i normally think this stuff is cheesy but i personally find this video hilarious. it’s called baby got book” and it is a paraody of sir mix-a-lot’s song “baby got back.” connecting to it is pretty hard right now because too many people are watching it and it’s crashing the server. if it works it definitely worth it. if it doesn’t work then just enjoy knowing that it made me, jessica, alan, and josh laugh out loud.
feminar video
this blog started out as a journal of my exploration into learning how to use homemade video within our ministry. that’s why i need to tell you about another fact i have justed learned about video within youth ministry. the fact i learned is that if you asking someone to video an event for you make sure and walk them through all of the operation of the camera. give them in depth instructions. we had a “feminar” for our girls this past weekend (i have discussed the feminar is an earlier post). i asked one of our adult volunteers to video the event (since i as a male was not allowed in). she did a great job of videoing the weekend except for one minor detail – i didn’t tell her about the camcorder’s night shot feature. she videoed the entire night with the nightshot feature on. this makes all of the video looked like a greenish black and white film (which i guess would be a greenish and white video).
anyway, here’s the summary video in realmedia format.
feminar video
i just finished the summary video from the feminar. the video looks a little washed out because the camcorder’s night shot feature was on for all the filming.
for those who don’t know what it is, the “feminar” is a girls only mini-retreat. the weekend was about the girls’ worth because they were created by and are loved by GOD. i don’t know much about what happened during the weekend because being a guy i was excluded from the weekend (sexist girls!) but i do know from the video that there was ALLOT of dancing. it would appear that girls dance pretty much all the time.
anyhow to watch the video you must have realplayer installed (it’s free) and then simply CLICK THIS LINK.
flickr
if you enjoy photography i want to make sure that you know about flickr. flickr is a photo sharing community that several of the people who are involved within the student minsitry are a part of. the beauty of flickr is that we can all view each other photos and then comment on each of them. of course, you can also use it as a way to post photos on your blog. anyhow, i was just wanting to make sure y’all knew about it and to encourage you to get involved in it if you were into taking pictures. here are the people from the student ministry that are involved in flickr right now:
we also have a former member (he moved to north carolina 3 1/2 years ago) on it – brad. if you’re in flickr and i don’t know about it please comment or email because i love seeing the pictures that others have taken.
this ends our non-solicited commercial for flickr.
the inner nerd
who knew that a “nerdiness” survey would get the most comments i’ve ever reached (16 thus far). i think i know why too – many people are afraid to admit their “inner nerd.” we all have one. some where lurking in your body is the “nerd you could be.” that nerd is just sitting there waiting to be let out. admit it, you’ve got some secret little love that every one else who laugh at if they knew about it. maybe it’s the fact that you love the discovery channel or maybe c-span. maybe you love math or have a secret fondness for calculators. could it be that you love science fiction books or you have an inordinately extreme love for star wars? maybe you know that you are socially awkward and you just hide it well. even fonzie (the epitome of cool) had an “inner nerd” that came out in episode #53 of “happy days“. if fonzie has an “inner nerd” then everyone has one.
your inner nerd is why you find yourself pulling for the nerd to win. go ahead admit it. when you watch a movie that has a nerd in it you find yourself hoping that every thing will work out for the nerd. you want the nerd to win because you empathize with him/her. you connect with the nerd because of the fact that there is an “inner nerd” hiding right behind that well developed mask that you try to wear for every one else to see.
we all have an inner nerd. it’s just that some of us are afraid to admit it and that fear causes the fearful to act out in violence against those that point out the nerdiness of the world. that’s why everyone jumped on the “nerdiness survey.” you’re afraid that the survey could point out how nerdy you actually are and then the rest of the world would know what you already know – you’re a nerd.
now it’s time for us to begin to experience nerdy freedom. let’s be open with our nerdiness. if we all admit our nerdiness then we will no longer have to fear being known as a nerd. so i’ll start
i love some science fiction books and i definitely love science fiction movies. i have actually read a little bit of the klingon language version of the bible. i am the proud owner of 1,000 star wars cards. i love the “history channel.” okay that’s a start. i will no longer fear nerddom.
SIDE NOTE – if you want to view the “joke” videos from tonight’s view then click the links below:
- is satan a homo video – the question “is satan a homo” is meant for a laugh and is in no ways a slam on anyone
- what’s robert’s favorite color video
the view – february, 2005
for the next several weeks at the view we are doing messages based on teens questions that they put in a fish bowl each week. some of the questions are serious and some of them or not so serious. tonight we discussed:
- was jonah swallowed by a fish or a whale? a question came back to how do we understand scripture: as a book of facts or as a message meant to convey GOD’s good news to a hurting world.
- is satan a homo? we answered this be means of a video that we had allot of fun with.
- faith or works?
- what is robert’s favorite color? we answered this with another video
it made for a somewhat disjointed night but it was still fun and the discussions on “jonah” and “works” brought up some really good discussion that is needed within the youth ministry.
quiet versus noisey
my life is usually quite noisy. my home is full of sound. i have an amazing wife, two wonderful kids, a dog and two cats all who like to make tons of noise and tremendous amounts of activity. i work in a wonderful church that is constantly full of noise. i have an incredible office suite that always has someone new walking into it just to talk. when i’m not at the church office during work i’m usually at a school visiting people or at a hospital checking in on someone, both active, busy places. my life is full of activity and sound. this usually means that i am desperate to find some quiet. this means i’m usually looking for a place where no one else is so that i can focus on studying or just to winding down. it’s a constant struggle.
but not now. pam has work and school that is keeping her busy, my kids are in mobile, alabama making noise for someone else, and all the schools in town are out for mardi grass break. it’s very quiet. i’ve gotten so used to desperately trying to find quiet that now that i have it i don’t know what to do. i find the whole thing quite disturbing.
the “justice” of social security
i’m basically a liberal conservative. what this means is that my default pattern of thinking has be conservative from my childhood but it has been progressively becoming more liberal as i grow older (the exact opposite pattern of typical american political thought – more liberal at an early age becoming more conservative as a person grows older). the main part of the growth of the more liberal thought within my life has been centered on social justice issues. my desire for the poor to be taken care of is beginning to be the determining factor within my political thought. it is with that in mind that i want to talk for a second about the privatization of social security.
the typical conservative stance on this issue is to support privatizing social security as a means of getting the government out of another area of life. the standard liberal stance is to demand that social security stay non-privatized. personally, i want to see social security privatized but it has nothing to do with conservative thought. nope it has everything to do with social justice. right now minorities (especially african-americans) have a lower life expectancy. the average white male has a life expectancy of 74.8 years. the average black male has a life expectancy of 68.2 years. this means generally that african-americans who pay into social security get much less back from it than do anglos because they will must likely live 6 years less. african-americans are paying into a system that they will receive very little from. when they die none of the money that they paid into the system will go to their survivors, unless those survivors are below the age of 18.
privatizing social security will begin to provide an inheritance because a large portion of the money you pay into the system will be in your own private account. when you die that money can go to your survivors as an inheritance. think of the difference that could make. thing of the impact that it would have on a family to receive $50 to $60,000 at the death of their 55 year old dad. that money could buy a house and move a family into a better area of town and schools. this could change an entire family’s life. i see this as a religious issue because i believe we should look out for the interests of the weak. right now the weak whose life expectancy is less are paying for the majority to be able to receive social security.
patrick
sunday was windy. the above picture shows how devastating a windy day can be. 🙂
24
oh how i love 24. it is simply an amazing show. tonight’s episode was great – as always.