I’m such a sucker for pop music… Right now my addiction is Maroon 5’s new single. They re-recorded If I Never See Your Face Again with Rihanna… So infectious. It replaced Madonna’s 4 Minutes, which features Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. Of course, that’s not to say I only listen to pop tracks. I’ll usually listen to them in between other stuff, including classics like The Beatles or REM. Still, I can’t help but listen to the catchy mainstream stuff… It’s like a drug.

So I went to Ottawa for a few days last week for business… It was pretty crazy, but fun. Microsoft gave everyone in attendance (250-300 people maybe?) a Microsoft Zune, which doesn’t come to Canada until June 13th. I think it could give the iPod a run for its money… It has some really, really cool social/interactive features…

I just finished reading the book Bringing Down The House, which is what the movie 21 is based off of. It’s a true story, actually. What a fantastic book… I wish I read it earlier. I couldn’t put it down. It definitely gets my recommendation, especially if you enjoyed the movie. I really enjoyed the movie, but the book blows it out of the water. It’s pretty intense. Oh, and for those wondering, the movie comes to DVD and Blu-Ray on July 22nd. Looking forward to it…

You know summer is coming when all of your favorite TV shows are winding down… Everything is ending either this week or next week it seems. How sad… Tonight is American Idol (I’m still sticking to Cook winning) and next week is Lost. Now what am I going to do to unwind after work on Thursdays? Hmm…

Anyway, thanks for the feedback on the new layout. I’ve had a number of e-mails on top of the few comments, most of which was positive. It’s been growing on me more too… It was time for a change.

This past week has gone by so fast… I’ve been working a lot because my boss is on vacation, so I’m taking a number of her hours. I finally get a day off tomorrow though, which is great because I feel terrible. I have a headache, I feel sore, my nose is running, and I’m so tired. Maybe I’ll fall asleep on my keyboard, even though it’s only 8 PM…

Anyway, not much to report on right now. I’m reading through a new book right now whenever I find the time (I’ve only read a chapter in a bit since Monday), but it’s already really good… Music enthusiasts should check it out if they are interested in seeing the inevitable direction of the music industry. Within ten years it will be looking very different. Maybe I’ll make an entry on that sometime…

I received a couple of against-the-norm items in the mail last week (ie: not CDs), I guess that’s something new. One of them was the book 100 Greatest Songs In Christian Music… I’m not sure why I received it, to be honest. But either way, it’s interesting to look through. Mostly because the majority of the picks (and their numbered position) make you want to either throw up or just through the book out the window. ha. But it was CCM Magazine who picked the songs and put the book together, so it’s not really much of a surprise…

I also received a DVD with the new The Veronicas music video on it, straight from the offices of Warner Bros. down in California (home of many, many bands including Green Day, Linkin Park, Goo Goo Dolls, Depeche Mode, and more). Now, the reasoning behind this being odd is twofold: not only do I have no use for music videos, but I also have never spoken with anyone from Warner Bros. head office in Cali before… So how did they get my name, address, and phone number? Weird. It’s kind of a boring video too…

Finally, today is a very special day… It’s my mom’s birthday! So happy birthday, mom… Love you lots!

Rock on.

Well, that was a pain and a half…

Thankfully, Renown Magazine is now back up and running again with message boards (Verbalize)! Hooray! So head on over to the forums, sign up, and post! Since we had to start from scratch again things are a little bare, so the more the merrier…

Other than scrambling to try to get the website back up, not much new has been happening in my neck of the woods. I’ve been working a fair bit, which is unfortunate but a reality.

Oh, I did finish my book though. It was one of the best books I’ve read… Just tons of great information in there that anyone could take at least a few things from (if not, then a massive amount of things). It was Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi… It’s about networking, connecting, and basically shows you simple ways to get further in life whether it is in business or just with friends. It sounds like a self help book I’m sure, but it’s really not. It was a very, very good read and well worth the price tag.

