Stuck In My Head...

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Weezer // Buddy Holly

Occupy Family

Occupy Family

I Knew It Didn't Add Up!

This is an interesting proposal: make higher learning math (middle and high school) an elective for the 1% of Americans who enjoy numbers and replacing those credits with classes full of logic puzzles and strategic games.

Watch the video and tell me what you think.

Failing Forward

“Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.”

- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I'm less concerned with new steps and new words as I am with next steps and next words.  The future often resembles the violent sea that Jesus invited Peter to step out onto.  I'd like to believe that I'd have the courage to move into the void.  Sometimes life right now feels that way.  The amazing thing is that I should be in a mass panic.  And many friends and family would advice me to keep my eyes on the horizon for any rescue ships.  Preparing myself to swim, and shout, and do whatever I could do to be rescued.  But at this moment, I've never had more fun following Jesus.  And tonight I'm content to just continue our little stroll.  I feel like I've preached, and taught, and counseled, and encouraged, so many friends and teenagers to move in faith and trust in Jesus.  "He is all you need."  "He is able to do immeasurably more..."  "He is our Rescue."  Maybe, just maybe, this is where premises become precepts. 

Murmuration

I think I just added something to my bucket list.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

World Series 2012

I'm looking for a better display this year than last.  It's going to be a slug fest and the Red Birds have home field advantage.  But I believe that my team can do it this year!

Go Rangers Go!

Random: I Think I Love You

For some strange reason I've had some odd music stuck in my head lately.  Last night it was Christopher Cross' 'Arthur's Theme'.  Which, let's be honest, is an awesome song, and it doesn't even have to be 1981.
Today I've had The Partridge Family's 'I Think I Love You' stuck in my head.  I don't know who gets credit for the song actually.  Is it while whole Partridge family or just David Cassidy?  I couldn't answer that question, as I've never actually seen one episode of The Partridge Family.
Maybe even more strange, I don't know where I've ever hear this song.  I don't even know any lyrics beyond "I think I love you / so what are you so afraid of?".  Are those the lyrics?  I don't know, but that's what I've been singing.
How about you? What song has been stuck in your head lately?

Chart: Starships

I really am not a big Science Fiction guy, but I feel like I really needed the following chart in my life.  Which isn't to say that I don't watch and enjoy SciFy movies and tv shows, because I do.  But I don't continually rewatch them, and learn more about those created worlds, and read the additional fiction work, and learn their made up languages.
It would, however, be honest of me to include the fact that I was really annoyed that the Serenity, you know...the Firefly model, wasn't included in this chart.
Oh well.
Don't judge me.
Also when I was younger, I can remember my brothers and I would draw detailed (at least my 8 year old brain thought they were) space ships.  We'd also build space ships with our Legos.
Again. Don't judge me.

"I Google You"

“I Google you
late at night when I don’t know what to do
I find photos
you’ve forgotten
you were in
put up by your friends

I Google you
when the day is done and everything is through
I read your journal
that you kept
that month in France
I’ve watched you dance

And I’m pleased your name is practically unique
it’s only you and
a would-be PhD in Chesapeake
who writes papers on
the structure of the sun
I’ve read each one

I know that I
should let you fade
but there’s that box
and there’s your name
somehow it never makes the pain
grow less or fade or disappear
I think that I should save my soul and
I should crawl back in my hole
But it’s too easy just to fold
and type your name again
I fear
I google you
Whenever I’m alone and feeling blue
And each scrap of information
That I gather
says you’ve found somebody new
And it really shouldn’t matter
ought to blow up my computer
but instead….
I google you.”

Written by Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods, Neverwhere and Stardust among many
Performed by Amanda Palmer.

Quote: John Green

“Maybe our favorite quotations say more about us than about the stories and people we’re quoting.”

- John Green

"You are so beautiful to me..."

Top: Darla & Alfalfa

Bottom: Brittany Ashton Holmes & Bug Hall

Not entirely sure why, but these two photos make me really happy.  I love the movie The Little Rascals, and quote it at least once a day.  

