all persuasions. It received unabashedly positive reviews from Christian publications far and wide. Michael Foust of Baptist Press said

"I walked into the theater without any expectations, but walked out after the closing credits believing I had just seen perhaps the most convicting and inspiring film I had ever viewed. Fireproof isn't just a great Christian movie. It's a great movie. Period.

Eric Bell of ChristianAnswers.net raves

"You are about to embark on a life changing experience when you view this incredible film.The quality of this story is simply amazing, especially in a spiritual and moral sense. And yet, it is edge-of-your-seat entertainment."

The non-Christian media hasn't been quite so kind (I'm looking at you Boston Globe). The most common criticism of the film seems to center on the acting and the fact that the movie tends to bludgeon the viewer with a sort of heavy handed preachiness.

I will say at the outset that I am a bit of a film snob. I like to think I enjoy movies on a deeper level than most. When I watch a movie I really try to take in the entire experience. The cinematography, the writing, the music, the performances, the artistic choices that an actor or a director make, etc. A good movie is more than the sum of it's parts. Good movies, much like the characters they contain, can be flawed and still win our hearts. It's OK to say "I didn't really enjoy watching that movie, but it had some really excellent performances in it" or "That movie had some serious technical shortcomings but the writing was terrific." Sometimes a movie is difficult to watch but unflinchingly tells a story that is too important to look away from (e.g. Saving Private Ryan). Unfortunately, I knew in the first 10 minutes of Fireproof that I wasn't watching a movie that was any of those things. As a Christian, I certainly can't take offense with the story that this movie is trying to tell. As a movie lover however, I can be deeply offended by how poorly it is told.

I cannot put into words how bad the performances are in this movie. Aside from Kirk Cameron, all of the actors in this film are amateurs and it is painfully obvious. To say that the acting was wooden would be an insult to trees. All I could think of when I was watching these performances was that it like somebody recorded a church drama production with a really expensive camera. The writing is ham fist-ed and obvious. The screenwriters insult our intelligence by having the characters explain things to us that we don't need to have explained. For instance, it is very clear from their onscreen actions that Dr. So and So has eyes for the firefighters wife. We don't need a gaggle of nurses to huddle on screen and whisper conspiratorially "If I didn't know better, I'd say Dr. So and So has a thing for her". On top of all this, I saw the M. Night Shymalan style "twist" ending coming a mile away. The one positive thing I can say for this movie is that it was well made from a technical perspective. For all of their shortcomings as filmmakers, the folks at Sherwood Baptist do seem to know how to run a camera.

Another distracting element in the movie that really pulled me out of the experience was the lack of realistic language in the script. Because this is a Christian movie, apparently the film makers made a commitment to keeping out many of the elements that some Christians find offensive in a film. While profanity doesn't really offend me per se, I understand the decision to try to keep the film family friendly by refraining from "adult language". Unfortunately, the film as a whole suffers for it. There were certain scenes, particularly early in the film where I found the lack of profanity to actually be a bit jarring. I'm watching Kirk Cameron's character screaming at his wife, having this knock down, drag out fight but they're yelling at each other like a couple of Sunday School teachers. It just felt really artificial. To expect the audience to somehow believe that this couple on the verge of divorce, who are admittedly not Christians and don't espouse any particular Christian worldview would still maintain G rated language in a moment like that is just not realistic. In that situation, nobody would use language like "YOU ARE A DISRESPECTFUL WOMAN!"

In the end, what offends me more than anything is how this movie is so enthusiastically praised by Christians even though it is such a clear example of a poorly executed film. When I have heard people that I know talk about this movie it is almost always a variation on the following theme: "The acting is pretty bad, but it's a really great movie". I understand what they're trying to say I think, but I still have trouble with that statement. What is it that makes this a great movie? Certainly not the writing or the performances, and I somehow doubt that they are commenting on the cinematography. It just seems like many in the evangelical community are so desperate to have a "Christian" movie playing at the local multiplex that they are willing to forgive a multitude of sins that they would not forgive in the "secular" media. People are less concerned about the talent with which an artistic effort is exercised and more concerned with getting it in front of as many secular eyeballs as possible. I don't know whether this is borne out of some inborn mission to win the lost through some type of artistic pseudo-ministry or just to tell the world "see we can make movies too". For the record, this mindset permeates virtually all of the Christianity's modern efforts in the arts, whether it be music, film, art or literature. The result of this, in my opinion, is a message sent to the world that tells them that Christians are a) incapable of creating well crafted artistic expressions or b) that we're too dumb to know the difference. A movie like Fireproof, while certainly well intentioned, only serves to further that stereotype.

A surprisingly good cover...

2009-03-13T16:19:00.003-05:00

Actually, this isn't all that surprising to me because I've always been a fan of Adam Sandler's music. He's a fine musician and (I think) a really good singer. This is a great version of a Neil Young classic and I hope that he has more opportunities to do stuff like this. I would absolutely buy a non-comedy Adam Sandler record.

Here's some nerd for you...

2009-03-13T13:25:00.004-05:00

I'm kind of a font geek. I'm also kind of a history geek. So when I find an illustrated table of elements for commonly used typefaces that includes who designed each font and when AND groups them in order of relative popularity...well that's just almost more than my geeky little heart can take.

[via Gizmodo]

I'm on a boat...

2009-03-12T19:05:00.003-05:00

Not really, but I wish I was. Mainly because Andy Samberg and the rest of The Lonely Island crew make it look so frakking awesome. Since this is a family show, I'm going to go ahead and embed the edited version of this video that aired as an SNL Digital Short but there's nothing stopping anybody from waiting until I leave and then clicking here if they wanted to experience the full uncensored, NSFW, autotuned glory of T-Pain and his vocal hook.