I also received a package full of CDs for my listening pleasure from my colleague at Sony BMG this week. Thanks again to Steve… love you man! Here’s what was sent in no particular order…

Teddy Geiger - Underage Thinking
The Fray - How To Save A life
Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin
Live - Songs From Black Mountain
Augustana - All The Stars And Boulevards
Acceptance - Phantoms
P!nk - I’m Not Dead
MercyMe - Coming Up To Breathe

Overall, they are all pretty enjoyable and solid. I’ll admit Teddy Geiger, The Fray, and Avril are getting the most spins right now though, but I’ll be listening to them all for a while… I’d definitely recommend the first two to anyone for starters. But again, they are all pretty solid…

I’m also starting a game on my brother’s Kingdom Hearts II game on the PS2 since I needed a new game to play when I need to sit back and relax. I’m also playing through the first Prince of Persia, but that one is starting to get a little boring because of the puzzles (I want to chill, not think!). I want to pick up the new Metal Gear Solid 3 game as well… Anyone have any other recommendations for games? I have all of the systems except for the new Xbox 360 (I’m holding out for the PS3 and Wii)…

Anyway, that’s pretty much all that is new with me right now. I’m sorry this isn’t a terribly exciting entry, but I thought I’d just bring you guys up to speed. Now I’m off to play some more Kingdom Hearts II…

Rock on.

Well, I did it last week… The e-mail trash has been taken out to the curb:

So I’ve had a pretty busy week, which is why I haven’t updated this recently. Just lots of work coming out of my ears as well as a few personal endeavors. Same old stuff.

I’ve also been getting into reading again, starting with those business related books I picked up a little bit ago. The first one I read was called The Tipping Point, which is an interesting book that shows you how to look at trends from a different perspective. It’s a bit of a marketing book. The second one, which I’m reading now, is a fantastic networking book called Never Eat Alone. It gives you simple, yet effective principles to help you network with the best of them.

I think I’ve finally officially decided what I’m going to do career wise. In the long run, I’m going to to go after the coveted A&R position at a respectable mainstream record label, then work my way up from there. Not only would I be paid to do something I love to do (find good music), but I could help play a role in shaping the music industry. Of course, it would probably just be Canadian music at first, but I could eventually land a job at a bigger label down in L.A. and move down there. Entertainment central. Then I could help shape the music industry in the U.S., Canada, and potentially the rest of the globe.

Call me a dreamer, but this is the goal at least. And one thing I’ve learned about goals is that they actually prove to be beneficial no matter how crazy they sound, provided you take them in tangible steps. So yes, you have a long term goal, but then you also have short term goals to try and achieve, which will then help you reach that long term goal.

So that’s my news for now… This is what I’m going to try and achieve. These are my goals. I just can’t see myself sitting an office and doing a monotone 9 to 5 job or having a career that is secluded/local with no real impact or value. While I don’t hold anything against those who do have jobs such as these, it would drive me insane. I can’t have a job that’s only purpose is to pay the bills for the rest of my life. I have to do something more than that.

Anyway, so that’s my story. But, for now, you can find me working at Future Shop and saving my money… Slowly working away at my day-to-day tasks there while trying to get Shakira out of my head. Darn radio.

Rock on.

Tick tock… the clock slowly counts down the day as it comes to a close. Boy, am I tied. I did online Future Shop training stuff for 5.5 hours today, then I went to the actual store and worked for 4.5 hours. Now I just need to get things ready for tomorrow. Ugh, I have to get up early too.

Oh yeah, in case some of you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, tomorrow is Encounter Ontario (EncounterOntario.com). It’s a big Christian music day at the Ontario Place in Toronto, and I’m going to attend as “press” like usual. Which basically is just a fancy way of saying I’ll be working a lot of the day… fun fun. But I’ll get to see a bunch of friends who will be either attending or performing, so that’s a bonus too. It should be fun in the long run… I just hope the weather is decent.