"We are he-man woman haters / We feed girls to alligators / Our clubhouse burned down mighty low / But we're got a plan to make some dough!" 

"Quick, what's the number for 9-1-1?"

"Hey, my mom's here." "Whoopi!" 

"We've got a dollar.  We've got a dollar.  We've got a dollar.  Hey, hey, hey, hey."

"Finders keepers.  Losers suck."

"I have two pickles.  I have two pickles.  I have two pickles today.  Hey, hey."

Mmmm...Burrito

I wish the small town I live in had a Chipotle.  Heck, a quick Google search for Chipotles in the Raleigh area indicate only two Chipotles, way up on the north side of Raleigh.  That sucks!
The video below really makes me hungry for some Chipotle too.  That and a desire to listen to some Willie Nelson tunes.  Also I've recently begun listening to Willie's son Lukas Nelson.  Have you heard him?  Enjoyable.
Actually what I think I really miss is not so much Chipotle burritos, but seriously I do miss those, but more so I miss that gang of friends who used to gather after an evening worship service and just grew to love one another.  More often than not we'd congregate around a burrito bowl or some Red Robin fries.  I've been thinking about that gang a lot lately.  Some communities are hard to replace.

Harry Potter and How It Should Have Ended

This cracked me up.  And for the record it's this logical progression that I have always considered The Prisoner of Azkaban my least favorite of the Harry Potter novels.

Gotta Type

I've been neglecting this blog of mine for some time now.  And the weird thing is that I really enjoyed blogging when I was more regular.  So I'm not entirely sure as to why I've not been as disciplined with it lately as I was once in the past.
Obviously, the rise of Twitter has certainly stolen some of my attention.  Those stupid little thoughts that pop into my head that I used to write down in a daily "should blog about" list, are now quickly fleeing my cluttered mind through the occasional tweet.  Which you might think would bring about some sense of peace and quiet for a mind that over thinks everything, and fixates on random nothings, but that's not necessarily the case.  While I love the communication that can occur with Twitter the constant demand to share something interesting, or relevant, or funny is kind of a burden.  Especially for that person who will debate for an hour whether or not to actually hit the 'tweet' button.
But then again, Twitter may not be the problem.  Because I do over think and over analyze and over critique and over complicate almost every idea and thought that I generate.  There have been numerous blog posts in the past couple of months that I have begun, only to find myself distracted by some other shinny object or found myself lost in a rabbit hole of a thought which leads me to an alternate conclusion or...or...or..., and what happens is I never finish.  And then there are blog post that I have labored over, only to find myself deleting rather than publishing.  Even with this post I've struggled a few times to just keep typing.
I suppose I could blame my lack of blogging on the fact that I've been real busy lately.  But I'm not even going to use that excuse.  Although it's true.  I suppose.  I'm sure if I tried hard enough I could find the time.
Whatever the reason for my lack of blogging discipline, be assured I'm going to be working harder at publishing.

School Takes A Lot

This is a great Target commercial.
Also I love that the hamsters are named Lewis and Clark.

Album: Burlap To Cashmere

I'm loving this album.  I've only given it a few listens but I love I already love it.
Steven Delopoulos is perhaps one of my favorite songwriters.
You can buy Burlap To Cashmere's album at their website, here.

The Amazing Spider-Man

Super excited. I thought Sam Raimi did a fairly decent job with the first Spider-Man, I loved the second, and was really disappointed in the third. I knew that Hollywood could do better. And the early peaks at The Amazing Spider-Man are looking great. I think this is going to give that other superhero a run for his money.

Greatest Pep Talk

Some days you just need a little inspiration to go out and dominate your 'to-do list'.  Here you go!



And if you've never seen Friday Night Lights, well, what's wrong with you?

"First try!"

This is perhaps one of my most favorite Calvin & Hobbes cartoons ever. I remember when it was first published and I cut it out of the paper. I bet if I look around I still have that clipping; probably faded and stuck in a book.

