The Season Continues

Gabe's little league team had a bad beginning in today's single elimination game. Down 10-2 after two innings and down 10-4 going into the top of the last inning, his Angels needed to score at least six runs to extend the game.

On the top of the last inning Gabe's team scored seven runs to go up 11-10 and got three quick outs against their best hitters to end a dramatic comeback.

It was a great comeback and a fun game. We'll see if they can repeat their performance when we play again Monday.

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 18, Unlevel Headed

I’m an idiot.

When it comes to love, I’m stone cold stupid. Unless a woman comes up and kisses me on the lips, I wouldn’t have any idea if she has any feelings for me what-so-ever. Probably even then I wouldn’t be very sure.

To put it simply, subtlety does NOT work on me.

I’ll give you an example. When my wife and I were dating we took a walk in Philippe Park in Safety Harbor, Florida. She told me that an old boyfriend was coming into town. They were just friends, but she didn’t want to see him and was looking for a way out. In order to fend him off she looked at me and said “Well, I could tell him that I’ve fallen in love with someone else.”

Not too subtle, right? My response?

“Why would you want to tell him that!”

I’m telling you, I’m a complete relationship moron!

So, in 1988, when Sunday and I had an almost romantic moment of temptation while looking at the stars in Tucumcari, New Mexico, I wasn’t sure if anything really happened or not.

I devised a very stealthy plan… I’ll act like nothing happened! If something did happen, she’ll act different. If something didn’t happen, she won’t. Okay, so the plan was not so much stealthy as drawn up on an elementary school playground among kids giving wedgies and getting nailed in the face with a dodge ball.

To make sure there wouldn’t be any further awkward moments that night I decided to wait a while, hoping everyone was asleep before I returned to the tent.

I remained on the picnic table until the temperature dropped to uncomfortable levels. When I zipped open the tent, I found everyone peacefully asleep.

Phew!

As I slipped under the covers, I closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep. A few moments later, though, I found my head feeling hot. I leaned forward and realized that my design for the sleeping arraignments had one major flaw… my side of the tent was on an incline and my feet were higher than my head.

I couldn’t face the other way because Sunday and I were sharing the sleeping bag and blankets and what would it say if she awoke in the morning with my stinky feet right next to her face? No matter if something did or did not almost not happen on the picnic table, waking up with your nostrils inches away from someone else’s smelly feet would offend anyone.

I tried propping my pillow to get my head level with my feet, but the blood kept rushing to my face. After a few more attempts, I resigned myself to sleeping backwards on an incline. It was my design that put me in this position. I needed to pay the price for my own stupidity.

About a half hour later, I awoke feeling very unwell. Apparently, the price I was about to pay was going to be a doozey.

********

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 18, (Text, Audio) Unlevel Headed
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 17, (Text, Audio) Starry Night, Confusing Night
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 16, (Text, Audio) Three Beds + Four People = Oh Crap
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 15, (Text, Audio) Masculinity At Stake
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 14, (Text, Audio) Texas: Latin For Shoot Me Now
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 13, (Text, Audio) Cars, Crossroads and Cosmic Convergence
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 12, (Text, Audio) Tumbleweed Dreams
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 11, (Text, Audio) Wet, Rinse, Repeat
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 10, (Text, Audio) Divine Misdirection
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 09, (Text, Audio) Getting Nowhere Fast
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 08, (Text, Audio) The Cock Crows Nine
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 07, (Text, Audio) Is Jackass A Sign?
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 06, (Text, Audio) Leftovers
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 05, (Text, Audio) The Kiss Of Friendship
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 04, (Text, Audio) Scholastic Intimacy
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 03, (Text, Audio) Space Invaders
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 02, (Text, Audio) The Fourth Wheel
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 01, (Text, Audio) The Seed Planted

Democrats Join Suit to Ban Terrorist Surveillance

Per Newsmax.com, it appears some Democrats don't want the US to listen in on terrorists phone conversations. Of course, none of the surveillance occurs without a court order, but that doesn't seem to be important to these 71 House Dems. You can read more HERE.

So, who's side are these Americans on? The people who voted them into office or the people who want to kill Americans for being Americans?

