Collideoscope

Posted by: David Bunch

Bono became a knight of the British empire on Thursday in a ceremony at the British Ambassador's residence in Dublin.

Because he is an Irish citizen, Bono won't have the title of "sir" before his name. That honor is reserved for citizens of the United Kingdom or British Commonwealth countries. Ireland left the Commonwealth when it became a republic in 1949.

I've also found that Bono has published a book entitled On the Move (as in God is on the move to help those who cannot help themselves). It is a book format of a speech he gave at the National Prayer Breakfast. I see one source that says the book will be published April 3rd and another that says it was published March 17, but either way you should be able to get your hands on it immediately.

In other musician turned author news, Christian band Delirious is publishing a book in April called "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever". These are the guys who wrote the song by the same title, as well as "Shout to the North", "Deeper" and "Rain Down". Click here to read the first chapter.

Posted by: Denelle

I think all of us have experienced some level of disappointment when a book that we love is turned into a movie and it ends up being almost unrecognizable. One of the best book to film translations I've ever seen is the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice. But that's probably because it's six hours long and very nearly a word for word translation. One of the worst I've seen was The DaVinci Code. Very little was changed from the book but the story just didn't translate into film that well. The excitement/anxiety that comes from reading the story simply couldn't be captured on film. And the things that had to be left out in order to meet time restrictions were sincerely missed.

But have you ever imagined what an author must feel like when something they've poured hours or even years of their lives into is completely changed/re-interpreted?

Author Jodi Picoult recently wrote an article describing the process.

I've figured out the difference between Hollywood and New York publishing. In publishing, they say, "I hate it, I hate it" until finally someone grudgingly agrees to represent you. In Hollywood, they say, "I love it, I love it" when, in fact, they have no intention of pursuing your work.

That sounds about right. Hollywood is nothing if not fake.

But Picoult goes on to give some pointers for those that are determined to try and make a go of having their works translated to the silver-screen. Things to keep in mind (and she goes into great detail):

NO ONE READS IN HOLLYWOOD.
THE WHEELS OF HOLLYWOOD GRIND SLOWLY.
IT'S NOT A GET-RICH-QUICK SCHEME.
THE AUTHOR IS THE LEAST IMPORTANT PERSON INVOLVED.
STEREOTYPES ABOUND.

But despite all of the negatives and the struggles that surround turning a book into a movie Picoult agrees that there are amazing rewards for an author to see their work coming to life!

When the filming began, I was invited to Toronto to watch. The first scene was one that had come verbatim from my novel: A teenage boy lies down on the fresh grave of his dead girlfriend and kisses the earth. It was an emotional scene to write, but I was unprepared for how stirring it would be to see it brought to life. I crouched behind a tombstone as the director called "Action!" and sobbed, amazed to see what I'd pictured in my own mind unfolding before me.

But here's the real reason you sell the film rights to your novel: You find an audience that would never have known you. When Plain Truth aired on Lifetime, seven million people watched. The only authors who sell seven million books are
Dan Brown and J.K. Rowling. If even one-tenth of those TV viewers pick up the book your movie is based on, it's an instant bestseller.

I don't mind seeing my favorite books turned into movies. Often the translation is close enough to still be enjoyable and you can see why they left certain things out. And if the film version is awful then all is not lost. There is still the original book, in all of it's glory, that you can go back to time and time again.

Posted by: David Bunch

Stephen Greenblatt, author of Will in the World, has an interesting piece in the New York Review of Books titled "Shakespeare and the Uses of Power" in which he tells of a conversation he had with President Clinton about Macbeth.

"Mr. President," I said, sticking out my hand, "don't you think that Macbeth is a great play about an immensely ambitious man who feels compelled to do things that he knows are politically and morally disastrous?" Clinton looked at me for a moment, still holding my hand, and said, "I think Macbeth is a great play about someone whose immense ambition has an ethically inadequate object."

From there Greenblatt gives us a quick run through of Shakespeare's heroes and villains and what their characters tell us about Shakespeare's view of governance, rule, and power.

Brutus' fate is not his alone: in Shakespeare no character with a clear moral vision has a will to power and, conversely, no character with a strong desire to rule over others has an ethically adequate object.

Interesting (if not long) read.

Posted by: David Bunch

A quick 90&9 NCAA tournament pool update for you. Jaime McDonald is now in the #1 spot and picked all four teams that made the Final Four. All I can say is she must have gotten hold of some of those peas her father in law and last year's champ Big Mac ate last year.

