A New York Post article discusses how Christians in rock music has become more common (and “almost cool”), and how those artists try to distance themselves from “CCM“.  (h/t rockrebel.com)

If you have a few minutes, check out Todd Brogdon’s blog. It’s just getting started, but there’ll be much more to come. Todd is from my hometown. I never knew Todd very well growing up since I was 5 or 6 years older than him, but my family knew his family. Todd also is an elder at my church here in Little Rock, and so I’ve managed to visit with him a few times over the last six months.

Todd and his family felt called by God to take a bold step in their lives and so, just last month, they moved to Rwanda. In Rwanda, Todd is working with Opporutnity International to start a bank which will offer loans to the poor in order to help grow small businesses and the Rwandan economy. In Fresh Point of View, he posted some good comments earlier this week about some of the differences he’s observed regarding the idea of community in Rwandan culture verses U.S. culture.

Speaking of Rwanda, I’m in the middle of reading An Ordinary Man : An Autobiography by Paul Rusesabagina. Paul is the man who sheltered over a thousand people at the hotel where he was assistant manager during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. I’d read a little about Paul in Philip Gourevitch’s book last year, then saw his story as portrayed in the film Hotel Rwanda, so I was looking forward to this book. It’s been very good so far.

Most interesting thus far has been his writing about his background, how he grew up, and what shaped his life. It’s already evident that he was prepared to do what he did in 1994 by the life that he’d led up to that point. I’ve just finished the first few chapters, which have led up to April 1994. Along with his own history, he provides some Rwandan history and some background of what led to the genocide. I’m now looking forward to reading his own words about his experiences during those few months. While I haven’t finished it yet, I’m already willing to recommend this book (as well as Gourevitch’s book that I mentioned.)

I’ve been busy again this week and haven’t posted yet. I’ve spent some of my would-be posting time modifying a new template I found so that I could replace my old one. I grow tired of templates pretty quick, and have been trying to find time to locate a new one and modify it to my liking. I’m not completely happy with the new one (and plan to change the header graphic as I have time), but I like the change nonetheless. I’ll probably do it all over again in a few months. Until then, this is it.

Since I’ve got nothing else right now, here’s a look at a few of the things I’ve read this week:

• Mike Cope has posted today regarding the Time article “Does God Want You To Be Rich?,” and we should take heed of Mike’s last paragraph.
• Mark Elrod offers a few comments regarding what annoying talking head Sean Hannity is willing to die for. Hannity is speaking at Harding University tonight.
• Another politics-related post, this one from Greg Taylor, commenting on the dialogue between Jim Wallis and Ralph Reed over at God’s Politics blog.
• Jim Martin reflects on our generous God and different ways that we can reflect Him in our own generosity.
• And, rev-ed talks about his encounter with a wild animal and the mark of the beast.

On a sports-related note, nobody has ever accused Bob Knight of not speaking his mind. Knight fired a shot at Oklahoma this week, whose football team lost in a controversial game at Oregon last weekend. Oklahoma was clearly on the receiving end of a bad call (and continues to complain about it and has asked Oregon to forfeit the game.) Knight reminds everyone of a basketball game in 2003 in which Oklahoma benefited from an equally bad officiating screw up, winning a game over Knight’s Texas Tech team (and Knight’s subsequent request for OU to forfeit the game, which did not happen.) As Ted Striker once said, “I guess the foot’s on the other hand now.”

Everyone can relax now. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has informed the world that Iran’s nuclear program has no miliary purpose.

For the second straight time in a game at Auburn, LSU was on the receiving end of a horrible call in the final minutes of the game. LSU had their chances and could have won the game, so they can’t be too upset. But it’s still unfortunate the way this game (as well as the game 2 years ago) ended.

In 2004, Auburn tied the game at 9 late in the 4th quarter with a touchdown. During the extra point, which Auburn missed, a bogus penalty about jumping on a players back was called on LSU. Auburn re-kicked, made the point, and won the game. There’s no guarantee LSU would have won if the call had not been made. But they would have been tied and had a better opportunity, no doubt.

