Mar 2007
The "Wow" Starts Now. But for How Much?
03/22/07 04:25 PM Filed in: Technology
Just the other day I
went out to eat at the Olive Garden. It happened that
the wait to get in an eat was about 45 minutes, so we
decided to go over to Office Max to buy a few things.
I walked in the store and realized, "Hey, Windows
Vista just came out!" (This was several weeks ago.) I
made my way over to the software isle and found the
section of Microsoft goods. I was quite taken back.
Seriously. I think I fell backwards. I shoved my hand
in pocket and brought out my phone to call Joey.
"Joey, you're not going to believe this! Have you
seen the prices for the 2007 line from Microsoft?"
"No. What are they?" I relayed the following information to him.
Windows Vista Home Basic: $199.99
Windows Vista Home Premium: $239.99
Windows Vista Business: $299.99
Windows Vista Ultimate: $399.99
Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student: $149.99
Microsoft Office 2007 Standard: $399.99
Microsoft Office 2007 Small Business: $449.99
Microsoft Office 2007 Professional: $499.99
Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate: $679.99
Microsoft Visio Standard 2007: $259.99
Ironically, Ultimate, which is supposed to be the complete package, doesn't actually include Microsoft Visio. I don't know why.
Now that we have the prices laid out, I would like to point out that I actually used Windows Vista the other day, so I can finally speak from experience! Here's my first impressions of Microsoft's new Operating System.
I sat down at a Vista laptop and was impressed with the new visuals. Pretty icons, shiny new taskbar; everything had a water-like reflective appearance, making it look very appealing. I opened the Recycle Bin and the Help Center, just to see what the windows looked like. I like the new shape of the minimize, maximize, and exit buttons in the upper-right corner of the windows. I liked the animation that was shown when opening, closing, and minimizing programs. It did seem a bit jerky when maximizing a program, but I could live with that.
As you roll over icons, they start to glow, which looks very nice.
The PC I was using had 2GB of RAM, and with that amount everything seemed to open and close fairly quickly.
Microsoft has really improved on the behind-the-scenes matters of their OS. Security is greatly improved, and integration with networks and other devices in your house, such as your cell phone, PDA, Xbox, and TV is nearly seamless. Microsoft still has the hold-your-hand notifications that it's known for to alert you of every little change you make, just in case you didn't mean to make it. I think it would make me feel better if my OS didn't assume I was an idiot. I want it to protect me from things like viruses, spam, worms, and such. But I don't want it to alert me every time I open a pop up, or change a simple setting.
All of your most imoprtant information is immedietly delivered to you with the new Sidebar that is implemented into Windows Vista. It's not annoying. It doesn't jump out at you too much and distract you from the important things you're working on. It's just there if you want to look at it for the weather, news, or whatever you have it configured to show you.
Visually, I was very impressed with my Vista experience. But the interface just still isn't intuitive! Not only that, but why is that someone who has been using a Microsoft Operating System for over, including DOS, for all 18 years of his life is confused and lost in the new Windows Vista? Continuity is your friend, Microsoft.
Why is it that there is no longer the "Start" button? It's now just a circle with the new Windows logo on it. You can figure that out pretty quickly by knowing that the "Start" button has always been in the lower-left corner of Microsoft's Operating Systems, but an OS shouldn't assume things about it's users.
I right-clicked on the desktop and a menu dropped down. I looked to the bottom of the menu, and yet another change had been made to the simple desktop options menu. Where Microsoft used to call the bottom button "Properties," they changed the name to "Preferences." Again, why do we need to change something if it already works and people are already used to it? We can assume it does the same thing as the "Properties" button did in Windows XP, ME, 98, and 95, but our eyes are trained to look for "Properties" not "Preferences."
When I clicked on the Start Menu, I was lost... where were all of my programs? The "All Programs" button did a terrible job of jumping out at me, and it did a fabulous job of blending in all too well with the Start Menu. And since this was a fresh install of Windows Vista, I didn't have any favorite programs yet. When I did click on "All Programs", I glanced right, waiting for the Start Menu to expand and show me a list of all my programs. It didn't. Microsoft condensed the Start Menu, and now when you click "All Programs" it displays all your programs over where your "Favorite Programs" used to be. That was a bit annoying, I thought, because it was just one more step then to get back to my favorite programs. It also was a hassle because instead of spreading everything out for me to see all at once, I had to scroll through everything.
Microsoft has been bragging about Instant Search since they announced that they were making a new OS, oh... six years ago. I wasn't impressed. Instant Search isn't actually "instant." I mean, once you press Enter, it searches. But to me, an "Instant search" should search AS I type for the letters I have typed thus far. When I did press enter, it didn't work! I typed in "Control Panel." I pressed Enter, a blank dialog popped up for less than a second, then disappeared. That was the end of it. I tried again. I typed "Adobe" and pressed enter. Again, blank dialog opened and closed, but no Adobe. I don't know if this was a glitch or if I was doing something wrong, but if I was doing something wrong then I must state my main pointa gain: An OS should be intuitive, user friendly, and painfully obvious.
Easily my FAVORITE part about Windows Vista: I apologize, but the only thing I know to refer to them as is "Smart Folders." I don't know their official name in Vista, but they're amazing! Finally, Microsoft has done away with "My Pictures", "My Videos", etc. We now simply have "Pictures", "Videos", "Music", etc. Here's where it becomes truly genius. You never have to add any files to these folders! That's why they're smart. The sole purpose of these folders is to keep a list of every type of file that would be associated with that folder. Of course, this is customizable. Pictures scans your hard drive and will present to you every file type found that could be a picture of some kind. Music looks for any audio format. You get the idea. If you think about this for a second, these amazing Smart Folders eliminate third party organization software like Picasa, iPhoto, and Adobe Photoshop Album. Granted, Picasa is still a wonderful tool for enhancing your photos. But now, even with Picasa, you can just point Picasa to your Pictures folder and Windows Vista already has everything organized! You can now enhance your photos all you want in Picasa without worrying about losing them or anything tragic like that.
On that note, this is great for people like my Grandpa. It's perfect for helping avoid the, "Junk, where did I put that file?" feeling. Yes, there is a "Documents" folder as well. It's like having a default search built in to the OS, except every time you want to see every single picture you have on your hard drive, you don't have to run the search again, because it's already run itself. All you have to do is click on the folder where it compiled the list of all these files. It's brilliant, I tell you!
But how much is brilliance worth? Granted, I love a lot of things about Windows Vista. And there are several things that frustrate me about Windows Vista. But, of course, if you know me, I'd have to get the Ultimate edition. I'm not willing to fork out $399.99 for the next OS. And I haven't even begun to talk about the hardware upgrades that are almost always required, and are going to cost you even more money.
I'll let you decide for yourself whether Vista is worth it or not. Microsoft was kind enough to compile a list of 100 reasons to switch to Vista. I'll be sticking with Windows XP, personally.
Click here.
(Grandpa, you CAN'T upgrade!)
"No. What are they?" I relayed the following information to him.
Windows Vista Home Basic: $199.99
Windows Vista Home Premium: $239.99
Windows Vista Business: $299.99
Windows Vista Ultimate: $399.99
Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student: $149.99
Microsoft Office 2007 Standard: $399.99
Microsoft Office 2007 Small Business: $449.99
Microsoft Office 2007 Professional: $499.99
Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate: $679.99
Microsoft Visio Standard 2007: $259.99
Ironically, Ultimate, which is supposed to be the complete package, doesn't actually include Microsoft Visio. I don't know why.
