Collideoscope

Posted by: Denelle

The folks at Blogger have finally fixed whatever bugs were messing things up. What a frustrating week it's been trying to get things up for you.

Bringing You Up To Speed

I was attempting a live post on Friday night when the Cardinals won the World Series and couldn't get anything in. So, instead I'll just tip my hat to my lovely Cards now and say well played. I couldn't help but wish as I was watching the festivites that I could pick-up KMOX in St. Louis so I could her Mike Shannon announcing or that Jack Buck was still alive to claim "Go Crazy Folks, Go Crazy!" But otherwise I'd have to say it was just about perfect.

Personal Injury

Last week while walking the dog I managed to step on a place in the side walk that was uneven and seriously sprain my left ankle. On Thursday, I noticed that while I wasn't in a lot of pain there was a clicking in my ankle. On Friday, the ankle was seriously swollen (much more so than on the previous two days) so I frantically searched all over Manhattan for an Orthopedist who specialized in feet and ankle injuries -- and trust me that wasn't easy it seems knees and shoulders are the way to go in Orthopedics -- that could also see me on Friday.

A couple of X-rays and a visit with a really good looking doctor later, I am wearing an Aircast until an MRI can be performed to determine whether or not I've torn a ligament, which may or may not lead to me having surgery. Unfortunately I think this may put a bit of a crimp in my holiday plans. Hopefully I'll know more by the end of the week. I suppose the upside will be that if I'm sitting in bed with nothing else to do, I can certainly blog more often.

Personal Catastrophy

So if all of that wasn't enough. The dog and I were woken up at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning by the sound of sirens and the smell of smoke. By the time I'd jumped out of bed, I could hear the fire department pounding up the stairs. I had to grab the dog, my purse, a sweatshirt and hobble down the two flights of stairs carrying all of the above (the dog was totally freaked out by the FDNY and wouldn't walk on his own). And it was definitely hobbling since I was wearing the Aircast.

After spending nearly an hour standing in the pouring rain and high winds the FDNY had everything under control. Turns out some clothes in the laundry-mat on the ground floor had caught fire, under still unexplained circumstances, and caused more smoke damage than anything else. The apartments were all ok and other than them busting out the skylight in my bathroom to allow the smoke to escape I suffered no ill effects. The dog, however, was and is totally freaked out by every little noise.

So obviously I've had better weeks.

Tomorrow I will try and tackles some of the things I've had backlogged to post.

Posted by: David Bunch

Here's an interesting piece on the steps David Stern (NBA Commissioner) is taking to re-fashion the image of the NBA this coming season.

For the start of the 2006-07 season on Tuesday night, Stern has stolen a page out of departed NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue's old playbook, angling to regulate his players' appearance on the court after implementing a dress code off it a year ago. No more arm sleeves, no more layers of shorts sticking out of game shorts, no more wristbands pushed up to the elbow.

Stern calls this a "new golden era" for the NBA, an emergence of likable young stars rising into the championship chase now. What's more, Stern has started an initiative that was neglected too long by the league. Finally, he is using the stature of his office to lead a dialogue on cleaning up the cesspool of amateur basketball in America. The system has gone to hell, as responsible as anything for the flood of overseas players gobbling up NBA jobs.

As a huge basketball fan that feels betrayed by the NBA for the preponderance of thugs now in the league, I believe this is a great start in the right direction.

Let's hope it works.

Posted by: David Bunch

After technical difficulties with blogger and few days on the road, I think I'm back in the blog seat now! Over the last few days we've had a World Series win by St. Louis, an IQ Forum, and let's see, what else?

Ah, here's something for you braniacs. Headline:

Curry May Keep Elderly Minds Sharp

Who knew that 90&9's executive editor could be so good for health reasons?!

After taking into account factors that could impact test results, they found that people who consumed curry "occasionally" and "often or very often" had significantly better MMSE scores than did those who "never or rarely" consumed curry.

"In view of its efficacy and remarkably low toxicity," curry shows promise for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease, the researchers conclude.