Way to go Jaime!

Posted by: Denelle

Well, not really, and not in that order but we'll get to the details.

I'm finally back in New York. Still trying to get around on crutches and still with the world's most ginormous cast on my foot. However, I have an appointment with the doctor at 10 am tomorrow morning and it is my fondest wish that by 10:15 this cast will be a thing of the past. I'm considering throwing my crutches into the East River in triumph.

Now I have GOT to get back into my routine. There is school work to be done, work to go back to, bible quizzing to coach, and a million gazillion other things to take care of (why am I using made up words for really large numbers tonight?). I've also given up checking out my standing in the 90&9 March Madness Poll. What can I say, sports are not my strong suit. However, baseball season is getting ready to start and I'm looking forward to seeing what the Cards will do this year after being the World Champs last season.

Now, as promised we move on to . . .

Irving Baxter and MO Lawmakers

In preparation for the implementation of national IDs (th Real ID Act) state lawmakers around the country and especially in Missouri are taking a keen interest in Mark of the Beast and other endtime prophecies. And who better to get your information from when it comes to endtime prophecies than Irving Baxter, the head of Endtime Ministries.

In short, new national ID numbers could spell the beginning of the end, some Christians believe.

"This is getting treacherously close to prophecy in the scripture," said Irvin Baxter Jr., founder and president of Endtime Ministries in Dallas.

State Rep. Jim Guest, a frequent participant on Baxter's radio show, is sponsoring a bill that would exempt the state from complying with the federal law. The Missouri House overwhelmingly approved Guest's bill last Thursday, 146-4. It has moved to the Senate for consideration.

And these lawmakers are not alone. States around the U.S. have taken (Maine) or are considering steps that would exempt them from participating in then program. And groups outside of the evangelical Christian movement are also wary.

Amish, Mennonite and some Muslim groups are objecting to mandates that require their photo to be taken. And some domestic violence groups oppose the use of addresses on the cards, for fear that abusive spouses might compromise the system.

There are a number of problems that stem from this Act beyond just the Biblical implications but I'm interested to see what you all think. I certainly think it will be interesting to see if any of these groups are successful in their attempts to block this legislation.

Posted by: kdc

Yes, it's late notice, but if you're free Thursday-Friday, check out the Urshan Graduate School of Theology's 2007 Symposium. Besides honoring Nona Freeman, pioneer African missionary & more, there's a plethora - yes a plethora! - of interesting topics and speakers.

Remember: It's not just for theology eggheads! It's for thinking Apostolics who care.

Posted by: David Bunch

Oh man oh man...I've gone from riches to rags. Sure victory has escaped my grasp.

Not only am I now 4th in the 90&9 NCAA pool, but 2 of my final four teams are out. Two of my bracket regions are busted....in short, I ain't gonna win.

Props to Riverside Dawgs and Stro who have strong holds on #1 and #2.

See, this is why I didn't brag earlier this week. That's the problem with trash talkin. It doesn't take much for the trash talker to become the talkee. So I try never to brag even when it looks like things are going my way, cause it changes quickly.

You have to win and lose with dignity. I seem to get lots of practice in the latter!

Posted by: Denelle

Apparently, if you're me and it's March Madness then you can be 12th of 15th in the 90&9 tournament pool.

I admit it. My love for the under-dog has been my undoing. Especially my rooting for Xavier. Although if they had won (and they were SOOOOO close) I think I'd be at the top of the pool. Well, there's always next year.

Go Meme! lol

Posted by: David Bunch

That he's mad, tis true, tis true tis pity,
And pity tis tis true.
-From Hamlet (II, ii, 97-98)

The first big weekend of March Madness has wrapped up and we're down to the Sweet 16, baby! Now I'm not one to brag, but....I did finish up the weekend at #1 in the 90&9 pool and picked 13 of the 16 teams....

Honestly, I'm really not bragging because last year I finished almost dead last and was quite embarrassed because I'm supposed to be the college basketball expert (it is the only sport I follow with any consistency). So my strong showing this year is just gravy.

Apparently Bradley and his father (Big Mac) didn't eat enough peas because they are slowly falling behind. Brad's mom (affectionately known as Meme) isn't doing too badly, catapulting into the #5 spot.

Here's a good analysis of the dynamics of this year's Sweet 16 and the historical significance of it all.

For just the second time since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, no double-digit seed advanced to the round of 16.