Now that we have the prices laid out, I would like to point out that I actually used Windows Vista the other day, so I can finally speak from experience! Here's my first impressions of Microsoft's new Operating System.
I sat down at a Vista laptop and was impressed with the new visuals. Pretty icons, shiny new taskbar; everything had a water-like reflective appearance, making it look very appealing. I opened the Recycle Bin and the Help Center, just to see what the windows looked like. I like the new shape of the minimize, maximize, and exit buttons in the upper-right corner of the windows. I liked the animation that was shown when opening, closing, and minimizing programs. It did seem a bit jerky when maximizing a program, but I could live with that.
As you roll over icons, they start to glow, which looks very nice.
The PC I was using had 2GB of RAM, and with that amount everything seemed to open and close fairly quickly.
Microsoft has really improved on the behind-the-scenes matters of their OS. Security is greatly improved, and integration with networks and other devices in your house, such as your cell phone, PDA, Xbox, and TV is nearly seamless. Microsoft still has the hold-your-hand notifications that it's known for to alert you of every little change you make, just in case you didn't mean to make it. I think it would make me feel better if my OS didn't assume I was an idiot. I want it to protect me from things like viruses, spam, worms, and such. But I don't want it to alert me every time I open a pop up, or change a simple setting.
All of your most imoprtant information is immedietly delivered to you with the new Sidebar that is implemented into Windows Vista. It's not annoying. It doesn't jump out at you too much and distract you from the important things you're working on. It's just there if you want to look at it for the weather, news, or whatever you have it configured to show you.
Visually, I was very impressed with my Vista experience. But the interface just still isn't intuitive! Not only that, but why is that someone who has been using a Microsoft Operating System for over, including DOS, for all 18 years of his life is confused and lost in the new Windows Vista? Continuity is your friend, Microsoft.
Why is it that there is no longer the "Start" button? It's now just a circle with the new Windows logo on it. You can figure that out pretty quickly by knowing that the "Start" button has always been in the lower-left corner of Microsoft's Operating Systems, but an OS shouldn't assume things about it's users.
I right-clicked on the desktop and a menu dropped down. I looked to the bottom of the menu, and yet another change had been made to the simple desktop options menu. Where Microsoft used to call the bottom button "Properties," they changed the name to "Preferences." Again, why do we need to change something if it already works and people are already used to it? We can assume it does the same thing as the "Properties" button did in Windows XP, ME, 98, and 95, but our eyes are trained to look for "Properties" not "Preferences."
When I clicked on the Start Menu, I was lost... where were all of my programs? The "All Programs" button did a terrible job of jumping out at me, and it did a fabulous job of blending in all too well with the Start Menu. And since this was a fresh install of Windows Vista, I didn't have any favorite programs yet. When I did click on "All Programs", I glanced right, waiting for the Start Menu to expand and show me a list of all my programs. It didn't. Microsoft condensed the Start Menu, and now when you click "All Programs" it displays all your programs over where your "Favorite Programs" used to be. That was a bit annoying, I thought, because it was just one more step then to get back to my favorite programs. It also was a hassle because instead of spreading everything out for me to see all at once, I had to scroll through everything.
Microsoft has been bragging about Instant Search since they announced that they were making a new OS, oh... six years ago. I wasn't impressed. Instant Search isn't actually "instant." I mean, once you press Enter, it searches. But to me, an "Instant search" should search AS I type for the letters I have typed thus far. When I did press enter, it didn't work! I typed in "Control Panel." I pressed Enter, a blank dialog popped up for less than a second, then disappeared. That was the end of it. I tried again. I typed "Adobe" and pressed enter. Again, blank dialog opened and closed, but no Adobe. I don't know if this was a glitch or if I was doing something wrong, but if I was doing something wrong then I must state my main pointa gain: An OS should be intuitive, user friendly, and painfully obvious.
Easily my FAVORITE part about Windows Vista: I apologize, but the only thing I know to refer to them as is "Smart Folders." I don't know their official name in Vista, but they're amazing! Finally, Microsoft has done away with "My Pictures", "My Videos", etc. We now simply have "Pictures", "Videos", "Music", etc. Here's where it becomes truly genius. You never have to add any files to these folders! That's why they're smart. The sole purpose of these folders is to keep a list of every type of file that would be associated with that folder. Of course, this is customizable. Pictures scans your hard drive and will present to you every file type found that could be a picture of some kind. Music looks for any audio format. You get the idea. If you think about this for a second, these amazing Smart Folders eliminate third party organization software like Picasa, iPhoto, and Adobe Photoshop Album. Granted, Picasa is still a wonderful tool for enhancing your photos. But now, even with Picasa, you can just point Picasa to your Pictures folder and Windows Vista already has everything organized! You can now enhance your photos all you want in Picasa without worrying about losing them or anything tragic like that.
On that note, this is great for people like my Grandpa. It's perfect for helping avoid the, "Junk, where did I put that file?" feeling. Yes, there is a "Documents" folder as well. It's like having a default search built in to the OS, except every time you want to see every single picture you have on your hard drive, you don't have to run the search again, because it's already run itself. All you have to do is click on the folder where it compiled the list of all these files. It's brilliant, I tell you!
But how much is brilliance worth? Granted, I love a lot of things about Windows Vista. And there are several things that frustrate me about Windows Vista. But, of course, if you know me, I'd have to get the Ultimate edition. I'm not willing to fork out $399.99 for the next OS. And I haven't even begun to talk about the hardware upgrades that are almost always required, and are going to cost you even more money.
I'll let you decide for yourself whether Vista is worth it or not. Microsoft was kind enough to compile a list of 100 reasons to switch to Vista. I'll be sticking with Windows XP, personally.
Click here.
(Grandpa, you CAN'T upgrade!)
|
Ever Aftering
03/19/07 03:22 PM Filed in: Indiscriminate
I walked into the house
today, arriving home from school and work. As I
entered the kitchen a piece of paper on the table
caught my attention. I started to walk away, but then
I got curious and turned back to look at it. At the
top it said, "Ever Aftering, by Ashley Nicole". It
seemed to be a poem, and as I started reading it, it
started to sound very familiar. I finally realized it
was a poem that I Ashley Nicole had written before
she married Stephen, and I HAD, in fact, read it
before. I called her immedietly and said, "Sister,
can I put this on your and my Facebook?! It's
amAZING! Everybody should read this!!" She gave me
permission, and so here I am, posting it! I hope you
enjoy it and take it to heart as much as I did. It's
an amazing poem, and I'm really proud of Ashley for
not only writing an amazing poem that can rhyme and
sound good, but also a poem I totally agree with and
has a fabulous message. You're awesome, sister :)!!
I read this poem and thought not of the way all the girls I know could be encouraged by this poem, but also how all the guys I know should take a hint from this poem and treat the girls you know like the princess that they are. Because what if God's plan for us is to marry one particular girl, but we're insistent on pursuing another? Then we may have hurt our relationship with our future spouse, and we may also have messed up hers because of our selfishness. So, I guess another reason I like this poem so much is because it portrays the guy and the girl as a prince and a princess, which is a good way to think about it. A princess is special, and should be treated with the utmost care and respect. So would you make fun of a real princess? Or hurt her feelings with an uncaring or sarcastic remark that "isn't that big of a deal" (in your head)? Or are you going to get the door for her? I'm not saying look at every girl and say, "Is she the one, God?" (Or vice-versa for you girls.) What I'm suggesting is that you should treat every girl (or guy) with the most respect because he/she is a creation of God, and God loves her just as much as he loves you and me. Secondly, he/she will most likely end up marrying someone someday, and if it's not you, maybe you shouldn't act like it will be.