So what this means to you, gentle reader, is that you must continue to consume the webzine created by Curry in large doses.

Posted by: kdc

We've been trying to post all week, but they won't upload. Apparently this is happening to most people...

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

The St. Louis Cardinals shocked about 90% of the world and beat the Detroit Tigers in only five games! I'll let one of the Redbird fans around here tell you more about it, but here's a snippet from an article by Jayson Stark that tells just how unbelievable it is.

(And just know that I was cheering for them. I didn't know if I could do it after rooting against them all these years but I am more than happy that an NL team finally did it. I'm just not looking forward to hearing comments from Curry like, "Where's your World Series Ring?")

ST. LOUIS -- Teams that win 83 games are supposed to spend the last week of October tackling those nasty doglegs left -- not winning the World Series.

Teams that have worse records after the All-Star break than the Pirates aren't supposed to spend the last week of October winning the World Series.

Teams that let 8½-game September leads turn into half-game September leads aren't supposed to win the World Series.

Teams that have the 13th-best record in baseball aren't supposed to win the World Series.

Teams that don't figure out who the closer is until Sept. 27 aren't supposed to win the World Series.

But now try and tell that to the St. Louis Cardinals, the best 83-win team in the history of baseball.

Yeah, tell it to the Cardinals, the improbable champions of America's most improbable sport.

They won that World Series they were never supposed to play in Friday night, on an October evening that felt more suitable for the Iditarod than for baseball.

They won a World Series with a starting pitcher (Jeff Weaver) who got dumped by his previous team to make room in the rotation for his own brother.

They won a World Series with a Series MVP (David Eckstein) who got non-tendered less than two years ago, with a closer (Adam Wainwright) who was shocked to even find himself in the big leagues on Opening Day, with a catcher (Yadier Molina) who had the lowest regular-season batting average (.216) of any World Series starter in more than 20 years.

Posted by: Denelle

Posted by: kdc

Former Month in the Life blogger CS shares her thoughts on the IQ Forum here.

Expect a full news article (w/more pictures) soon, probably this Monday.

In the meantime, enjoy these pix from the "Songbook Burning" panel, the "How to Write a Song" bonus session, and CSI:NY set dresser Eric Roemheld chats it up with attendees Matt Schorr and David Williams at the Coffee House.

Posted by: Denelle

Blogger has been giving everyone fits for the past few days and so we haven't been able to get anything new posted for you to read. Hopefully the issues are now resolved. It's funny how you never realize how addicted you are to technology until you're forced to go without it.

The World Series

Well, the Cards and Tigers are all tied up at one win each in the World Series. But the game moves to St. Louis tonight and I have all confidence that the energy in Busch Stadium will help give the Cardinals that something extra. I'm glad to see that Bradley has finally seen the light and started rooting for the "right" team.

IQ Forum

I can't wait to get a recap of this weekend's IQ Forum. Check back later in the week as we're sure to have more information posted. Like I said, since Blogger is experiencing difficulties things are a little backed up.

GRE

It is over and done. And that's about all I want to say. lol Actually, it wasn't too bad but not as great as what I expected of myself. As my mom so kindly pointed out I'm simply not used to doing something and not coming out on the very top. Thankfully, now all I have to do is wait until I get a decision from the admissions office.

In the meantime, I'm now trying to figure out what to do with my extra time since it's not being consumed by studying. So far all I've managed to come up with is watching videos on YouTube or surfing the net. I think I need to go find a good book to read.

Shameless Promoting

As many of you know, the church I was a part of in LA does a huge Halloween outreach every year. Well, it's that time again and performances start tomorrow and run through Halloween night. If you are anywhere within a 4 hour drive I would highly recommend that you go see it. You can get more information fromt he Virtual Hell 11 website and if you're like me and can't get there you can at least get a sneak peek at some of the video footage that they've filmed for this year.

Posted by: kdc

Images from the Coffee House: There were Smoothies, Coffee, Tea, Snacks, Games, and amazing Music.








