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31 Days of Oscar, Pt. 3

And on and on...

Apocalypse Now - #35 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - #103 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Rear Window - #14 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies
Raging Bull - #70 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies
Letters from Iwo Jima - #159 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies
Some Like it Hot - #82 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies


Title: The Birds
Starring: Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Plot: A young woman follows a love interest to a small town where the birds aren't so nice. Carnage ensues. The Birds was nominated for 1 Academy Award.

Title: Psycho
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh and Vera Miles
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Plot: A woman on the lam stops at a long-forgotten hotel. Psycho was nominated for 4 Academy Awards. It is #21 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies.

Title: Enter the Dragon
Starring: Bruce Lee
Director: Robert Clouse
Plot: An undercover Shaolin martial artist enters a tournament hosted by a renegade monk to spy for the police.


On the DVR now...
Das Boot - #63 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies
Dr. Zhivago
12 Angry Men - #13 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies

31 Days of Oscar, Pt. 2

So the list continues...

Apocalypse Now - #35 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - #103 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Rear Window - #14 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies


Title: Raging Bull
Starring: Robert de Niro and Joe Pesci
Director: Martin Scorcese
Plot: A hot-headed boxer allows his life and his career to be destroyed by his libertine nature and cocky attitude. Raging Bull won 2 and was nominated for 8 Academy Awards. It is #70 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies

Title: Letters from Iwo Jima
Starring: Ken Watanabe
Director: Clint Eastwood
Plot: The story of the Battle of Iwo Jima told from the point of view of a soldier and a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and humanized by their letters to and from home. Letters from Iwo Jima won 1 and was nominated for 4 Academy Awards. It is #159 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies.

Title: Some Like it Hot
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon
Director: Billy Wilder
Plot: Two Chicago gang murder witnesses flee to Florida in drag with an all girls orchestra fronted by the seductive Sugar Kowalczyk. A comedy for the ages! Some Like it Hot won 1 and was nominated for 6 Academy Awards. It is #82 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies.


On the DVR now:
The Birds
Psycho - #21 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies


and still to come:
Das Boot - Feb 27 - #61 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies
Cool Hand Luke - Mar 4 - #121 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies
Enter the Dragon - Feb 28
The Far Country - Mar 16
The Great Raid - Mar 5
In the Line of Fire - Mar 2
Witness - Mar 17


TCM, I think I love you!

Life Updates

I've substituted three days this week: Tuesday, Wednesday and today!

Tuesday - eighth grade at LMS...it was interesting. I had a couple of my students from youth group.

Wednesday - ninth and eleventh at LHS...it was cool. Kevin DeRossett is student teaching in that class, so he was at the helm. I sat in a corner most of the day and just monitored the class. We had a pretty fun time, though.

Thursday - Seventh grade at LMS...half a day, loads of fun. We talked about Totalitarian governments. I got to "teach", kinda.

PureFocus is Saturday! Woooooo yeah! I cannot wait!!!

Home Improvement

This month's series was all about Marriage and the Family.

February 3
"Just the One of Us" - Unity in your marriage
I. A holy marriage is made in God's image
II. A holy marriage gives up self
III. A holy marriage keeps the spouse above other people

February 10
"TNT: Handle with Care" - The explosive nature of bringing up teens
I. Team - Parenting is a partnership
II. Nurture - Parents must learn to listen and encourage
III. Train - Parents must both teach and model the Christian life

February 17
"Playground of the Mind" - Adultery begins in thoughts and fantasies
I. Decide to keep your eyes in check
II. Decide not to place yourself in tough situations
III. Decide not to complain about your spouse

February 24 through March 23 is the Journey to Jerusalem.

31 Days of Oscar

Thank you TCM! "31 Days of Oscar" has been making my month.

Title: Apocalypse Now
Starring: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, Harrison Ford and Dennis Hopper
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Plot: The military needs a special unit to assassinate a rogue Green Beret who is leading a cult in the deep jungles of Cambodia. Based on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Apocalypse Now is a journey into the deepest expanses of the insane mind.