Jimmy Fallon's first night

2009-03-04T14:44:00.004-05:00

If you didn't get a chance to check out Jimmy Fallon's first night as Conan O'Brien's replacement as Late Night host, you should go back and check it out on Hulu when you get a few minutes. He seemed a little nervous and there were a few rough spots but all in all I thought it was a pretty good first outing. My favorite bit of the night was Slow Jam the News. I really hope this becomes a recurring bit because I thought it was hilarious. On another note, I don't really know how he convinced The Roots to be his house band but there they were...Black Thought, ?uest Love and ?uest Love's afro in all their glory. Regardless of what you think about rap or hip-hop music...these guys are a tight band and they're going to be fun to watch every night. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Jimmy Fallon can do with this show over the next couple of months.

A new addition to our great big blogging family...

2009-03-04T14:18:00.002-05:00

My old buddy Johnny just started a new blog and I'm have to say I'm really psyched about it. He's one of the funniest people I know and if you have ever laughed at anything I've written...well, then strap in because you ain't seen nothing yet. He's way funnier than I am. Seriously, like really, really ridiculously more funny. You can check him out here.

editor's note - In the spirit of full disclosure, it should be pointed out that Johnny did re-post one of my recent items on his blog (which is the closest I have been or probably ever will come to having my work published) but that in no way influenced my comments about him, his laugh-out loud-funny sense of humor or his wonderfully crafted blog.

(personal note to JG - I don't think I oversold that. Now all you have to do now is write relevant, funny material that people want to read. You thought this shit was easy? Welcome to hell kid.)

Scratched one off my list...

2009-02-28T19:29:00.002-05:00

I got to see Ben Folds play last night at the Tabernacle (my favorite Atlanta concert venue). I have been waiting for years to see him play live so I was really psyched. I was absolutely not disappointed. If you are a fan of Mr. Folds you already know how fantastic he is and don't need me to tell you. He played a solid 2 hour set with several new songs and ton of old favorites including this little gem.

(Note - this is not video from last night's show but it sounds just as awesome.)

Science is awesome - Part 2

2009-02-27T15:30:00.005-05:00

You need to click on this to really be able to view it in all its glory...I'll warn you ahead of time to go ahead and swallow whatever you are drinking before you read this unless you are looking for an excuse to buy a new keyboard.

[via monkeysforhelping]

Jacketed Hamsters Demonstrate Movement Powered Nanogenerators

2009-02-27T06:45:00.001-05:00

A couple of things to note here. 1) This is hands down the coolest headline I have ever read. 2) I am oddly intrigued by the concept of a hamster jacket. 3) I am now officially counting the days until I can stop paying my electric bill to Cobb Energy and start paying it to Petsmart. Click here to learn more.

[via Engadget]

This is why nobody likes you...

2009-02-26T09:00:00.005-05:00

...and by you I mean Kevin Federline. Apparently he's looking to start his own children's clothing line because he's tired of paying $200 a pair for toddler jeans. He's frustrated that he buys his kids a pair of True Religion and then they roll around in the dirt and ruin them. I love the fact that he seems to think he is some kind of defender of the common man who will finally provide us with a reasonably priced trouser that people can actually afford in todays economy. Miss Moneypenny...take a letter:

Dear Mr. Federline,
Thank you for your efforts on behalf of our struggling economy. Your plan to market affordable childrens clothing is indeed a a good one. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, your great idea has been beaten to market by every other manufacturer of children's clothing in the history of the known world. However, as you seem to be an enterprising young man I have compiled a short list of things that perhaps you could focus your efforts on developing solutions for. They are as follows:

1. A source of nourishment other than caviar. That stuff is so rich and kind of gross. Plus it's like $100 an ounce!
2. A method of air travel that is cheaper than first class. There is a ton of room in the back 3/4 of the airplane. Couldn't they add a bunch more seats, maybe put them closer together and maybe charge for the drinks or something and then charge less for those tickets?
3. A clean, reliable automobile that doesn't cost $100k. I mean seriously...can nobody challenge Bentley for dominance in the auto industry?
4. A refreshing beverage that costs less than $400 a bottle. I mean I love Cristal as much as the next guy but it just seems wasteful to crack open a bottle every time i want to sit down with a caviar sandwich and watch Entourage.

I hope you will consider bringing some of your considerable resources to bear on one or more of these issues as a potential next project. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you. I salute you and wish you all the best as you further the cause of modern douchebaggery.

With warm regards,
T. Montgomery Wilkensen, Esq.
Senior Vice President of Douchebaggery
The World

Free Sammich...

2009-02-23T15:15:00.003-05:00

If you love yourself some Quiznos like I love myself some Quiznos you will be really psyched to learn what I am about to tell you. You can get a delicious, hot delicious Quiznos sando for free by clicking here.

FYI - if you are using a Gmail account the email containing your free coupon link will go to your spam folder so you'll need to check there after you fill out the registration.

One Band You've Heard of and One You Probably Haven't...

2009-02-20T14:05:00.004-05:00

So I'm trying to re-establish my voice for this blog. When you neglect your blog like I did for so long I think it can be difficult to find a consistent tone for your posts. Now granted, most of what I write is gold of one form or another, but I do think it makes sense to try to keep some kind of theme. This philosophy is subject change with my moods but for now I kind of feel like writing about music so unless another mood hits me, I'll probably focus on telling you about music I think you should be listening too. And for the record, I will be right so you should just trust me.

I've talked about the Relevant podcast in some of my previous posts. It's a weekly (most of the time) podcast from the editoral staff at Relevant Magazine and it's always good for a lot of laughs and usually a pretty interesting interview or musical performance. Most of their archived musical performances are available for download here but I wanted to highlight a couple of my favorite tracks from the past couple of years.

This is a great song from one of the few CCM bands from my youth that I still maintain some respect for. That's probably a bit too harsh a criticism of early 90's Christian rock, but I guess my point is I still dig Jars of Clay. Halo and Ruscha...not so much.