Andy Smith teaching us on How to Handle being Hurt in the Church.

Cara Davis teaching on How to be Published.

IQ Forum '06 was amazing. The sessions, the attendees, and the speakers were all exceptional. You will definitely be hearing more later, but we wanted to show you some of the pictures from this weekend!

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

I humbly set down my Astros pride and congratulate the St. Louis Cardinals for making it to the World Series. Game Seven of the NLCS last night was about as dramatic as you can get with great defense (on the Mets' side) and timely hitting (on the Cardinals' side).

New York left-fielder Endy Chavez made one of the greatest catches I've ever seen to rob Scott Rolen of a two-run homerun and keep the game tied at one. Tied until the ninth inning, anyway, when Yadier Molina, who only hit .215 with 6 home runs during the regular season, sent a ball into the left field bleachers where Chavez couldn't get to it.

The Mets didn't go quietly, though. They loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth before Carlos Beltran struck out to end the game.

The bad news for St. Louis? Now they have to play an American League team, which at first-glance looks vastly superior. I'm going to cheer for St. Louie, though, since I always side with the NL, so hopefully they can perform better than the 'Stros last year and at least get a win or two.

Posted by: Denelle

Well, according to my mother, her heart does. And so I am sure that her St. Louis Cardinals loving heart is beating with pride this morning.



Yadier Molina is probably the most popular guy in St. Louis right now. And here he looks like a little kid who is so excited he can't hardly contain himself. It's so cute.



The World Series starts tomorrow night in Detroit, and I can't wait!

Posted by: David Bunch

The youth band from Austin, TX (David Bernard, pastor) has made it into the top 10 at a live artist showcase. You can go and vote for the band here.

Way to go Apostolics in Austin!

Posted by: David Bunch

I thought I'd take a moment to show you what the youth department at First UPC of Denham Springs is doing these days. The youth chapel was recently remodeled, adding risers for the band. Also added were cool screens (monitors with pictures if you will) for the band leaders and speakers to follow what's going on.

The pictures above are from tonight's H2O service. The first picture is of the band and the second is of our youth pastor, Billy Johnson.

We had a fantastic atmosphere of worship in God's presence followed by a study on "Unmasking Your Identity".

Posted by: Denelle

As a few of you know I am getting ready to go to grad school. The application has been sent and I'm taking the GRE this weekend. Thankfully, David/Bradley/Kent are covering for me here as I have been eyeball deep in study materials this week. Saturday is the big day and since the GRE people went and got all snazzy with computerized tests I should have my results immediately. Nice of them to allow you to either realize your dreams or see them crushed infront of your face instantly. Any extra prayers you might think to toss my way would be greatly appreciated.

However, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to comment on the lastest celebrity rumblings.

Step Right Up and Get Your Baby Here

Madonna has gone and gotten herself a baby from the country of Malawi. And in the process, like most things Madonna, has managed to cause a storm of controversy. Adoption groups are accusing her of using her star power and her deep pockets to speed up the adoption process in a country where adoption by non-nationals is extremely difficult. There are couples on the list for children from Malawi who have waited for years and yet Madonna walks in and manages to snatch one up in less than a week.

Personally I think the most mortifying fact of all in this farce is that the child is not an orphan. He has a father. A father that didn't even understand that his child was being put up for adoption until after Madonna had set her beady eyes on him. A father that then made a statement claiming that he was glad that his son was going to a "good Christian family" in "America". Ummm, did someone fail to point out to him that Madonna isn't a Christian, she's a member of an extreme sect of ancient mystical Judaism, who has most recently hung herself from a cross and during her concerts AND she lives in England not the U.S. I wonder if this man would still be so willing to give up his son if he realized the full extent of the situation?

Also incredibly interesting to this story is the way that the world seems to have come out swinging against Madonna but was so incredibly supportive of Angelina Jolie when she adopted Zahara from Ethiopia last year. Maybe it's because Angelina seems to genuinely care about Africa and the plight of children there. Had Madonna even set foot on the continent before swooping down this past week? Maybe it's because Zahara was actually an orphan. Or maybe it's just because the world loves to pick on Madonna for all of the insane things she's done in her life.

