Autumn

The chill in the air, as a breeze rustles through.
The smell of the moist ground.
Autumn: It’s almost here. 
The flood of memories,
The excitement that comes with the changing of the season.
The relief from the heat of summer.
Fresh beginnings.
A time of gathering up; harvest, 
Of death and resurrection
A leaf on a tree falling to earth
The beauty even in death; with hope of resurrection

 

Night Sky

Weary from traveling all day and into the night,
     he unloaded his rucksack and laid out his bedroll on the grass.
As he lay there surrounded only by nature, unafraid
     of being alone, he gazed up to the heavens.
The moon looked like a shiny new dime; bright and glimmering in the night sky,
     illuminating the world with a soft and silvery glow.
Stars were scattered through the sky as if they were grains of salt
     spilled across a dusty, dark blue tablecloth.
Bunches of clouds sailed across the night sky
     like triple-masted ships departing a harbor,
     eager to be on their way; their white sails full with a stiff wind.
“In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth.”
With this in mind, he closed his eyes and drifted peacefully to sleep.

 

Cardinals & Snow

Here is a little film I made this morning while it was 15 degrees F and snowing outside.
‘Cardinals & Snow’

 

Fragments

Sitting here in darkness staring into orange and black, with bits of blue flame flickering now and again; the remains of a log in the fireplace. Plenty of heat still radiating from it, warming my body and soul.

It’s hard to focus – my mind is cluttered with fragments. So many thoughts swirling around. A few notes from a song I heard on the radio, sorrow for friends who lost a daughter and sister, a word or two of a conversation, images of things I saw today, remembrance of the nightmares from last night. It’s difficult to clear my head and unwind a little.

I wish there were someone sitting next to me. I want to hear their story and let them hear mine. Share hopes and fears, or even just to sit here and stare into the glowing embers with me.

I should really get some sleep. Creativity always seems to come at the wrong moments, and is so fleeting.

One thing that’s clear in all this jumble: I need to spend some time in prayer.

 

It’s been a while

Well, I know it’s been a while since I last made an entry on this blog. So I just wanted to make a quick post on here, to let people know that I’m still here. I haven’t died or disappeared from the state/country/continent/Earth/universe. 🙂

I am working on a new blog post, it should prove to be interesting. I just got back from a Scout trip this past weekend visiting several places. More on that to come soon…

I am also working on a schedule to post more regularly; even if it’s just a quick note about what I’ve been doing recently.

Here is a trailer for a music video (short film) I was working on a little over a year ago, but then I didn’t have time to finish. I hope to finish it soon though.

I’m also saving up for a new video camera, because I would like to pursue film-making more actively.

 

Independence Day

So, I’ve been thinking about American Independence Day, also known as the 4th of July.

To start with, every year on July 4th, my Dad, Tim (brother) and I run sound for two reviewing stands for the Arlington, TX – 4th of July Parade. I’ve been doing a reviewing stand or helped with one for close to 10 years now.
Anyway, I got to realizing how many people don’t mention it being Independence Day. They just say 4th of July or, what’s worse: “Happy 4th!”.   What the heck is that supposed to mean?
I wonder if people from other countries, are thinking: “What on Earth is so significant to Americans about the 4th of July.” I mean we make a huge deal out of it, people go out to the lake and fish/boat/water-ski, shoot off tons of fireworks, flag wave, get feeling all patriotic for a few hours, have cookouts, party like crazy, etc…

Now, that is not to say that any of that is bad. Not at all! But my point is, how many people actually realize what and why they are celebrating? That got the wheels in my head turning, is this holiday getting like Cinco De Mayo is in the US? Which I honestly didn’t even know why it was celebrated. I did a little research and found out that it commemorates the The Battle of Puebla, where the Mexican army were victorious of the French forces in 1862. But it’s not even their Independence day, and in Mexico is only celebrated in the State of Puebla where it is called El Día de la Batalla de Puebla (or The Day of the Battle of Puebla —  in English).