I talked with Ivan about this for quite a while, and he and I came to the conclusion that instead of looking at every person and saying, "Is she the one?" to God, just STOP looking and wait until God plops her in your lap, if that's his plan for you. It's better that way, anyway.
Ever Aftering
Ashley Nicole
Once upon a time, I've heard them say,
In a land that's not so far away,
A king with his daughter ruled in that place
With justice and kindness and mercy and grace,
The Princess herself was no beauty divine,
And her talents weren't especially fine.
But because her father was King of the land,
Every young noble desired her hand.
The Princess, however, was old fashioned it seemed.
She sat in her tower up high and she dreamed
Of The One, her Prince Charming, and who he might be,
She could hardly contain her excitement to see.
In seeking The One, she knew the King to be wise,
And so she approached him, looked into his eyes,
And said, "I want you to choose, out of all these men,
The Who, and the Why, and the Where, and the When."
Father I trust you, you know what is best,
And so I beseech you, get rid of the rest!"
The King agreed with much satisfaction
And he set about in taking some action.
But the King took his time as he searched high and low.
The Princess grew restless, began getting to know
A young Prince in the land who had caught her attention
With his charm and good looks, but he'd failed to mention
Whether he was as loyal as some to the King.
To him this didn't seem a very big thing.
The Princess herself had lost sight of her plans
To leave her decision in her Father's skilled hands.
Her hopes were quite high, her plans were in place,
When the Prince disappeared without any trace.
The Princess, desparing, went in to her Dad,
Her heart all in pieces, her countenance sad.
Her Father embraced her and patiently said,
"If you'll just wait on me, I will bring him instead."
The Princess resolved once again to remain,
And wait with her Father until The One came.
Through the course of her days with her Father the King,
The young suitors came, their offers to bring.
Most were passed over and sent right away,
Until only one was permitted to stay.
She got to know him, and they had lots of fun
The Princess was certain that this was The One.
But the King had an ultimate plan of his own,
The wisdom of which was yet to be shown.
So the Prince packed his bags and left her a note.
The Princess was saddened to read what he wrote.
Oh, how she was crushed, her heart disillusioned.
She came to the King once again in confusion.
"My Father, please tell me, just why this is so,
That he'd love me and leave me--or did you not know?"
"Oh, but my child, you don't understand.
His coming and going were part of my plan."
The Princess was humbled and left the King's sight,
To think and to wonder if he could be right.
She still was quite certain that never again
Could she offer her heart to another young man.
But it wasn't long before in through the door,
Up the wide staircase and across the wood floor,
There came a young Prince from far and away,
And the King, in his wisdom, asked him to stay.
He summoned his daughter and then introduced them.
The Princess watched from afar and admired him.
The two became friends, and it wasn't long after,
As the Princess and Prince were engaged with their laughter,
The King took her aside, whispered into her ear,
"I know this young Prince; you have nothing to fear.
I've chosen him out of the dozens who've come
To test and to see if he could be The One."
"But Father," the Princess said with a sigh,
"If he isn't then one, then why even try?"
"Because you won't know unless you obey.
Learn to trust and to listen to the things that I say.
Know that I only desire what is best,
Leave it to me; I'll take care of the rest."
The Princess nodded and pondered awhile,
Then she looked up, and she said with a smile,
"I trust you, my Father; I'll do what you say.
I'll move forward with this; I won't run away."
And so the fair Princess, free of fear and regret,
Smiled as she thought of the Prince she had met.
The King hadn't promised her it would be easy.
He'd said, "Follow me, tarry close and you'll see
That I only want what is best for my child,
So trust me, my Princess." As he said it, he smiled.
So the Princess, her heart now light and carefree,
Felt joy at the promise of what was to be.
Neither she nor the Prince would be able to tell
If things would be perfect and all turn out well
But they knew they could trust in the heart of their King,
The Sovereign Creator of Every Aftering.
I read this poem and thought not of the way all the girls I know could be encouraged by this poem, but also how all the guys I know should take a hint from this poem and treat the girls you know like the princess that they are. Because what if God's plan for us is to marry one particular girl, but we're insistent on pursuing another? Then we may have hurt our relationship with our future spouse, and we may also have messed up hers because of our selfishness. So, I guess another reason I like this poem so much is because it portrays the guy and the girl as a prince and a princess, which is a good way to think about it. A princess is special, and should be treated with the utmost care and respect. So would you make fun of a real princess? Or hurt her feelings with an uncaring or sarcastic remark that "isn't that big of a deal" (in your head)? Or are you going to get the door for her? I'm not saying look at every girl and say, "Is she the one, God?" (Or vice-versa for you girls.) What I'm suggesting is that you should treat every girl (or guy) with the most respect because he/she is a creation of God, and God loves her just as much as he loves you and me. Secondly, he/she will most likely end up marrying someone someday, and if it's not you, maybe you shouldn't act like it will be.
I talked with Ivan about this for quite a while, and he and I came to the conclusion that instead of looking at every person and saying, "Is she the one?" to God, just STOP looking and wait until God plops her in your lap, if that's his plan for you. It's better that way, anyway.
Ever Aftering
Ashley Nicole
Once upon a time, I've heard them say,
In a land that's not so far away,
A king with his daughter ruled in that place
With justice and kindness and mercy and grace,
The Princess herself was no beauty divine,
And her talents weren't especially fine.
But because her father was King of the land,
Every young noble desired her hand.
The Princess, however, was old fashioned it seemed.
She sat in her tower up high and she dreamed
Of The One, her Prince Charming, and who he might be,
She could hardly contain her excitement to see.
In seeking The One, she knew the King to be wise,
And so she approached him, looked into his eyes,
And said, "I want you to choose, out of all these men,
The Who, and the Why, and the Where, and the When."
Father I trust you, you know what is best,
And so I beseech you, get rid of the rest!"
The King agreed with much satisfaction
And he set about in taking some action.
But the King took his time as he searched high and low.
The Princess grew restless, began getting to know
A young Prince in the land who had caught her attention
With his charm and good looks, but he'd failed to mention
Whether he was as loyal as some to the King.
To him this didn't seem a very big thing.
The Princess herself had lost sight of her plans
To leave her decision in her Father's skilled hands.
Her hopes were quite high, her plans were in place,
When the Prince disappeared without any trace.
The Princess, desparing, went in to her Dad,
Her heart all in pieces, her countenance sad.
Her Father embraced her and patiently said,
"If you'll just wait on me, I will bring him instead."
The Princess resolved once again to remain,
And wait with her Father until The One came.
Through the course of her days with her Father the King,
The young suitors came, their offers to bring.
Most were passed over and sent right away,
Until only one was permitted to stay.
She got to know him, and they had lots of fun
The Princess was certain that this was The One.
But the King had an ultimate plan of his own,
The wisdom of which was yet to be shown.
So the Prince packed his bags and left her a note.
The Princess was saddened to read what he wrote.
Oh, how she was crushed, her heart disillusioned.
She came to the King once again in confusion.
"My Father, please tell me, just why this is so,
That he'd love me and leave me--or did you not know?"