No matter what the cause I think the NY Post nailed it when they claimed "this season's new must-have accessory: African babies. They're this year's Birkin bag!" African children have become a status symbol, a way to prove you care about the world and in the bases terms, a trend. I must remember to pick one up so that I too can be hip. Do you think Bergdorf's is carrying them yet?

I'm all for bringing awareness about the plight of children in Africa to the forefront of people's minds. But what happens when we move on to next year's "trend"? You've impacted the life of the one child you adopted and that's wonderful. Maybe Madonna should have matched the $3 million donation she made to the orphanage where she picked out her new son, with one to other hospitals and schools that are desperately in need. Then she could be affecting the lives of hundreds of children and truly making a difference instead of simply picking up the newest "it" item for her collection.

Scariest of all is the speculation that Britney Spear's may be the next on the adopt-an-African bandwagon. When she can figure out how to use a high chair and properly strap her own children into car seats then she can start trying to take on the rest of the world.

Posted by: David Bunch

While I was out on my 2 1/2 week "vacation", a new poem by Robert Frost was found.

An unpublished Robert Frost poem, a tribute to a friend killed during World War I, has been rediscovered and will appear next week in the fall issue of the Virginia Quarterly Review, the University of Virginia announced Wednesday.

"War Thoughts at Home" first emerged in 1918 when Frost inscribed it in a copy of "North of Boston," his second collection. The poem was not seen again until a graduate student at the University of Virginia, Robert Stilling, recently spotted "War Thoughts" while looking through some Frost papers

.

Posted by: David Bunch

Much has been made over the potential embedded chips have for being implanted in human's anatomy. But are we as close to that as we've heard? The Institute of Grocery Distribution has research that indicates that people are not quickly jumping on this bandwagon.

According to Institute of Grocery Distribution research only one in 10 teenagers would be interested, while one in 20 adults would also be open to the idea.

But Kevin Warwick, professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading said the idea of chips embedded under the skin still has "enormous potential".

But in contrast, Simon Davies, director of civil liberties group Privacy International, said: "The idea of a chip in the skin to purchase goods is laughable."

So as you can tell there is still enormous disagreement on the subject. Will it really usher in the mark of the beast?

Posted by: David Bunch

Sting has released a new album and it has already topped the UK classical charts. What makes this album, entitled Songs From the Labyrinth, worth mentioning is that it is Sting's version of songs from Elizabethan era composer John Downland. Basically, Sting sings these 16th century songs as they were originally meant to be done, accompanied by a lutist. He also reads from a 16th century letter in between tracks.

I'm not a trained singer for this repertoire, but I am hoping that I can bring some freshness to these songs that perhaps a more experienced singer wouldn't give. For me they are pop songs written around 1600 and I relate to them in that way; beautiful melodies, fantastic lyrics, and great accompaniments.

Overall, the music is so different to what we are used to that one would not necessarily purchase this cd in an effort to jam. However, it does strike me as important because Sting is bringing a genre of music from 400 years ago to the public's consciousness. I can see where music and drama students will get much from this offering.

Posted by: Denelle

Tommy Tenney's movie One Night With the Queen opens today! Check it out here.

I'm very interested in seeing how this movie does. It will be interesting to see what kind of buzz it generates.

Have an excellent weekend!

Posted by: David Bunch

Today is Friday the 13th! So let's see, what else is special about today? Well, some interesting things happened in history, such as the laying of the cornerstone for The White House and the creation of the Continental Navy.

And of course some famous people have birthdays on October the 13th...

Paul Simon-Singer and Songwriter
Lenny Bruce-Comedian
Margaret Thatcher-British Prime Minister
David Bunch-Collideoscope blogger and all around great guy

Hey, what's that last entry? Oh yeah, that's right, it is my birthday today! Woohooo.....!!!