What the hell are they thinking???? How do you possibly get re-elected voting to undermine the legal process by which we protect our country????

Reiterates my opinions that politicians, Republicans or Democrats, are complete vaccuous shells of humans living in their own demented form of reality.

Mission: Impossible III

I'm ahead of my time. Truly. Its a curse. For a script I've written called Mute, I wrote an opening that is almost identical to the opening of Mission: Impossible III. It's disconcerting, but I'm used to it by now.

Years ago I wrote a seven part movie serial called The Demon Files, about a man and woman investigating seemingly unrelated deaths that are tied together by supernatural events. I had finished the script and was having my TV industry friends read it only to see a new show coming on Fox, called The X Files. My effort, The Demon Files, was eerily similar to the pilot of The X Files, which was about a man and woman investigating seemingly unrelated deaths tied together by extraterrestrial events. In high school I co-wrote a time travel story called Lonely Time which has a lot in common with a film called The Terminator. I thought teens needed a Christian TV channel. I thought of calling mine Sonlight TV. Another company recently kicked off JCTV for Christian teens.

Oh well. I apparently have the ideas, just not the resources to implement them.

Other than the dismay I felt at the onset of the film, MI3 is a very good action flick. The villain, Philip Seymour Hoffman, is excellent as the ruthless and heartless Owen Davian. Tom Cruise continues his portrayal of Ethan Hunt, top agent of the IMF, whose wife, played by Michelle Monaghan, is held hostage by Davian. Davian forces Hunt to find a weapon called The Rabbit's Foot or else his wife will die.

Cruise's odd antics as of late have turned off a lot of fans. That's understandable, as you want your actors to be the "everyman" so that you can put yourselves in their shoes. Cruise's behavior puts a barrier between you and his characters, thereby lessening the impact of the film.

This is the first film I have seen at the theater in months. Having spent almost a year designing and building my own little home theater in my house, I am very content waiting for films to come out on DVD, rent them, then project them onto my 106" screen in the privacy of my own home. Some movies, though, are worth the added expense of going to the movies. Action movies, primarily, that fill the large movies screens better than the one located in my house and will get me to the theater.

But, as I sat down with about 100 couples scattered throughout the theater, I was quickly reminded why I do not like going to movies. To our right a couple talked amongst themselves the entire time. I "sshh'd" them, but they just laughed at me. So, I got up and went to the other side of the theater only to find that, about five rows behind me, another couple was talking to themselves the entire time. It was the most frustrating thing and is another reason why I'll just wait until the DVDs come out so I can watch it in the comfort and silence of my small, intimate home theater.

If you want a high quality action flick with a great villain and amazing stunts, Mission: Impossible III fits the bill quite nicely.

Goin' Out To Cally – Part 17, Starry Night, Confusing Night

Sunday, Tim, Beth and I sat around the campfire as the blanket of stars began to shine overhead and Tim read aloud the legend of Tucumcari. Tucumcari is the Comanche word for “to lie and wait” and was so termed as Tucumcari Mountain was used as a scouting point for the surrounding plains.

The Tucumcari legend also has its roots in a tragic love story, very similar to a Shakespearean masterpiece. The legend has it that two warriors, Tocom and Tonopah, were both in love with the same maiden, Kari. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Tocom and Kari were already secretly in love. When Tonopah found out, he killed Tocom. When Kari discovered Tonopah was behind the death of her lover, she first killed Tonopah and then herself. The tribal chief, Wautonomah, distraught by these devastating and tragic events also kills himself. As he lay dying he uttered with his last breath… “Tocom-Kari.”

And it was said that their bodies were buried on Tucumcari Mountain… forever in love, lying and waiting. As with the well known tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the Native American version was very romantic.

As the fire began to die out, Tim and Beth, genetically morning people, soon retired for the night into the tent. Sunday and I, theatrically night people, had hours ahead of us before we could drift off to sleep. With the legend of Tucumcari still fresh in our minds we strolled under the star-filled sky with a half-crescent moon shining down on the desert landscape.

We walked passed the various RVs and campers, including a micro-tent with two ten-speed bikes locked to a tree near the tent entrance. I immediately thought of my brothers, John and Stephen, and their bike trip to Florida. I wondered who the two adventures were resting their weary legs inside that very small tent and where their bikes would lead them next.