In my opinion, American Independence Day has become way too watered down. The American People need to realize that July 4th, 1776 was a major point in our history. Men were willing to risk their lives, and if caught would be hanged for treason for just signing a document declaring independence from British rule. We should be celebrating God’s grace and blessing in giving us freedom from tyranny. Celebrating freedom from tyranny of British Rule. Unfortunately, we are in just as much danger of tyranny in our own country today. But, be thankful that we still live in a country with relative freedom and safety.
God is merciful to free us from the tyranny of sin through Jesus Christ. The tyranny of sin, which is far worse than George III was to the colonies.

Give thanks and pray for God to grant us repentance, reformation and restoration of Godly heritage.

Happy Independence Day, y’all!  🙂

 

The day came slow, till five o’clock…

Emily Dickinson (1830–86).

THE DAY came slow, till five o’clock,
Then sprang before the hills
Like hindered rubies, or the light
A sudden musket spills.

The purple could not keep the east,
The sunrise shook from fold,
Like breadths of topaz, packed a night,
The lady just unrolled.

The happy winds their timbrels took;
The birds, in docile rows,
Arranged themselves around their prince
(The wind is prince of those).

The orchard sparkled like a Jew,—
How mighty ’t was, to stay
A guest in this stupendous place,
The parlor of the day!

My days seem like this sometimes, but weeks too. Usually a week is just dragging by until Wednesday, when *whoosh*. The next thing you know, it’s Sunday!

 

Leap Day.

Today marks anyone being 4 years older than on last leap day. No big revelation there, but I was thinking today about birthdays, special days and thought: “Hmm…people always ask if you feel any older on your birthday or anniversary. Most people reply, ‘No.’ and then everyone usually laughs or smiles, because you don’t usually feel any older.
But, I think a neat thing to do is think back through that period of time – whether it be a month, year or 4 years – and think about all the areas of your life that you’ve grown and matured in, or ways in which God has blessed you throughout.

Now, I honestly can’t remember what I was doing on this day 4 years ago. But days and events are reminders and place-markers in our lives. Sometimes it seems like time keeps on moving faster faster, and it’s easy to grumble about it, or forget to stop and give thanks to God. It’s amazing how much can occur in your life in a day or week, much less in a year or 4 years. Reflecting on things that have happened during a period of time, and definitely giving a prayer of thanks for everything God has done in your life, is certainly a good start. This is not only a good practice with birthdays and other special days, but every day.

(By the way, my birthday is not on leap day, it’s late in March, just to clarify things)

So enjoy the last hour and ten minutes of leap day in 2012, reflect and give thanks to God who rules over all.

And…enjoy this song called ‘The Gambler’, by the band ‘fun.’ . I like it a lot.

 

Words that paint a picture

Sunday night I was laying in bed contemplating lots of things and eventually trying to sleep when I had a burst of writing inspiration. This is what resulted from that:

A Night in Early November 

In my bed by an open window.
A nice cool breeze blowing across my face,
No doubt the outdrafts of the storm to the North.
With the sound of wind-chimes and… what’s that?
A freight train blowing its horn off in the distance.
The moon is bright and clear. Enough so that I
Can see across the yard and view the shadow
Patterns the leaves in the trees are making
On the ground.

Now, I hear the light rumble of thunder, and
See a flash of lightning in the sky from the storm.
The sound of geese honking in flight comes to
My ears, and I’m praying that – soon will be the
Drip-drop and pitter-patter of rain.
This is what comes to my senses, laying on my
Bed, on a Sunday night in early November.

 

I have another much overdue post coming up soon…

 

Sound, Cinema, and Parade

A friend of mine posted this song on their Facebook a while back and I really liked it. I’ve been listening to it lately.