A few moments ago, with LSU driving deep in Auburn territory and attempting to score the winning touchdown, trailing 7-3, Auburn was called for pass interference on LSU’s 4th down play with just over 2 minutes left. The ball was tipped just before reaching the receiver. The receiver was interferred with just before the ball was tipped. After discussing it, the officials said since it was tipped, then no foul. Auburn ball. I don’t know what the official rule is, but there was a simliar call earlier in the game, when an LSU player interferred with an Auburn receiver just before the ball reached him. In that case, the ball never got there, because it was intercepted by another LSU player just after contact. However, the call was made - pass interference on LSU, Auburn retained possession.

At best, they were inconsistent. At worst, LSU got screwed again.

It seems like the latter to me, and it appears that the only thing consistent when LSU goes to Auburn is ridiculous calls late in the game (in Auburn’s favor, of course).

Again, LSU can’t complain too loudly. They still could have won. They had plenty of chances to make something happen, and they had another shot at the end zone on the final play. But still, it’s unfortunate that it’s happened twice in a row. And just think - Auburn plays all of it’s toughest opponents at home this year. Must be nice.

I’ve been busy this week and haven’t posted anything. Haven’t actually had time to think about what to post. But, I have been reading a few things here and there.

Blogs

First is a post on Shaun Groves blog that I found a day or two ago, called Show Me The Happy. It references the recent Time magazine article titled “Does God Want You To Be Rich?” The article, as he explains, is (at least in part) about the “prosperity gospel” which is very common among televangelists. He even includes a picture of smilin’ Joel Osteen. Groves goes a little farther, asking questions about how Christians and churches view things in general. While some of us may recoil in disgust at the “prosperity gospel”, other things we do or participate in may really be no different, or at least they’re not too far apart. Check out his post.

Jason Bybee writes about confederate flags, racism, and how we view and value others. It’s a good post worth checking out. See his recent post titled A ring, a bumper sticker and Gary.

Music

In music news, I see that Todd Agnew is releasing a Christmas disc soon. You just haven’t made it yet in Christian music if you haven’t released a Christmas disc. There are so many out there, and so few that are really good. Most seem to have a song or two that stand out, but usually the disc as a whole is not much to get excited about. However, I’m expecting more from Agnew. His first two albums I’ve enjoyed a lot and he doesn’t seem to fit the mold your typical CCM artist. Evidently, he spent six months praying and studying the Christmas story, and has now produced not just a Christmas album, but a musical of sorts. He has included other fellow artists on the disc, and I look forward to hearing it. I hope I’m not disappointed, but based on his work so far, I don’t think I will be.

One other note, after having mentioned several times the newest Iron Maiden album. I was, of course, very much into heavy metal in high school and college, and still like a fair amount of it today. Maiden has always been my favorite, but one of my favorites that came out of the CCM machine was a Kentucky-based band called Bride. They were at their peak in the early-/mid-90’s and their 1992 disc Snakes in the Playground is one of my favorite hard rock/metal albums of all time. So, all that to say that they are releasing a new disc soon. It’s supposed to be “back to their roots”, which will be a good thing. Their stuff of late (since late 90’s) has not been nearly as good as what they did earlier. They may just have run their course, but I’ll have to check this out to see if it’s worth having. They put out some great stuff in the 90’s, so I’d love to hear something that compares to that.

And by the way, the new Maiden is outstanding. Best since 1988.

Sports

When it comes to college basketball, I’m ACC all the way. Nothing else compares, in my opinion. Duke, Carolina, Wake, State, etc. That’s where it’s at, baby. I love college basketball above all other sports of any kind or level. And as I recently mentioned, I can’t wait for November when college basketball resumes play. In the meantime, I watch college football. And, regardless of how many football schools they’ve added, they’ll never be my first choice for college football. In the South, nothing compares to SEC football. So, I’m very much looking forward to two matchups this weekend.

Florida goes to Tennessee, and I anticipate a good game. ESPN says the lower ranked team has won four of the last five. That would be Tennessee this year. They looked great at home against Cal, then had a scare (also at home) against Air Force last week. I’m not sure how good they are yet, but I think this one goes down to the end, and, I hate to say it, but I think Tennessee pulls it out at home.

