Kids Journal - 08/14/03

August 14, 2003

Hello my children,

I forgot one more thing from yesterday. DC, you have this cute way of expressing your up coming menstrual cycle. Instead of calling it your period, you call it your dot. So, yesterday you come into the room and say "Mommy said when I get my dot I can shave my legs and pluck my eyebrows... but if I get a unibrow before I get my dot, then Mommy will pluck my eyebrows for me."

I said "You can't go to school with a unibrow?"

You said "No!"

I said "I did."

You replied, "You're a boy, Dad. I'm a girl! Girl's can't have unibrows!"

"Yeah, you're right." I replied.

Ah, the conversations one has with your children.

I truly love our relationships. I love how much you and I talk, DC. I love that you share your concerns with me and rely on me. I know that it won't always be that way, but I'm loving every minute of it while it lasts.

And Gabe, I really enjoy playing baseball with you. You are such an incredible learner when it comes to baseball. You have always take direction very well, immediately turning what I say into the appropriate action. If only you would do that with the OTHER parts of your life! :)

I am so truly blessed to have you both in my life!

Dea and I went to dinner last night on a "date night" and I told her just how blessed I feel having you guys in my life. She stated she wished she was more touchy/feely... which she's not. She wishes she could return your open affection, but it does not come naturally to her. Don't get me wrong, she loves you, but she's not the huggy/kissy type. You guys get that from me, because I a "mush."

When we came home, Poppy had just put you to bed and I went to tuck you guys in. You both told me about your first day of school and how everything went well. Mommy told me you, DC, ate lunch primarily by yourself... I just don't know why you are so shy. You have so much to offer. I hope someday you realize that.

And Gabe, when I tucked you in you said "How was your date night?"

"Great." I replied.

"Short?" you asked.

"Yup."

"Where'd you go?"

"Shells" I replied (a seafood restaurant).

"Ick! I don't like crab and fish and stuff! All my friends at school like crabs, but I don't." you stated.

"Have you ever tried it?"

"No..." you replied.

"Then how do you know it tastes bad? Maybe it'll taste as good as chocolate ice cream tastes to you."

"Maybe I'll try a little bit..." you said holding your thumb and index finger a millimeter apart "... a speck. What's it taste like?"

"It's hard to tell someone who's never had it... it has it's own taste. How would you describe chocolate ice cream to someone who's never had chocolate?" I asked.

"I don't know" you pondered.

"Well, when they finally tasted the chocolate ice cream, I bet they'd love it."

"Yeah..." you thought "...okay, I'll try crab... a speck" you answered. Then I tucked you in and you both went to sleep.

Those little conversations I just love. I have always loved asking kids questions because I love to hear how they think, what goes through their mind. It makes some of my most special memories.

Dad

Dad's 80th Birthday Memories

You know, it's been a few years since my Dad's 80th birthday. For that celebration I came up with a couple of Top 10 lists to add some humor to the festivities. Here they are:

Top 10 Games to Play at Your Father's 80th Birthday Party

10. Name That Child.

9. Pin the Smell on the Elderly

8. Where's My Inheritance?

7. Toots and Bladders

6. Spin the 16 Bottles of Over-priced Prescriptions

5. Those Aren't My Teeth!

4. Who Wants to Be 81?

3. Speed Napping.

2. Kick the Bucket

1. Blind Man's Putt



Top 10 Things I Learned by Watching My Father Play Golf

10. I Hate Golf.



Top 10 Memorable Father-Son Moments

10. As a child, pulling me into the bedroom and giving me the okay to punch Charles whenever he made fun of me.

9. Refusing to buy a lawnmower wheel for a dollar and, instead, making me carry a rope attached to the axle to keep the mower level while Charles mowed the yard.