Title: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Claude Rains and Jean Arthur
Director: Frank Capra
Plot: The leader of a boys' group is appointed Senator of his state, but only as a puppet. Eventually, his ideals and vision spur him to oppose the political machines that run the Capitol.

Title: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Starring: Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur
Director: Frank Capra
Plot: A country bumpkin named Longfellow Deeds inherits $20 million and becomes the proprietor of the money and all the businesses of his late, rich uncle. Several people then attempt to swindle Mr. Deeds out of his money.

Title: Rear Window
Starring: Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Plot: An apartment-dwelling invalid (by means of broken leg) spends his days in a wheelchair peering through binoculars at his neighbors, until one evening he believes a man across the courtyard has murdered his wife. Suspense ensues.
Note: The entire movie is filmed from inside the apartment. Genius!

These are a few of the movies that I've watched this month.

Coming up in the next month:
Cool hand Luke - Feb. 21
Das Boot - Feb 27
The Far Country - Mar 16
The French Connection - Feb 19
The Grapes of Wrath - Feb 23
The Great Raid - Mar 5
Heartbreak Ridge - Feb 21
In the Line of Fire - Mar 2
The Searchers - Feb 20
Witness - Mar 17
Zorba the Greek - Feb 22

TCM...rockin' my world!

Help...

Two Liberty High School students were involved in a bad car accident yesterday afternoon on Hwy 178. If you could take a minute to pray for them, that would be awesome. LJ and Hannah are both in the hospital tonight, but LJ is being released as this is written (or so they said when we were leaving the ER). Hannah is not doing so well. She has some internal injuries and is in ICU. She is stable, but things can change at any time. LJ has attended my youth group from time to time. So be praying and let's make - or let God make - something happen.

Aiming for Webster's #1

Well, in a bid to eventually get a word into Webster's dictionary, Cody and I have decided to come up with a new word each week, or however often we feel the urge to be creative.

So your job is to try to use the word in your daily conversation.

This week's word is:

frumby /frum-bee/ adj.,

1. easygoing, nearing to the point of irresponsibility
2. laid back
3. joyous nonchalance
4. lack of concern caused by inhaling marijuana

[noun: frumbulesence; adv.: frumbily]

antonyms - anxious, worried, overly concerned

"His frumby attitude toward his work caused his grades to plummet."
"Dude, I'm feeling totally frumby, man, so I'm not going to work today. Pass the ganja."

2008 Southern Area Ministers' Conference

Monday and Tuesday brought the Southern Area Ministers' Conference back to SWU. It's been two years since the last one and I had been anticipating it for quite some time now. This year's conference solidified itself as one of the best.


Monday, Feb. 11 at 7:00 pm - Dan Seaborn, Winning at Home, Inc.

Dan related our trials in ministry to Goliath. David, a true teenager, asked why no one had challenged him. David relied on God's power (and not his own, or Saul's for that matter) to bring down the giant. It's our time to step up and fight in the power of God with the stone of faith in our sling and take down the giant that stands against God's people and God's name.


Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 8:30 am - Dan Seaborn, Winning at Home, Inc.

Dan Seaborn founded Winning at Home, Inc. to aid families in keeping homes together. Married for Life is his campaign to get 1,000,000 couples to sign a contract stating that they will be married to each other for life. So far over 10,000 couples have signed and made that commitment.


Divorce is killing ministers of God's Word, but no one just runs and jumps off the cliff of divorce. It's a process of steps toward the edge.

7 steps that lead to the cliff of divorce:
1) Keeping secrets from a spouse
2) Finding sexual fulfillment in secret acts/pornography
3) Red flags in other relationships
4) Your mind strays and you picture yourself with another person
5) Justifying an action that in the past you said was wrong
6) Hanging out in "dangerous" places and with "dangerous" people
7) You don't care if you say hurtful things to or about your spouse

...and don't forget to say, "I'm sorry."


Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 10:30 am - Dr. John Adams, Easley First Baptist Church

Americans are plagued by toxins in the body. Deep-breathing exercises are widely used in Europe to rid the body of those toxins. A deep breath in, hold...and slowly release. This allows the body to expel those toxins in the stomach. In the same way, we must deeply breathe in the Holy Spirit. As we hold the Spirit in, we allow a full work to happen. Then, when we exhale, all the toxins (anger, hate, grudges, etc...) that poison our souls are expelled.