Jars of Clay - Oh My God

Gasoline Heart is a band I first heard on the Relevant Podcast and I really like their sound, especially in this performance. The vocal on this track has a really gritty, stripped down feel that fall hard for every single time I hear it.

Gasoline Heart - King's of New England/Move Along

Blood Bank

2009-02-18T20:47:00.003-05:00

This would probably be better served as a Twitter tweet but since there's only like 4 people who follow my Twitter feed I'm going to drop this as a mini-blog post. The new Bon Iver EP "Blood Bank" (pronounced "Bonn Eee`vare" in case you were curious) is outstanding. You should literally drop whatever you are doing and go get this right away.

****edit****
In the first draft of this post I mistakenly referred to Bon Iver's new EP as "Blood Money". It is in fact titled "Blood Bank". My humble apologies.
****edit****

John Wayne Gacy Jr.

2009-02-18T18:51:00.005-05:00

This is one of the best songs by one of the very best songwriters around today. In the words of my brother "if you don't think this song is amazing, do the world a favor and go ahead and punch yourself in the face".

***update***
I've been thinking some more about this song since I posted it last night. I think it deserves a little deeper look. First of all, Sufjan (pronounced Soof-Yawn in case you're curious) Stevens sings like an angel on this track. He has a wonderful falsetto voice and he uses it masterful effect on this song. This is a dark song about a person who was responsible for some of the most horrifying murders in our country's history. He manages to humanize the character of John Wayne Gacy somewhat when he speaks of his home life and a childhood accident. By focusing on Gacy's childhood, he is able to evoke this sense that the killer is somone was once a child and was innocent at some point. What really moves me about this song is the final verse:

In my best behavior
I am really just like him
Look beneath the floorboards
At the secrets I have hid

The way he turns this song around and uses the image of this notorious serial killer as a mirror through which we can view the depravity of our own souls is really striking. I'd love to hear any other thoughts or interpretations of this amazing song.

What changed your life musically?

2009-02-11T10:20:00.005-05:00

If you know me even a little bit you know that I'm a huge music fan (and by huge I don't mean my physical size although I am a member of the Big Man club. I love cake and will not apologize for that fact. And by cake I mean the baked dessert and not the band Cake even though they are also one of my favorite bands and if I said that I loved them it would be a true statement.) My current musical man-crush is Will Sheff of Okkervil River. I've been listening to their latest release, The Stand Ins almost non stop for the past couple of months. It's a great record full of really interesting characters struggling with life and love and failure. It is definitely my favorite album of 2008.

So I was listening to this record again the other day and I started thinking about the first time I heard certain records and how much they have meant to me over the years. I think every music lover has at least one record or cd that changed the way you thought about music. For me, it was Weezer's Blue album. It was a Saturday afternoon in 1994. I was at Musicland in the Towne East mall in Wichita. I walked past one of the listening stations and I saw this blue cover with 4 of the geekiest looking kids I had ever seen. I remember thinking that I just had to hear what these guys sounded like. When the electric guitars kicked in after the first few acoustic bars of My Name is Jonas, I was hooked. By the time Rivers Quomo's voice half cracked/half rasped "my name is Wakefield" at the start of the 2nd verse there was no turning back. I had never heard anything like them before and at that moment I didn't want to ever hear anything else ever again. Only Weezer forever. Some days I still feel that way.

What record did that for you?

Worst Air Freshener Ever...

2009-02-05T11:43:00.004-05:00

I got this new air freshener for my car. It was a freebie from the credit union in the lobby of my office. They were giving them out the other day at an expo of services available in my building. I thought that was a nice gesture...until I opened the package today and discovered that this so called air freshener is in reality butt ass stinky! It smells like my dog peed on a rotten pine tree and then that tree fell and crushed a skunk and then 3 weeks later someone rubbed this little cardboard cutout on the carcass. So thanks anyway IBM Southeast Employees Federal Credit Union...I choose not to hang your urine/pine/skunk card in my car. And kudos to your marketing/promotions dept for not giving these things a basic sniff test before passing them out all nimbly bimbly to your prospective clients. Well done gang.

Pet Peeve...

2009-02-04T17:09:00.003-05:00

So there's something that's been bothering me lately. It's not a huge deal but it's started to annoy me a little more every time I see it so let me go ahead and put this out there in the universe. I've noticed over the years that it's becoming more and more common for businesses to advertise by having someone stand by the side of the road in a costume and either walk up and down the street holding a sign or dance around and generally act crazy while holding said sign. I think the first time I noticed this was a few years ago when Godfather's pizza in Derby hired this clown to jump around and try to get people's attention as they drove by. (On a side note - every time I saw that clown, and I mean every single time, I had to fight the urge to give him the bird. Is that terrible?) Anyway, the pizza clown, as annoying as it was not really that bad. I mean pizza is fun, clowns are ~~horrifying~~ fun so the clown is not that much of a leap really. Plus, at least with pizza or other fast food, there is a possibility (and I assume this is what the business owner is counting on) that somebody may be driving by and see the dancing pizza clown and think "ya know...I don't have dinner planned, let me just pull in here and grab a pie". What I've noticed (at least here in Atlanta) is that this advertising phenomenon is spreading to areas that don't really seem to fit. There's a kid standing on the corner a few miles from here holding a sign for a chiropractor. To me that's a stretch. But what's even worse is kid in the Statue of Liberty costume who is advertising for the tax preparer! Now stay with me on this...do you really think there is anybody, anywhere who just happens to be driving down the street with all of their receipts, interest statements, W4s, etc who will see the Statue of Liberty costume and say "Oh snap!! I need to get my taxes down like right this instant. Good thing I saw you dancing Statue of Liberty...I'll go ahead and do a quick u-turn so I can pull in to your storefront office and have them done right now". I don't see it happening. And that's why our economy is such a mess. Small business owners are paying big bucks for advertising that has no chance in h-e-double hockey sticks of ever bringing in even one new customer. It's just not going to happen.