Eventually Sunday and I made our way to a picnic table near the restrooms on the far end of the campground. We sat on opposite ends of the long table and laid back, our heads next to each other, facing opposite directions, staring up at the infinite number of lights in the sky.

You truly cannot comprehend the grandeur of God’s creation, and our very small place in it, until you have lain under the twinkling canopy of a starlit desert sky. With so many stars, so many suns and so many worlds above you, you quickly realize that your life on this small planet, near this small sun, in this average galaxy is not nearly as important as you once thought.

We chatted for some time about life and humility and the legend of Tucumcari. Then we lay a while, silently absorbing the immensity of the light show surrounding us. We stared and dreamed and Sunday looked over to me and said, “It’s romantic out here, isn’t it?”

“Yeah…” I fumbled.

Suddenly, we found our platonic relationship getting cloudy. We looked at each other with momentary mixed emotions. Our trance was broken as Sunday bolted up.

“I’m heading back,” she said as she quickly hopped off the table.

“I’m going to stay out here a while,” I said. “Have a good night’s sleep.”

“Okay,” she said as she dropped her head and silently thought to herself for a moment, before turning and heading back to our campsite.

I focused my attention back to the stars above me, wondering if I imagined or misinterpreted or over-reacted to the something or nothing or whatever that did or did not almost not happen.

********

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 17, (Text, Audio) Starry Night, Confusing Night
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 16, (Text, Audio) Three Beds + Four People = Oh Crap
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 15, (Text, Audio) Masculinity At Stake
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 14, (Text, Audio) Texas: Latin For Shoot Me Now
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 13, (Text, Audio) Cars, Crossroads and Cosmic Convergence
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 12, (Text, Audio) Tumbleweed Dreams
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 11, (Text, Audio) Wet, Rinse, Repeat
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 10, (Text, Audio) Divine Misdirection
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 09, (Text, Audio) Getting Nowhere Fast
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 08, (Text, Audio) The Cock Crows Nine
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 07, (Text, Audio) Is Jackass A Sign?
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 06, (Text, Audio) Leftovers
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 05, (Text, Audio) The Kiss Of Friendship
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 04, (Text, Audio) Scholastic Intimacy
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 03, (Text, Audio) Space Invaders
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 02, (Text, Audio) The Fourth Wheel
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 01, (Text, Audio) The Seed Planted

Back To The Future (1985)

The foundation of any great movie is a great script. There are some scripts that are so solid, so tight, so perfect in execution that they are worthy of recognition apart the film itself. Some such scripts that immediately come to mind include Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Chinatown, The Matrix, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Back to the Future.

Last night I watched Back to the Future for the first time in many years and was amazed at how wonderfully full and vibrant and completely intertwined the story unfolded. Every scene has a goal and an obstacle that effectively builds upon itself to a wonderfully satisfying climax. Every line has meaning and subtext and foreshadowing and history. And, for a time travel film, the logic of the time travel and its effects are completely logical and believable.

On top of all of that, the story is a wonderful mix of genres. Back to the Future is a science fiction, teen comedy, coming-of-age, action, melodrama. Effectively satisfying any one of those genres is an accomplishment in and of itself, but with Future, the unique combination of all of these genres makes the sum greater than its parts.

The casting of Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson are perfect. As a matter of fact, Wilson, as Biff, is so perfect in capturing the role that he has been typecast ever since.

This film is a real joy to watch, even though some of the topical humor is somewhat dated. As you watch the film, take a moment to enjoy the incredible writing for which the film was built upon. It is a rare piece of screenwriting.

Goin' Out To Cally – Part 16, Three Beds + Four People = Oh Crap

My tent set-up heroics quickly faded into our memories as we scoured the small town of Tucumcari for some grub. We decided to partake of some quality economy food at the local Golden Corral Steakhouse. This was the first real meal we’d had all day, so we devoured the out-of-the-box tasting buffet like, well, four people who hadn’t eaten all day. Not wanting to close out the meal with the available bland tasting, lightly flavored ice milk, we walked the streets of the town and eventually stopped at one of my all time favorite haunts… a mom and pop ice cream shop. I quickly inhaled a hot fudge sundae and was officially and effectively stuffed.

