Doug Van Pelt

A widget, a Compassion widget

Here is a widget that the fine folks at Compassion International designed for me. It'll direct you to more information about awesome children in Uganda that you can sponsor. You know what else is cool? These children links/photos are updated in real-time, so once one is sponsored, their picture disappears so it can be duplicasponsored...

HM Blogs Never Feature Enough "News of the Weird"

....or maybe we do. What do you think? Here's the latest press release that caught my eye:


COACHELLA ORGANIZERS OFFER $10, 000 REWARD AND FOUR FESTIVAL TICKETS FOR LIFE IN EXCHANGE FOR THE SAFE RETURN OF THE INFLATABLE PIG THAT ESCAPED DURING SUNDAY HEADLINER ROGER WATERS’ SET




COACHELLA organizers are offering $10,000 and four (4) festival tickets for life in exchange for the safe return of the two-story inflatable pig that broke loose during Roger Waters’ set on the final night (Sunday, April 27) of the 2008 COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL. The pig escaped and floated into the desert sky just prior to the intermission between Roger Waters’ back-to-back sets--marking the only back-to-back COACHELLA sets by one artist in the critically acclaimed festival’s history.


Anyone with information on the lost pig, should email lostpig@coachella.com.


Is that a little bit bizarre, or what?




A few odds and ends:

-Vote for the one band out of eleven featured in our GMA showcase that should play Cornerstone Festival: click your ballot.

-I met another neighbor 'round here last week. She had left a business card with a note on our office porch, but I waved at her as she was driving away. She was looking for her missing cat. In the course of our conversation I found out that a possum had killed a great rooster they had. It was slinging that bird back and forth in its mouth and also jumping on its body to kill it. She said they'll eat cats. Formerly she used to want to help them live, but now she wants to kill 'em whenever she finds 'em on her land. It could be possums that ate our last five cats. This morning my dog was barking in one of the bathrooms here. I peeled away the velcro panel on the bathtub and saw the nose of either a possum or skunk. I shut the panel too fast to get a good look. I think it was a possum. I need to find a way to get rid of those buggers ... and keep them out for good. This manufactured home that serves as the HM offices is a few feet off the ground and has "skirting" around it to cover the gap. But animals can dig under it and habitate underneath the building, tearing up the insulation and climbing through the fabric layer underneath the home. I wonder if I fumigated the place with some sort of bug-killing "bomb" if it would chase them out from under or if they'd suffocate and die in there -- causing a retrieval problem later. hmmm.

-I need to post the latest issue online today.

GMA.08.04.random-comment

A lot of people (probably myself included) roll their eyes and make certain gutteral noises when they bring up the GMA Week that happens in Nashville each year. The thoughts conjured up are usually of plastic people spending plastic and looking and acting plastic. What's ironic, and will be a bit of good news to some, is that the exact opposite is true. People -- industry workers in radio, retail, labels, booking, media, etc and artists are transparent, honest, and real.

I was up at some crazy (has to be ungodly) hour on Tuesday morning after staying up until 3am for the HM Magazine/Cornerstone Fest/GyroscopeArts showcase, trying to gulp down coffee at a breakfast put on by Provident Music Group. This label, mind you, has a little bit of rock and a lotta "bit" of MOR CCM stuff. Nevertheless, at this morning shindig with a bunch of media folks and artists, there was some cool stuff going on. Mark Hall of Casting Crowns (I'm pretty sure that's his name) stood up after a couple of other guys and shared a little devotional. You know what? It was deep, thoughtful, and interesting. The guy was earnest, seemed genuinely moved by what he was saying ... and I was, too.

I just figured I'd say that. This scene gets beat up enough and rarely do we hear cool stories like this (at least in the scene and younger demographic). Have a blessed day.

Coldplay

random thoughts based upon my emails:

-i'm pretty lucky in europe in regards to various lotteries and estate settlers

-i'm pretty hot property amongst russian women. not sure why these lonely women always use another email address to send me a personal note, requesting me to contact them at another address. it must be a secret thing that dates back to the cold war

-even though i have a recent version of microsoft office, i should consider getting another one.

COLDPLAY ANNOUNCES FREE MADISON SQUARE GARDEN SHOW & SINGLE DOWNLOAD GIVE-AWAY

Viva La Vida Set For June 17th Release

"Violet Hill," the first single from Coldplay's upcoming album, Viva La Vida, will be available as a free download from the band's website (http://www.coldplay.com) for one week beginning Tuesday, April 29th, at 7:15 a.m. EDT - a full week before it goes on sale at digital retailers. Viva La Vida will be released in North America on June 17th.

"Violet Hill" also debuts on radio this Tuesday. On the same day, Coldplay will post preliminary details on its website regarding the band's upcoming free show:

June 23rd New York, NY Madison Square Garden

Please check http://www.coldplay.com beginning April 29th for details on how to win tickets. As this is a free show, no tickets will be available for purchase. Coldplay will also be playing a free show at Brixton Academy in London, England on June 16th.