8. Hitting golf balls at my head so you wouldn't have to pick them up yourself.

7. Allowing my friends to walk into the house with you in your boxers and your pony trying to escape the barn.

6. Breaking my braces headgear and making me bleed in a "friendly" slap fight.

5. Changing my childhood bedroom into a computer room the weekend I left for college.

4. When my Crohns first acted up and I had lost about two pints of blood at Joe's second wedding rehearsal, so that the hospital wouldn't charge your medical insurance, dropping me off at the entrance to the Emergency Room, where I went in, gave them my name and immediately passed out.

3. Knowing Dea and I were staying at your cabin for a week for our honeymoon, you decided to return three days early.

2. When I was a teenager, interrupting my 1000th viewing of the same Star Trek episode to call me lazy.

1. Missing my one and only Little League Home Run (no, I'm not still bitter)

Kids Journal - 08/13/03

August 13, 2003

Hello my children,

Well, today was the first day of school. DC, you're entering 5th grade and Gabe, you're entering 1st. This morning, before you left, I sat down with each of you and discussed the year ahead.

DC, you can often fall into a "wounded duck" mode, or "woe is me" mode, which drives your mother and I nuts. That's because, at home, you are so funny and smart and self confident and I expressed that you needed to let those things show this year. I explained that how you act the first week of school will determine how people treat you the entire year. So, I hope you take that advice to heart.

And Gabe, I explained that you had a big year ahead of you and that expectations were going to be high. First grade is a big step in the learning process and that it may get hard some times.

You looked at me and said, "Dad, you know what's gonna be really hard?"

I asked "What?"

With a wave of concern on your face, you said "College!"

I laughed and said "Let's just get through first grade, okay?" You agreed.

Then, for fun Gabe, I had you call Mommy into the bedroom and I explained to her that she had a big year ahead of her with the kids school and her school, house projects... she just looked at me and said "you're an ass."

It was funny.

Anyway, it's off to school! Another new year! Another exciting year!

It makes me so proud to see you leave the house chanting "First day of school! First day of school! First day of school!"

Love,

Dad

Faith or Faith & Works

I was reading about the poor and tragic events that occurred in Pennsylvania where a deranged man shot and killed three women in a fitness class. One of the statements reported from his blog was the following:

"Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell."

That must be the most extreme understanding of the difference between Faith and Faith & Works I have ever seen. As most people know, the Catholic Church believes it is Faith & Works that are required for Christians to live their lives according to God's teachings and, after the split by Luther, the Protestants determined only Faith was required for salvation.

Almost all Protestants I know take their Faith and convert it into Works (missionary work, evangelical work, bible studies, prison ministries), they just don't call it that. However, this disturbed murdered took something so completely out of context, ignoring reliance on Jesus, on loving your enemies, on loving your neighbor, on offering your sacrifices to God, on carrying your own cross... it's sad that someone could have misinterpreted something so obvious to most Christians and used it to ease the weight of his own evil actions.

The older I get the more I realize that context is often more important than the content.

Bathroom Finale

Okay, we're pretty much done with the bathroom. We have some sealant work to do on the shower grout which we'll do this upcoming weekend, but for the most part, the bathroom is done... THANK GOD!

Here are some picks.

Shower

Floor

Vanity and Toilet

New Vanity

I hurt, I have scraped, cuts, pulled muscles and stretched tendons. It'll take a week or so to fully recover.

But, at least we're done... almost.

Making Progress

Well, after many 'o hours of work and toil we've finally made a lot of headway on our bathroom. We have the tile up in the shower and the grout done in most of it. We have the vanity, sink, mirror and new light done. The floor tile and grout done. All we have left is the fan and the toilet.

We went with the white subway tile
because we liked the look and they were cheap.

It's been a long, long job, but Dea and I have learned a lot. She and I have enjoyed spending our time together. I would often think of mom and dad working on their house in Tewksbury or John and Irene working on their house in St. Pete.

We hope to have everything done in a few more days. Travel baseball starts in a week, so we have to be done by then.