"Oh, but my child, you don't understand.
His coming and going were part of my plan."
The Princess was humbled and left the King's sight,
To think and to wonder if he could be right.
She still was quite certain that never again
Could she offer her heart to another young man.
But it wasn't long before in through the door,
Up the wide staircase and across the wood floor,
There came a young Prince from far and away,
And the King, in his wisdom, asked him to stay.
He summoned his daughter and then introduced them.
The Princess watched from afar and admired him.
The two became friends, and it wasn't long after,
As the Princess and Prince were engaged with their laughter,
The King took her aside, whispered into her ear,
"I know this young Prince; you have nothing to fear.
I've chosen him out of the dozens who've come
To test and to see if he could be The One."
"But Father," the Princess said with a sigh,
"If he isn't then one, then why even try?"
"Because you won't know unless you obey.
Learn to trust and to listen to the things that I say.
Know that I only desire what is best,
Leave it to me; I'll take care of the rest."
The Princess nodded and pondered awhile,
Then she looked up, and she said with a smile,
"I trust you, my Father; I'll do what you say.
I'll move forward with this; I won't run away."
And so the fair Princess, free of fear and regret,
Smiled as she thought of the Prince she had met.
The King hadn't promised her it would be easy.
He'd said, "Follow me, tarry close and you'll see
That I only want what is best for my child,
So trust me, my Princess." As he said it, he smiled.
So the Princess, her heart now light and carefree,
Felt joy at the promise of what was to be.
Neither she nor the Prince would be able to tell
If things would be perfect and all turn out well
But they knew they could trust in the heart of their King,
The Sovereign Creator of Every Aftering.
A Tribute to Matt Richardson
03/11/07 05:24 PM Filed in: Stories
My dear cousin, Matt.
One of my favorite people in the whole entire world.
He's fun. He likes the same music as me. He has a
great sense of humor. He can juggle things. He even
rides a unicycle!
He lives in Texas, about thirty minutes away from my sister and brother-in-law.
Tuesday morning he was riding his unicycle along a curb when he slipped off the curb, lost balance, and crashed down on the sidewalk, breaking his leg in two places. Because it was still in the early morning, nobody was around to help him immediately. My poor cousin had to lay there for at least five minutes until a kind lady finally walked by. He asked her to call 911 for him. Matt was taken to the hospital, placed in a bed, and told, "The doctor will be right with you." Twelve hours later, the doctor finally entered the room to look at his leg.
There's more to the story, but I'm going to skip ahead to Saturday night of the same week. After doing surgery, the released Matt from the hospital on Friday morning. Saturday evening we get a call saying he's back in the ER with infection on his leg. So we stop watching Chicken Run, put some shoes on, and head out the door at 8:00pm to go see Matt. Mom, Dad, Jenna, Joey, and I all went.
We got to the Methodist Hospital about 8:30. We went in and saw Matt sitting in a chair in the waiting room, leg straight out resting against a phone book. He didn't look like he was having the best time of his life, surrounded by about fifty other people also trying to get into the ER. The nurse had told us that she had "called his doctor." We talked with him for about 30 minutes until 9:00 when my Dad finally said, "Well, when are they going to get you in?!" He walked over to the desk and said, "Excuse me, this man has a broken leg and possible infection, and that's serious! How long is this going to take before a doctor will see him?" He was informed that the average wait time was six hours. "Well, when is his doctor going to get here?" The nurse then confessed that they hadn't actually called his doctor. That his doctor wouldn't even be called until they had taken him back and another doctor had taken a look at it. Then they would decide if it was serious enough to call his doctor. Dad was not happy.
We got Matt several blankets for warmth and comfort (and propping his leg up), and Jenna found all the empty chairs in the waiting room and brought them over to where Matt was. We basically moved the waiting room over to Matt, and there was a large circle of chairs around Matt as we waited... and waited... and waited for Matt's name to be called. Jenna and I got in the car and drove across the street to Wal-Mart to buy some water, games (Skip-Bo), coloring books, and crayons (I got the 96 pack, even though she told me not to). Poor Matt didn't want to color though. Or play Skip-Bo. But he did watch. I felt bad that I hadn't though to bring my iPod so he could listen to music and just close his eyes and let that distract his mind. That's one of my favorite reasons to listen to music!
One hour went by. Two hours. Three. Four. It was now midnight. We kept pestering the desk clerks, asking how many names were in front of Matt's. Unfortunately, whenever somebody called 911 and an ambulance or helicopter went out to get them, they got first priority. And Matt's name was bumped back one more. This kept happening... we would hear the ambulances and helicopters come in and we would all groan. Matt didn't groan. He just left his eyes closed and didn't really move much.
While in the waiting room, we made a new friend named Clare. Even though the entire stay in the ER waiting room was less than desirable, it seemed that the real reason we had ended up coming down to the Methodist Hospital that night was because God wanted us to talk to Clare. And Mom had the privilege of praying with her! That was awesome!! Jenna, Joey, and I made another quick trip to Wal-Mart and bought her a Bible.
At one point a nurse was looking for something and she couldn't seem to find it. She turned to another nurse and said, "It's like trying to find a fetuses heart beat through the Mom's overcoat!" Matt, slightly delirious, but still conscious enough to hear what she said, looked at Dad and said, "Why would you just say, 'It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack?!'"
At 4:30am, the door to the waiting room opened. A nurse poked her head out and said, "Richardson...", and all of us went let out a huge, very loud sigh of relief. Then the nurse finished her sentence, "Matthew... is something wrong?"
"NO! Finally!!" Dad assisted Matt in getting back to the room while the rest of us remained in the waiting room. The nurses, knowing full well that his condition was worse than almost everyone else's in the waiting room, yet still they couldn't get him in any sooner, apologized more than once for the terribly long wait, and they said they felt very bad for him because they knew he was in pretty bad condition. Still... I appreciate your apology. But how about doing something about it? Like getting him in sooner so the infection doesn't spread and you don't have to amputate his leg, eh?
Needless to say, Dad, nor I, nor most of the family, and I don't think Matt either, doesn't like the hospital in Dallas, Texas. We much prefer to kind hospitality of Cedar Rapids, Iowa! But I'm glad Matt finally got in to be looked at and put on an IV. They did an ultrasound and found that he had a blood clot. Matt, you're amazing and I love you! Get better soon, homeslice :)! I'm sorry you have a broken leg and we didn't get to run and throw frisbees when I was here to visit, but that's alright. We'll do that in a few months next time I see you, OK? Heal up quick! I'm praying for you.
(To view pictures of Matt's leg and such, click here. I did NOT embed them in this post because you PROBABLY DON'T want to look at them if you don't like gross things!!)
To read a complimentary article on Matt's ER adventure, click here to view Jenna's blog.
He lives in Texas, about thirty minutes away from my sister and brother-in-law.
Tuesday morning he was riding his unicycle along a curb when he slipped off the curb, lost balance, and crashed down on the sidewalk, breaking his leg in two places. Because it was still in the early morning, nobody was around to help him immediately. My poor cousin had to lay there for at least five minutes until a kind lady finally walked by. He asked her to call 911 for him. Matt was taken to the hospital, placed in a bed, and told, "The doctor will be right with you." Twelve hours later, the doctor finally entered the room to look at his leg.