Viva La Vida was produced by Brian Eno and Markus Dravs. It is the follow-up to the immensely successful X&Y, which has sold 10 million copies worldwide since its release in 2005.

World Malaria Day

Okay, that's enough slagging on me for one day. After all, there is something much more important to blog about -- today is World Malaria Day, and this is serious. When we were in Uganda back in February, I wore clothes that had been soaked in DEET and wore repellent on all my exposed skin. I was a total germaphobe. It freaked me out knowing that one mosquito bite could give me a disease. Almost all of the people we talked to in homes and projects (especially the young mothers), we asked if they had mosquito nets. Many said no. I slept under a net each night in our nice hotel room. I can only imagine what sleeping on a dirt floor with no net would be like.

Malaria kills 1 million people each year. Most who die of this treatable, preventable disease are children. A gift to Compassion's Malaria Intervention Fund will help Compassion-assisted children and their families receive the resources they so desperately need to fight this deadly disease,
including:

€mosquito nets to protect children from mosquito bites €malaria prevention education €access to malaria medical treatment for those struggling with the disease

A little goes a long way:
-$30 will provide three mosquito bed nets.
-$50 will provide five mosquito bed nets.
-$100 will provide 10 mosquito bed nets.

To donate and help "bite back" against the mosquitos, donate to Compassion International.

And, to personalize this with my amateur-informed political rant: If environmentalists and politicians wouldn't have panicked about the so-called dangerous effects of DDT (from what I understand, it is a poisonous insecticide, but only in grossly negligent massive overdoses is it a bad thing to people and the environment), we would not have this huge epidemic. Can you believe that? I mean, sometimes politics and misinformation ends up killing millions. If the DDT scare had not happened, the mosquito-spread malaria problem would not have existed. Again, I'm just a hack, but if this is true, how sad. Now people are dying of a disease that could've been prevented. Now, that's neither here nor there, since we are dealing with an epidemic killer disease at the moment. This argument won't help anything. The treatment of this problem is what will help now, and the mosquito-net initiative that Compassion International has will go a long way in preventing this disease for many. It's practical and affordable for us to help.

Doug Van Pelt is a big idiot

(at least I'm in good company. Al Franken has called Rush Limbaugh a "big fat idiot" (or was it "big fat liar"??) and I have gone on record calling the 12 disciples "bumbling idiots," as some of their statements and their inability to not get Who Jesus was seems awfully dumb).

Here's the deal: two mistakes in some recent writing are staring at me with that taunting glare that says, "You are an idiot!" One is the description of Jon Foreman touring with an oboe player. What? An oboe player?! How did that get past me (once when I wrote it; and more than once when I proofed it)? I do know the difference between an oboe and a cello. Sometimes it can be tricky identifying a cello as opposed to a stand-up bass, but that's really a pretty easy one. Mistaking a woodwind from a string is absurd, though. I guess I had "oboe on the brain," which is an affliction parents get when their children play in the school band. This mistake has actually occured thrice:
once in print in the new May/June issue #131 in the "Live Report" on SXSW;
once again online in my blog report on SXSW;
and once again (I think) in an audio report I did with Doctor Tony Shore at SXSW, which we did for an upcoming HM Magazine Podcast.
That's ridiculous, but that's me.
I suck.

Another mistake involves one word, too. It's the word dancehall. I should not have left it in my P.O.D. review in the new/last CCM Magazine. I'm an idiot.

Oh well, now's the time on Sprockets we laugh.

GMA.08.03-beyond

I just got back to the HM Ranch/Office and have much catching up to do, but one of the first things I want to get done is my GMA recap ... with photos and everything!

(haha, it reminds me of a song by that crappy dumb punk band, Lust Control, "Fun Fun Feeling," which says, "we knocked off a 7-11, with guns and everything!" goofy, funny stuff).

His mind is not for rent...

...to any god or government.

That line has always kinda bothered me. It's one of those statements that is defined or coloured by the voice of the speaker -- if a believer makes this statement, it has a different meaning to me than if it comes from a non-believer. That's interesting. It makes me want to turn it over and over in my mind, like a chicken being roasted. What is it that makes a statement like that feel bad and judgmental coming from one mouth and yet constructive and educational from another? I think it's a loaded statement. No one wants to be known as someone who "rents their mind to another." That would be like surrendering the one thing that can't really be taken from you (your will, your intellect). No one wants to be brainwashed. Yet the Scriptures instruct us to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Jesus Himself prayed that He'd like to not have to go through with His arrest, beating, and torturous death when He prayed to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane; yet He surrendered His will when He said, "Nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done." That's not brainwashing or an example of a poor, misguided, brainwashed puppet. It is actually a very powerful exhibition of strength. He could have commaned (COMMANDED) an army of angels to dispense with the Roman cohort (an army of men, armed to the teeth, probably numbering from 600-700 if my studies are accurate). He used restraint. It's like a really smart man keeping his mouth shut when he could humiliate his opponent in a spontaneous debate in some public setting.