25 Things About Me...

2009-01-31T00:14:00.003-05:00

I know this is totally cheating or whatever but I am going to shamelessly recycle this Facebook thing that has been going around like wildfire and turn it into a quality blogpost. I'm all about recycling...

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. (To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I am an IT project manager supporting Tax systems on large corporate ERP systems...but I wish I owned a record store.

2. My biggest musical guilty pleasure is Pink...I cannot make myself change the station when one of her songs comes on.

3. I love to read more than almost anything but I don't spend nearly enough time doing it.

4. For a while, I went to the same church as Jeff Foxworthy and I got to meet him once. He's very down to earth.

5. I am an awful procrastinator

6. I have a blog (http://tbone323.blogspot.com) but because of #5 on my list, it rarely gets updated

7. I am terribly afraid of spiders...like if I was holding a baby and realized a spider was on my I would throw the baby to flick the spider off. Seriously, you probably better not let me hold your baby if you think there might be any spiders around because I will drop that little bundle of joy if my spider sense starts tingling. I'm not proud of this but it's the truth.

8. I used to watch Ghosthunters on TV but I don't anymore because I was getting too creeped out and couldn't sleep at night

9. My favorite TV show is "How I Met Your Mother"

10. My favorite food is Mexican (Pappasito's in Atlanta is the best in the world)

11. I have a Basset hound named Clementine

12. I am married to a wonderful woman and have 3 beautiful kids

13. The best book I have read in the past 10 years is "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

14. The best concert I have ever been to was Metallica in 2004 at the Kansas Colliseum

15. I have an uncle, an aunt, a brother, a sister, a former brother in law and a father who are either currently or have been police officers

16. My all time favorite movie is "The Shawshank Redemption"

17. I still get homesick even after living in Atlanta for almost 3 years

18. At this point in my life, I have more quality friendships than I have ever had before

19. I play the guitar but I don't put in the time to ever really get as good as I would like to be

20. Other than my admitted fondess for Pink, I am a bit of a music snob and I like the fact that I listen to bands that most people have never heard of.

21. I am pretty handy with a bbq grill

22. My favorite cocktail is a vodka tonic. A close 2nd is the Cape Cod (Vodka and cranberry juice)

23. Over dramatic people annoy me...save the drama for your mama please

24. I'm not sure exactly which religious denomination I fit in with these days. I'm kind of a square peg in that regard.

25. I have 3 tattoos and don't plan to stop anytime soon

Canadian Rock is What it's All Aboot...

2009-01-30T15:48:00.003-05:00

My buddy Nate says that Amazon MP3 has a steal of a deal on some classic rock from "America's Hat" (that's Canada for those of you not in the know). Bryan Adams Reckless for $0.99. This deal is only good for today so download it now and spend the rest of the night skipping between Heaven and Summer of '69 while you re-live your high-school or grade school years in a haze of teary eyed nostalgia. Thank me later...

It's a new year...

2009-01-29T20:30:00.002-05:00

Hey blog...how's it going? Oh, what you're not talking to me anymore? Just because I haven't posted anything on you since August?? Listen...it's not like we're married. I mean I've been really busy. Work has been crazy and I was out of town for like 3 weeks. To be honest I've been spending a lot of time with Facebook. Don't look at me like that. You're so judgmental. Why would I want to spend time with Facebook? Seriously? You're gonna make me say it? Ok... A) it's way less complicated than you and 2) like everybody I know is on it. If I post something out there...I know that it's going to hit at least 200 eyeballs. I mean, the stuff I used to post on you got like 15 or 20 page views...a month. You didn't know I could track stuff like that did you? It's a little thing called Google Analytics...look it up on Yahoo sometime. Oh I know all sorts of things about you my digital weblog friend. All sorts of things indeed. But that's not what this is about. I didn't come here to pick a fight. I know things have been weird between us and I want that to change. I really sort of miss you. I'd like us to start spending some more time together. Maybe not every day...maybe just a couple of times a week. Is that cool? Let's just take it slow and see what happens. Yes, I'm still going to be spending time with Facebook but you don't need to be threatened by that. I promise I'll do better about posting on you and not neglecting you for months at a time. Ok? I'm really glad we had this talk. I even got you something...a brand new theme. Pretty sharp right? I hope you like it and I'll talk to you again soon.

Donald Miller to Pray at the DNC Tonight!

2008-08-25T14:04:00.002-05:00

Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz) will be giving the closing benediction at tonights Democratic National Convention. You can read the text of the prayer at Don's website where he will be posting it before he leaves his hotel for the convention center tonight. Should be interesting...

****UPDATE****
The text of Don's prayer tonight at the DNC has been posted. If you don't feel like making the jump, I've included it below.

"Father God,

This week, as the world looks on, help the leaders in this room create a civil dialogue about our future.

We need you, God, as individuals and also as a nation.

We need you to protect us from our enemies, but also from ourselves, because we are easily tempted toward apathy.

Give us a passion to advance opportunities for the least of these, for widows and orphans, for single moms and children whose fathers have left.

Give us the eyes to see them, and the ears to hear them, and hands willing to serve them.

Help us serve people, not just causes. And stand up to specific injustices rather than vague notions.

Give those in this room who have power, along with those who will meet next week, the courage to work together to finally provide health care to those who don’t have any, and a living wage so families can thrive rather than struggle.

Hep us figure out how to pay teachers what they deserve and give children an equal opportunity to get a college education.

Help us figure out the balance between economic opportunity and corporate gluttony.

We have tried to solve these problems ourselves but they are still there. We need your help.

Father, will you restore our moral standing in the world.

