Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder looks hilarious to me. But it's getting some bad press because of degradation of the mentally disabled by using the term retard. It's interesting to hear the different viewpoints on it. I read two today, this one saying it's horrid and should not be shown because of its offensiveness, and this one explaining why they used the word retard. I agree with the second one. Basically he says that it's an R-rated film where hopefully mature audiences will get that it's not an appropriate word to use in a demeaning fashion. Also, he mentions the context in which the word is used

Adults should have the ability to process the jokes employed by "Tropic Thunder" within the context of the film and recognize that the joke doesn't target those with disabilities. It satirically takes aim at actors who exploit roles in which they play disabled characters in order to garner acclaim and win awards. Since children might not be able to make that connection or understand that context, the R-rating serves a strong role

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The trailer looks hilarious, though. Can't wait to see it, but that probably means once it's on video. JM

Kid Songs

I have to listen to a lot of kid music, either on TV as part of the daily noggin watching that occurs at my house, or in the car whilst transporting my offspring to random activities. If you listen to enough of these songs, you really start to appreciate some of them. Right now I'm totally digging this one Backyardigans song called "Nobody's bigger than a giant". While the lyrics may not necessarily speak to your soul or anything remotely meaningful like that, I think the tune is catchy and absolutely love the synth. Listen for yourself, if you think you can handle it. JM

What Inspires You?

So the other day in a meeting we were asked "what inspires you?" I didn't know the answer. At least not the root of it. I like stories. Especially when they're well told. I derive a lot of inspiration from them. I specifically mentioned Rudy, which is close to being the most inspirational movie of all time.
The more I thought about it, the more that I realized that I like people who beat the odds. I've always described myself as a punk. If somebody says something can't be done, then I like to try to find a way to do it. I like doing things when they're improbable. When the odds are stacked against me. When I don't have all the resources. When all it takes is a lot of work and discipline. That's what inspires me. JM

Full Apologies

Ran across this site tonight called fullapologies.com. It's got videos of kids who have killed somebody while driving drunk and they're apologizing to people close to the people who died. It's really interesting and moving. It looks like the site also has some tools to help kids not drive drunk. Worth looking at. Watch the one by "Ashley B" after you read the little bio about her. It's amazing the amount of grief that girl is feeling because she killed her best friend. Interesting line in her apology: "I'm the one that deserves to die." Deserves, not deserved. Sad.
Great idea to hopefully make the consequences of driving drunk more real. JM

Ana

So last night we were over at a friends house. My daughter loves to dress up, so she put on an Alabama jersey and some pants. Then she put on these glasses and this little woolen hat. By the end of this process, she looked like an old lady. Here she is modeling her new duds. It's so stinking cute.

Of course, she doesn't always like dressing up. Like today at lunch we were out at Moe's. She was wearing a pretty little pink dress. Then she decided to take off her diaper and lift up her dress to show the world how white her butt was. Hypocrisy. JM

Staff Meeting

We have an all-day staff meeting tomorrow. This could be really good or really bad. If people talk and share and are open and honest, then it will be honest. But if people just kind of sit there and do as they're told and don't offer input, it will be extremely lame. We'll see how it turns out. JM

Nice Jugs

I may regret that title later, but have you seen the new milk jugs that wal-mart is using. They're way more efficient because every side is perfectly flat. I think it will be huge and we'll all be using them within the next 18 months because of the savings in shipping. Here's a picture of the new milk jug next to a current one. JM

Out Of Sorts

So I'm back from Romania. I still feel a little jet-lagged or whatever, but it's getting better. I'm hoping to get back to a normal schedule soon.
I'm so pumped about actually getting back into school year ministry again. The consistency of it is awesome. Also, I'm really excited about trying to pour into my leaders and spending time with them. Should be a great year. It's so cool that my job is something that I'm so passionate about. JM

Sad

So sad right now. I leave for Romania tomorrow morning for 12 days. 12 days without seeing my wife, my son, and my daughters. Hopefully the trip will go by quickly. Pray for my wife as she'll have all 3 kids all by herself for 12 days. Pray for our team's safety and effectiveness. I'm tired now, but still have a lot of stuff to do tonight. JM

Home Run Derby

I watched a re-air of the first round of the home run derby today just so I could see Josh Hamilton. It was incredible. Such an amazing story of how far he's come in such a short time. It was cool to see just how excited he was to be there and how much he was in genuine disbelief that God had blessed him that much. It was also amazing to watch the fans rally behind him and start chanting "Hamilton" as they watched him smash home runs into the night sky. Here's a video I found from the bleachers in the stadium. Amazing to watch it fly so far. JM