The other big game is LSU at Auburn. I’ve seen both teams play, and they both looked really good. However, they were both playing against really bad teams, so it’s hard to really know yet. I think most are picking Auburn to win the conference, so this game is huge since both teams will probably finish 1-2 in the West. It’s even bigger for LSU, though, because they have a tougher schedule ahead. They’ll have to travel to both Florda and Tennessee, while Auburn’s toughest road game will be at Alabama - and let’s face it, that’s not been too tough of a game for them for some time now. Seems most people I’ve heard pick this game are going with Auburn at home. Perhaps LSU will keep in mind the cheap call that went against them over there two years ago. I’m going to pick LSU in another one that goes the distance.

In other football news, I didn’t realize that first team punter at Northern Colorado was such a coveted position. I stand corrected. And, I’m not surprised in the least to read this story.

Okay, that’s all I’ve got.

I’m looking forward to “Super Saturday” at the U.S. Open. It’s mildly surprising that the two Russians, Nikolay Davydenko amd Mikhail Youzhny are in the semifinals. I say that because Youzhny beat Raphael Nadal, who most expected to be playing Roddick for a shot at Federer in the final. Then Davydenko was down 2 sets to Tommy Haas and battled back to win in 5 in a pretty good match (at least what I saw of it.) I still think Federer and Roddick will win and play tomorrow, but who knows. I just hope for 2 good matches.

In the women’s final tonight it’s not too surprising that Maria Sharapova and Justine Henin-Hardenne are there, although Amelie Mauresmo has played very well this year and I was a little surprised she lost to Sharapova, who has seemed to lose in a lot of semis since her Wimbledon win a couple of years ago. I think the women’s final may be the best match of the day.

Also looking forward to at least one college football game today - the 1 vs 2 Texas-Ohio State game. I think Texas will do it again as they did at OSU last year. It’s about the only real interesting game on today, as many teams are playing high school teams this week before most start conference play next week. I’ll have to keep an eye on both this and the women’s final for a while, but should see most of this game after tennis is done.

Iron Maiden alert - CBS was playing “Where Eagles Dare” during it’s pre-match coverage just a few minutes ago. Cool.

Okay, off to clean house and watch tennis…

Well, as I promised, here is somewhat of a review of our evening with Jerry Seinfeld last night. I’m not sure if the concert was sold out, but I didn’t really see any empty seats. It was packed. And it was hilarious.

Mario Joyner opened up for Jerry. I’ve seen Joyner here and there, including a couple of Seinfeld episodes and Jerry’s documentary Comedian. He was very funny. The guy who opened for Jerry when we saw him in Huntsville three years ago was okay, but Joyner kept me laughing the whole time. He performed for something like 20 minutes, maybe longer. The whole evening went by so fast it was hard to tell.

One of my favorites among Joyner’s observations was his questioning why there have been no further advances in prostate examinations:

It’s the year 2006 and we’re still using the finger. The finger is not an instrument. It’s what you use when you don’t have an instrument. We have laser eye surgery now, but for this a doctor who’s been to years of medical school is still using his finger?

After Joyner left the stage, there was only a brief intermission - as in about 30-60 seconds, before Jerry appeared on stage. Just like last time, there was no introduction. He just walked out and the crowd went nuts.

My wife commented after the show that she thought he was a little funnier when we saw him 3 years ago. I thought it was about the same. I laughed so much my eyes were watering several times. The main thing I hate about these types of events is that I can never remember everything that I thought was so funny. But, I do what I can. So, here’s a few things I found humorous, and there’s no doubt I’m leaving some out. Perhaps I’ll post more in the future as I recall them.

On Iraq and the war on terror:

We can’t seem to catch the terrorists, but we have a lot of film of them training. Lots of footage of them running through tires and climbing across the monkey bars. Maybe we should be following the guy who’s dropping off these cans of film. And what’s with the monkey bars? They seem to really be concentrating on the monkey bars. Have there been a lot of wars fought in which important battles took place on a children’s playground?

On TV advertising by drug companies:

These drug companies do a lot of advertising now without telling you what the medication is for. A guy comes out of the office, gets in the car, and turns to his wife and says, “My doctor says Cramitol.” Then the voice says, “Call your doctor to find out if Cramitol is for you.” Or “I’m on the purple pill” and then the guy’s climbing rocks. Why are you on the purple pill?? … And why are people with acid reflux disease hanging around the edge of a volcano? Wouldn’t they want to avoid these hot regurgitating liquids?