So let’s see, what else has happened since I last updated? Not a whole lot… Work at Future Shop, Renown work here at the office (aka my computer here in my bedroom), and then on Thursday we went down to Brampton and Mississauga. I found The Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack at HMV, yeah! One step closer to finishing my U2 collection…

I also found Donald Miller’s second book, “Searching For God Knows What.” He’s the guy that wrote the awesome must-read book, “Blue Like Jazz.” So we’ll have to see how this one turns out.

I don’t really know what else to say… How are you doing? Are you enjoying your summer so far? Are you disappointed that it’s ending soon? Do you like pizza? Please, tell me.

Alright, I’m out. I’ll let you know how Encounter Ontario goes.

Rock on.

So today was my first of three days off from Future Shop. It was nice. A friend came over and him, my brother, and I all hung out for the afternoon. It was nice and relaxing. Of course, we ended up walking over to Future Shop to look at music and DVDs, so I couldn’t completely stay away from the store today. But at least I wasn’t working.

Before my friend came over however, I did tons of transcribing. Hopefully the interview will be up on Monday alongside some new reviews, if not then it definitely will be up the week after. Because even after I get it all transcribed, I have to do a couple of post-transcribing details with it that might take a little time… That’s the only reason it would be delayed a week. Either way, make sure you read this one when it’s up.

It was asked in a comment two posts ago about the book The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within that I finished not too long ago. So what did I like about it? Hmm. I’ll try to do this briefly but also in a way I can be understood, which will be a task in itself since I really feel like falling asleep on this keyboard right now. I really should do these entries earlier in the day…

The Barbarian Way is a book for believers, whether new or old. Basically, it encourages us to break free from the “lukewarm faith” that we see so often nowadays and live the barbaric faith. Here are a few excerpts from the book that I found in a comment on Amazon:

“Somewhere along the way the movement of Jesus Christ became civilized as Christianity,” he writes. “We created a religion using the name of Jesus Christ and convinced ourselves that God’s optimal desire for our lives was to insulate us in a spiritual bubble where we risk nothing, sacrifice nothing, lose nothing, worry about nothing. I wonder how many of us have lost our barbarian way and have become embittered with God, confused in our faith because God doesn’t come through the way we think He should.”

“For years I have made it my mission to destroy the influence of the Christian cliché, ‘the safest place to be is in the center of the will of God.’ God would never choose for us safety at the cost of significance. God created you so that your life would count, not so that you could count the days of your life,” he writes.

He goes on to say, “When we fear God and God only, we are no longer bound by all of the other fears that would hold us captive. The fear of death, the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of insignificance — all of the fears that we know by name and haunt us in the dark of the night become powerless when we know the fear of the Lord. And if this is not enough, we discover that perfect love casts out all fear. Not even God will hold us or control us by fear. When we fear Him, we in essence begin to live a life where we are fearless.”

Basically, it’s a book that encourages us to throw all safety and comfort aside and go into the world full blast. Live the barbaric faith, not the civilized… I love it.

It is done in a serious but also witty fashion, filled with scripture references as well as humorous tidbits thrown in. Of course, he may take a few things to an extreme, but for the most part I would agree with what he says. Too many Christians are comfortable. Too many Christians have created a nice bubble of their own, only stepping outside to go to work and get their job done. It’s hard to be “in the world but not of the world” when you are in your own subculture in the corner of the room, trying to be as far from the world as you possibly can.

Anyway, I just found it an enjoyable and encouraging book. Check it out. It’s not long, it’s actually quite short.

Hope that helps. I’m off to bed now.

Godspeed.

Wow, it’s been a little while since I’ve updated this… Sorry guys.

Okay seriously, I know a lot of you are reading this, but you really need to comment! Even if you don’t have anything good to say, I can take it.

So let’s see, what is new? Not a whole lot… Just working at Future Shop a lot, since the one guy is still on vacation. Tomorrow I’m starting a four-day run again, with two of the shifts being eight hours. But the fourth day (Tuesday) is when the guy comes back, so my shifts will finally die down from there. My first paycheck is going to be decent though, I’m looking forward to it.