Kids Journal - 04/21/05

April 21, 2005

Gabe and DC,

It’s been a while since I’ve written. Last night a very funny thing happened and I had to share it.

DC, you’ve been going through quite a bit of changes in your body. Puberty can be a tough thing. Hormones, emotions… tough stuff. So, last night, after your shower, you came out saying you really needed to talk to Mommy, who was out with her friends Trish and Tonia. You call her and it turns out you appeared to have a yeast infection. This is pretty common, but very scary for your. So, I held you in my arms and you cried for a few minutes. It was nice to know that I could still offer you solace during an uncomfortable time like that.

After you cry your fear out, you go back and get changed for bed. When you return you ask me a question: “Dad, who do you think has it worse with infections, boys or girls?” I didn’t understand the question, so I asked it again. “Who do you think has it worse? Boys with infections or girls with infections.” The one thing I’ve learned when discussing sexual topics with children is to never assume they know more than they do. Always ask to explain themselves or you could find yourself explaining topics this child was never interested or even knew about. So, I asked you “what type of infections do boys get?” Embarassed, you said “you know… down there!” “Where?” You replied “Dad!” I asked “the pee-pee?” “Yes!” you answered.

Now I was really confused. What type of infection happens to a pee-pee… and why does my daughter know about it and I don’t. Remembering my own advice, I assume she knows nothing and ask you to elaborate. “What type of infection would a boy get?” “Dad, you know, when the boy gets an infection there. It gets bigger.” Ewww, I thought to myself. An infection that gets bigger? Down there? Ick! Now I’m confused, intrigued and disgusted at the same time. “What type of infection gets bigger?” “Dad, the nurse said that boys get infections there and it gets bigger.”

Then it hit me and I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.

“Honey,” I replied, “boys don’t get infections, they get erections.” “Oh, right!” you replied, suddenly remembering. “So, which is worse?” you asked. “Definitely girls have it worse with infections.” “I thought so!” you replied like a victorious martyr. Then you started to return to your bedroom, but stopped and said “And the nurse said that, whenever the boys get bigger, to never laugh at them.”

“Now that is advice you should remember for the rest of your life!” I replied and you happily and still innocently walked back to your room to go to bed.

There are sometimes in your life where you never imagined you would have such discussions. They never prepare you for this when you become a parent. It’s something you just have to know can happen on occasion. It ended up that you didn’t have a yeast infection, you were just going through changes. You were very relieved about this.

Love you,

Dad.

Kids Journal - 07/28/02

July 28, 2002

I took you, Gabriel, my baseball-nut of a son to the Yankee/DRays game this afternoon. When Uncle Tim worked for the DRays, we'd go to about 30 games a year (tickets were free!). But, since he left, we can only afford one or two games a year. The event was so disheartening that it inspired me to write a letter and send it to every single baseball team and the commissioner's office about how unbalanced the teams were due to financial disparities.

And, while we were at the game, you Gabe, did two things that were adorable. First, when the game was going sour... Petite was on his way to striking out twelve, Ventura had just hit a grand slam and Jeter was knocking the ball around, you turned to me and said "Dad, when I get six, and taller, I'm gonna go down to the Devil Rays and say 'hey, can I help?'" It was so sweet and sincere. You really thought that just being six and a little taller would make you able to help them out... it was very sweet.

And the other funny thing you did was, at one point, you started digging your hand way up into your shorts. Worried that people would look, I leaned over and quietly said "Gabe, what're you goin?" And you replied "My peepee fell out of my underwear." That type of honesty I did not anticipate!

Overall we had a great time, considering the game. We got Brent Abernathy and Joe Kennedy's autograph on one of the Devil Ray balls Tim got you for your birthday. And afterward, you got to run around the bases.

It was a nice Father/Son day.

Some Headway

After days of reconstructing in ways that showed no visible progress, we're finally getting stuff done that makes it look like we're getting stuff done.