On weddings:

For those of you in the audience who my be engaged, I want to tell you something that nobody else will tell you. Not your family, not your friends, nobody. I may be the only person who can tell you this. Nobody wants to come to your weddding. I realize you’re in love, you want to spend the rest of your lives together, and do many things. So, why don’t you just do it? Why ruin the day of 150 other people?

On cremation:

Cremation has become more popular. It used to be that people wanted a granite stone, with your name chisled in big letters, a stone that said “I was here, dammit!” With cremation, it’s like you’re trying to cover up a crime. “Burn the body, scatter the ashes… I was never here!”

There was also a humorous moment when, while talking about his mother’s residence in Florida, some clown yelled out “Del Boca Vista!”, which was the name of one of the condos where Jerry’s parents on Seinfeld lived. Jerry commented:

Oh, very good, yes, that’s from the show. I wrote that. By the way, there’s nothing funnier to a comedian than when other people shout his jokes back to him. It’s like if you went to work and told someone a joke, and the next day they came back in and told you that same joke.

There was so much more that I can’t remember right now. And, what I do remember isn’t nearly as funny when in print, having been typed from my bad memory, as it was when Jerry delivered it live last night. But trust me, it was a great show. If you have the chance to see him live, do it. You won’t be disappointed.

I’m certainly no Auburn fan, but this bumper sticker is pretty funny. Auburn’s defense sacked Alabama QB Brodie Croyle 11 times in last year’s game.

I’ve now finalized my third (and final) Seinfeld list. (Here are the links to list #1 and list #2.) This one, of course, is my favorite episodes. I had a hard time narrowing the list down to 10 (or even 20, including the honorable mentions). There were a few obvious ones, those I knew would be at the top of the list. Others were harder to choose. There are many that could be on the list, and if I did this again in six months, a year, whatever, it might change a little. But for now, this is the list.

Favorite Episodes

1. The Soup Nazi (1995)
   This is a favorite of many. As I think I’ve mentioned, one of the strengths of the entire series was the people (besides the primary four) that came in week to week and made the show better. This show had several that appeared on my previous lists (Newman, Kenny Bania, Cedric & Bob, and the Soup Nazi himself.) It was hard to pick ten that were my favorite, but it was easier to pick #1. I knew this would be it. And it was the only episode I chose in the top 10 that aired past season 4 and 1993.
2. The Boyfriend (1992)
   This was my favorite of the first half of the series. It was a one-hour episode, and it was aired around the time of Stone’s JFK movie, which was parodied in the episode. Keith Hernandez, George’s unemployment, Vandelay Industries, June 14, 1987, the “second-spitter” - it’s a classic. “And you want to be my latex salesman.”
3. The Pen (1991)
   This is a great episode featuring Jerry’s parents. This is the only episode in which Kramer and George are both absent. Again, several characters from my previous lists appear in this one - Morty, Helen, Leo, and Jack Klompus. The Florida community in which the elder Seinfelds reside gets turned upside down when Jerry accepts an “astronaut pen” from Klompus. The interaction between all of the older folks just cracks me up every time. (The commentary on the DVD’s is worth listening to as well.)
4. The Chinese Restaurant (1991)
   Like a handful of other episodes (including The Pen), Jerry’s apartment doesn’t appear in this episode (and neither does Kramer). The threesome spend the epsiode waiting for a table at a restaurant, and engage in some hilarious conversations. George’s description of his “impending intestinal requirement” during an intimate time with his girlfriend just kills me.
5. The Implant (1993)
   Elaine claims Jerry’s girlfriend may be “playing with confederate money,” but later finds out first hand (so to speak) that she’s wrong. George travels home with girlfriend Betsy which leads to his famous confrontation with her brother “Timmy” over double-dipping his chip. This episode also contains one of my favorite lines from the entire series. When Elaine tells Jerry she thought he was a leg man, Jerry responds with “A leg man? Why would I be leg man? I don’t need legs. I have legs.”
6. The Junior Mint (1993)
   Jerry is dating a girl whose name he cannot recall (aka “Mulva”) and he and Kramer are invited to watch the surgery of Elaine’s friend along with medical students. During the surgery, they argue over a junior mint, which Jerry knocks from Kramer’s hand and ends up inside the patient, who later has a “miraculous” recovery. “It’s chocolate, it’s peppermint, it’s delicious! It’s very refreshing!”
7. The Outing (1993)
   Elaine notices some young girls are eavesdropping on her, George and Jerry in the coffee shop, and starts giving them something to talk about - that George & Jerry are gay. Unfortunately, it turns out that one of them is an NYU reporter with whom Jerry has an interview scheduled. The scene with Jerry and George arguing over fruit in his apartment during the interview is pretty classic. So many phrases have been embedded into pop culture by this show, and this episode produced what is probably one of the most well-known, and one that I still hear used often: “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
8. The Contest (1992)
   This episode is often voted the favorite of people. I admit it was not one of my favorites for a while - probably just because of the subject matter. And, I honestly just don’t laugh as much at it as others. But I eventually decided it still deserved to be in the top 10.
9. The Bubble Boy (1992)
   Jerry, Elaine, George and Susan get sidetracked during a trip to Susan’s father’s cabin after meeting Mel Sanger at the coffee shop. Mel is the father of Donald “the bubble boy” and asks Jerry to pay him a visit. “Moops!” “Moors!”
10. The Parking Garage (1991)
    This one was not unlike The Chinese Restaraunt - they spend an entire episode doing nothing but walking around in a parking garage looking for their car. It’s these kinds of shows that made you realize it really was a “show about nothing.” And yet it was still hilarious. The final scene was supposed to be the four driving off in the car, but when filming, the car wouldn’t start. And there’s your final scene - much better than what was written.