Winthrop was the last of the teams seeded 10th or lower to have a chance to reach the third round, but the 11th-seeded Eagles lost 75-61 to Oregon on Sunday. The only other double-digit seed to advance to the second round, No. 12 Virginia Commonwealth, lost 84-79 in overtime to Pittsburgh on Saturday.

No double-digit seed reached the third round in 1995, and only five times since 1985 had only one moved on. The most to reach the round of 16 was five in 1999.

Posted by: Denelle

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

For those of you who have signed up for our 90&9 NCAA tournament pool, have I got a treat for you! (For those of you who haven't signed up, go now! There's still time...)

Being the investigative journalist I am, I decided I would dig deep into the mind of our 2006 champion, Bobby McDonald, (who also happens to be my dad) and figure out just how he did it. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

To what do you attribute the success of your 2006 90&9 NCAA tournament picks?

Bobby, the Champion: Peas.

Peas?

Bobby, the Champion: Yep.

There you have it, folks. Peas.

More of the interview to come. I just wanted to let the secret loose before the tournament starts. Stay tuned and good luck!

Posted by: David Bunch

March Madness is here, baby! If you have not yet done so, go here to join 90&9's NCAA Tournament pool. Brad's post will tell you all about the particulars.

This year I'm pulling for the Indiana Hoosiers though I don't expect them to win more than a game or two. I'm still mulling my final picks but right now I'm leaning towards a North Carolina and Florida championship game.

Good luck to all!

Posted by: Denelle

I've never understood the phenomena of March Madness. Not even after I went to a school where basketball regined supreme, in a city where the biggest rivalry in town was between university basketball teams, in a region where if you weren't a basketball fan then you weren't American. And yet while I don't get all the excitement, I can definitely agree that "madness" is an appropriate moniker.

However, in a spirit of solidarity and as a way to keep myself entertained while recovering from surgery, I have joined the 90&9 March Madness pool. I can't imagine that any of my picks are even close to accurate. They're based purely on name recognition and current rank and have nothing to do with the players, or their abilities. I haven't actually seen a college basketball game all season.

If nothing else, my picks should provide endless amusement to the rest of the crew. I just want a shot at that Harley.

Posted by: David Bunch

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted. I came back from the Men's Conference and jumped right into the work week and followed that up with a Youth Retreat over the weekend. And now here we are in the midst of another work week! Yikes!

Below are some pics from the Herrick, IL Men's Conference with my comments. Special thanks to Michael Howerton, loyal Collideoscope reader and all around 90&9 fan for sending these.

I did get to meet The Kent! He was gracious enough to let me crash at the 90&9 contributor guest room at the Curry residence for about 5 hours. Then he happily took me to the St. Louis airport at the crack of dawn. Thanks so much Kent for being there for me .

In addition to an incredible, phenomenal conference, we toured Urshan Graduate School and met Jared and LeeAnn.

Did I mention that St. Louis is cold in the winter?



Men's conference on opening night.


Estimated 800 men gathered to worship.


Standing behind Pastor Suey are the lads from Liverpool. Notice the money on the platform. A huge offering for Liverpool was received. The presence of God was so strong in this part of the service that Pastor Suey never asked for men to give. They just started coming up and laying their offering on the altar after being presented with the need. Wow!

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Hello, sports fans, and welcome to the 3rd Annual NinetyAndNine.com March Madness tournament challenge!

If you're a new reader and you know little to nothing about basketball, you probably have the best chance of winning, so don't hesitate to sign up (and it's FREE). My dearest mother is still bragging about her 2nd place finish last year, and up until the Final Four, she thought it was a football tournament!

She's not doing too much bragging around my dad, though, because he won the whole thing. I'll see if I can get an exclusive interview with him, to see how he prepared for the challenge and what it took to win it all. I'm sure it'll be loaded with insider info so you will not want to fill out your bracket without reading it!

The tournament is not quite as alluring this year for me, because my alma mater and beloved LSU Tigers aren't even in the tournament after making a Final Four run last year. (Maybe I should host an NIT challenge?)

To sign up, visit this link, click "Play Now," and register. Once you create your team name, click "Join Pool Now" and input the pool number and password below. Please note that the scoring is different than year's past, because the tourney website doesn't offer options anymore.

Pool Name: NinetyAndNine
Pool Number: 3883
Pool Password: 99

And there will be prizes, lots of prizes, for the winner! I believe we have a Harley Davidson, a trip for two to Venice, a jet-ski, and a CD in our prize vault. The Kent will have to verify, but the winner gets any two of the above!***

The tournament begins Thursday around noon, so be sure to sign up soon. Good luck to all and to all a good night!