The verse to the song about a "modern day Tom Sawyer" makes the point that this guy "thinks for himself." He doesn't let someone else think for him. That's quite different than the believer who exercises and uses his or her mind. What's cool about apologetics isn't that it just gives the amateur some ammunition with which to argue with opponents of the Gospel (or someone simply taking an opposing side to a spiritual conversation); but it also affirms the intelligent believer that faith in Christ isn't some easy-believism or dumb allegiance to a fairy tale. I'm convinced that anyone's intelligence can be satisfied in its search for truth (specifically in the direction of Christianity).

So, I went to see the band Rush last night in Austin, Texas.

THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES:
I'm pausing here to pop a chocolate-covered Altoids peppermint into my mouth. mmm-mmmm

I started my day yesterday waking up in a hotel in Nashville. I washed and went down to the exhibit hall to use the free wireless hotspot one last time while in the music city. A couple girls came by with Red Bull backpacks on and I showed them the curtsy gesture I saw in Uganda for saying "Thank You." I ingested two cans to jump start my day. I sat and typed next to the Scripts booth, by the way. They make high quality tennis shoes in vibrant colors and prints with Scriptures sewn on them. Later on I met with John J. Thompson and the lovely Erin Lee to have an HM Magazine advertising pow-wow session. While showing John two of our new HM commercial spots (I'll have links up soon, I hope), I noticed some guy sitting close to us with a wireless router set up on the table. The hotel charged a high price for internet (it should be free, folks) and this guy must've bought it and set up his wireless router to share with others up there. Very nice. This person was part of a new Christian social network (you know, like myspace or aol, but with Christian guidelines, safeguards and a marketing push to recruit Christian members). I can't quite remember the name of this place and, because of the story I'm about to share, that's probably a good thing. My roommate for part of the week is one of our better writers and he was telling me a story about joining this network and choosing the username of Jesus Christ. He started sending messages or comments to people, saying stuff like, "I appreciated that prayer," or "It's been awhile since we talked," and funny satiristic comments like that. Within about ten minutes he was bumped off and the network had posted a special bounce or splash page to let him know he couldn't log in anymore. "This isn't funny, Bob," the people told him (except, of course, they used his real name which I am going to hide). He decided to rejoin with another name. He wanted to see what kind of reaction he'd get as a Christian celebrity, so he chose Frank Peretti and he copied and pasted the author's bio information from his site on this new profile and ... within another ten minutes or so he was getting emails from the same ruling party at the network, but instead of being told that he wasn't funny and forbidden to log in, he was told "...what an honor it is to have someone of your caliber join us," blah blah blah. And then ten minutes or so later he was bounced off again. I guess the parties in charged noticed that it was the same IP address on this account as the one with the "Jesus Christ" username. I hadn't laughed so hard all week when I heard that story.

So, when I arrived in Austin, I kept my eye on my watch to make sure I could catch the Rush concert. My good friend, Paul Q-Pek, treated me to a ticket for this arena show. He even let me have the ticket in advance, so that I could keep it in my wallet and show it to my friends in Nashville and brag that I was going to see Rush that night, instead of staying in Nashville. Well, the real reason I had it in advance was so that I could see the show as the other guys might get there ahead of me. I walked up through the gate, kinda hungry and tempted by the airport restaurant for Mangia, who make a delicious Chicago-style deep dish pizza called the "carnivore." It takes a good 20 minutes to bake, so I bailed on that idea. Then I went by Amy's ice cream for, perhaps, a nice coffee ice cream with oreo cookie "crush'n" in a cup. The line was too long and I wasn't sure I wanted to have dessert before dinner. Old habits are hard to break. Then I headed down to baggage claim and waited and waited and waited for my two checked bags. Then I went outside to look for the shuttle buses that run regularly to take me to the long-term parking lot to get into my car and catch the concert. It was about ten after 7pm already, and this show started at 7:30, so I was getting a bit concerned. I felt an urge to hear the Bob Seger song, "We've Got Tonight," so I fetched my old iPod out an listened as I waited. Five "EMPLOYEE" buses came and went, but not a single "LOT D" bus. Several minutes went by, but finally it came. When I got on I cued up a travel playlist on my iPod, where I went through all the artists alphabetically, and pulled at least one hit song from each album (if there was one...there was some skipping of artists), which gave me a nice 8-hour playlist. Hearing a good song, like The Alarm's "No Frontiers" (from Change) reminded me how wonderfully a good song can lighten your mood and ease tension. I always try to park in the "D" lot, because it's easier to remember where I'm parked at (my first name beginning with the letter "d" and all). I drove from the airport to downtown Austin, which isn't too far, but it looked like I might miss the first part of the show if they were starting on time. There was no opening band, so I was expecting a nice and long 3-hour show -- the type of show legendary bands should put on (I'd expect no less from Led Zeppelin if they ever tour again). None of my usual spots were open and even the UT stadium lots were marked with signs that warned of towing if you did not have a UT parking permit. Some event must've been going on. I ended up parking a good mile and a half away, down by the Capitol building and Texas Museum. I ran to the Frank Erwin Center and entered. I could hear Rush rocking loud to the song "Limelight." They then launched into a brand new one from Snakes & Arrows. By the time I got to my seat I was told by my smiling friends that this was their second song. So, if you count audio, I hadn't missed a single song.