Normally, I would don my "humble" chapeau and not bring up this fact. But, since Meme already announced it in the comments section of the previous blog and since I am 30 this year, I suppose it is worth bringing up.

Thirty doesn't feel so old now that I'm here...I really feel more alive than I ever have upon reaching this milestone of my journey. It kind of feels like I've successfully navigated through my teens and twenties and am now equipped to move forward into the rest of life with my head held high.

Posted by: David Bunch

Brad and Jaime, my brother, a few other friends and I heard Jars of Clay perform live last night. We had a really good time and the band was as good as ever.

It was only slightly disconcerting that Dan Haseltine mentioned that they have been doing this for 13 years now and that the band only did about 3 songs off of the original smash album that we know them for.

Guess I'm getting old?

Posted by: David Bunch

I'm back! After a much longer than planned hiatus, I'm back to the blog. All of the fan mail, hate mail, mail of concern that you loyal readers sent me while I was away....it was truly touching.

While I was away I fought for justice and the human way, defying great odds and the laws of physics to right wrongs and catch petty nae'r do wells.



Actually, I took a week off to allow my creative energies to focus on writing an article about what I believe is the most important characteristic for this generation of Christians to have (and all Christians for all of time for that matter). I'm hoping that Kent Curry has received my cash payments to him and will "see fit" to publish it sometime for your perusal.

The one week I took off turned into 2 and a half weeks for reasons that you probably don't care about. And any excuses I offer now would sound lame, but at the time they were all raging fires that had to be put out immediately, thereby preventing my showing up here at the blog.

Here's a short excerpt from the writing I've been doing:

Recently, I was forced to re-think my paradigm of Christian ministry when I learned that a local non-denominational church booked their worship team to play at a popular college hangout. Would people be there with alcohol? Very likely. Would the air be tinged with the aroma of pot? Probably. Would the local religious establishment cast stones at this organization’s bold move? Without a doubt. But to ask one more question that though extraordinarily overused is extremely relevant, what would Jesus do?

Posted by: kdc

Roundtable Discussion topics are up on the I.Q. (Identitiy Quotient) Forum schedule at last.

If you’re interested in some passionate discussions about the “The Role of Modern Women,” “The Best Christian Literature,” “Will an Apostolic Ever Write a Great American Novel,” and/or “Faith in Politics” then check out 90&9’s first sponsored live event. It’s for readers like you who seek interactive discussions on relevant topics with like-minded saints. Why wonder when you can participate?

Plus there's affordable pricing for all.

Go visit www.IQForum.net now!

It just might redesign your life.

Posted by: Denelle

Except when I'm sick for almost the entire time. If I'm going to be sick and miserable, I'd rather it be on a day when I'm supposed to be at work and I can feel gratified about taking the time off and spending the day in bed.



Instead, that is pretty much how I looked this weekend after multiple Benadryl Sinus and Advil Cold and Sinus pills. Lucky for me, I'm feeling better just in time to go back to work. Hooray.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World

Just when you needed further proof that the world we live in has really and truly lost its grip on reality someone is always willing to come through. And no, I'm not taking about North Korea's new nuculear status. This time (as it often is) Trekkies have managed to prove once and for all that some people will spend obscene amounts of money on anything.

Star Fleet Capt. Jean-Luc Picard commanded it. Now some Trekkie owns it.

A model of the Starship Enterprise used in the pilot and title sequences of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" sold for $576,000 Saturday at an auction of costumes, sets and props from 40 years of the "Star Trek" sci-fi franchise.

As a HUGE fan of Star Trek Enterprise and an admitted movie buff I have to admit that I think this is really cool. However, I can't imagine ever spending that much money on anything outside of . . . I don't know . . . a house.

In other "the whole world's gone crazy" news, Scarlett Johansson has decided to inform the public that she's not promiscuious, except when she is.

". . . I wouldn't say I'm a serial monogamist, either. I mean, I went through periods of time when I was, ah, single. But when I'm in a relationship, I'm in a relationship . . . I do think on some basic level we are animals, and by instinct we kind of breed accordingly," she says. "But as much as I believe that, I work really hard when I'm in a relationship to make it work in a monogamous way."