I finished reading The Barbarian Way since I last updated this journal. Really good book… I liked it a lot and recommend it. Now I’m reading The Art Of Being, and the first few chapters look promising. I’ll let you know how that one goes too.

I really don’t have a whole lot more to say right now… I’m tired from things being so busy, plus I have to get up early for work tomorrow, so I guess I should just stop there.

Thanks for your patience… Hopefully things will be back to normal by Tuesday.

Godspeed.

So much can happen in five days, it’s crazy. I’ve been meaning to update this sooner, and even started it a couple of times, but then something else suddenly came up.

I’m trying to remember what all happened since the last entry… I know there has been a lot, so it’s hard for me to pinpoint a few. I’ll give it a try though…

- On Sunday I played “lead” guitar at church for the first time. Again, I’ve been playing the guitar for about a year now, and I felt pretty comfortable after the last practice for my first “performance.” But then it happened. The sound guy who was doing it that morning (normally it’s me), didn’t know what the heck he was doing… Gah. It was so frustrating. Things just got screwed up and the whole thing bombed. Mind you, people still said it sounded okay, but I know it could have been so much better. Now I’ve made the stipulation that I’ll only play again provided it’s a different sound guy, someone who actually knows what they are doing.

- I saw War Of The Worlds in theaters on… hmm… I can’t even remember what day it was. A few days ago, anyway. It was good though, I enjoyed it. There was a bit of swearing, but overall it was clean I think. The higher rating it received (PG-13 in the States, 14A in Canada) was because of the concepts implied and tense scenes, not so much for what you actually see. Though, there is a fair share of violence. Either way, it wasn’t really that bad. I liked it.

- Future Shop called today and said I got the job! You are now looking at (err… reading from?) Future Shop’s newest Sales Associate. That’s one position higher than the entry level, which is kind of weird but cool. I’ll be working in the computers section, selling all of their accessories but not the computers themselves. So hard drives, video cards, sound cards, mice, keyboards, blank CDs, blank DVDs, printer cartridges, etc. The thing is they want me to work tomorrow morning at 9:30 AM. Wow, talk about fast. So I’m working tomorrow from 9:30 to 1:30, then Saturday from 9-5. Ouch. I’ll let you know how it goes.

- I talked with a firm that looks after Hollywood Records’ publicity/promotions (they originally contacted me a while ago), and it looks like we may have some stuff coming on Renown Magazine for one of their new artists. Things like a review, maybe an interview, maybe a giveaway. Lots of possibilities.

Those were a few of the “major” events, I guess. Other than that there has been the regular amount of review writing, a shift at the arena, and so on and so forth.

I have been reading The Barbarian Way over the past few days too, and I must say it’s been quite good so far. I’m digging it a lot. I’m only about half way through though, so we’ll see how it finishes.

Alrighty, well, my laptop battery is going, so I’m off. I’ll let you know how my first shift at Future Shop goes.

Godspeed.

The last few days have been busy, but not super overwhelming. I didn’t get enough CDs to review for Monday, so we won’t have an update on Renown Magazine unfortunately. But the good news is I knew it far enough in advance that I have been working on some other things for the site, most of which will be coming down the pipes fairly soon.

We did launch a new giveaway on Wednesday though. It’s the Clay Aiken Giveaway, and you can check it out here. Two winners will win two CDs and a DVD each.

On Thursday was the church’s youth band practice, which I normally do sound for. The past couple of weeks have been different though, as the usual lead guitarist is away and I’m filling in for her. It’s kind of weird because I haven’t really played with other people too much before, plus the tempo for the songs get slowed down quite a bit. But oh well. The service I’m playing at is this Sunday morning… Hopefully it will go well.