We ran out of tile... need about three more pieces. But it will look nice when we're done. Since we have to let it set for 24 hours, tonight we actually have the night off!

What to do... we could go out to dinner. We could watch a movie. We could play a board game.

Oh wait! I know! We can sleep because we're totally exhausted! Yeah, that's it!

Tile Me Exhausted

It started out simple enough. A single tile moved slightly in the master bathroom shower wall. A week later part of the wall fell down.

Now, four days after that, we've completely gutted our bathroom. We've rebuilt the shower walls from scratch. We're having to fix and level the threshold moving into the shower.

But we still have SO much more to do. We have to tile the shower and the floor. Fix the flange for the toilet. Prime and paint the walls. Install a new bathroom exhaust fan that, conveniently enough, is located directly under a new duct work junction box in the attic of our recently upgraded air conditioning system. Plus install a new vanity, mirror and toilet.

I'm tired. My hands are raw. Our house is covered with a thin layer of concrete dust and I wake up every morning sneezing about 1000 times in a row.

However, I am impressed by the work and assistance of my children. I have totally enjoyed experiencing the project with my wife.

And, many times, I have felt as if my father were with me, guiding me during the process.

Kids Journal - 07/27/02

Before I started this blog, I would send myself emails about funny or important moments in the kids lives. Here's one from July 2002...

***

July 27, 2002

Today was a cool day... a day which, as a father, I never anticipated. Today, my daughter, Dorothea, and I went over her lines in the script. I got a degree in acting (add appropriate "you're an idiot" insult here) and I performed for quite a few years, but I never thought any of my kids would participate in the field. And when I wrote the first draft of The Box the child character was named Lil' Jimmy. But when I realized that the only child actor I could count on and be relatively certain she'd be available when I needed was my own daughter, well, the character quickly became Lil'Jenny.

So we sat on our family room floor and I went through each of her scenes with her, going over her lines, explaining her specific choices, etc. But, she wanted to understand the big picture... she wanted to understand why Dan was sacrificing himself for his family. I kept telling her it was a long story, because it'd mean I'd have to verbally go over the entire script. She didn't care. She was full of youthful exhuberance, so I went through it.

So, I go through the whole story, basically scene by scene, but it felt like a camp fire story. I'm leaning forwarding, acting everything out, she's leaning forward, listening intently. And the cool part was that she was totally into it, cringing when The Box got moved from one location to the other, etc. It was pretty neat, actually. I hope the audience responds with as much interest as she did when I told her the entire story.

So, I continue on and when I get to Plot Point II, my daughter does the sweetest thing... I get to the point where Lil' Jenny inadvertently lets Anderson know where The Box is located and my daughter quickly leans back, gasps and grabs her chest as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Tears start to form in her eyes and I ask, "what's wrong?" She said "It's all my fault that Dan dies!" She was so into the story that she felt personally responsible for her character doing an action that utlimately leads to Dan's death. It was so sweet.

She then started laughing at herself for getting so emotional, yet still crying at how her character's action impacted Dan. It lasted until we got through the rest of the story.

It was so sweet because, not only did she understand the story, but she truly cared about the characters. It was a very special, nice little moment between a writer Dad and his interested daughter... one I'll never forget.

Listen to My Interview!

I've known Jon Ashby online for 10 years. He ran a website a long time ago called REwind Video. It was THE hub for the microcinema revolution in the late 90's. Over the years Jon has continued his altruistic support approach to the low budget filmmaker and now runs a website called CommonFilm.org.

He was kind enough to interview me about our recent Club God award, Sonlight Pictures and our future project Forgiven. So, check it out at the links below...

Main Page - http://www.commonfilm.org

Direct link to Interview - http://www.commonfilm.org/media/podcasts/CFInterview-PeteBauer.mp3

Funny thing... having known Jon online for 10 years, this was the first time we actually spoke to each other. Amazing how technology has changed relationships and communication.