***Disclaimer: Prizes are subject to availability. In all likelihood, there will only be one prize left of those mentioned above.

Posted by: Denelle

Well, here I am. Nearly 24 hours post surgery and just a little loopy from the Percocet, enjoying the view from my bed and out the hotel window. The doctor repaired a 30% tear in my left peroneal tendon and hopefully this will solve once and for all the issues I've had with my ankle since the sprain last October. Of course, I may also kill myself while trying to get around on crutches during the next two weeks so we'll see what happens.

In the meantime, check out this article about co-habitating before marriage. We're all familiar with friends/co-workers/family that are "living in sin" and are probably familiar with their excuses for why they're doing so. But the author of this article hits to the heart of the matter when she says:

Let me put it to you this way: there's simply no preparation for marriage. You dive in and learn how to swim once you hit the water. Living together so you can save money for a ceremony that lasts for a few minutes is a risk. Living together so you can use the time to discover your compatibility is a farce. People change once those vows are spoken and they feel secure in their commitment. Living together is not a hedge against divorce. Hard work and commitment to each other over the long term is the only protection, if any.

Posted by: David Bunch

You may have read about or even watched the special on "The Jesus Tomb" which is a documentary from James Cameron (Titanic) that pieces together claims that an ossuary containing the bones of Jesus and His family was found. Of course, this has fueled a passionate debate among scholars and has sparked Cameron and others to say that the resurrection was a fraud. However, consider the following facts which were procured by editor Kent and forwarded to me to post for your intellectual pleasure. Dr. Paul L. Maier, Ph.D., Litt.D. from the Department of History, Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan states:

Please, lose no sleep over the Talpiot “discoveries” for the following reasons, and here are the facts:
(1) Nothing is new here: Scholars have known about the ossuaries ever since March of 1980, so this is old news recycled. The general public learned about the ossuaries when the BBC filmed a documentary on them in 1996, and the “findings” tanked again. James Tabor’s book, The Jesus Dynasty, also made a big fuss over the Talpiot tombs more recently, and now James Cameron (“Titanic”) and Simcha Jacobovici have climbed aboard the sensationalist bandwagon as well. Another book comes out today, equally as worthless as the previous.

(2) All the names—Yeshua (Joshua, Jesus), Joseph, Maria, Mariamene, Matia, Judah, and Jose—are extremely common Jewish names for that time and place, and thus nearly all scholars consider that these names are merely coincidental, as they did from the start. Some scholars dispute that “Yeshua” is even one of the names. One out of four Jewish women at that time, for example, was named Maria. There are 21Yeshuas cited by Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, who were important enough to be recorded by him, with many thousands of others that never made history. The wondrous mathematical odds hyped by Jacobovici that these names must refer to Jesus and His family are simply playing by numbers and lying by statistics.

(3) There is no reason whatever to equate “Mary Magdalene” with “Mariamene,”
as Jacobovici claims. And so what if her DNA is different from that of “Yeshua”? That particular “Mariamme” (as it is usually spelled today) could indeed have been the wife of that particular “Yeshua,” who certainly was not Jesus.

(4) Why in the world would the “Jesus Family” have a burial site in Jerusalem, of all places, the very city that crucified Jesus? Galilee was their home. In Galilee they could have had such a family plot, not Judea. Besides all of which, church tradition and the earliest Christian historian, Eusebius of Caesarea, are unanimous in reporting that Mary, the mother of Jesus, died in Ephesus, where the apostle John, faithful to his commission from Jesus on the cross, had accompanied her.

(5) The “Jesus Family” simply could not have afforded the large crypt uncovered at Talpiot, which housed, or could have housed, 200 ossuaries.
6) If this were Jesus’ family burial site, what is Matthew doing there—if indeed “Matia” is thus to be translated?

(7) How come there is no tradition whatever— Christian, Jewish, or secular—that any part of the Holy Family was buried at Jerusalem?

(8) Please note the extreme bias of the director and narrator, Simcha Jacobovici. The man is an Indiana Jones wannabe who over sensationalizes anything he touches. You may have caught him on his TV special regarding The Exodus, in which he “explained” just about everything that still needed proving or explaining in the Exodus account in the Old Testament! It finally became ludicrous, and now he’s doing it again, though in reverse—this time attacking the Scriptural record. As for James Cameron, how do you follow the success of Titanic? Well, with an even more “titanic” story. He should have known better, and the television footage of the two making their drastic statements on Monday, February 26, was disgusting, and their subsequent claim that they respected Jesus nauseating.