Rush sounded great. They played three hours. Alex Lifeson had several full stacks of speakers behind him. Geddy Lee (instead of bass cabinets or washing machines) had several tall rottisery ovens with roasted chickens spinning around under bright heat lamps. Nice touch. They played a ton of material off Snakes & Arrows, yet mixed in tons of hits from about every era of the band. I did miss hearing a song from the Presto album, like "The Pass," but we heard "2112 Overture," "Witch Hunt," "Red Barchetta," "YYZ," "The Trees," a drum solo, a brief break ("to eat chicken," they said), "The Spirit of Radio," "Natural Science," "Subdivisions," and much more. Good times, yeah.

GMA.08.02

I'm in the only internet/wifi hotspot at the GMA Convention in "GMA Central," where the exhibitors have booths set up, the magazine/publication bin is and I'm waiting to check email for the first time today. Here's hoping I can download everything before I head over to the lobby for a shuttle to the Tooth & Nail dinner. Today I had sit-down conversations and interviews with Michael from the band Red, Krystal Meyers, the guys in Since October and Bruce and Arthur of Living Sacrifice. I "jawed" a little bit with Mike Herrera in the hallway. It's been a fun day. It's about to kick into overdrive as the T&N dinner segues me into the Compassion dinner, where I'll have a chance to reunite with the Uganda bloggers again. I had dinner with a bunch of them last night, which was wonderful. I saw one performance at a showcase, too. It was the band Luminate, who have stepped up their production ... and sound a little bit more melodic and worship-centric than previous songs.

After the Compassion International dinner there is our showcase, followed by about six other showcases around town. It'll be a late, late night (and then I was gullible enough to accept an invitation to a breakfast early tomorrow morning).

GMA.08.01

I arrived in downtown Nashville yesterday with not a lot on my agenda, so it was relaxing to settle in and prepare for a week of a little business and a lot of catching up with friends. I was able to meet up with our Advertising Director, Erin Lee, who lives down here. That was great. It was also fun to see the new stickers, postcards and shirts I designed for the HM Showcase we're having on Monday. That's always rewarding to hold something in your hands that you worked on. It's a priviledge and I still get excited when I can hold those things in my hands.

I spent the last few hours of the night in my room watching TVU. It's a non-commercial Christian rock video channel/station. During GMA Week they arrange with the hotel to have the channel fed through the building's cable programming. It was fun to catch up on lots of videos of bands we cover. The Devil Wears Prada, Family Force 5, Underoath, Pillar, Red, The Almost, August Burns Red, Becoming The Archetype (with lots of fire), Skillet, As Cities Burn, Anberlin, Project 86. I have pretty much seen most of what's in their current rotation now.

I'm excited to have found a cyber cafe in the Convention Center, which has a wifi connection. It wasn't the best of prospects to think I'd be cut off from the internet for five days.

God bless you!

Nashville Here I Come A Runnin'

Lord willing, I'll be landing in Nashvegas in several hours. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of friends.

What Happened in Piedmont?

Or, if you prefer clicking, click here.

The Great Exodus.26

There is more fine detail on the making of the tabernacle in this chapter. It's fascinating to look at this sanctuary. It's kind of wonder-full how God had specific plans in mind. I like that He asked Moses to commission craftsmen and an embroiderer to make this "according to the plan shown you on the mountain." Many have studied the tabernacle and the later temple and have implied that the details of each have significance for us today.

I remember one GMA in Nashville where an old interest came up to me and held my hand for a few seconds during a conversation. I told a friend of mine about it over lunch and he made reference to a Bible study he had gone through, where the different chambers of the tabernacle represented different places/chambers in our heart. He talked about these containers, called "ketters," where sometimes things were held in them that shouldn't be there (like spoils that the Israelites held on to or something). I have looked up Ketter, Kedar, and other words to study this more, but have come up short. One thing that translated to me, though, was the importance for us to examine our hearts and know what's in there. Kind of a "take inventory" type attitude.

This tabernacle must've been a beautiful thing to behold. Apparently, it was about 45 feet long by 15 feet wide and 15 feet high. It was a multi-lining tent, with fine embroidery covered by a large goat hair woven material and layers of leather. It's interesting that gold was used on the inside and bronze on the outside.

Frontline: It used to be a great record company; and now it's just a flea ointment for dogs

A question I'd like to ask the reunited Degarmo & Key:

When you started out, you made some really good quality music. Straight On was a solid album, to be sure. Since you obviously "know better," why did you make music that was so beneath you years later in your career? (who among us would state that "God Good, Devil Bad" is good art?) This seems like a case of artist regression. I don't understand. Please explain.

I have to work on my tact if I'm really going to ask that.