Forgiveness is one of the ways that the Holy Spirit does its work. Dr. Adams read a quote by a person whose name I have now forgotten: "God invented forgiveness as the only way to keep his romance with the human race alive." Without it, we would have no hope.


Ann Lamont said "Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and waiting for the rat to die." It's time to get rid of the poison for good.

Forgiveness is...
...refusing the right to get even
...rediscovering the humanity of the person who hurt us
...wishing the person who hurt us well


Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 7:00 pm - Dr. John Adams, Easley First Baptist Church

Dr. Adams related four words that remind us that we are beloved of God:


Chosen - God saw us so long ago and had a great plan for us to be the bearers of His message.
Blessed - God has given us His blessing as minister's of the gospel.
Broken - Until we realize that we are broken, we cannot become whole in Christ.
Given - We are handed the most important message of history and asked to give it to those who need it most.

After the message came the table. Everyone participated in communion, which is always a special time at SAMC.


Overall, it was quite amazing. Can't wait for the next one.

Next week brings Holiness Lecture Series with the one, the only, Steve Deneff. Oh man, it's gonna be awesome!

In the Know #29

February 2, 2008

Today is Groundhog Day and Candlemas.


Dictionary.com's Word of the Day

subterfuge \SUB-tur-fyooj\, noun:
A deceptive device or stratagem.


In the news:

- Abu Laith al-Libi, an al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan, was reported killed on Islamist website Ekhlaas.org.

- Microsoft bids $44 billion for Yahoo!


Today in History, according to Wikipedia:

1653 - New Amsterdam (New York City) is incorporated.

1925 - Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race (marker pictured).

1989 - The American Basketball Association is formed.


Today's Famous Births:

1861 - Solomon R. Guggenheim, American art collector and philanthropist

1882 - James Joyce (pictured), Irish author, Ulysses

1897 - Howard Johnson, American hotelier

1905 - Ayn Rand, Russian-born author and philosopher, Atlas Shrugged

1923 - James Dickey, American poet and author, Deliverance

1947 - Farrah Fawcett "Charlie's Angels" and The Cannonball Run

1949 - Brent Spiner, American actor, "Star Trek: The Next Generation"

1977 - Shakira, Colombian singer, "Hips Don't Lie"


Trivia
Today's Category - Eris

~ Eris (pictured with moon, Dysnomia) is the largest known dwarf planet in our solar system.

~ The full name of the dwarf planet is 136199 Eris.

~ It is approximately 27% more massive than Pluto.

~ A year on Eris lasts 557 Earth years.

~ Eris has an extremely eccentric orbit, which sometimes brings it within Pluto's orbit of the sun.

~ Eris was discovered October 21, 2003.


I always wondered...
...how E85 Flex-Fuel works...

E85 flex-fuel is an alcohol-based fuel. It is made by fermenting and distilling starch crops, corn mostly. One acre of corn can be processed into about 330 gallons of ethanol. Proponents argue that mixing 85 parts ethanol with 15 parts gasoline (hence E85) to create E85 ethanol fuel helps stretch the earth's finite oil supply.

The term "flex-fuel" implies that a vehicle can run on 100 percent E85, 100 percent pump gasoline of any octane, or any combination of the two. Only about 800 of the nation's 180,000 gas stations carry E85 ethanol fuel, so it is difficult to find.

One major downside to E85 is that, depending on vehicle model, fuel economy with E85 ethanol is some 20 to 30 percent less than with gasoline. Therefore, a tank of E85 ethanol will take you only about 80 percent as far as you could drive on a tank of gasoline. Also, E85 costs a bit more than regular gasoline, with the exception of Corn Belt states that actually produce the fuel. So, if you're thinking of purchasing a flex-fuel vehicle, be prepared to sacrifice for oil conservation.

["How E85 works" reference: How Stuff Works]
[All other references from Wikipedia.org and IMDB.com unless otherwise noted]