Growing Up in 1 Minute

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Grocery Shopping

Waiting time into shopping time.  Brilliant.

re:Build Joplin

We left Sunday at noon and drove through the night, arriving in Joplin MO early this morning.  We'll be here for the week to serve alongside Operation Blessing, doing whatever we can.
Please don't let time allow us to forget all the homes that were destroyed or damaged, or the numerous lives that were lost, or the families that have been displaced, or the jobs that have been lost.
If you would like to financially contribute to help rebuild Joplin this is a trusted church/organization I would recommend.  And this is an additional organization I trust.  Joplin could use help in one of two important ways: manual labor and financial support.  Would you pray and consider both?
Consider this $20 t-shirt.  $15 goes to towards efforts in the community.

Piper Interviews Warren

Here is a great interview between John Piper and Rick Warren.  It's a little over a hour long (98:28) but it's worth a listen.  Below is a brief intro to the whole video.  To watch the whole video click HERE.

Video: Kindergarten Guitarist

Yeah but can they play Stairway to Heaven?

Confession: Navy Seal

Before the rumors go any further I want to make a confession: I was never a Navy SEAL.
Now it's obvious to me why many would mistakenly assume that I have been; my MacGyver like ingenuity, the strength I demonstrate every time I hammer a disc on the disc golf course, or even my ability to run really fast errands. But it would be a lie if I said that I ever served as a Navy SEAL.
Now if people were to suggest that I once served as an Air Force Special Forces that would be a different story.  Same ending, but a different story.
And because I don't want to end up as a cautionary tale on Yahoo News I'd like to be clear that I was also never an Army Ranger, or a Green Beret, or a Delta force team member, or an AF Air Commando, and not even an elite Para Rescuer.
I'm sure that some of you are still doubting my confession.  I can hear your conspiracy theories now: "Trevor must have been involved in some highly classified operations that require he deny all his training and service in our nations military."  But it was just not true.
It is true that I have seen the movie Navy Seals, starring Charlie Sheen, and it was '80's awesome!'.
I also have seen Under Siege, starring Steven Seagal (which apparently the pastor in the story to the left used as the source of his fake Navy SEAL back story- click on picture to take you to the Yahoo page).  Which begs the question: if you were going to create a fake history to your life, why would ever steal plot lines from a Steven Seagal movie?
If I was going to lift ideas for my fake identity from movies and I needed some military combat experience, I would 'borrow' from Red Dawn (which also starred Charlie Sheen and it's remake will release sometime this year).  Primarily I would borrow from this movie so I could run around and yell "Wolverines!" whenever I wanted.
Nope, while I am a pastor (sadly in the article someone is quoted suggesting that it's pastors who most often lie about military careers and receiving military honors), I have never trained for, or seen combat.  Unless you count those elementary school bus stop battles.
My only military service was as a civilian, as a child care provider for AF daycare.  But between that and serving as a youth pastor, (and my extensive movies-about-war watching) I've seen and done things that are too gruesome to share on this here blog.  So why would I ever need to lie about who I am?
However, now that I think about it, it's time for someone to bring back the Steven Seagal ponytail.

Fairy Tales

“Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.”

G.K. Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles

Unbroken

I had a friend recommend to me Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  Have you read it?   It's the true account of Louis Zamperini.  Louie was an Olympic athlete who would later serve in WWII.  I'm currently only halfway through this book and already Louie has shaken the hand of Hitler after his remarkable race and survived a brutal 47 days lost at sea, fighting hunger, thirst, Japanese fighter pilots shooting from the skies, and vicious sharks leaping at him on his raft and is currently enduring P.O.W. captivity.
Here was passage I read the other night that really struck me:

"The crash of Green Hornet had left Louie and Phil in the most desperate physical extremity, without food, water, or shelter.  But on Kwajalein, the guards sought to deprive them of something that had sustained them even as all else had been lost: dignity.  This self-respect and sense of self-worth, the innermost armament of the soul, lies at the heart of humanness; to be deprived of it is to be dehumanized, to be cleaved from, and cast below, mankind.  Men subjected to dehumanizing treatment experience profound wretchedness and loneliness and find that hope is almost impossible to retain.  Without dignity, identity is erased.  In its absence, men are defined not by themselves, but by their captors and the circumstances in which they are forced to live.  One American airmen, shot down and relentlessly debased by his Japanese captors, described the sate of mind that his captivity created: "I was literally becoming a lesser human being."
Few societies treasured dignity, and feared humiliation, as did the Japanese, for whom a loss of honor could merit suicide.  This is likely one of the reasons why Japanese soldiers in World War II debased their prisoners with such zeal, seeking to take from them that which was most painful and destructive to lose.  On Kwajalein, Louie and Phil learned a dark truth known to the doomed in Hitler's death camps, the slaves of the American South, and a hundred other generations of betrayed people.  Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen.  The stubborn retention of it, even in the face of extreme physical hardship, can hold a man's soul in his body long past the point at which the body should have surrendered it.  The loss of it can carry a man off as surely as thirst, hunger, exposure, and asphyxiation, and with greater cruelty.  In places like Kwajalein, degradation could be as lethal as a bullet."

(Hillenbrand, Laura Unbroken 182-3) 

This Was Delicious

Dylan, a middle school student in my youth ministry, and I both ordered up one of these before heading over to the CIY's Believe conference.  We both agreed.  This was delicious.

2011 MLB Pre-Season Picks

I wrote these picks down earlier in the week.  As always, pre-season picks are complete guess work.  Most likely I'll make some mid-season predictions as well, because these most likely will be shot by then.
Saying that, here are my MLB Pre-Season picks:

REGULAR SEASON
American League
East - Boston Red Sox
Central - Chicago White Sox
West - Texas Rangers
Wild Card - New York Yankees

National League
East - Atlanta Braves
Central - Cincinnati Reds
West - San Francisco Giants
Wild Card - Philadelphia Phillies

PLAYOFFS -
Boston Red Sox defeat Chicago White Sox
Texas Rangers defeat New York Yankees (again)

Atlanta Braves defeat Cincinnati Reds
San Francisco Giants defeat Philadelphia Phillies

PLAYOFFS - League Championships
Atlanta Braves defeat San Francisco Giants
Boston Red Sox defeat Texas Rangers

WORLD SERIES
Atlanta Braves defeat Boston Red Sox

What about you?  What are you predictions?

Ira Glass on Storytelling

(via Ben Arment)

Quote: John Green

Flowchart: What Baseball Team Should I Root For?

Flowchart: What Baseball Team Should I Root For?, originally uploaded by pcaputo1.

Little League

This morning I got to spend some time helping out at a little league try out.  It was such a blast.  Not just running down a few fly balls and feeding the pitching machine.  But be able to help hype up some young guys because they are getting to play the best game ever.
Sharing with them the art of rubbing dirt in their gloves.
Cheering them on when they let that grounder take a bad hop and hit them sharply in the chest.
Watching them finally get that ball to jump off their bats.
Good day.
Although I might ice up my knees a bit tonight and I need to remember to loosen up my arm before I throw now.

Video: Poor Jon Cryer

I'll admit it, I'm fascinated by this whole Charlie Sheen drama.
It might be because he is Ricky "Wild Man" Vaughn.
Or it could be that, unfortunately, Carlos Irwin Estevez in these interviews reminds me of how someone I know in my life sounds.
Or it could just be some of the incredible sound clips Charlie Sheen's rattled off like:

• "I am on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen. It's not available. If you try it once, you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body."
• "I'm different. I have a different constitution, I have a different brain, I have a different heart. I got tiger blood, man. Dying's for fools, dying's for amateurs."
• "I have a 10,000-year-old brain and the boogers of a 7-year-old. That's how I describe myself."