There's more to the story, but I'm going to skip ahead to Saturday night of the same week. After doing surgery, the released Matt from the hospital on Friday morning. Saturday evening we get a call saying he's back in the ER with infection on his leg. So we stop watching Chicken Run, put some shoes on, and head out the door at 8:00pm to go see Matt. Mom, Dad, Jenna, Joey, and I all went.
We got to the Methodist Hospital about 8:30. We went in and saw Matt sitting in a chair in the waiting room, leg straight out resting against a phone book. He didn't look like he was having the best time of his life, surrounded by about fifty other people also trying to get into the ER. The nurse had told us that she had "called his doctor." We talked with him for about 30 minutes until 9:00 when my Dad finally said, "Well, when are they going to get you in?!" He walked over to the desk and said, "Excuse me, this man has a broken leg and possible infection, and that's serious! How long is this going to take before a doctor will see him?" He was informed that the average wait time was six hours. "Well, when is his doctor going to get here?" The nurse then confessed that they hadn't actually called his doctor. That his doctor wouldn't even be called until they had taken him back and another doctor had taken a look at it. Then they would decide if it was serious enough to call his doctor. Dad was not happy.
We got Matt several blankets for warmth and comfort (and propping his leg up), and Jenna found all the empty chairs in the waiting room and brought them over to where Matt was. We basically moved the waiting room over to Matt, and there was a large circle of chairs around Matt as we waited... and waited... and waited for Matt's name to be called. Jenna and I got in the car and drove across the street to Wal-Mart to buy some water, games (Skip-Bo), coloring books, and crayons (I got the 96 pack, even though she told me not to). Poor Matt didn't want to color though. Or play Skip-Bo. But he did watch. I felt bad that I hadn't though to bring my iPod so he could listen to music and just close his eyes and let that distract his mind. That's one of my favorite reasons to listen to music!
One hour went by. Two hours. Three. Four. It was now midnight. We kept pestering the desk clerks, asking how many names were in front of Matt's. Unfortunately, whenever somebody called 911 and an ambulance or helicopter went out to get them, they got first priority. And Matt's name was bumped back one more. This kept happening... we would hear the ambulances and helicopters come in and we would all groan. Matt didn't groan. He just left his eyes closed and didn't really move much.
While in the waiting room, we made a new friend named Clare. Even though the entire stay in the ER waiting room was less than desirable, it seemed that the real reason we had ended up coming down to the Methodist Hospital that night was because God wanted us to talk to Clare. And Mom had the privilege of praying with her! That was awesome!! Jenna, Joey, and I made another quick trip to Wal-Mart and bought her a Bible.
At one point a nurse was looking for something and she couldn't seem to find it. She turned to another nurse and said, "It's like trying to find a fetuses heart beat through the Mom's overcoat!" Matt, slightly delirious, but still conscious enough to hear what she said, looked at Dad and said, "Why would you just say, 'It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack?!'"
At 4:30am, the door to the waiting room opened. A nurse poked her head out and said, "Richardson...", and all of us went let out a huge, very loud sigh of relief. Then the nurse finished her sentence, "Matthew... is something wrong?"
"NO! Finally!!" Dad assisted Matt in getting back to the room while the rest of us remained in the waiting room. The nurses, knowing full well that his condition was worse than almost everyone else's in the waiting room, yet still they couldn't get him in any sooner, apologized more than once for the terribly long wait, and they said they felt very bad for him because they knew he was in pretty bad condition. Still... I appreciate your apology. But how about doing something about it? Like getting him in sooner so the infection doesn't spread and you don't have to amputate his leg, eh?
Needless to say, Dad, nor I, nor most of the family, and I don't think Matt either, doesn't like the hospital in Dallas, Texas. We much prefer to kind hospitality of Cedar Rapids, Iowa! But I'm glad Matt finally got in to be looked at and put on an IV. They did an ultrasound and found that he had a blood clot. Matt, you're amazing and I love you! Get better soon, homeslice :)! I'm sorry you have a broken leg and we didn't get to run and throw frisbees when I was here to visit, but that's alright. We'll do that in a few months next time I see you, OK? Heal up quick! I'm praying for you.
(To view pictures of Matt's leg and such, click here. I did NOT embed them in this post because you PROBABLY DON'T want to look at them if you don't like gross things!!)
To read a complimentary article on Matt's ER adventure, click here to view Jenna's blog.
Then She Tried to Kill Me
03/10/07 08:08 AM Filed in: Stories
It wasn't five minutes
after I had awaken from my traumatic dreams that
Jenna cheerily said, "Do you want some Lucky Charms
and a Pop Tart, The Kid?" (Never let it be said that
Jenna used my real name, except when I was in
trouble.) Of course, I agreed. I wandered into the
kitchen and grabbed the large box of Lucky Charms.
"The bigger box was cheaper than the little box," she announced.
"Yah, isn't it usually?"
"No, I mean actually cheaper! Total price. Not like, proportionally."
"Oh, well, that's cool." I poked through various cupboards until I found the bowls. Jenna handed me the milk and told me where the silverware was. I poured the milk on my cereal and went back into the Living Room to eat my prized bowl of Lucky Charms. I hadn't had Lucky Charms in FOREVER! I downed the entire bowl (while writing that last blog post). Jenna came out of the bathroom and said,
"The Kid, we have to go to Tom Thumb's and get cherries now so we can make a pie. Hurry up and get your shoes on."
"Fine," I grumbled as I unleashed a kick in her direction. I missed.
I put my bowl in the kitchen just as Jenna looked at me and said, "The Kid, did you actually eat that whole bowl of cereal?" "Um... Yah. Why wouldn't I?"
"Dude, that milk was sour! It expired like five days ago!"
"WHAT?! You could have told me that BEFORE I drank the entire bowl!!"
"Yah, sorry about that, The Kid. We also need to get new milk and Tom Thumb's."
Needless to say, I shot several glares in her direction during the car ride to Tom Thumb's grocery store.
"The bigger box was cheaper than the little box," she announced.
"Yah, isn't it usually?"
"No, I mean actually cheaper! Total price. Not like, proportionally."
"Oh, well, that's cool." I poked through various cupboards until I found the bowls. Jenna handed me the milk and told me where the silverware was. I poured the milk on my cereal and went back into the Living Room to eat my prized bowl of Lucky Charms. I hadn't had Lucky Charms in FOREVER! I downed the entire bowl (while writing that last blog post). Jenna came out of the bathroom and said,
"The Kid, we have to go to Tom Thumb's and get cherries now so we can make a pie. Hurry up and get your shoes on."
"Fine," I grumbled as I unleashed a kick in her direction. I missed.
I put my bowl in the kitchen just as Jenna looked at me and said, "The Kid, did you actually eat that whole bowl of cereal?" "Um... Yah. Why wouldn't I?"
"Dude, that milk was sour! It expired like five days ago!"
"WHAT?! You could have told me that BEFORE I drank the entire bowl!!"
"Yah, sorry about that, The Kid. We also need to get new milk and Tom Thumb's."
Needless to say, I shot several glares in her direction during the car ride to Tom Thumb's grocery store.
Attack!
03/10/07 06:59 AM Filed in: Stories
It seemed like I could
possibly be dreaming, but I wasn't sure. It was one
of those in between states, where you feel as if
you're floating, but you're lost somewhere in
Never-Never-Land... but at the same time you don't
know you're in Never-Never-Land. No, I wasn't high.
But I did know that there were palm trees all around,
swaying quite severely. And then I realized it was
raining! Pouring, actually. I dashed for cover.