A lot of people don’t like us but that’s because they don’t know the heart of the average American.

Will you give us favor and forgiveness, along with our allies around the world.

Help us be an example of humility and strength once again.

Lastly, father, unify us.

Even in our diversity help us see how much we have in common.

And unify us not just in our ideas and in our sentiments—but in our actions, as we look around and figure out something we can do to help create an America even greater than the one we have come to cherish.

God we know that you are good.

Thank you for blessing us in so many ways as Americans.

I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice.

Let Him be our example.

Amen."

Am I missing something...

2008-06-26T20:11:00.003-05:00

...or does this kind of sound right?

“Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all” (A Call to Renewal). - Barack Obama

If I wasn't so disillusioned with the political process right now I would honestly be agonizing over who to vote for in November. There are things I really like about Obama. There are things I really don't like about Obama. There are things I really like about McCain...and things I really don't like about McCain. I honestly don't know what to do.

And in a move that will probably bar me from ever setting foot in my old church again...I am posting this website. I hope we can still be friends.

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8

I realize that it's not Christmas...

2008-06-18T19:02:00.002-05:00

...but I came across this video that I made a couple of years ago and thought I would re-release it into the wild. It's been languishing on Youtube for some time now but I'm not sure if anyone ever really watched it. I edited the pics and video clips together using Windows Movie Maker. The music is by my lovely and talented cousin Wendy. Take a look and let me know what you think...

Dancing Queen...

2008-06-18T18:41:00.002-05:00

Save the neck for me Clark...

2008-06-17T18:59:00.003-05:00

All I can say is it's about freaking time...

Won't be the same without him...

2008-06-13T17:31:00.003-05:00

May 7, 1950 - June 13, 2008

It will be mine...oh yes, it will be mine

2008-06-09T21:54:00.001-05:00

I think they got the wrong guy...

2008-06-09T07:24:00.001-05:00

New Kicks

2008-05-19T18:51:00.000-05:00

Rock Chalk Jayhawk

2008-04-06T13:42:00.002-05:00

So you've probably heard by now that my beloved Kansas Jayhawks dispatched the North Carolina Tarheels with relative ease in the first round of the final four. North Carolina chipped away at the 28 point lead that the Jayhawks built up in the first half, at one point pulling to within 4 before KU started pouring it on again and commenced to beating the 'Heels like a proverbial rented mule. They beat them like they stole something. They beat them like they owed them money. They beat them every way you can imagine beating a team and then they beat them some more.

And now...on the Memphis and the national championship. Here's an interesting piece about our opponent and how they are approaching their impressive run in the tournament

T-Bone's Short Stack - April 2nd, 2008

2008-04-02T19:16:00.006-05:00

Hola blogosphere. I hope everyone had an enjoyably prank filled April Fools day. For anyone who visited T-Bone's world last night, I hope you enjoyed getting Rick Rolled, Tay Zonday style. That cat can wail...his voice is like warm chocolate syrup being poured directly into my ear. When you combine his pipes with my favorite song from the 80's it's a combo that I frankly can't resist.

The short stack this week is grab bag of goodies...a audio/visual smorgasboard if you will. I hopes you likes...

1. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters - This is honestly one of the most entertaining movies I have seen in a very long time. This story tells of the conflict between Steve Weibe and Billy Mitchell, two guys who are both vying for the world's record in Donkey Kong. It's a documentary but it plays like a feature film and let me tell you, it has everything. Drama, action, suspense, lots of laughs and even a few tears too. Wiebe is such a likable guy and Billy Mitchell is just so dastardly it's almost hard to believe they are real people. You really have to see this movie to believe it. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

2. Grizzly Man - This is another great documentary that I caught recently about Timothy Treadwell, a self styled naturalist and Grizzly bear "expert". Treadwell lived among the bears in Alaska for 13 summers until he was ultimately killed and eaten by one of the animals that he loved so much. Director Werner Herzog culled much of the footage for the film from video that Treadwell himself shot. Say what you will about Tim Treadwell and whether or not he ultimately just got what he deserved by intruding in the bears territory, but the footage he shot of these animals is unbelievable and haunting. This is a strange film about a strange man but I loved it.

3. Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart is the first single of DCFC's upcoming album Narrow Stairs. I don't have to tell you that it is going to be a smash with all cool kids.

4. The Cool Kids - speaking of cool kids...these cats are bringing it. Check them out now and be able to tell your friends that you were rocking them before their record even came out.

Alright...that's it for this week. Feel free to drop me an email or leave a comment if you agree or disagree with any of this. Peace...

New Features at Blogger.com

2008-04-01T21:54:00.001-05:00

I was really excited to read about this new feature that Blogger.com is rolling out. If you blog as much as I do it should be a real lifesaver!

Google does it again...

2008-04-01T07:50:00.003-05:00

These guys are brilliant...what will they think of next?

It's The End of the World As We Know It...

2008-03-31T11:07:00.002-05:00

Boy, I really hope these guys are wrong...

80's Hotness

2008-03-29T09:45:00.002-05:00

I just got off the phone with headquarters and it's official...this is the greatest video of all time. Here is a list of things that you should keep an eye out for as you pour this video nectar into your eyes and earballs:

1. Leotards
2. Juggling fire
3. Tuxedos
4. Motorcycles
5. Flamethrowers
6. Bulldozers
7. Band playing in ankle deep water
8. Saxophone solos
9. Storage units with multi-colored doors in the middle of the desert
10. Playing drums on motorcycle helmets
11. Tumbling and Acrobatics
12. Ominously swinging light fixtures
13. Hollywood style lighted vanities on giant piles of gravel

If Hinder had put even one of these elements into any of their craptacular videos I might not hate them with the white hot hatred that I do today.