When I came home Thursday evening from the practice though, there was a surprise message on the phone for me. After quite some time waiting since I originally applied – causing me to even forget about it – Future Shop actually called and did a mini-phone interview. The girl liked me (she actually said it, ha), so she set up a time for me to meet with the Sales Department Manager today at 10:30 AM. So I did that interview fine, and he said that things were good and that he would talk with the Store Manager, and that I may look around the store for a few minutes while they talked. So then shortly after I was browsing the Store Manager came over and took me into his office where I did yet another interview, and then finally it was all said and done. It was fun though, it just took about an hour total. He said that they would call me if it all goes through… We’ll see what happens. So then I bought the Linkin Park – Breaking The Habit Music Video DVD and left.

Tonight we went down to the city just to browse around the mall and what not, as we haven’t done it in a while. Of course, even though I only had four dollars and a guitar pick on me, I had my debit card so I ended up buying a number of things. I bought U2’s If God Will Send His Angels and Sweetest Thing CD singles, some empty DVD cases for my bootlegs, and three books from the Christian Bookstore.

The three books I got were The Barbarian Way, New Way To Be Human, and The Art Of Being. I actually had never heard of the last one before and saw it for the first time there, but since it had all of these musicians writing articles/chapters for it, I was intrigued and decided to pick it up. I’ll let you know what I think of all of the books once I read them. I was thinking of picking up one more I hadn’t heard of, but I thought I’d wait until I look into it more first.

Well, I think that brings me you guys back up to speed for now. I would type more, but once again I am really tired and should head to bed. We’ll talk more later… cool?

Rock on.

Not a whole lot to update with tonight … I finished the biography book on J.R.R. Tolkien Saturday and really liked it. Even though I haven’t read any of his books yet, I feel like I know so much about him and was once friends with him or something. When it got to the part where he passed away, I couldn’t help but feel sad. He seemed like an guy.

So now I’m trying to find another book to read still. I went to the library to see if they had any C.S. Lewis material, and sure enough they didn’t. I really don’t know what to read next. I guess I’ll just have to go buy a book. Darn it. My bank account is slowly draining…

Tomorrow is update day again on Renown. Crap. I have everything written, but absolutely nothing prepared for uploading (HTML, graphics, proof read, etc.). It’s just been a busy weekend… I’m really tired and sore. I guess I’ll be working extra hard come tomorrow morning to get it all finished on time, then maybe to go work at night (if not, then Wednesday).

Speaking of which, today was a lot of running around. Went to church this morning and did the sound for the youth band, then stuck around for a practice, then drove home and did a couple of things, then drove back to church for the evening service where I was doing the sound and was the M.C. It was long, but it was alright. Lots of fun was had. It’s just a pain that the band’s church is 15 to 20 minutes away, so it’s a fair amount of driving. But I don’t mind helping them out.

That’s what’s new with me anyway. I would type more, but I’m exhausted. Maybe the next one will be a little more interesting for you guys.

Peace, Love, and Pizza.

Today has been a fairly productive day, I think. I got a number of things done for Renown (including writing two new reviews for Monday), put together a few more things around the house, conversed with family members that came over, and more.

The new Shaun Groves album was one of the albums I reviewed. Man, it’s such a great album. It actually is somewhat conceptual too, to a certain extent. You’ll have to read my review on Renown Magazine come Monday for more information on that.

The new TFK keeps growing on me too. At first I wasn’t really that into it, but with every spin you find new things you like about it. I wouldn’t say I like it better than Phenomenon, but it’s close to being a tie as of right now. Who knows, give it a bit more time and maybe it will actually become a tie or I’ll even start liking The Art Of Breaking more.

I need to start reading more books again, I feel like I’m lacking something. Right now, as a temporary fix, I’m reading a biography of J.R.R. Tolkien that was written by Michael Coren. I’ve always been a big fan of his, he’s a great journalist. That doesn’t mean I always agree with what he says, but I’ve always been impressed with him as a journalist. He also was at the Gala Dinner at VGM Week this year, so I got the pleasure of meeting him there.