Somehow I found some.
As far as I could tell, I was on a deserted island. But it was a pretty friendly deserted island, because I found a shelter after not to much running and search. I walked in and was relieved to get out of the rain. There were benches and tables and chairs all throughout the shelter, so I picked a bench and rested my legs for a while.
As I sat there, trying to figure out where I was and how I had gotten here, and sudden *splash* of water hit my nose. I reached up and grabbed it... It tickled! I looked around and, *splash*, it hit me again! I stood up, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I was inside, so the rain couldn't be hitting me anymore. Suddenly, it hit me constantly: *splash**splash**splash* over and over. I grabbed at my nose and squeezed my eyes shut... and then I realized my eyes were already shut! So I gave opening them a try. No luck. I spun in circles and flailed my arms around, but that didn't seem to get rid of the splashing either.
All of a sudden, the splashing stopped. I stopped spinning in circles and just stood there, somehow looking around the shelter I was in, but somehow I still had my eyes closed. I began to hear a low growling and a familiar *jingle*. Somehow, I forced my eyes open ever-so-slightly... I realized it was really dark. And I wasn't in the shelter anymore. And there was a large, furry beast breathing in my face. I then also realized I was laying on a couch, and this large furry beast seemed pretty friendly... although it did have really bad breath. I snapped my eyes open and remembered I was in Texas. And the large furry beast was actually the cute and cuddly Henry, my sister and brother-in-law's dog!! I reached down from the couch and grabbed the ball of fur and brought him up on the couch with me. He happily and thoroughly licked every single part of my face, neck, arms, and then, of course, my nose again. But it was all alright now that I wasn't on some deserted island with nobody I knew in some lonely shelter. So I snuggled up with Henry and fell back asleep.
My next dream consisted of only one thing. Jenna, Joey, and I were in their apartment, looking at their end table. Jenna was screaming, and Joey and I were looking at the end table in astonishment. Apparently, someone had left THREE glasses of water on the wood part ALL night without putting a coaster under them. The results looked devastating, but Joey and I both swore it wasn't us! We blamed Dad, who was still asleep...
As far as I could tell, I was on a deserted island. But it was a pretty friendly deserted island, because I found a shelter after not to much running and search. I walked in and was relieved to get out of the rain. There were benches and tables and chairs all throughout the shelter, so I picked a bench and rested my legs for a while.
As I sat there, trying to figure out where I was and how I had gotten here, and sudden *splash* of water hit my nose. I reached up and grabbed it... It tickled! I looked around and, *splash*, it hit me again! I stood up, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I was inside, so the rain couldn't be hitting me anymore. Suddenly, it hit me constantly: *splash**splash**splash* over and over. I grabbed at my nose and squeezed my eyes shut... and then I realized my eyes were already shut! So I gave opening them a try. No luck. I spun in circles and flailed my arms around, but that didn't seem to get rid of the splashing either.
All of a sudden, the splashing stopped. I stopped spinning in circles and just stood there, somehow looking around the shelter I was in, but somehow I still had my eyes closed. I began to hear a low growling and a familiar *jingle*. Somehow, I forced my eyes open ever-so-slightly... I realized it was really dark. And I wasn't in the shelter anymore. And there was a large, furry beast breathing in my face. I then also realized I was laying on a couch, and this large furry beast seemed pretty friendly... although it did have really bad breath. I snapped my eyes open and remembered I was in Texas. And the large furry beast was actually the cute and cuddly Henry, my sister and brother-in-law's dog!! I reached down from the couch and grabbed the ball of fur and brought him up on the couch with me. He happily and thoroughly licked every single part of my face, neck, arms, and then, of course, my nose again. But it was all alright now that I wasn't on some deserted island with nobody I knew in some lonely shelter. So I snuggled up with Henry and fell back asleep.
My next dream consisted of only one thing. Jenna, Joey, and I were in their apartment, looking at their end table. Jenna was screaming, and Joey and I were looking at the end table in astonishment. Apparently, someone had left THREE glasses of water on the wood part ALL night without putting a coaster under them. The results looked devastating, but Joey and I both swore it wasn't us! We blamed Dad, who was still asleep...
Five Score and Seven Years Ago
03/07/07 10:53 AM Filed in: Media
Relient K did it again;
they released another huge record that includes 14
songs and times in at 50 minutes, 57 seconds long.
Honestly, when I heard unconfirmed rumors saying the Relient K had said in an interview with MTV, I didn't believe the rumors. Apparently, Relient K said to MTV, "We are not a Christian band. We never were a Christian band. The only reason we signed with a Christian label was so we could get popular faster." This rumor started shortly after Relient K signed with record label Capitol in 2004. However, on their latest 2007 release, Five Score And Seven Years Ago, the record is shared by both labels; Capitol (mainstream) and Gottee (Christian). So it would appear they didn't abandon their original label. Also, I would like to point out that the rumor I mentioned above was strictly word of mouth, and I searched high and low trying to prove or disprove it, and I couldn't find any evidence that Relient K ever said that in an interview with MTV or anybody. I don't believe it. The only blotch I could find on Relient K's record was that there lead singer was born in Ontario. But we won't hold that against them...
First off, the record is called Five Score And Seven Years Ago because it is their FIFTH record (score), and the band released their first effort seven years ago. So, there you have it. Quit asking.
After hearing their latest effort, I still don't. After listening to their songs, it still looks to me like they're keeping their faith and trying to proclaim God's love and righteousness through their music. If they can sign with a mainstream label to get more listeners to hear that message, I think that's AWESOME!
Five Score And Seven Years Ago marks Relient K's 5th full album release. It follows more in steps of mmhmm than their three first albums as far maturity goes. The honesty portrayed in the lyrics is one of my favorite things about the albums. This doesn't mean that they've lost their sense of humor or fun music styles; they still have all of that. The first song on the album, sung in acapella, submits that President Lincoln's death wasn't real but a conspiracy.
That gives the album a healthy start. It only goes up hill from there. The second song on the album, Come Right Out And Say It, says in the chorus, "Why don't you come right out and say it even though the words are probably gonna hurt. I'd rather have the truth than something insincere. Why don't you come right out and say it. What it is your thinking though I'm thinking it's not what I want to hear." Which just proves my point that communication between friends, family, loved ones, and well wishers in our society today is lacking. Apparently Relient K agrees.
Track 6, Forgiven, takes a look out how in God's eyes, we've all sinned equally. But we as Christians are forgiven from all of this if we simply confess it! "And you can't see past the blood on my hands to see that you've been aptly damned to fail and fail again. Because we're all guilty of the same things. We think the thoughts whether or not we see them through. And I know that I have been forgiven. And I just hope you can forgive me too."