Stay Gold Ponyboy

2008-03-28T15:40:00.004-05:00

Here is a pretty cool little feature that shows where the cast of "The Outsiders" is today and what they're doing. This has long been one of my favorite movies and if you haven't seen it you really should. In order to inspire you to seek out this cinematic gem, I'm going to favor you with a little piece that I posted way back in the early days of T-Bone's world. A brief cutting from "The Outsiders" done for the benefit of one Stanley Kubrick performed by the incomparable Brian Atene. Enjoy this with someone you love and thank God for the beauty of American cinema.

T-Bone's Short Stack

2008-03-26T18:18:00.007-05:00

I've decided to start another new feature here in T-Bone's world. Hopefully it lasts longer than my last one, the ill fated Movie Minute. I think I reviewed exactly one movie before I got bored with that and decided it was too hard to write those things. Anyway, this should be a lot easier because it's basically me telling you what music you should listen to. I might even throw in a few movie recommendations but it's up to you to see them because frankly I'm tired of doing all the work. It's time for you people to start pulling your weight here in my little corner of the blogosphere. And that means dropping me a comment once in a while. I work in corporate tax for crying out loud...I need the interaction. Throw me a freaking bone here.

So the way this will work is once a week (or month whichever I decide I can keep up with) I will tell you about 3 or 4 bands that I think you need to know about. If I can link to a Youtube clip I will (because I am that lazy). If not, then you can seek them out on iTunes or your music engine of choice. If you like what you hear (or even if you don't), let me know. I may reward you with a prize. This will most likely be a home made craft of some type which is certain to increase in value through the years, like a limited edition coin from the Franklin Mint.

So without further ado...I give you the Short Stack for March 26th, 2008.

1. The Nadas - I just found out about these guys from a great podcast that I listen to called Filmspotting. I downloaded their record a couple of days ago and I really dig it. Track # 1 is my favorite.

2. The Hold Steady - My buddy Nate told me about these guys a few months back and they are now my go to CD when I'm bored with everything else on my Zune. Very tasty. Plus their keyboard player is proudly rocking a full on mouthbrow.

3. The National - Their album "Boxer" has been named as album of the year by multiple publications including Paste magazine. I listened to this for a good part of the drive from Atlanta to Wichita over Christmas and I still haven't gotten tired of it.

Enjoy...and please feel free to let me know what you think. Comments are always appreciated.

Gnome Terrorizes Neighborhood

2008-03-24T19:00:00.003-05:00

This video is so terrifying I hesitate to even show it to you. I spit you not, this is honest to goodness cell phone video of a gnome like creature shambling out of the tall grass and proceeding to scare the bu-cheezewhiz out of some local rapscallions. Click here to read the story...

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T19:49:00.002-05:00

So here's a funny story...my daughter wore her fancy Easter dress today. It was very frilly and had a bit of a...latin flair I guess. My comment to my wife was that "she looks like a Mexican princess". She looked like she was going to her Quinceanera instead of church. At first it was just an observation but then I noticed the tag. The brand name was Rofo and all of the care instructions were in Spanish. The best part was the tag line at the bottom which read "Only for childrens". Anyway, happy Easter and here are some pics...

One Shining Moment

2008-03-23T17:44:00.002-05:00

Alright party people...the first weekend of March Madness is nearly over and my bracket is mostly intact. I'm leading my pool and feeling very good about the Jayhawks. One of my favorite things about March Madness is the One Shining Moment montage at the end. I couldn't wait for that so I made my own from the first 2 rounds of footage...I had a lot of fun with it so I'll probably do more...lucky you. Anyway, enjoy this and sing along if you want to

I...drink...your...milkshake

2008-03-20T21:59:00.000-05:00

And the Father of the Year Award Goes To...

2008-03-14T11:32:00.001-05:00

...this guy in a landslide

I'm moving to Japan

2008-03-12T18:56:00.002-05:00

Not really, but when I see tv as mind blowingly awesome as this I am genuinely tempted.

On another note, I have to give mad props to the M4H crew for posting this clip. One day I hope to complete my training at their Shaolin blogging temple which I believe is located in Flint, Mi. I can only assume that they find these clips during all night sessions wherein they huff WD-40 from an empty Funyuns bag and manually view all the new videos posted to Youtube. Whatever their method, I admire their dedication and can only aspire to one day reach such great heights. Huzzah gentlemen...huzzah

There's always somone cooler than you...

2008-03-12T18:24:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I talked up Ben Folds to the uninitated out there. Here are a couple of my favorites taken from a Myspace show he did a while back.

There's Always Someone Cooler Than You

All U Can Eat
Just a few words about this one. You might want to send the young ones out of the room before you rock this jam. It's a fairly profane/profound statement on America's love affair with consuming things. I love it, but you may hear a naughty word or 12.

Learn To Live With What You Are
This is just one of my all time favorites...and why I love this guy as a songwriter.

I am so proud to be from Kansas...

2008-03-12T15:29:00.007-05:00

This is one of the strangest stories I have ever heard...

Science is awesome

2008-03-07T21:46:00.003-05:00

It's been too long since I visited those silly monkeys over at Monkeysforhelping...Thanks to them for reminding me why I love science and especially middle school science fairs. This is the future of our country...and I for one couldn't be prouder.

We Lost Another Great One...

2008-03-03T20:01:00.002-05:00

Blind guitar legend Jeff Healy passed away on Sunday...He really only had one or 2 songs that I knew but you've got to give it up to a blind guy who taught himself to play the guitar. Enjoy this live version of "Angel Eyes"

Happy Birthday Doc

2008-03-03T13:08:00.003-05:00

God called him home...

2008-02-26T12:53:00.002-05:00

We lost a pioneer this week and one of the truly great artists of our time. RIP Larry Norman...

My New Favorite Song

2008-01-17T20:12:00.001-05:00

I wish rain really was chocolate...