Anyway, the book is pretty cool. I have to be honest that I haven’t read any of Tolkien’s books yet, not even the Lord Of The Rings series – I’ve just seen the movies. So sue me. But I knew a lot about his work and him as a person, and this book (which I got as a gift a year or two ago but I forgot to read) goes pretty in depth. It’s fairly short though, so I’m hoping on finishing it soon so I can find another book to read. Any suggestions? I’m thinking of maybe going down to the library when I’m done this one to see if they have any more C.S. Lewis material, but if you have any other suggestions than feel free to send them my way.

Tomorrow it is off to the city to take my parents out for a meal as it’s their anniversary, then maybe we’ll hit a couple of other stops too. I’m hoping to go by a music store to get more guitar picks, and maybe fool around with some effect pedals/boxes for my guitar.

Alright, I’m out for tonight. Have a good night and thanks for reading.

Godspeed.

So about this book I have been reading. Yes, it’s “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller. I kept hearing great things about it, so when I saw it on sale on June 6th (I’m not a geek, I used my receipt as the bookmark) I had to pick it up even though I had no clue what it was about.

I started reading it last night and I couldn’t put it down. There are 20 chapters in the book and 240 pages of text, I read half of that last night in one sitting (10 chapters). Seriously. Then today we went down to the city, and since I didn’t have to drive I read the book as we were driving around. So that was another four or five chapters done by the time I got home, then I finished the rest of the book this evening. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that fast before in my life. Dr. Seuss doesn’t count.

The book isn’t anything new per se, but at the same time it is something fresh. It actually has nothing to do with Jazz music, it’s about “Nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality.” It’s about life, love, your faith, and more in a post modern world. And I think what I love so much about it is just the vibe you get from Don as you read the book. This guy is hilarious. Though it’s subject matter is very serious, I swear he is the king of one liners as I found myself laughing out loud a number of times. And usually it was right after he said something dead serious. It’s a good mix of seriousness and humor, and it keeps you attentive and wanting to read more to see what he’s going to say next.

He also likes to tell stories of his past experiences, and giving people different nicknames and calling the people by them instead of their first and last names. Sort of like “Andrew the Protester” or “Trendy Writer.” It’s amusing and hard to explain, but you’ll understand when you read the book.

The thing is it’s not just for Christians though. Don Miller is very honest and real, just talking about life and faith as he figured things out for himself. Something anyone could be thinking about or considering. And he doesn’t try to be a flashy preacher, but instead is a guy who openly talks about drinking beer, hanging out with people who get drunk and high, and so on. I love it.

While the taglines and captions on the back of a book usually hype the book more than they should, there is one that is very fitting for Blue Like Jazz… It says it is “for anyone yearning for a renewed sense of passion in life.” That’s definitely something I got out of it; a renewed sense of passion in life.

I’m not sure why I haven’t read this sooner… Probably because everyone was ranting and raving about it, and I’m not one to jump on trendy bandwagons to keep up with what’s cool. I usually wait until it’s not the cool thing to do/read/see. I regret waiting on this one though, it really is as good as they say. All of you need to go buy it, read it, then tell me what you think. I love it. I’m actually thinking of reading it again, which is something I don’t do that often.

So there you have it… Blue Like Jazz… One of my new favorite books. It’s witty (and just flat out hilarious at times), it’s intriguing, and most of all you take something from it. Even if you aren’t a Christian, it might be worth your while to check it out.

Godspeed.

Before I say anything else, I’ve got to start with the best news. My Wonka golden tickets have finally arrived! Check out these pictures:
Picture #1
Picture #2

Now I’m pumped even more for the concert… Sept 16th is the big day! I can’t wait!

Alright, lots of crazy stuff has happened over the past little while… I haven’t really stopped moving since the middle of last week. Today was the first day I haven’t had to go anywhere, so I stayed home and did work all day.

First of all, I haven’t felt too well for the past little while. My voice has been the worst aspect though, deciding to not really stay for any long periods of time. I actually had to work a couple of shifts at the arena voiceless, which was a major pain. Now I just have a bit of a cough and my voice isn’t fully back, but I feel I’m finally on the mend which is good.