The final song on the album, Deathbed, which is over eleven minutes long, is arguably the best. It takes the listener through the life of a man who's, you guessed it, on his death bed, dying from lung cancer. He starts from the beginning of his life talking about how his traveling-preacher-father had left him and his Mom at the age of eight. He admits that at the age of fourteen he started drinking and smoking which he accredits for his current state of health. When he was twenty-one he sings about his marriage to his pregnant wife. But after a few years she leaves him. Finally, as his life is falling apart, he turns his song to the story of how Jesus came and saved him, even after all the terrible things he had done in his life. That, I think, is a fabulous message for todays teens to here. I especially love the lyrics from the last few minutes of the song:
---
I was so scared of Jesus, but he sought me out like the cancer in my lungs it's killing me now. And I've given up hope on the days I have left. But I cling to the hope of my life in the next. Then Jesus showed up, said, "Before we go I thought that we might reminisce. See, one night in your life, when you turned out the lights, you asked for and prayed for my forgiveness. You cried wolf; the tears they soaked your fur. The blood dripped from your fangs. You said, 'What have I done?' You loved that lamb with every sinful bone. And there you wept alone. Your heart was so contrite. You said, 'Jesus, please forgive me of my crimes. Sanctify this withered heart of mine. Stay with me until my life is through. And on that day, please take me home with you.'" I can smell the death on the sheets covering me. I can't believe this is the end. I can hear you whisper to me, "It's time to leave. You'll never be lonely again." But this was my deathbed. I died there alone. When I closed my eyes tonight, You carried me home. “I am the way. Follow me and take my hand. And I am the truth. Embrace me and you'll understand. And I am the life, and for me you'll live again. For I am love.
---
Deathbed isn't actually about Matt Thiessen (lead singer of Relient K). From the start of the song we know our subject was born in 1941, which would make Matt over 60 years old. Matt was born in 1980.
Relient K still keeps it light with songs like Must Have Done Something Right, Crayons Can Melt On Us For All I Care, and Faking My Own Suicide (it's not as morbid as it sounds). So don't think they've gone all out and grown up on you :). They're still the fun band you once knew. But they've definetly matured a lot as well, for the better, I think.
The lyrics are fabulous on this disc, and Relient K doesn't hold anything back on the music either. Once again, they produce a CD that's packed with amazing and unique songs. But when the lead singer of your band also plays lead guitar, piano, bass, drums, bells, organ, trumpet, french horn, trombone, baritone horn, and the vibraphone, you're bound to have a wide variety of music styles throughout between the songs. One of the best parts of this disc is the fact that you can actually tell one song apart from another! I can't stand it, although I'll still listen to it (explain how that works), when a CD has x amount of songs on it, but they all sound alike!! Relient K doesn't do that. They never really have, and that's one of my favorite things about them.
Worth the $11.99 I spent on it? Absolutely! I HIGHLY recommend you buy this CD. But if you're going to buy it, I might recommend getting the Special Edition, which includes bonus tracks on the CD AND a Special Edition DVD as well, which includes music videos and behind the scenes footage of the band recording the album. As much fun as these guys are, that would be worth the $3 more that it is... I kind of wish I had gotten it, but I don't think it comes out for another week. (Although you could order it online.)
mmhmm sold over 750,000 copies. Two Lefts Don't Make A Right, But Three Do and The Anatomy Of Tongue In Cheek both went Gold (at least 500,000 copies sold) as well. I'm wondering how many this record will sell. It wouldn't surprise me if it went Platinum (at least 1,000,000 copies sold). According to a lot of the tag-lines I've seen, it's the "most anticipated album of the year." How you judge that in the 3rd month of 2007, one may never know. We'll let the Grammy's decide at the end of the year.
Honestly, when I heard unconfirmed rumors saying the Relient K had said in an interview with MTV, I didn't believe the rumors. Apparently, Relient K said to MTV, "We are not a Christian band. We never were a Christian band. The only reason we signed with a Christian label was so we could get popular faster." This rumor started shortly after Relient K signed with record label Capitol in 2004. However, on their latest 2007 release, Five Score And Seven Years Ago, the record is shared by both labels; Capitol (mainstream) and Gottee (Christian). So it would appear they didn't abandon their original label. Also, I would like to point out that the rumor I mentioned above was strictly word of mouth, and I searched high and low trying to prove or disprove it, and I couldn't find any evidence that Relient K ever said that in an interview with MTV or anybody. I don't believe it. The only blotch I could find on Relient K's record was that there lead singer was born in Ontario. But we won't hold that against them...
First off, the record is called Five Score And Seven Years Ago because it is their FIFTH record (score), and the band released their first effort seven years ago. So, there you have it. Quit asking.
After hearing their latest effort, I still don't. After listening to their songs, it still looks to me like they're keeping their faith and trying to proclaim God's love and righteousness through their music. If they can sign with a mainstream label to get more listeners to hear that message, I think that's AWESOME!
Five Score And Seven Years Ago marks Relient K's 5th full album release. It follows more in steps of mmhmm than their three first albums as far maturity goes. The honesty portrayed in the lyrics is one of my favorite things about the albums. This doesn't mean that they've lost their sense of humor or fun music styles; they still have all of that. The first song on the album, sung in acapella, submits that President Lincoln's death wasn't real but a conspiracy.
That gives the album a healthy start. It only goes up hill from there. The second song on the album, Come Right Out And Say It, says in the chorus, "Why don't you come right out and say it even though the words are probably gonna hurt. I'd rather have the truth than something insincere. Why don't you come right out and say it. What it is your thinking though I'm thinking it's not what I want to hear." Which just proves my point that communication between friends, family, loved ones, and well wishers in our society today is lacking. Apparently Relient K agrees.
Track 6, Forgiven, takes a look out how in God's eyes, we've all sinned equally. But we as Christians are forgiven from all of this if we simply confess it! "And you can't see past the blood on my hands to see that you've been aptly damned to fail and fail again. Because we're all guilty of the same things. We think the thoughts whether or not we see them through. And I know that I have been forgiven. And I just hope you can forgive me too."
The final song on the album, Deathbed, which is over eleven minutes long, is arguably the best. It takes the listener through the life of a man who's, you guessed it, on his death bed, dying from lung cancer. He starts from the beginning of his life talking about how his traveling-preacher-father had left him and his Mom at the age of eight. He admits that at the age of fourteen he started drinking and smoking which he accredits for his current state of health. When he was twenty-one he sings about his marriage to his pregnant wife. But after a few years she leaves him. Finally, as his life is falling apart, he turns his song to the story of how Jesus came and saved him, even after all the terrible things he had done in his life. That, I think, is a fabulous message for todays teens to here. I especially love the lyrics from the last few minutes of the song:
---
I was so scared of Jesus, but he sought me out like the cancer in my lungs it's killing me now. And I've given up hope on the days I have left. But I cling to the hope of my life in the next. Then Jesus showed up, said, "Before we go I thought that we might reminisce. See, one night in your life, when you turned out the lights, you asked for and prayed for my forgiveness. You cried wolf; the tears they soaked your fur. The blood dripped from your fangs. You said, 'What have I done?' You loved that lamb with every sinful bone. And there you wept alone. Your heart was so contrite. You said, 'Jesus, please forgive me of my crimes. Sanctify this withered heart of mine. Stay with me until my life is through. And on that day, please take me home with you.'" I can smell the death on the sheets covering me. I can't believe this is the end. I can hear you whisper to me, "It's time to leave. You'll never be lonely again." But this was my deathbed. I died there alone. When I closed my eyes tonight, You carried me home. “I am the way. Follow me and take my hand. And I am the truth. Embrace me and you'll understand. And I am the life, and for me you'll live again. For I am love.
---
Deathbed isn't actually about Matt Thiessen (lead singer of Relient K). From the start of the song we know our subject was born in 1941, which would make Matt over 60 years old. Matt was born in 1980.
Relient K still keeps it light with songs like Must Have Done Something Right, Crayons Can Melt On Us For All I Care, and Faking My Own Suicide (it's not as morbid as it sounds). So don't think they've gone all out and grown up on you :). They're still the fun band you once knew. But they've definetly matured a lot as well, for the better, I think.