Hey, this Saturday is Record Store Day and lots of music retailers are having specials and big sales. If you live next to an independent record store, check it out this Saturday. You'll be glad you did.

The Great Exodus.25

I love how this chapter focuses on the offering "from each man whose heart prompts him to give." That is such a cool thing to see from the heart of God -- allowing man to use his/her free will to honor God with an offering. It's not a coerced thing, but a freewill thing. I love that. It's interesting how there is a list of offerings to receive, though. Maybe that means that some men will devise their own ideas on what should be offered and it's not necessarily a good thing, from a pure motive, or something God wants. Maybe that underscores the argument that this is a freewill thing.

The purpose for the offerings, though, is to make a sanctuary for God, in which He promises to dwell among them. That is an exciting concept, isn't it? Can you imagine dwelling with God?

God gives specific instructions on how the Ark of the Covenant, the table and lampstand are to be made. The artisanship and craftwork on these instruments must've been absolutely amazing. It would have been interesting to watch these craftsmen fashion these items, huh? God had very specific plans for these things and we get the indication that the plans were carried out exactly as specified. That's impressive.

One thing that seems to pop out to me is that God is instructing His people to make some very fine furniture and art pieces for His sanctuary. It is talked about in a matter-of-fact way. It makes me conclude that God has no problem with riches. That God has no problem with "gaudy, ornate, beautiful works of art." Of course, God has a huge, huge heart for the poor and He goes out of His way in Scripture to talk about the poor, really teaching us to care for the poor. That is something we all need to learn and practice. It's the knee-jerk reaction of hatred towards those that don't join our efforts -- or act indifferent or posses wealth -- that can get us off-focus. I don't think God hates material things, money, or wealth. I think His hatred would be centered around "the list" (the list of 7 things He hates, as chronicled in Proverbs 6:16-19) and be crudely summed up as "injustice" or "taking advantage of the weaker."

I wish I had more of God's wisdom and thinking towards money and material things.

Today is the day ... I should see copies of the new May/June issue. I'm looking forward to seeing how that Larry Norman poster came out; and the double-flip covers; the two cover stories (P.O.D. and Showbread, which was crazy with the red, white and black); and the Larry tribute; and that Destroy the Runner layout that I took off the page; and the Uganda and Ecuador layouts. This is always fun.

Lying Journalist Comes Clean

...Or how I learned to regret taking out my frustrations on Director Morgan Spurlock for not seeing a previous screening...





Back during my coverage of SXSW, I posted a spoof movie review on a whim. It was funny, I thought, and I have seen no negative feedback from it. Perhaps it went un-noticed, which is probably best. When I received an email inviting me to a special screening of the same movie, which is a fairly re-occuring event around here, I decided I owed it to the SXSW Film Festival, Morgan Spurlock, and even blog readers to go see it and comment on it. You see, I drove an hour to see the film Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden during SXSW, only to be turned away as the film sold out. Turns out it was a really good documentary. It was especially relevant and fresh for me, since I had seen two other movies at SXSW about the war on terror, the war in Iraq, and Iraq. This movie showed Morgan taking it upon himself to try to find the whereabouts of the world's most wanted man.

It brought up a dilemma for any journalist: If you found him, who would you tell? If you told the US military, how long would it take before he was captured. As a journalist, how would that be objective? Anyway, he took on the task probably knowing that he wouldn't actually find him, but he would be exposed to a lot of interesting things in the process of looking. Turns out he was right. It was a really interesting perspective on our efforts to fight terrorism.

One particularly enlightening quote was from an Arab man who explained to the famouse documentary maker, "Extremism nourishes itself from darkness." It was a reference to the need to give young people in these countries their economic and political opportunity.

It was interesting when he visited Israel (after Egypt, Morroco, and before Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan). He talked to Palistineans who drove home a point that their cause is being usurped by Arab causes around the world (including Al Qaeda), but who do nothing to help that cause. It's a phony rally cry. Very interesting. It was a drag to see hatred coming from some unspecified Jewish religious people in some parts of Israel, who did not want to talk nor did they welcome the camera crew.

Lots of Muslims commented on their thoughts on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. In the film one hears the prayers (and English translation in subtitles) from mosques in Egypt, which were friendly and peaceful and encouraging of receiving mercy from God and showing it to others; and a particular mosque in Saudi Arabia (the radical one that raised Bin Laden), which prayed "...to make Palestine a grave for Jews and Christians." Wow.

The conclusion of the movie rocked, with a really neat collage that underscored the value of people and our worldwide struggle to live and get along. During the credits the Nick Lowe tune (sung by Elvis Costello), "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding" played. There was another song that acted as a title track, which was sung in goofy Southern Rock spoof and story-telling mode a la Charlie Daniels. Very funny. Once again Morgan Spurlock did a good job of making a documentary fun, using lots of humor and the common human element.

After this movie I was bribed with a couple slices of pizza to stay and watch another screening -- My Blueberry Nights, which starred Nora Jones in her first film. Nora done good. The movie was like a crazy montage that focuses on the periphery around one person's travel/run/return. Jones' character (Elizabeth) meets one character after another. Each one "like a mirror that she measured herself by..." liking herself just a little bit more after each.