Wow. Just wow. I think this might just rank right up there with Paris Hilton's "I'm not having sex for a year" comment, just before she went and was caught all over (in public) her ex.

Posted by: David Bunch

Last Friday I wore a brand new shirt to work that I had been saving for the fall. Pretty cool shirt, actually. Trendy, yet not too outré. The only thing was, I had never heard of the brand, which is Sean John.

When I got to work my co-worker immediately identified the brand by announcing to everyone, "I didn't know David was into P. Diddy's brand!" It was true. I was actually wearing a rapper's brand of clothing.

A quick survey of the Sean John website showed that actually the clothing line is not too "out there". There are actually fairly conservative suits, children's clothes, and the like.

I felt better Sunday at church when I mentioned this to a guy who looked inside his suit jacket only to find that in fact he was wearing a Sean John suit!

Posted by: Denelle

Dear Bradley,

I received your "note" about baseball and the playoffs. It saddens me that you had to insinuate that the Cardinals cheat. Perhaps in your grief you are a little confused and didn't realize that it was in fact the Astros who were just accused of cheating (via performance enhancing drugs) earlier this week. Well, more specifically it was Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte who were accused of cheating but it does sort of overshadow the entire team.

Everyone knows that a Cardinal wouldn't cheat. Baseball is too pure of a sport, too sacred to Cardinal fans for a player to sully the team with cheating. -- Please refrain from making any references to Mark McGuire here. He is no longer a member of the team and thus doesn't count. Anyway, we got him from Southern California and we all know what fruits and nuts those people are ... says the former SoCal girl. -- No, clearly that behavior is better reserved for the likes of the Astros and the Orioles.

So, once the baseball season is done I will gladly move along to covering football. After all, the world of professional football has its own fun scandals to deal with (Terrell Owens attempting suicide - or not - maybe it's a Texas thing). Until then you'll just have to accept the fact that the Cardinals are "magic".

Very truly yours,
Denelle

P.S. Oh, and here's a little something more to brighten your day. Beautiful, isn't it??

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Dear Denelle,

I know you're trying to be helpful but no one around here cares about baseball. It's such a dumb sport, I can't understand why anyone would want to follow it. I didn't even know they had playoffs anymore. I've heard that this "Cardinals" team you speak of cheats, anyway.

Now, FOOTBALL, that's a real sport. It just happens to be football season, so I'm going to have to ask you to keep all sports posts football related. No more of this nonsense about baseball.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,
Bradley

I'm joking, of course! Baseball is still baseball, even without the good guys (Astros), who couldn't grasp the playoff spot that the Cardinals desperately tried to give them. To show how much of a good sport I am, I've decided that during the playoffs I'll cheer for the Cardin Dodgers!

Posted by: Denelle

Please forgive my absence earlier this week, I'm doing last minute GRE craming and I've been under the weather . . . consequently there aren't enough hours in the day. However, today is cause for celebration. Why, you ask?? Because the Cardinals won game one of their division series playoff yesterday. -- you can hear the cheers errupting from around the country, well, from everywhere but Louisiana where Bradley is still sniffing over the fact that his 'Stros didn't make the playoffs --

Not surprisingly the tenor of yesterday's Cards win over the Padres (5-1) was set by the darling, the beloved, the absolutely adored (at least by me), Albert Pujols.

San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy tempted Pujols with one pitch too many and the slugger, who has a shot at a second straight NL MVP award, responded with a two-run homer that launched the Cardinals to a 5-1 victory in the opening game of the division series . . .

Following Pujols' homer, Jim Edmonds singled, Scott Rolen doubled and Juan Encarnacion hit a sacrifice fly.

See, even Albert knows that God is a Cardinals fan.

Can't wait for game two on Thursday. Oh, and can anybody tell me when Qualcom Park (I think that was its name) became Petco Park??? I don't care how much money they give you, who names their stadium after a pet store?