We continued walking the streets of the small, historic town as the sun began to set. Tucumcari is one of the stops of the famed Route 66 and was heavily visited when that thoroughfare was in its heyday. The walk was very pleasant and gave us a good chance to stretch our legs.

When we returned to the campground we finished unpacking our camping supplies only to find something missing.

“Sunday,” I asked, “where’s your sleeping bag?”

“My what?” she replied.

“Your sleeping bag,” I repeated.

“I don’t have one,” she confirmed.

“But, I told you we were camping on this trip. What did you think you were going to sleep in?” I continued.

“I didn’t really think about it,” she answered.

As I looked over to her large stack of luggage I tried to comprehend that amidst all of her belongings, there wasn’t a sleeping bag, or tent or RV in there somewhere.

So, what did we have… three sleeping bags, two blankets and four people. Interesting. Since I asked Sunday to join our trip, it was my responsibility to fix this minor problem.

“Okay, how about I’ll open up my sleeping bag and put it on the floor. We’ll have to share the opened bag as our bed bottom and then we’ll each have a blanket of our own. Is that okay?” I asked.

“That’d be fine,” she said with a thanking smile and I went about making up the sleeping arrangements.

As the sun slumped below the New Mexico horizon, the temperature started to drop. Tim made a small fire and I finished constructing the makeshift tent sleeping assignments. I wasn’t overly concerned about sharing my sleeping bag and blankets with Sunday. Having traveled to Miami for a play, to South Carolina for a regional theater competition and to New York for graduate school auditions, sharing a floor with someone was not new to me. As long as I had enough space to fall into an unconscious state, that was enough for me.

As a matter of fact, sleeping on the ground was something I had perfected in college. When I was a freshman, I would see students scattered throughout campus, crashed on the ground or sleeping on a bench. I remember looking at them with disgust, claiming I would never do such a thing.

By the time I was a senior, my scholastic and social schedule were overbooked. Plus, my car had died, so I had to ride my bike everywhere. Everyday I would ride eight miles to school, then eight miles to work, then eight miles to school for rehearsal, then eight miles back home. So, if you were counting at home, that means I was riding 32 miles a day while living on milk, Oreos and four hours of sleep.

This hectic lifestyle enlightened me to the benefits of sleeping on any surface that didn’t move. As a matter of fact, to make sure I wouldn’t miss class I would sleep at the foot of the door of my next one, so when the previous students left, I could roll off the floor and fully awaken myself in time.

This day in New Mexico, however, I was more concerned about Sunday being comfortable having to sleep next to me than me having to sleep next to her.

Everything was going as planned, until the stars came out.

********

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 16, (Text, Audio) Three Beds + Four People = Oh Crap
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 15, (Text, Audio) Masculinity At Stake
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 14, (Text, Audio) Texas: Latin For Shoot Me Now
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 13, (Text, Audio) Cars, Crossroads and Cosmic Convergence
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 12, (Text, Audio) Tumbleweed Dreams
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 11, (Text, Audio) Wet, Rinse, Repeat
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 10, (Text, Audio) Divine Misdirection
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 09, (Text, Audio) Getting Nowhere Fast
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 08, (Text, Audio) The Cock Crows Nine
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 07, (Text, Audio) Is Jackass A Sign?
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 06, (Text, Audio) Leftovers
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 05, (Text, Audio) The Kiss Of Friendship
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 04, (Text, Audio) Scholastic Intimacy
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 03, (Text, Audio) Space Invaders
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 02, (Text, Audio) The Fourth Wheel
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 01, (Text, Audio) The Seed Planted

Christianity's Cultural Contributions

In a time where it seems that Christianity has become the acceptable cultural punching bag, it's easy to get lost in the anti-Christian arguments instead of focusing on some of the great cultural accomplishments that Christianity has offered to us.

In Christianity Today, they captured some of these great moments in a nice article, from the reality of the Crusades to the Inquisition to some of the more basic impacts, such as literacy due to the bible or education during the dark ages.

You can read the entire article HERE.