So, for July 4th every year for the past several years (except 2008), my Dad, brother Tim and I run sound at 2 reviewing stands along the route of the Arlington 4th of July parade. I’ve helped out with it for 7+ years now, and the last 3 years, I’ve done one reviewing stand by myself. So with that in mind, this year was very similar to last year. We had decided to go a day early with the van loaded with the sound gear we would need, and spend the night close-by the parade route in Arlington. This would be much better because our house is over 1 hour away from Arlington and since they start closing the streets of at 7:00 am, we would need to have all of our gear for each stand dropped off by then.

Dad, Tim and I also had to help the church that meets before ours with some sound issues. Sunday morning we loaded all of the gear in the van that we would need to help the church, and for each reviewing stand for the parade. We left early so that we would have time to set-up before there service started, Mom and the rest of the family would follow later in the car for our church service.

We got to church and set-up all the gear that they needed. As soon as their service was over, we tore down all the gear and set-up for our church’s service. After that, we loaded back into the van the things we would need for the parade the next day. It was decided that us guys would go eat lunch and see a movie since it was only 3:00 pm and we didn’t need to be in Arlington until after supper. Mom and the rest of the family had just left church when my Dad’s cell phone rang. They had a low/almost flat tire on the car that Mom was driving. So, they came back to the church parking lot. Dad, Tim and I changed into some different clothes for the rest of the day and took a look at the tire. Mr. White (a man from our congregation) had not left yet, and he had some Fix-A-Flat in his car. He added it to the tire, but it was still not completely full and it was hissing air out quickly. Dad decided to take the car to Sam’s Club to see if they could fix it. It turns out that it was a side-wall crack probably due to them being old/dry tires (it was my grandparents’ car that they do not drive very often) So they put the donut spare tire on, and Mom and the rest of family went to my grandparents’ house to drop it off and have my grandfather drop them off at home.

Following all of that, Dad, Tim and I went just down the way to the mall. Dad dropped Tim and me at the entrance to the theater (or cinema as they say in Europe 😀 ) to see what was showing and the times. They had Super 8, and the showing was in 40 minutes. I called Dad, told him, and he said that he would park the van and meet us closer to the food court. Tim and I started walking to the other end of the mall met Dad on the way. We headed up the escalator and to the food court. Each of us got something different and as soon as we finished eating, walked back through the mall to the theater. Having a meal at the food court reminded me of the time that I went to lunch with all my friends at the mall in Monroe during the Pastor’s conference. Good times… 🙂

Anyway, so we got our tickets to Super 8 (all matinee pricing too) and found seats in the theater just a few minutes before the time of the showing. They then proceeded to show a few short commercials (one of them had Rhett and Link in it) and then 15 minutes of previews. O.o
I was very interested to see Super 8 partly because I have several friends who personally know and are good friends with the actor who plays a main character in it, Joel Courtney who plays Joe Lamb in the movie. But also being interested in film myself, it intrigued me that the kids in the movie are making a film to be entered to a local film festival. The movie was very well filmed and acted, with a good parallel plot to the main one. It’s directed by JJ Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg, starring: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, and many others. It has a score by Michael Giacchino, who also did the music for the new Star Trek, Pixar’s: Incredibles, Ratatouille, UP and Cars 2, as well as several of the Medal of Honor game soundtracks.
I won’t give any of the story or conclusion away because if you haven’t seen it, I would recommend that you do see it, even if you wait until it comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray. You can check out the trailers, clips, and synopsis here at IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650062/.

The 4th of July parade went well this year, we got everything dropped off and got breakfast before they closed the streets. During the parade, the commentators mentioned something about a tour of Cowboys stadium that day, so after the parade, we went to Steak and Shake for lunch, and then went just down the street to Cowboys stadium. We got tickets for a self-guided tour and went on in. It was amazing. The video screen over the field is 160 feet wide and 72 feet tall. Anyway, to sum up: I rode an elevator with Babe Laufenberg, saw Drew Pearson, ran from the 50 yd line into the end-zone, saw the players locker room, and got a picture with Rowdy!

Me, Rowdy, and Tim.

Well I think this post is sufficiently long, so I will leave it at that. 🙂