So, What's it Gonna Take, Silver Shadow Believer?

Stock rocker with your dirty eyes...

So, I was given an advance peek at 5 of Krystal Meyers' new songs. Word has it that this new album is less rock and more techno. The good news is that she's heavily influenced by Shiny Toy Guns. One listen to the first two songs and that is evident. I like it. Lots of attitude and volume.

It's not always about "victories" and milestones...

...at least not in the way we expect.

Yesterday I had a chance to communicate with the magazine buyer at a Christian retail chain that had stopped carrying HM Magazine about 3-4 years ago. I sent him a heartfelt letter asking him to reconsider their decision. It was a bummer that I'd never really been told why HM Magazine was dropped from their system, but now I'd get the chance. I prayed about the letter and put it in God's hands. I expected the best.

The reply I received wasn't quite what I expected, though. I was given the reasons why they'd dropped it. It was such a relief to finally hear that. Their conclusion was that they were still not interested in reinstating the publication into their system.

I replied back with gratitude and told him I respected their decision and confided that, since I had given it to the Lord, that I rejoiced in their decision.

Now, I do not want to be all-talk, so I am committed to rejoicing over this. I truly placed this matter in the Lord's hands. While the quick solution that I was hoping for did not present itself yesterday, nevertheless I rejoice. The matter is in God's hands now. I did what I could. I put forth my absolute best effort. I shot straight from the heart. I pulled no punches, but I was as tactful as I think I could be, so I have no regrets about how I approached the situation. I'm truly trusting God in this situation, even though my natural instinct is to continue to fight and push and prod and so forth.

Just like forgiving someone that hurt you, sometimes choosing to rejoice is a process. You can rejoice the first time, maybe the second time, but what about the next day? Or the time after that? There will be second thoughts and memories brought up, and opportunities to test your decision/commitment to forgive and/or rejoice. That is where the rubber meets the road sometimes. It's not just a short-term, "Oh, I made a decision at the altar." It's an ongoing lay-your-heart-down-on-the-altar kind of thing.

I didn't say this was fun, but it is tapped into this thing called "joy."

"With the 200th pick in the draft, the Oakland Raiders pick Doug Van Pelt..."

Actually, I don't think that'll happen. This is the first NFL draft (coming up) that I can remember where I wasn't expecting a phone call. The guacamole piled into large bowls, El Galindo "Restaurant Style" chips and soda covering all the table space at the Van Pelt household, crowded with families and friends. This won't be another year of disappointed family members -- some threatening to "disown me" if I don't test the free agent waters -- leaving after no phone calls from any NFL teams. It's almost brought me to tears when I answered a phone call right as the third round started one year, and it turned out to be a Dominoes Pizza delivery person, who was lost and needed directions to get to our place. I'll be danged if I set myself up for another disappointment like that again. Nope. This year, it's going to be just like any other weekend. Heck, if my cell phone batteries wear down to no charge, so be it. No NFL team is going to call me this year. I'm convinced of it. I'm not going to get my hopes up.

Seriously, no NFL team in their right mind would take a chance on me. It's been years since I laced up the cleats and kicked a ball through the uprights. Let's face it, I'm probably not NFL material. It's time I started looking at other options. I guess I'll keep this magazine thing on my plate. It's working out okay.

I'll just try to take heed of the great advice offered to Navin R. Johnson before he embarks on a life-changing trip to see the world, leaving all that he knows behind:

"Lord loves a working man."
and
"Never trust whitey."

I better load up on some coffee...

How do you estimate that?

Coffee, cats, dogs, movie trailers, fanzines. It's a good morning.

"...We're surrounded by goblins!"

The Spiderwick Chronicles. Looks like a fantastic tale.
Congrats to the Kansas Jayhawks for beating those Memphis Tigers last night.
The phrase "27 million years" hit me kind of sideways while watching the Bee Movie yesterday. It was their homage to the evolution theory in passing, which was spoken at least three times. It was a funny, goofy movie.

I finished the latest issue of Heaven's Metal Fanzine yesterday. Even though this one was written pretty much 100% by the editorial team sans moi (save for some "Letters to Ed" additions and responses), editing and laying out takes longer than I'd think (every time). This one's kind of weird, because the editorial team (affectionately called "the Heaven's Metal Karew") had introduced themselves in two-up "Meet the Press" features and it was time for my introduction. Our managing editor, a doctor in Virginia, suggested that they do an interview and regular feature for this issue. It was definitely a full-length interview, spanning several pages and covering lots of topics. It's kind of goofy from my perspective, but hopefully some will think it interesting.