9) Even Israeli authorities, who—were they anti-Christian—might have used this “discovery” to discredit Christianity, did not do so. Quite the opposite. Joe Zias, for example, for years the director of the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem, holds Jacobovici’s claims up for scorn and his documentary as “nonsense.” Those involved in the project “have no credibility whatever,” he added. Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the conclusions in question fail to hold up by archaeological standards “but make for profitable television.” William Dever, one of America’s most prominent archaeologists, said, “This would be amusing if it didn’t mislead so many people.”

(10) Finally, and most importantly, there is no external literary or historical evidence whatever that Jesus’ family was interred together in a common burial place anywhere, let alone Jerusalem. The evidence, in fact, totally controverts all this in the case of Jesus: All four Gospels, the letters of St. Paul, and the common testimony of the early church state that Jesus rose from the dead, and did not leave His bones behind in any ossuary, as the current sensationalists claim.

Bottom line: This is merely naked hype, baseless sensationalism, and nothing less than a media fraud—“more junk on Jesus.”

Posted by: Jared

I'm back on a short furlough from "I've only got a month to write my thesis!" land. Alas, it is a temporary visit; I just completed my comprehensive exam (as if writing a thesis isn't enough, you have to complete this HUGE exam in the same semester), now I'm on to the REAL DEAL.

But I just had to share this little tidbit with ya. David Plotz, the "Blogging the Bible" dude is now "performing" the Bible; catch his Sermon on the Mount reenactment. Starts out a little rusty/goofy; but as he says, "But I sobered up midway through, as I began to listen to what I was reading and take it seriously." Was that it, or do you think there's power in the Word of God?

BTW, I also was glad to meet David; it's cool to meet people dedicated to doing God's work. Even if it is Ireland. And I didn't get invited. Even though I'm Irish. Well, some.

Gulp of fresh Internet air, and under I go again. See ya later (but sooner than last time)!

Posted by: kdc

Yep, 90&9 will be hosting its annual NCAA pool, so start gorging on college hoops stats & then sign-up by next Wed!

Everyone is welcome &...surprise! There just might be prizes!

Posted by: Denelle

Hi, I'm Denelle and once upon I time I use to write for this wonderful blog.

OK, so maybe it hasn't been that long but it seems like it's been forever since I posted.

My mom came to town for a visit, I've been fighting off a cold (I'm drinking Theraflu while I type this so hopefully I make it to the end of the post), and I've had two midterms and a research paper outline to turn in, all in the last two weeks (why didn't anybody tell me that grad school was going to eat up all of my free time). Plus, I'm preparing to have surgery on Thursday for the ankle that I injured way back in October.

I think I was in melt-down. I've cried at sappy commercials, and emails I've sent that were happy and funny. It's amazing how we can be so busy that we hit empty and don't even realize it.

And that's why today's church service was so wonderful. Pastor Davis preached about prolonged exposure to the presence of the Lord (how Moses' face shone when he came down from the mountain) and how when you take the time to just linger in the presence of the Lord it completely changes you. Needless to say I spent some time just basking in the wonderful presence of the Lord and I feel a million times better. And I've resolved to pay closer attention to my life so that I don't get to that point again any time soon.

So I'm asking you to continue to bear with me through the first part of this week.

The surgery is on Thursday and that will be the beginning of my two week recovery. I'm not allowed to put any weight on my ankle and since that means crutches, I'm going home to LA - where everything is on one level and people drive if they want to go somewhere - to recuperate. Mom's a nurse so I'll be in excellent care and since I can't go anywhere I'll have lots of free time to spend with you all (in between all of the reading I still have to do for grad school . . . why, WHY????).

Posted by: David Bunch

Wow! I blinked twice and the Men's Conference has come and gone. What a tremendous day and a half of being in the presence of God! I send out a huge thank you to Pastor Suey, Jereme Suey and all of the folks at Herrick for being so hospitable to us and loving and supporting us.

This morning we awoke to more snow than this LA boy has ever seen, and it continued to snow throughout the day. Here's the truth: when I looked out the window this morning and saw it snowing, my first thought was "oh no we won't be able to have conference today"! For these Yanks it wasn't even enough to mention, but I promise you we would have shut LA down for 2 days for less snow than this!

