Friday, December 19, 2008

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Crossing the Goal

I'm going to say something I NEVER thought I'd say.

There's a really good, interesting and fast paced show on EWTN. You heard that right!

I love EWTN's content, but the execution is what I call "talk radio for the elderly." This wouldn't be so bad if the media the information was being presented in weren't television. So, when I stumbled across a new half-hour show called Crossing the Goal, I was very impressed.

The show is moderated by Brian Patrick (host of the Son Rise Morning Show on Cincinnati’s Sacred Heart Catholic Radio) and is co-hosted by Peter Herbeck (Vice President and Director of Missions for Renewal Ministries), Curtis Martin (President and Founder of FOCUS - Fellowship of Catholic University Students) and former Saints coach and pro-player Danny Abramowicz.

The first thing that caught my eye was the intent. The show is good for everyone, but is primarily geared toward men, which I found refreshing.

In that vein, the second thing that caught me was the concept. They designed the show to look like a cross between a sports broadcast and an informative, quick and sharp panel discussion. They take the half-hour format and split it into three quick sections.

The first part looks like a sports broadcast, like when the ESPN football analysts talk about their thoughts on the weeks games. However, on Crossing the Goal, they're not talking about sports, they begin the show as a panel discussion about the theological topic at hand.

The heart of the show is really found in Herbeck and Martin's excellent and timely analysis of the content and their ability to communicate it in ways that effects us today.

The second part of the show, called Game Plan, is where Herbeck and Martin really shine as they talk about how to incorporate the subject into our daily lives.

The third part of the show, called Red Zone, is a more informal discussion about the content with everyone involved.

The show is professionally produced, very well conceived and executed, full of great information and has lively, interesting discussion.

If you get a chance, watch or DVR Crossing the Goal. Or you can watch previous episodes online at their website www.crossingthegoal.com. We need to get the word out about this show so that its influence and success will continue to grow.

Really good stuff.

You're a Patient Lot

As I scan the first volume of Surviving in Safety Harbor, I am finding so many mistakes. Not spelling errors (I spell check before I print them), but errors where sentences have an extra "to" or "s" at the end of the word that shouldn't be there. I know I write like I talk and that's just my style, but I don't talk as badly as I type.

So help me out.

If you see spelling and/or grammatical errors, don't be afraid to drop me a note so I can correct it. I know my Mom is already salivating at the chance to correct me even more... she's been doing it my whole life! Thanks Ma :)

The last thing I want is my grandchildren to look at these blog entries and say "Wow, Grampa was an idiot!"

Okay, they'll probably say that anyway, but I'd rather it be because I earned it, not because I typed it.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

2005 in Book Form

When I planned on retiring this blog, I thought it would be nice to capture all of the entries (the good, bad and ugly) by putting them into a book form as keepsakes for me and the kids.

Using Cafe Press, which I used to create the Goin' Out to Cally books, I created the first volume of the hard copy of Surviving in Safety Harbor which covers the entries in 2005. Since each book is limited to under 500 pages, I've had to break them into numerous volumes. Volume 1 will include 2005. Volume 2 will be half of 2006. Volume 3 will be the second half of 2006. Volume 4 should be able to fit 2007. And Volume 5 should be able to fit all of 2008.

Below I'm holding a test copy of Volume 1.

(Click for Bigger Pic)

Since, in 20 years, my kids and grand kids won't have any idea what a blog is, I designed the front cover as a blog entry.

The back cover is a mock-up of a web page that is used to enter blog entries.

Not the greatest designs from a mass selling perspective, but since they're for personal use only, I liked this design better.

If you're a masochist, like my brother Paul, you can order a copy online at the Sonlight Pictures store. I can only sell one book at a time, so as soon as my Volume 1 copies arrive I'll be removing it from the storefront and uploading Volume 2... and so on.

Okay.

Okay, I've succumbed to the will of the people and I'll keep the blog alive. I'll update it as much as I can.

I'm still amazed people read it so much. Nice, but odd. :)

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Blog Entry 949b

I've been very surprised by the response to the end of this blog. Surprised and touched.

The reality is I am just burned out. Completely. Sonlight Pics is another full time job and I have no creative juice left in the tank most days.
  • I will still be waxing poetic over at the Sonlight Pic blogs about film and faith.
  • The pics I used to post here will be on Facebook.
  • Only my rants about life and politics may be lost in the shuffle.
For keepsakes for my children, I'll be creating books for each year of the blog. I already received my first test copy for Surviving in Safety Harbor, - Volume 1 (2005), the year it all started. 304 pages of quality rambling... bad grammar, misspellings and all. The test copy looks good so I'm going to order a few more copies, a few for the kids and a few extra for me in case anything happens to one of the other copies.

Paul, you mentioned being interesting in buying one (why, I have no idea)... you can get one at the Cafe Press Sonlight Pictures store. But you'll have to order soon. I can only upload one book at a time and I'll be replacing the 2005 with the 2006 in the next week or so.

Like my Goin' Out to Cally book I created from the blog entries about that trip, I'll also be creating one called Surviving in Safety Harbor: Tales of Woe about my entries relating to Crohns and Dad's passing, among other things. Those stories won't be included in the yearly books.

So, is this blog really dead? Maybe not dead. In a coma... perhaps. Away on vacation, probably. Dead... we'll see.