I don't think my ego needed stroking in this issue, but nevertheless, there it is. It's interesting: when asked about "the essence of the Christian life," my response went in one direction first -- which is how the term "Christian" is really an adjective of sorts and of praise. The church in Antioch were the first people ever to be called "Christians," which was descriptive of being like Jesus, or "little Christs." It was a great compliment. These people had acted in such a way that others said they reminded them of Jesus. That's cool. The phrase should still be something that others speak of us instead of our own lips. Who among us would say, "I'm a little Jesus!?" That's what saying, "I'm a Christian" is essentially communicating, according to the original use of the term.

I'm toying with or composing a new definition to use from now on when explaining or quantifying my faith. Lord willing, I'll share it here soon when it's finished.

The End of My Music Collection

[ ... or Why I Never Have To Buy Another Album... ]

Well, it might not be that good, but my oh my, is this package "it."

Let me back up and tell you about the spoils of my retail trips today. This Saturday started early, as one of my two daughters danced in this competition called Dance America. I actually slept in and didn't go to the Pflugerville High School Performing Arts Center until closer to noon, when my oldest daughter would have the first of her three dances of the day. My youngest will dance tomorrow. She is sleeping as I write, hopefully dreaming of dancing on puffy white clouds and angels all around. The other one is awaiting the awards of the day -- to see how she and her team placed in the various dances tonight. The first dance of the day was a duet, and she and a friend danced to a Newsboys song. After that dance we went to Dairy Queen to celebrate. (this is like a Midwestern tradition that puts the crown on any achievement -- from a softball game to a week's worth of hard work on a farm) I had one of their new "Tin Roof" Blizzards. Very tasty.

By this time the sun was out and it was a beautiful spring day. I drove into Austin to pick up some Bose speakers I didn't really need that someone was giving away. Then I decided to drive in to Waterloo Records down by 6th and Lamar. I remembered hearing about a massive sale they were having. I saw an ad that showed the Polyphonic Spree DVD on sale for only 13.99. I had been there a week before and feasted my eyes on it, but it was 16.99 and I hadn't seen anything on it yet. I knew I'd probably enjoy it, but I figured I'd wait. Today it was to be had for only 11.99. Very nice. I also took advantage of one of several of Waterloo's listening stations, where they where only too happy to play the Raconteur's new album, Consolers of the Lonely, for me. I wanted to make sure I liked it before I snatched it up. A friend had told me it was much more consistent than their first, and that I'd like it. Turns out he was right. Song after song is really good. It's brash, energetic, raw and in your face -- like the White Stripes best songs, but only fuller sounding. I can't believe the Austin American Statesman panned this thing.

x x x INTER>ruption...#101:

Okay, as I type this, I'm seeing an aacrobat spin flips over and over again, ever so slowly, suspended from a big white baloon while this wonderful band plays live at Wembley Stadium. But I'm getting ahead of myself again. I'm just so distracted by the Peter Gabriel-esque visuals of this concert DVD. Wow.

. . .

So I picked up the new Raconteurs album, too. It was only 11.99 as well. Waterloo was celebrating some big anniversary and had a 20% off sale. Very nice. I checked to see if this one dvd was there ... and it was. I didn't know it would be a CD/DVD combination, but there it was. It was packaged in a double disc CD jewel case, instead of an amaray case like a movie. It wasn't too high, but I had a $5 Reward Zone certificate with me, so I figured I'd pick it up at Best Buy later. I had plenty of time before the evening dances, so I drove back up North to Round Rock and took my daughter's cell phone into a Sprint Store to get fixed. I tried to get a walk-in massage at this place called Massage Envy, but they were busy (on a Saturday). I would have enjoyed that, as I have a bunch of "faschia" stuff that makes my back, shoulder and neck muscles stiff and irritated. It's not like me to splurge on a treatment like that, but the physical therapy I'm getting for this (which initially promised but hasn't delivered "deep tissue massage") is pretty much just focusing on stretches and exercise to build up the muscles and bring my healing. It's painful enough to consider the $39 for one hour as being worth it. Not today.

Oh well, I went in to Best Buy and headed straight for the DVD section, which is shrinking at this retailer. I tried the New Music shelves. No show. I then went over to the alphabetical displays for Rock. P, N, M... MUSE. I have Allan Aguire to thank for telling me, "You know who I'm impressed with? Muse." That was a few years ago, when Absolution first came out. He's since indicated to me that he's not "gaga" over them. There wasn't much on the top shelf, but there was a placard that said something like "Live At Wembley CD/DVD On Sale 11.99." Nice! Only problem was, there were no copies there. There were more copies of their studio albums on a lower tier, but this one was nowhere to be found. I found an employee and he looked it up. The computer said they had 7 on hand. Either there were that many shoplifters or that many shoppers with it in their hands right now. After seeing me search around and ask about overstock, he volunteered to go check in the back to see if today's shipment had it. Not long after he returned with a copy. I only had to lay out about $7 for this little gem. I stuck it in my notebook as I worked at a local Starbucks for a couple hours, laying out the upcoming issue of Heaven's Metal Fanzine, and enjoyed hearing their live show on my headphones. I listen to Muse a lot (their last two albums, really -- I haven't gotten into the Hullaboo DVD I have or their Origins of Symmetry album, either), and hearing these songs live really didn't do a whole lot for me. They're such perfectionists in the studio (I suppose), that it's hard to improve on these songs live, much less pull them off in their pristine glory. Anyway, this was one of those rare CD/DVD combos where I was purchasing for the DVD more than the CD. I took my youngest home before my oldest tonight, as she has to get up and dance early in the morning.