The lyrics are fabulous on this disc, and Relient K doesn't hold anything back on the music either. Once again, they produce a CD that's packed with amazing and unique songs. But when the lead singer of your band also plays lead guitar, piano, bass, drums, bells, organ, trumpet, french horn, trombone, baritone horn, and the vibraphone, you're bound to have a wide variety of music styles throughout between the songs. One of the best parts of this disc is the fact that you can actually tell one song apart from another! I can't stand it, although I'll still listen to it (explain how that works), when a CD has x amount of songs on it, but they all sound alike!! Relient K doesn't do that. They never really have, and that's one of my favorite things about them.
Worth the $11.99 I spent on it? Absolutely! I HIGHLY recommend you buy this CD. But if you're going to buy it, I might recommend getting the Special Edition, which includes bonus tracks on the CD AND a Special Edition DVD as well, which includes music videos and behind the scenes footage of the band recording the album. As much fun as these guys are, that would be worth the $3 more that it is... I kind of wish I had gotten it, but I don't think it comes out for another week. (Although you could order it online.)
mmhmm sold over 750,000 copies. Two Lefts Don't Make A Right, But Three Do and The Anatomy Of Tongue In Cheek both went Gold (at least 500,000 copies sold) as well. I'm wondering how many this record will sell. It wouldn't surprise me if it went Platinum (at least 1,000,000 copies sold). According to a lot of the tag-lines I've seen, it's the "most anticipated album of the year." How you judge that in the 3rd month of 2007, one may never know. We'll let the Grammy's decide at the end of the year.
The 50 Most Important People on the Web
03/05/07 10:46 AM Filed in: Technology
It's no surprise that
when PC World Magazine did an article on who the top
50 most important people on the web were, the three
executives over at Google ranked in at #1. They
deserve that spot.
Before I go on, please realize this is PC World magazine. Not MacWorld. PC World IS Microsoft biased.
Ranking in at #2 was none other than Steve Jobs.
Sadly, Bill Gates didn't even make the list.
And neither did Al Gore, for that matter.
PC World Magazine Article
Before I go on, please realize this is PC World magazine. Not MacWorld. PC World IS Microsoft biased.
Ranking in at #2 was none other than Steve Jobs.
Sadly, Bill Gates didn't even make the list.
And neither did Al Gore, for that matter.
PC World Magazine Article
It Crashed ...
03/03/07 08:36 PM Filed in: Technology
Wednesday, February
28th, 2007, marks the first day my MacBook Pro has
completely crashed on me. It didn't choose a
convenient time to crash either. No, it couldn't have
chosen a time when I was at home listening to music
or something. It chose the time when it was in the
middle of a sideshow in front of almost 100 people...
TWICE!
The first crash was before Church had started. I was getting the slides ready for the night. All of a sudden, my screen turned dark grey and a message popped up saying, "A fatal error has occurred and Mac OS X needs to restart. At this point, your Mac becomes completely disfunctional. You cannot do ANYTHING, click anything, type anything, or communicate with your computer in any way except to hold down the power button and restart it. Hopefully your documents are saved...
Someone, who will remain anonnymous to save his humility, came over to poke fun at me and my computer. "Ha, did your computer just crash?" He asked. "Yah, it happens." "It's because it's an Apple." He stated blunty. I covered my computers ears. I turned to him and said, "Oh, really? Is that a fact? Do you know why it crashed?" "No." He said. Brian finished my thought for me and said, "He was opening a Microsoft product... PowerPoint to be exact."
Later in the night, in the middle of singing, I pushed the down arrow to switch to the next slide and all of a sudden... BAM! PowerPoint disappears. My computer didn't freeze this time, and it didn't make me restart. PowerPoint just closed for absolutely no reason!!
The fact that "Microsoft products aren't meant to run on a Mac," which he claimed, is absolutely no excuse. So if I take my P.O.D. CD and put it in your car, it should still play the music I love, right? It's the same concept. You can't just take a Microsoft Office CD and put it into your Mac and install it. No, Microsoft had to specially design the suite to run on Mac OS X which, you guessed it, it WAS meant to run on a Mac. If it crashes, that is asbolutely, without a doubt, a sign of poor programming. Sure, you can claim that it wasn't supposed to run on a Mac anyway, but that doesn't excuse your bad programming. So, Microsoft can't make a product that runs well on a Mac. How about Apple? QuickTime runs on Windows and, for the record, Microsoft used QuickTime as the default player of .mov and .mpg files for a while... I think until XP came out. Also, iTunes is made for Windows. I've never had either one of those programs crash on me using Windows, and QuickTime has been around on Windows since Windows 95. iTunes hasn't been around nearly that long, but still, at least Apple can make a product that will work wherever their users want it. (Disregard the latest issues with iTunes and Windows Vista... they're working on that one.)
But don't you try to blame a programming crashing on my Operating System when I've never had that happen until Wednesday. It was due to the fact that I'm running a Mac. But it was Microsoft's error.
Funny how that works, huh? Nice try though, Tyler.
The first crash was before Church had started. I was getting the slides ready for the night. All of a sudden, my screen turned dark grey and a message popped up saying, "A fatal error has occurred and Mac OS X needs to restart. At this point, your Mac becomes completely disfunctional. You cannot do ANYTHING, click anything, type anything, or communicate with your computer in any way except to hold down the power button and restart it. Hopefully your documents are saved...
Someone, who will remain anonnymous to save his humility, came over to poke fun at me and my computer. "Ha, did your computer just crash?" He asked. "Yah, it happens." "It's because it's an Apple." He stated blunty. I covered my computers ears. I turned to him and said, "Oh, really? Is that a fact? Do you know why it crashed?" "No." He said. Brian finished my thought for me and said, "He was opening a Microsoft product... PowerPoint to be exact."
Later in the night, in the middle of singing, I pushed the down arrow to switch to the next slide and all of a sudden... BAM! PowerPoint disappears. My computer didn't freeze this time, and it didn't make me restart. PowerPoint just closed for absolutely no reason!!
The fact that "Microsoft products aren't meant to run on a Mac," which he claimed, is absolutely no excuse. So if I take my P.O.D. CD and put it in your car, it should still play the music I love, right? It's the same concept. You can't just take a Microsoft Office CD and put it into your Mac and install it. No, Microsoft had to specially design the suite to run on Mac OS X which, you guessed it, it WAS meant to run on a Mac. If it crashes, that is asbolutely, without a doubt, a sign of poor programming. Sure, you can claim that it wasn't supposed to run on a Mac anyway, but that doesn't excuse your bad programming. So, Microsoft can't make a product that runs well on a Mac. How about Apple? QuickTime runs on Windows and, for the record, Microsoft used QuickTime as the default player of .mov and .mpg files for a while... I think until XP came out. Also, iTunes is made for Windows. I've never had either one of those programs crash on me using Windows, and QuickTime has been around on Windows since Windows 95. iTunes hasn't been around nearly that long, but still, at least Apple can make a product that will work wherever their users want it. (Disregard the latest issues with iTunes and Windows Vista... they're working on that one.)
But don't you try to blame a programming crashing on my Operating System when I've never had that happen until Wednesday. It was due to the fact that I'm running a Mac. But it was Microsoft's error.
Funny how that works, huh? Nice try though, Tyler.