In any event, it was very kind of Jon to take the time to allow me to talk up Sonlight Pictures. Please check it out.

Come What May (2009)

A couple of people in Virginia came up with an idea of training Christian home-schoolers in the ways of film making in order to take back the entertainment industry for Jesus. They formed a company called the Advent Film Group and put together their first project, a pro-life film called Come What May.

The behind-the-scenes story is very inspirational. Feeling the push of divine influence, they approached a small Christian college called Patrick Henry College and proposed using their moot court setting (where students debate issues in a court setting with retired judges) in preparation for debating moral issues in the real world and suggested writing a story about two college students assigned to argue to overthrow Roe v. Wade.

They formulated a budget and were astounded that the financial needs of the film were funded within a few weeks. Not one investor that they approached said No. Not one! That's an amazing thing!

The film itself follows a young man named Caleb who joins the college and is assigned to work with the beautiful and chaste Rachel. They are tasked with coming up with arguments to overturn the legal event in the Supreme Court which allowed abortion to become legal in this country. A nearly impossible argument to win now-a-days.

Caleb's home life is struggling as his parents are on opposite ends of the abortion debate. The father is about to publish a book on the science behind the pro-life movement and the mother is a lawyer defending a Supreme Court case that hopes to continue to allow children to obtain abortions without parental consent.

Over the course of their studies, Caleb and Rachel draw closer to each other, but her high standards of relationships and her own self-respect cause Caleb to reconsider his own approach to intimacy.

The film's success is hit and miss. It suffers from the consequence of low-budget scars. Acting his inconsistent. Lighting and audio vary in quality. And the story, for the most part, is very good. Out of the 90 or so minutes of the film, there is an excellent 60 minutes worth of material in there. The other 30 minutes are not bad, but not nearly as strong and concise as the rest of the story.

The lead actors (Austin Kearney as Caleb and Victoria Emmons as Rachel) are very good for the most part. There are a few times where they dip below the believability scale... in the smaller moments, in the throw away lines, that take you out of the film for a moment, but they have screen presence and a certain charm.

Come What May is enjoyable to see a film with strong pro-life standards, with college relationships based on faith and chastity and with real questions being asked about such a sensitive subject which are handled with respect and include numerous opportunities to discuss both sides of the issue. In many ways, it's as fair and balanced as a pro-life movie can get.

Finally, Come What May was extremely fortunate to have garnered massive amount of support from pro-life and pro-family organizations. Not since Sherwood Pictures (Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof) have a I seen such an strong grassroots effort to get a film seen. I think if the acting would have been better and the production value higher, this film would have been as big as any of the Sherwood Pictures flicks.

I think this is a film people see because they believe in the message and want to support the filmmakers for exploring it, but I think the film could have been much, much more financially successful.

I applaud Advent Film Group for the intent and dedication to training the next generation of filmmakers that will be steeped in Christian values and traditions. I can't wait to see their next film.

Live Alligator Wrestling Review Flashback

I was cleaning out some old email and came across this review of the last (and final) play that I was in at the Florida Players called Live Alligator Wrestling. This may already be posted on the website, but just in case, here's a snippet of the review...

***

The plays, touted by LiveArts as "world premieres" (accurate but a bit pretentious), are David F. Smith's Wallace Stevens at Key West, Doug Cooney's Live Alligator Wrestling and Jeff Whipple's The Cutting Edge of Amenities. They're billed as "The Floridians 2005," part of LiveArts' occasional series of Florida-influenced work.

Only one of the pieces works.

Cooney is an immensely charming and insightful writer and performer whose works combine quirky, low-key comedy and subtle poignancy. Live Alligator Wrestling, based on the story of Owen and Pearl Godwin, the founders of Orlando's Gatorland, doesn't have the emotional depth of some of his best work, but it's still clever, amusing and quietly poignant.