I was only able to pop the DVD in at loud, concert level volume in the house for about 5-7 minutes before I turned it way down. Instead of a 5.1 Surround Sound, the audio I was able to select was a 3/2 DTS. I selected the song "Starlight" and let it rip.

Oh my! This DVD is just insanely good. I have to tell everyone within eyeshot of this blog that you must consider getting ahold of it. The band sold out Wembley Stadium, for crying out loud! Their live show is extremely visual, with lots of computers and video screens making rapid art as a stunning visual backdrop. The staging is massive. There are several aerial shots that show the whole stadium, hovering over the crowd. Wow.

Now, there's probably some satanic altar call at some point in the DVD that I haven't seen yet, and so I'll regret saying this (I'm kidding), but this is about as good as music DVDs get. You will no doubt thank me for recommending this loud, ambient, lyrical and vocal and progressive and harmonious piece of art. I've watched the portion from "Starlight" on to the end and have only heard one naughty word mentioned in passing during one segue from performance to pause back to encore performance.

And to think I was a little worried that I might not like this album.

Oh, Grace, Where is Thy Victory?

I had a conversation with my neighbor out here at the ranch this week. He was in the middle of a sentence, when my mind silently finished his sentence. He had recently been driving his tractor all around our property cutting or "shredding" the weeds to prepare the ground for some plowing. The phone conversation went like this:

Mr. P: "...I found some c...."

Me: (finishing his sentence in my head) "...some CDs out in the field when I was shredding..."

hahaha
I thought he was going to bring up the large number of compact discs scattered about over the land. I'm sure he discovered my little "hobby" of tossing CDs like frisbees from the front porch out into the property.

"It's what we do to crappy music."
or
"Some band sent us some music and it's driven us to this."

In reality, it's just an old, useless compilation that we couldn't give away even if we tried. There's a few dozen out there, probably broken up from mowers, tractors, and the occasional hoof from a cow or horse or donkey. We had an intern named Rand who I think still has the distance record for one of those plastic discs -- almost to the property fence. One of these days I'm going to send one sailing, have it catch a drift and soar over that fence... Oh, and by the way, the neighbor was calling to tell me that he found "seed." We are going to plant some hay here, and he'd been looking at some seed to buy.

P.O.D.'s new album, When Angels & Serpents Dance, releases soon (next Tuesday). We're going to be sending out an enewsletter about it today. Five Iron Frenzy is back in business. Well, sort of. All of their songs have just been added to iTunes. We were going to announce that first sentence in Tuesday's enewsletter this week (April 1st), but one thing led to another and then I pressed the wrong button and sabotaged that plan. We were going to follow it up with another enewsletter (a dedicated one just to the FIF news) that said, "Psyche! April Fools..." The wrong button I hit was the "throttle" setting for my mass emailer. The working setting is "no throttle," which whips out the emails fast and immediate. I had it set to send out so many per second or per minute ... I can't remember, and since I waited until late afternoon to do the first send, I wasn't going to be around for the follow-up. Why did I just spend time and words explaining that? I don't know. Sometimes it might be better to ramble and leave it be, than ramble and erase.

Random thought: An old friend of mine, who worked with me on the magazine for years, as a matter of fact, met a girl online. They decided to meet. Hit it off. Started dating. Got married. That was probably about ten years ago. I believe they're happily married and raising a couple of kids. I can't vouch for eharmony.com, but aol.com sure did good for them!

If you don't do so already, please sign up for the HM Magazine e-mailing list. You'll get a weekly enewsletter (with news, news and more news; as well as a trivia contest with prizes) ... and if you decide you don't like it, every one we send out has a quick link at the bottom that allows you to instantly unsubscribe from the list. Try it. Do it!

Random detail: Another former employee just called minutes ago, posing as some guy with Atlantic Records. For some reason, I thought, he was calling me to tell me, "I was wrong," then he started rambling about the new P.O.D. record, said something arrogant about being a part of getting them signed and producing their best songs, and concluding that he believed their new album would bomb. 'Wow.' I didn't know what to think. Then he told me his real name and we both laughed.

I guess it's about time to get back into the Word here. The last time we left off (before we took about a year to review/share "book club style" the Cravings book by Erwin McManus) was Exodus. According to the bookmark I left there, we should be on chapter 25. Hmmm. Looks like a good one. I enjoy reading about the tabernacle.

Does this guy have "it" or what?

Does anyone else listen to Derek Webb?
I was enjoying his great Mockingbird album on the way to work this morning. In an attempt to make sure I had a good link to his site I discovered a cool new album that he did with his wife, the Ampersand EP.

I love the bite of the words he writes with. The combination of his and her voice on this EP is stellar.