On Sunday I bought myself a new computer. I have my own personal laptop, but I don’t have my own desktop. So when I saw a great deal on a desktop computer at Future Shop, I had to pick it up for my new room in our soon-to-be-house when we move in two weeks from tomorrow. It’s a Sony Vaio RB30, and you can view a picture of it by clicking here.

It has an Intel Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz processor with hyperthreading, 512 MB of DDRAM, 200 Gigabytes of harddrive space, a 16x DL DVD-RW burner, and tons of other nifty little gadgets. Sounds expensive, right? Wrong… It was only $899 CDN! Crazy! It’s because Sony discontinued the specific model, and the one they have now with the exact same specs is $300 dollars more. So needless to say, I’m pumped to pull it out of the box. I haven’t yet because we don’t really have room for it, so I think I’m just going to wait until we move before I open it.

Oh, on Saturday we went down to Yorkdale mall where I went to Canada’s first Apple Store! It was great, except really compact and small compared to the stores down in the States. The ones in the States are big and beautiful, this one was just small and in the mall. But the products were all still there, and you were able to try basically every current Apple product. I played around with a piano in GarageBand, it was fun.

Today has been a crazy day in Ontario. Sudden drops in temperatures have brought through severe thunderstorms and tornados all over the province, with more on the way this evening. It’s just picking up now actually. Hopefully it won’t get too bad…

I finished that Bono In Conversation book the other day. Great book and very insightful. There is a fair amount of language, but it’s honestly worth it. This one chapter Bono talks a lot about his faith and why his “religion” (Christianity) is different from the others. If anyone questioned whether or not he was a Christian before, this will shoot the doubts down from the sky. The rest of the book is great too.

Next up is the book Blue Like Jazz. I’ve heard a lot about it (good things), but I have still yet to read it. So I finally decided to pick it up and now I have to read it when I next find the time. I’m looking forward to it.

Renown Magazine was updated yesterday with a new interview and four new reviews, plus I updated the photo gallery today with TONS of new pictures. I finally was able to get all of the pictures from VGM Week last month online, so check those out. www.renownmagazine.com/gallery/

Well, I think that pretty much brings things back up to speed. Now I’m going to go watch the rest of Canadian Idol.

Rock on.

Today actually ended up being a fairly active day for the most part. It turned out that I didn’t have to help set up at the fundraising garage sale because they had a lot of help already. Honestly, I would have still gotten up early and went to help out if they needed me, but I have to admit I’m kind of glad I didn’t have to since I was up until 12:30 or 1 AM the night before. I know, I know, it’s selfish. I’m a loser. But again, had they not called me the night before saying I wasn’t needed, I would have still gotten up early and went to help out. So it’s not that I didn’t want to.

Instead I actually slept in (oops) and woke up in time to have a shower, get ready, and head to church. After that we went through the Wendy’s drive-thru (hooray for Homestyle Chicken Strips) and brought it home where my sister wanted to watch the movie A Cinderella Story. I haven’t seen it before, but it was actually not too bad I guess.

After the movie, it was off to the city where we only went to a few different locations (sadly not in the area of the music store though). I ended up picking up the new Lifehouse album for four or five bucks cheaper than I’ve seen it everywhere else, and the book “Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas” for over ten bucks cheaper than other places. Not bad at all.

I’m actually just finishing the Lifehouse CD now. It’s pretty good, I like it. It’s mellower (seems to be the thing to do these days), but it’s got stuff that fans of their older rock material will dig.