I'm Sorry

2008-01-17T12:26:00.000-05:00

I got some feedback yesterday (anonymous, of course) that a recent post of mine was potentially hurtful and contained information that was irresponsible of me to post. Although I felt that I was very careful in my writing to protect people's privacy, I concede that there were aspects of the situation that I did not fully consider before I posted. Essentially, I told a story that wasn't mine to tell. I have removed the offending post from my blog. If you saw the post and were hurt by it, please accept my humblest apologies and know that hurting anyone with my writing is the last thing I would ever knowingly do.

Happy New Year

2008-01-13T15:28:00.000-05:00

So first of all...hi everybody. It's been a while since I posted. We spent 2 weeks back in Kansas for the holidays. It was really great to spend some much needed time catching up and just enjoying the company of our friends and family. A couple of notable items...I won my fantasy football league which was big for me...I've been playing for about 7 years now so finally winning my league was pretty cool. I used the winnings to get some new ink on my leg. If you recall my post from last May about the first leg tattoo I got you'll recall that I said it was very painful. This one was even worse than that. The recovery was especially painful for some reason, making it hard to even stand on my leg for several days. It's more or less healed now (other than some pretty gnarly scabs....gross, I know). I'm really happy with it. It's a profile picture of the famous Blackbear Bosin statue Keeper of the Plains with a banner underneath and the number 316. It's my tribute to my beloved hometown of Wichita, Ks. Here is a pic. Let me know what you think.

I know I promised...

2007-12-03T19:49:00.000-05:00

...but honestly, if you don't think this is totally worth it, I will refund your money for this month and give you a free 3 month subscription to Tbone's World to make up for it. I promise.

World Aids Day 2007

2007-12-01T16:18:00.000-05:00

Today is World Aids day. While that isn't something that would typically mean a lot to many American Evangelicals, I think it's important to stop for a minute and think about the toll this disease is taking across the globe, not just within our borders. Even if it's just for today, I would encourage you to put aside your preconceived notions and try to look past the rhetoric that you may have been raised with about this disease. Think about how Jesus would respond if he were walking the streets of Haiti or Uganda...or San Francisco...or Atlanta. Here is an article about an innovative approach that one organization is using to educate people around the world.

MuteMath - Break the Same jam (Tabernacle Nov. 3)

2007-12-01T14:03:00.001-05:00

I know I've thrown a lot of youtube at you the last couple of days...that's sort of the last retreat of a lazy blogger I suppose, but I' stumbled across some really cool stuff that last few days and I wanted to share it. This is probably the last one for a while. I was actually at this show (you may remember me mentioning something about my face being blown into little pieces and blowing around downtown Atlanta). Anyhoo, this little vignette is one of the wildest things I've ever witnessed live. I'll probably be telling my grandkids about this in 30 years. Watch closely at about the 2:20 mark of this video. You won't be sorry.

David Bazan - Live @ the Grey Eagle

2007-11-30T20:54:00.000-05:00

Here is another little treat for all the hipsters out there. You can download David Bazan's live set from The Grey Eagle in Ashville, NC. The audio is pristine and he plays about 6 new songs on this tour. I caught it here in Atlanta a few weeks back and it was amazing. You have to download it track by track but trust me...it's well worth it. Enjoy...

David Bazan - Live!

Ninjas For Christ [NFC]

2007-11-30T19:50:00.001-05:00

These guys are pretty rad...Christian Ninjas are the real real ultimate power

Heavenly Metal

2007-11-30T19:27:00.002-05:00

One thing you need to know about me is that I loves me some Hair Metal. Even more then the standard bands like Poison and Motley Crue though, I love the Christian Hair Metal bands of the late 80's and early 90's. It was just so ridiculous and cheesy but it was the soundtrack of my youth. In that vein, here are a few little early christmas presents for any holy headbangers out there.

Whitecross - "We Know What's Right"

Bloodgood - "Out of the Darkness"

Who the #%%&$ does Celine Dion think she is?

2007-11-28T20:55:00.000-05:00

So I'm watching Christmas at Rockefeller Center on NBC. Actually, I am blogging and it's on in the background and Celine Dion was like the headlining act or something. No surprise there right? Here's the thing...she's not singing a Christmas song. How freaking arrogant is that? It's a CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!!!! I don't care who you are or how many years in advance your Las Vegas show is sold out...if you're singing on Christmas at Rockefeller Center you better damn well come with some Christmas carols locked and loaded baby. Rudolph, Jingle Bells, O Holy Night...whatever. But I'm not gonna sit here and watch Celine Dion singing "Alone" in front of a Christmas tree...I'm just not.

Hawthorne Heights - This Is Who We Are

2007-11-28T20:15:00.002-05:00

Really sad news here...the guitar player for Hawthorne Heights apparently died in his sleep over the weekend. Becuase of his job as a rock star, I'm sure there will be a lot of rumors and speculation surrounding his death. I dont't know how he died, I guess I don't really care that much. I know he was young so however he passed, it sort of seems like a waste. At the end of the day, I'm just sad...for his family, for his bandmates, for all the emo kids who really wear their hearts on their sleeves where their favorite bands are concerned and for me because I really dig Hawthorne Heights.

Just like I knew they would

2007-11-25T18:39:00.000-05:00

Well, it took them 12 games to do it but once again the Kansas Jayhawks football team have succeeded in breaking my heart. On a national stage at Arrowhead stadium and in the most important game in the history of Kansas football, the Jayhawks simultaneously forgot how to tackle, kick field goals and run the football, all of which had been their bread and butter for the past 11 games. By the time they remembered how to play football and pulled within 6 points of the hated Missouri Tigers to make the game interesting, they just ran out of time. The worst part of all of this is that all the haters who have been talking trash all year about how the Jayhawks aren't for real, and they haven't played anybody and all that nonsense will just say "See, we told you so" and that will be that. The Jayhawks will be off the national radar and forgotten again just like they were at the start of this season. They finished the year 11-1 and still have a good shot at a BCS bowl game, but right now it just feels a little hollow because of how close they were to finishing this dream season undefeated and really making some jaws drop.