Here's a quick summary of the conference:

Friday night Mike Mitchell. From Acts where Paul and Silas were in jail. We must break out to let God break in.

Friday night T.F. Tenney. From the passage in Genesis where Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. Draw near to me he says. We must draw near to God and in doing so will draw near to our brethren. The benefits of drawing near.

Saturday morning Murrel Cornwell. When Jesus got thru giving the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, the first thing he did when he came off the mountain was minister to the most unclean person he could find (a leper). When we leave mountain top experiences and come down off the mountain we cannot overlook the hurting.

Saturday morning David Shatwell. Jesus healed nine lepers but one came back and was made whole. Our response is key in having the supernatural. The supernatural in our lives is 1 percent our response and 99% Jesus, but it must have the element of our response.

And on top of all of this, Bishop Terry McFarland is pouring awesome stuff into us at every turn.

It is 11:30 local time and I'm exhausted. But in my spirit I'm up on the mountain, drawing near to God, experiencing the supernatural, and letting God break in.

No pics probably until I get home but the cool thing is I'm working with a guy here who has some great pics in addition to the ones I've taken.

Posted by: kdc

First, Mea Culpa
This is long overdue, and I apologize in advance to Victoria Watson for sharing some time for an interview with me while she had strep throat. Then I got buried in the entire Wife Swap tsunami, 90&9 had some tech problems and . . . suddenly it's weeks later and still no reporting.

In Case You Missed It
Way back on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 Victoria tried out for American Idol in Birmingham, AL. This wasn't extraordinary in and of itself, except American Idol played up the small fact that her hair dropped six feet to her ankles. Naturally, it was obvious she was Apostolic.

Simon especially seemed touched by her presence. He asked why she wanted to be on the show. As reported on Collideoscope, "To be a role model" was among her answers. Simon actually said, "You're a genuinely nice person aren't you?"

Her participation led to the clip being immortalized on YouTube. (Go watch it before you continue reading it.)

The Woman Behind the Hair
Victoria is a freshman voice major at Santa Fe Community College in the Gainesville, FL area. Her pastor is Jeff Arnold.

She'd "always watched" American Idol, so "I just thought it would be cool" to tryout. Her Mother was a big support and said, “Might as well see what will happen.”

After talking with her pastor about it, she spent a Saturday with 14,000 others, where it took 5 hours to register. The following Monday (with the producers), she spent 3 hours in line, then 2 more hours waiting. We "probably sang 'Sweet Home Alabama' 50 times" while waiting.

The good new was her hair got her lots of media attention--Fox News Live interviewed her 3 times during auditions, as did a local newspaper. Her answer was scriptural (It was "Given to us for our glory.") and her constant refrain was, It's “not long hair, it’s uncut hair. The only reason I could give for my hair was scriptural. There’s no other reason.” The live nature of the broadcasts insured that her witness wasn't edited out.

Talking With Simon

She said her televised segment was accurate. However, after Simon called her a “genuinely nice person” they cut Simon saying, “I’ve never met one like you before. I don’t even know why you’re here.” If you examine the YouTube clip you can tell he's a bit unsure of her and treats her businesslike, but not with his well-known harshness.

For Victoria's part, she said,“I thought the (Simon’s) comment was fair," but still cried. "It was like a dream shut down.”

After the Broadcast
The next morning she was snatched up by a local (non-Christian) radio station for an interview, soon talked to another radio station, was soon covered by the Gainesville Sun (where they had her sing for their web broadcast), was seen in OK Weekly, and now a hair magazine is requesting pictures.

In the meantime, the articles were placed on the church bulletin board and the pastor told everyone that he was being asked, "Is that girl from your church?"

For a girl who just wanted to be a role model to others by being on American Idol, it appears she's achieved her goal. Just not in the way she expected.

Who said genuinely nice people finish last?

Labels: American Idol TV Aps in the Media Media

Posted by: David Bunch

We are having a blast in St. Louis/Herrick, Il. The Men's Conference is slated to start tonight and in the mean time we're just having a lot of fun being together and hanging out. Yesterday we toured UPCI Headqarters and Gateway College/Urshan Graduate School. I got to see LeeAnn Alexander (fromer 90&9 blogger) and Jared Runck (new Collideoscope blogger). I missed Kent but hope is not lost. I may still see him yet.

On a personal note I've already been totally inspired by my time with Bishop Terry McFarland. His vision and passion for Ireland and its people consumes him and I've been overwhelmed by this opportunity to sit with and hear him lay it out before me.

Its going to be a great weekend.