Cooney gives us the Godwins (played wonderfully by Pete Bauer and Susan Alexander) from early adulthood into middle age. Owen Godwin surprises his young wife by turning their back yard into an alligator pit, the beginning of Gatorland. She is not amused. But Florida is crawling with gators and tourists, he argues, so it makes sense to bring the two together.

As a devoted wife, Pearl dutifully runs the attraction while her husband travels the country acquiring exotic animals. In the end, Owen seems to know more about alligators than his wife and reacts awkwardly to her plea for warmblooded companionship.

The story gets a big charge from three local theater talents whose work hasn't been seen much on professional stages of late. Alexander and Bauer show a real fondness for their characters, and director Roz Potenza displays a nice touch with the delicate material.

Bringing Up Bobby (2009)

Christian filmmakers Glowing Nose is run by twin brothers Nick and Chris Staron. Their first feature film, Between the Walls, dealt with a difficult personal histories of a largely dysfunctional family.

They've followed up that darker subject with the lighthearted comedy called Bringing Up Bobby. The story revolves around a Bobby (Alex Hinsky), who is challenged by his older brother James (Mark Thompson) to figure out who he is and where he stands with God.

And that's where the mayhem begins! The entire family ends up coming back together at their childhood home to haggle over the will of their long-dead parents... it took 12 years to get an official cause-of-death.

In the meantime, Bobby meets Liz, the girl of his dreams, who wants him to demonstrate his affection. His attempts and numerous failures lead to many laughs.

Kudos do to Hinsky as Bobby and Brian Morvant as the milk drinking loner Dennis potentially on the run from Russian anarchists. Morvant, especially, was funny every moment he was up on screen.

Brian Morvant as Dennis

The Staron brothers do a wonderful job of tackling Christian topics within a comedic environment. It makes for a funny Christian family film.

One of the things I appreciated more than anything is that not all of their story lines are wrapped up into some nicely packaged happy endings. Humanity is sloppy and even God leaves situations with challenges so that we can continue to live our faith.

Hinksey as Bobby and Thompson as James

After espousing various ways we can save the Christian film industry over at our Sonlight Pictures blog, I put my money where my faith was and purchased this DVD. Hats off to the Staron brothers for putting it in the mail almost immediatley after my purchase. I was pleasantly surprised to find it in my mailbox two days later.

It's little things like that, simple ways of providing quality customer service, that goes a very long way to developing customer loyalty.

I look forward to the next effort from Glowing Nose.

Crawford Gets All-Star MVP

In a quick and entertaining All-Star game, Tampa Bay Ray Carl Crawford became the MVP by making one catch... an important catch, robbing Colorado Rockies Brad Hawpe of a go-ahead home run.

The American League ended up beating the National League for the 13th straight year, 4-3.

It was weird to see so many Rays on the All-Star team (Crawford, Longoria, Bartlett, Zobrist and Pena). For a decade this team was laughable at best and painful at worst. Amazing to see the turn-around. I wonder how much longer they can keep this team together. Another year... maybe?

Better enjoy it while it lasts.

DC Turns 16

Ahh, childhood.

As we move from being a child to being an adult it seems that every year or two there is some major event tied to your birthday.

13 - now officially a teenager.
15 - can get a driver's permit.
16 - can drive on your own.
17 - can see R rated movies
18 - can vote
21 - can legally drink

A short time ago my daughter turned 16. Since my daughter's 16th birthday coincided with the same year of my wife's 40th birthday, about a month ago we spent a day at Discovery Cove swimming with the dolphins.

It was a wonderful and relaxing time. We snorkled with enough schools of fish to create a large aquatic college, lazed around in a warm relaxing river and spent 1/2 hour with a dolphin name Tyler, who presented Dorothea with a Sweet 16 buoy.

Yesterday, however, was the actual anniversary date of my daughter's birth, so we, along with some of her close friends and relatives, went to Arigato's for dinner. We all had a wonderful time, despite the fact that our waitress had the personality of a doormat.

Afterwards we went home and devoured another of Dea's fine cake creations.