In His arms she fell...

2007-11-20T22:06:00.000-05:00

Mr. J Medeiros is one of a growing breed of socially concious hip-hop artists who are choosing to use their craft to provoke thoughtful discussion about important issues rather than ogling women and expensive cars. This particular song and video is particularly striking as it addresses the issue of human trafficking and child exploitation via the internet. Very difficult material but kudos to him for having the courage to speak about the tough issues. For more on this issue visit International Justice Mission

I never thought I would see the day...

2007-11-18T16:41:00.000-05:00

The Kansas Jayhawks are the #2 team in all the land...in Football. If I had told you that 6 months ago you would have punched me in the face and told me shut my damn dirty lying mouth. But it's true...and there's nothing that all the haters in purple can do about it. This is a season of destiny and if I've learned anything from TV it's that you can stop destiny.

Facebook

2007-11-18T16:27:00.000-05:00

I know it's mostly for kids or whatever, but my old friend Brian Buller called me the other night and he said that he had a facebook account and it really started him thinking about trying to reconnect with old friends. I decided to check it out and I have to say I agree. It's pretty simple to use and I've found so many people on there that I haven't talked to in so long. You should check it out. If you sign up, let me know...I will add you as a friend. I have a special right now where I am giving 1 Schrute Buck to each person who adds me as a friend or writes on my wall. And in our current economy...that is a better deal than you'll find anywhere. You can see my profile here.

Bill Mallonee

2007-11-18T14:21:00.000-05:00

I got to see one of my rock and roll heroes last night...Bill Mallonee (former lead singer of the now defunct Vigilantes of Love). He did this song...

Also saw this guy...Jeffrey Foucault...very cool. The vocals aren't great in this clip but you should check him out however you can.

It's all happening...

2007-11-11T20:37:00.000-05:00

KU football is 10-0 - and still in the hunt for a national championship! Week in and week out they keep on winning and it still feels wierd for me to be saying that. If you don't believe me though, read it for yourself right here. #4 in all 3 major polls and #3 in the one that really matters...the BCS standings. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

I am not for sale. You are not for sale. No one should be for sale

2007-11-11T17:46:00.000-05:00

There is an organization that I heard about some time back called International Justice Mission or IJM for short. IJM is dedicated to ending human trafficking and slavery around the world. This is a $30 billion a year business that is affecting over 27 million people around the globe and that includes the United States. Please take a few minutes to find out how you can help by clicking here. When Jesus talked about what we do for "the least of these" I think this is what he meant.

Great Magazine - Great Deal

2007-11-11T17:20:00.000-05:00

Hey all - check out this great offer from Paste Magazine. If you're not aware, Paste is a music/culture/lifestyle mag that is based in Atlanta. They have their finger on the pulse of all sorts of Indie music and film (think Sufjan Stevens and Wes Anderson). Basically, they are following in the footsteps of Radiohead and offering a year subscription for...WHATEVER YOU WANT TO PAY!! You have to hurry though because this offer ends Thursday! It's a great mag...the best part is every issue comes with a free sampler CD containing music from the artists reviewed in that months issue. The CD alone is worth the cover price. I personally give this offer my "No Suck Guarantee"...and you know that's bank baby!

Zombie Survival Wallpaper

2007-11-04T22:17:00.001-05:00

I found this handy little reference sheet at http://www.myconfinedspace.com/. If things go as badly as I think they might with this little water crisis we have going here this could come in handy.

Sign of the apocalypse...

2007-11-04T19:34:00.001-05:00

Being a fan of Kansas football has not been easy over the years. It seems like they are constantly finding new and inventive ways to break my heart. This year is different though. They are 9-0 and put the wood to Nebraska yesterday by scoring 76 points, the most ever scored against the Cornhuskers. People actually laughed at work when I suggested (as I do every year) that this was the year that the Jayhawks would win it all. While that is still a longshot, I do have to say that I feel slightly vindicated that the national media is taking notice and starting to include the Jayhawks in the national championship discussion. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!

It's the end of the world as we know it...

2007-11-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

Here is an interesting blog dedicated to the current drought that the southeast US is facing. Atlanta is being hit particularly hard due in part to the massive amount of urban sprawl and the unprecedented growth the city has had over the past several years. If we don't get some rain, they're saying that we're actually going to run out of water. Can you believe that?

My prediction - within 6 months everything outside the perimeter (I-285) will resemble the burned out landscape of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic vision "The Road". Everyone inside the perimeter will band together and build a wall of dishwashers and discarded toilets to keep the OTP renegades from storming their condos in Buckhead and Virginia Highlands to steal the little remaining water that is available.

I love concerts

2007-11-04T11:03:00.000-05:00

I went last night with my friends Nate and Chris and got to check out one pretty good band and one that was absolutely amazing...

The one that was pretty good...Eisley

The one that rocked my face right off my skull and blew it into little pieces that are still probably blowing around downtown Atlanta...Mute Math

Note - the audio isn't the best in this clip but it will give you some idea of the energy at this show. Just go on Youtube and search for Mute Math - you'll find plenty

'Tis the season (almost)

2007-11-01T18:37:00.000-05:00

I know Halloween is not even 24 hours in the grave, but I'm starting to get in the mood for Christmas already. Do yourself a big favor and click on this link to hear one of my favorite Christmas records ever. It tells the entire story including all the Old Testament stuff that sometimes gets overlooked. It's got guest vocals from Derek Webb, Jill Phillips and other notables...I love it...

http://www.andrew-peterson.com/players/btlog/beholdthelamb.html