But one person I'd hate for us to forget in this whole drama is poor little Ducky.  With CBS at war with Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer is suddenly out of the job.  Look what he's had to resort to:

Quote: Jack Kerouac

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

- Jack Kerouac

My Girl Friday (#4)

Saying Goodbye

I just watched the final episode in what surely is going to be remembered as one of the best television shows ever.  Friday Night Lights was beautifully filmed, and known for telling stories that its audience could relate to; almost personally remember.  It also had a great cast and was able to do something that many high school dramas can't seem to accomplish - graduating a class and bringing in a fresh crop of great young actors; good enough to almost make you forget the previous.
Now to be fair it wasn't always a perfect show.  There were a few times the writers didn't just make a mistake, but just straight up screwed up (remember the dead body from season 2?).  Nevertheless the stories were compelling and inspiring.
And I might be stretching things just a bit, but I dare say that Eric and Tami Taylor is perhaps the greatest TV marriage we've ever seen.  I'd match them up against Rob and Laura, or Cliff and Claire, or even Ricky and Lucy.  But moving even further I'd dare say that the couple of Eric and Tami Taylor is the modern day equivalent to Atticus Finch; fair and righteous in a difficult world.
And the best part is that NBC starts the final season soon.  You'll love it.

Photo: Mockingbird

This photo makes me happy.  It seems to confirm that Gregory Peck was Atticus Finch.

Not only is To Kill A Mockingbird one of my favorite books, I've loved the film long before I discovered it was a book.  In fact, as I'm typing I can remember sixth grade Trevor taking home one of those Scholastic book order forms that teachers are always passing out.  "Hey dad, that movie we watched, it's also a book."  We had just moved to Germany, and I had just started in a new school, and had not yet made any new friends.  Harper Lee was one of my best friends in sixth grade.

Which also reminds me that the first quarter of sixth grade is the only time I ever got straight A's.

Gregory Peck rehearsing lines with Mary Badham.

Trivia

For about the past month I've been spending my Wednesday evenings playing Trivia at a local restaurant called Characters Quarters.  CQ is a typical sports bar type place; you don't go there for the food and comfortable seating.  But I like it because it's not a place where I think I'm expected to be and people with whom I'd normally hang out.
Back during the World Series I side saddled into a booth to watch the game.  I chose this place in case the Rangers were going to have a bad game and I might slip a word unbecoming of a pastor.  But on that given night some lady approached my booth and asked if I'd like to participate in the trivia competition.  I really wanted to give the ball game my full attention, but since there wasn't many people in the restaurant I thought I should at least participate.  So, hardly paying attention I came in fourth place that night, one point out of third place and the third place prize which would have covered my bill for the evening.
What?!  They give out prizes for knowing useless information?
I was hooked.  And I've been back every week since.
Okay, not every week, but definitely every week for the past month and a half.
Until a couple of weeks ago I would always bet way too many points on the last question and lose out on any prizes.  And the last couple of weeks I've come in third place.
Usually I've named my team, which has consisted of just me or me and a friend, something stupid like "I Know Stuff" or "Well What Do You Know" or " I Don't Know.  However, since the past few weeks I had been losing to a team called "Prestige Worldwide".  In case you don't know "Prestige Worldwide" is from a Will Ferrell and John C Reilly movie.
Well last night I went to trivia with the intent on sending that team a message that I meant business.  So I named my team "Shake-'N-Bake" which is from another Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly movie...that came first.  I wanted them to catch the reference and know that on that night they would be dominated my vast knowledge of useless information.
And not only did I beat them last night I also dominated a team called "Sex Panthers" which is a reference to another Will Ferrell movie.  Strangely enough "Sex Panthers" is a team made up of an older couple (60s?) and their adult daughter (late 20s) and her husband.  They were fun to chat with.
So now I am not only the defending champion of trivia, but I am officially in the league.  Quarterly they have larger contest which can result in cash prizes up to $5000.  That's amazing.  You can get paid to know useless crap.  This is totally for me.

7 Billion...

7 Billion is the new population of the world.  And it's continuing to grow.
This is having major implications on everything.  The environment.  The economy.  The political climate.  The medical fields.  The classrooms.  And even the church.
We must begin to think, and imagine, and create, and live, and give, and share, and move differently.  And isn't that exciting?