Dea has a knack for making wonderfully creative cakes. Over the years she has made a Frankenstein cake, a piano cake, a movie popcorn and drink cake, and a baseball cake.

This year she made a three layered, colorful, yet elegant cake with home made chocolate hearts attached around the bottom... 16 of them.

We finished off the evening by watching a very funny film called Noises Off. The 1992 movie is based on a play and stars Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, John Ritter, Christopher Reeve, Nicollete Sheridan, Mary Lou Henner and Deholm Elliot, among others. The film is about a play being put on and traveling around the country.

The first act shows the dress rehearsal and how the play is supposed to happen.

The second act is entirely behind the set and shows how the play and the relationships between the cast and crew has deteriorated over the months.

The third act again shows the play from the front and how complete anarchy has enveloped the performance.

It's one of D.C.'s favorite films and we've loved the it for a long time. There are two bad words that we always conveniently mute keeping it excessively tame by today's PG-13 rating. D.C. and I were concerned that it was more funny to us than others because of our love of movies and our experiences in theater.

Our fears quickly subsided as the group of D.C.'s friends laughed hysterically from beginning to end. We laughed so often and so loudly that Dea's parents took the movie home with them so they could see what the fun was all about.

Afterward the girls hunkered down around the dining room table for an extensive and humorous bout of girl talk.

The evening finally ended around 10:00 PM.

As I went to bed I could not believe my little girl was 16 years old. I remembered her birth, holding her in my arms, feeling her baby breath against my cheek. It all seems like it happened yesterday.

Amazing how time flies.

I'm just happy she had a memorable birthday to remember.

The Da Vinci Hoax (2004)

When Michael Moore's documentary came out a few years ago criticizing the American health care system while extolling the virtues of the Cuban socialist health system, I got into an interesting discussion about the topic with a co-worker. At the end of the debate about the validity of Moore's work I asked my co-worker a simple question...

"Which is easier, making a film that shows American health system as vastly better than Cuba's or the other way around?"

My co-worker responded "That's easy, America's."

"Then you have to wonder the true intent of someone who does the opposite," I replied.

The same basic scrutiny can be used when looking at Dan Brown's work in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons with his attack on Christianity as a whole and the Catholic Church specifically.

My mother was scanning books at a bookstore up in Georgia and spied one of which she thought would have an interest to me. She was right.

The book is called The Da Vinci Hoax. It's a wonderful book that expertly dissects the massive misinformation abounding in the pages of Brown's work and, more importantly, discusses the drivers behind the author's attempts to undermine the world's greatest religion.

How much garbage is in Brown's book? Well, it takes almost 300 pages in Hoax to cover all of the areas of misinformation. That means there sure is a lot of garbage to clean up!

Brown states that his material is thoroughly researched and historically accurate. He also states that history is written by winners and can't be trusted. So... what, Dan? Are you saying I shouldn't trust your version of history either????

That's just one of the basic red lights that flash about his work.

While raising my children I have tried to instill in them the idea that they should take all of their family responsibility seriously, even the small tasks. I would say to them, "if I can't trust you to take out the garbage when you're supposed to, how can I trust you with something more important?"

The same holds true for researchers claiming to uncovered some hidden truth. Case and point... Brown repeatedly states that "the Vatican" was doing this and that in various parts of history. Unfortunately, many of these events occured prior to "the Vatican" even existing. He should have said "the Church" or "the Catholic Church." But he didn't. Not a big deal, perhaps, but I go back to the phrase, "if you can't get the simple things right, why should I trust you on the big things?" How hard is it to understand that the Church is an entity and the Vatican is a place?

Look Dan, I already understand it after writing one sentence. How did it slip through that enlightened mind of your's? Probably because you were uncovering the whole conspiracy behind the Church/Vatican trying to weed Mary Magdelene out of Church history by refusing to ackowlege her as the "true" Holy Grail.