So, there you have it. My top 10 favorites. And now, here are my honorable mentions, in order of original air date:

• The Cafe (1991) - the first appearance of Babu Bhatt, and George has Elaine take an IQ test for him.
• The Limo (1991) - Jerry and George pose as “Murphy and O’Brien”, unaware of who O’Brien really is.
• The Marine Biologist (1994) - Thanks to Jerry, George must pretend to be a marine biologist (which, of course, backfires.)
• The Hamptons (1994) - the four spend the weekend in the Hamptons because “you’ve gotta see the baby”, while Jerry’s girlfriend sees George naked. (”I was in the pool!!”)
• The Opposite (1994) - George decides to do the opposite of what his instincts tell him - with surprising and hilarious results.
• The Bizarro Jerry (1996) - Elaine meets bizarro Jerry, George and Kramer; George finds the “forbidden city”; Kramer inadvertantly ends up with a job; and Jerry dates “man-hands”.
• The Yada Yada (1997) - George’s girlfiend “yada-yada’s” over a lot of important information while Jerry believes Tim Whatley has converted to Judiasm just for the jokes.
• The Strike (1997) - George is forced into once again celebrating the holiday Frank created - “A Festivus for the rest of us!”
• The Burning (1998) - Elaine finds out that Puddy is religious and that she’s going to hell.
• The Finale (1999) - the four are tried and convicted because of “The Good Samaritan” law, as characters from throughout the series appear to take the stand against them.

A few things I noticed as I completed the list:

• Of my top ten, eight of the ten were from seasons 3 and 4. I guess those are my favorite seasons, and truth be told, the middle of the series produced some of the best episodes. I think there’s no question about that.
• Of my ten honorable mentions, eight of those ten were from seasons after 3 and 4.
• I’ve always loved Kramer - he and George are in a dead heat for my favorite character on the show (I go back and forth.) However, two of the episodes in my top five were Kramer-less. And one was George-less. Odd that I would pick those, but that’s just they way it ended up.
• Newman, my favorite recurring character, is only in two of these episodes. Being in over 40 total, I was surprised he wasn’t in more than two.
• Several of my favorite single-appearance and recurring characters didn’t appear in any of the following episodes. I don’t think that means anything, just something else I noticed.

So, there’s some useless trivia about this list.

That’s it for the lists. We’ll be going to see Jerry live in 2 days, and I’ll try to post a review of the concert either on Friday or over the weekend.