The book I picked up is essentially like one big long interview with Bono of U2, only each chapter is a different session that the author sat down and spoke with him. So I guess it’s like a bunch of interviews together making one big long one. Bono speaks about a number of things; some he hasn’t spoken about before. He talks about the band, the music, his faith, politics, and tons more. It sounds somewhat boring, but it honestly isn’t from what I’ve read so far by skimming the book. It should be a good, educational read. Now I just need to find the time…

When we came back from the city I had some supper and then my sister decided to want to watch Raise Your Voice (I guess she was on a Hilary Duff kick or something). She hadn’t seen it before this time around either, so it was a new experience for both of us. It was alright too I guess… There was a guy with a cool accent in it.

Tomorrow is update on Renown Magazine time. Man, I’ve got so much stuff to do for that site in general… But we will have four new reviews and an interview sometime tomorrow for, as I said in the previous entry. More content will come once I’m able to get my feet firmly planted on the floor again…

Now another week begins and I’m back at it. What new surprises will be in store for me this time? Who knows… I smell something big is possibly brewing though…

Well, that’s it for me tonight gang. Remember to check out Renown Magazine tomorrow and read the new content, then tell me what you think.

Godspeed.

Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the one going crazy of them all? I am!!

Things have been insane for the past couple of weeks, especially this week. Renown has been very demanding and draining, it seems I’m requested to go to quite a number of shows in the next little bit. I’ve got possible shows on March 11th, 13th, 29th, 31st, April 2nd, and April 5th just to name some. Crazy.

I’ve got two interviews this week coming up, I have one of them ready and it looks like it could be an amusing one depending on how the band answers the questions. I haven’t even had time to start the next one yet, that’s going to have to be tomorrow or Thursday, which is cutting it close as the interview is Friday. But I’m sure it’ll be good too.

Since things are so crazy this week though, I can pretty much promise you that there won’t be an update on Monday. Sorry gang! But the week after that I should have an interview or two at least for you.

Today I got my complimentary copy of the Today’s New International Version (TNIV) in the mail. It’s pretty cool. It’s not a study Bible per se, as there aren’t any extra notes throughout the Bible. There’s just a bit of study info at the front and that’s about it — the rest is just the Bible text itself. Which is fine, considering it was free. I am actually primarily interested in reading the actual text itself to see how this new translation fairs. I haven’t had the time to really sit down and look at it that thoroughly, but I kind of like it so far.

It’s by the same people who did the NIV (which came out in 1976 — to show it it’s age), and they have been working on the TNIV for ten years now. The point of it is to make it more understandable to today’s culture, but using more modern-English grammar, vocabulary, etc. It’s supposedly not a huge enough change to alter any meanings, it’s just more modernized so – as I just stated – today’s culture can understand it easier. You can view examples here.

Right now the NIV is the most common used translation of the Bible. Will this replace it? Honestly, I’m not sure yet as I haven’t read enough of it… but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did eventually from the looks of it.

It’s causing a lot of controversy though, since some people don’t like the idea of “modernizing” the Bible as it automatically seems to put the idea of compromise in their heads. I don’t seem to think that’s the case here though; modernizing doesn’t always mean compromising. Wasn’t the NIV controversial when it first released? It only takes time to let the dust settle and then maybe more people will view it unbiasedly.

But again, I have yet to read much of it…so who knows, perhaps there is truth to the critics. I’m not really sure what exactly they are against, I’ll have to look into it more. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong and you know something I don’t, which wouldn’t be hard as I don’t know an excessive amount yet about it other than what’s on the official website I linked to above.

You can order copies of them in bulk though from their store, which is kind of cool… cases of 24 paperbacks (the simple one I have) are only $1.99 each. I think I might do that. There’s this one cover that’s funny… it’s called “The End Of The World As We Knew It.” You can see it by clicking here. I wouldn’t mind picking it up just because it’s amusing, even if it ends up that the translation isn’t as good.

I ended up getting the yellowish paint-textured looking one, with a box/frame and a bird painted in black on it… It looks not too bad and kind of artsy, but the other one is more amusing. You can see the one I got here.

Anyway, I’m out for now gang… Tomorrow I’m working from 11 to 4:30, then I’ve got renown work before and after that. Hooray, hoorah.

Godspeed.