There's a lot of simple problems with that theory, Dan. If the Church/Vatican wanted to eliminate MM from Church history they simple DON'T HAVE TO MENTION HER IN THEIR STORIES/GOSPELS! I don't believe MM was mentioned by non-Gospel writers, so if the apostles were so intimidated by her place in Church history, all they had to do was simply NOT TALK ABOUT HER.

Second point, Danny boy... you say MM and JC were married and had kids and that JC survived the crucifixion and the apostles covered it up, blah, blah, blah, I have to ask you another simple question... WHY?

Why would the apostles sacrifice their life so JC and MM could have children? What did they possibly have to gain? The Church was not a powerful empire, it was a group of a couple of hundred people who were at odds with the Romans, the Jews and the Gentiles. So, why would they do that? Please, inspire me with a simple, logical answer, Mr. Brown. Well, while you're mulling that over, I have a few more questions...

You really think JC survived the crucifixion? Did you not do ANY research on Roman crucifixions? Or Roman law? Or health care back then?

Lastly, Brown goes on and on about how Da Vinci's painting shows the true meaning of the "Holy Grail" claiming that John sitting next to Jesus in the Last Supper painting was actually MM. And that Peter's depiction of a knife near John's/MM's throat shows that the church wanted to "decpitate" MM's power.


Ugh... Dan, Dan, Dan. I go back to my America/Cuba example. Every credible art and church historian explains the imagery... John, the youngest, would not have a beard. Peter's knife is a visual precursor to his use of the sword in the Garden later in the evening. And the picture itself is supposed to be the moment after Jesus told them there was a betrayer in their midst.

But what about this missing "Grail" Dan would ask? Well, Dan, if you were to simply LOOK at the painting you would see that EVERYONE has a cup in front of them. There is no need for a Grail to be passed around. The Grail isn't missing. It isn't necessary!

That's just some of the "Hello, Danny B., time to get your head out of your anti-Christian buttocks!" you'll find in the many detailed pages of The Da Vinci Hoax.

So why would DB take material from sketchy sources to compile a "historically accurate" alternative view of Christianity?

Because it appears that Dan Brown is all about the Sacred Feminine. And that the masculine Church has apparently been suppressing it all of these centuries. It's all very new-ageish and uses extreme feminist wishlists and imaginary tales to convey the glory that is the Sacred Feminine.

So that's his intent. He tells us to ignore history while presenting his own version of it. He ignores long-standing credible research and embraces Gnostic and feminists views of deity and muddles it all together into a mishmash of elaborate poppycock called The Da Vinci Code. Ignore it at all costs.

I do, however, strongly suggest everyone read The Da Vinci Hoax. There is so much more information on the misinformation Brown spins about the Templars, the Priory of Sion, Constantine, the Crusades, the Inquisitions, Da Vinci's volume of work, his relationship with the Church, etc., etc.

The short of it is this... Brown is a very bad historian with an anti-Christian axe to grind, period. He should be mocked or ignored, but never taken seriously.

My Daughter is a Geek

My daughter is a geek. And she doesn't mind.

I introduced the original series of Star Trek to my son and daughter about two years ago when I borrowed the DVDs from my brother Charles. Ever since then she's been hooked.

When the new Star Trek movie came out, she loved it and ordered a new crew t-shirt from a cereal box promotion. She picked the red one because she always got a kick out of the fact that the security guards, in red shirts, were the first to go whenever Kirk and friends beam down anywhere.

If she starts going to Trek conferences, then I'll get worried.

So, here she is, all geeked up and happy.

Club God Wins Bronze Lighthouse Award at the Faith Film Festival

We're very excited to announce that our short film Club God won the Bronze Lighthouse Award at the Faith Film Festival!

It is such a wonderful blessing to have our first project garner such an acknowledgment from the Christian film community. We could not have done it without the support of many, including the prayers from our Sonlight Pictures Angels community!

God is good!