Wow- Had a great Men's Group this morning with my friend Shaw, and JMC. We discussed differing appraches to the Bible- and the a-priori assumptions people bring to the text. Very lively discussion indeed. I am truly grateful for opportunities to have non-hostile dialogue on these topics.

After a couple of meetings I ran a couple of errands and almost died. (I was riding my vespa)

The light turned green and I paused a second. THe next moment two red pick-up trucks ran the light. I would have died for sure. I was shocked-- but my shock turned to rage. But then I realized what a blessing it was not to get killed. Thank-You Jesus from saving my life from dumb-ass drivers!

Now Listening: Johnny Cash-- Bitter Tears

45 of the day: The Nashville Teens
Side A: I Like It Like That -This song sucks
Side B: Tobacco Road -A Little Better- But these guys are a bunch of British Invasion Wanna-Be's
year: 1964

Today I planned to take the kids on a date from 10-5, and right off the bat the phone started ringing. All stuff of great import, etc- but tuff nonetheless. I eventually was able to steal out with the kids to go fishing. We used wheatie balls with vanilla extract just like Rev. Jim suggested- but we caught no fish. We were fishing the olenscrungy. Ian informed me that it would have been much smarter to go fishing at Grandpa Steve and Grandma Manu's because we had caught 10 fish there last week. My attempts to explain the thrill of fishing the Olentangy vs. the Suburban Stocked pond fell on deaf ears. We capped of the day with some amazing ice-cream at Denise's.

Thanks to ken Epstein at Evil Empire Records I had two free passes for a pre-showing of Batman Begins. My first choice for accompanyment was my Brother in Law John Hickman. He has been following the development of this movie from it's inception. I had almost no expectations for this flick- But I was completely blown away.

This will definitly be the movie of the Summer. It completely makes up for all the previous for piece-of-crap Batman films. THis more than made up for the dreadful Revenge of the Sith.

I ran into all my buddies from the Laughing Ogre as well- and by chance ran into Josh (SSS) and Kat (Artful Dodger) with Josh's Mom going to see another film. Columbus is the largest small town in the world.

Currently Listening to "Rare Surf Vol 1: The South Bay Bands"

amazing tunes.

Ian the Ethicist!

I'm hanging with Ian tonight and he is telling m about how nervous he is about school next year. He has been asking me why people pick on other people. Suddenly he changed topic- Just like his daddy. He said the following 2 minutes ago (actual quote:)

"isn't war really boring . . . cause they all get killed and hurt each-other. . . that is so un-smart!"

--Ian

"And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

--Jesus Christ (as recorded in Matthew 18:3)

My First Blog Confession: MEA CULPA!!!

&%@*@

I did it again. I messed up a lunch appt. with Andy Whitman.

A couple of Months ago I totally blew him off. Last Week because of my confusion I was late by 30 minutes.

And this week-- I forgot where we were supposed to meet. I racked my brain for 30 minutes and thought Element was a good guess. 5 minutes after our appointment I thought I would scoot to "Yeah Me Too" coffee shop to see if that was the place. Jovan said i just missed Andy.

Andy-- I'm so sorry (as In "I'm a sorry excuse for a _______) !

Jovan was glad to meet you- he'd actually been looking forward to it after reading a bunch of Paste issues.

I treasure our time together and regret wasting yours.

Please Forgive me.

Andy- I don't know why I screw up our appointments. I managed to meet with Bill, Amanda, Zach, and Gary with no problem.

arggggghhh!

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45 of the day: Frankie Avalon: a-"A Boy Without A Girl" b-"Bobby Sox to Stockings"-- This single sucks. I much prefer Annette's music.

weddings!

I had the awesome privilige of officiating my Cousin Justin's wedding to Julie! I actually got a little chocked up during the ceremony. I love these guys. I ended up reconfiguring my talk 5 minutes b4 the ceremony- but I was able to shoot from the heart. THe reception was a blast- My kids danced the whole time. I will post some pics and video later. Ian is still talking about the ceremony. He keeps talking about how he loved Jade's toast. It really moved him.

The Next day I was able to open the wedding ceremony for Jeff and Teresa. Another truly beautiful wedding. I even got to DJ it.

Both Ceremonies were very happy occasions.

Last night went to SuperSonicScooters with Ian to Pick up the ET4. Scott Smallwood was kind enough to give Ian his own official Super Sonic Scooters racing shirt. Ian is official now. Afterwords Ian and i road around for awhile and eventually stopped at Talita's for Dinner. He surprised me with A Bob Dylan Impersonation of "All I Really Wannd Do." He got the voice dead on. Adrienne is such a good mommy.

That night I finnally got to watch the season finale of Lost- Wow!

45 of the day: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: side a- 3rd Day Theme, side b-Taste of Honey
--Great Summertime music. Gives me the back-yard picnic kind of vibe and reminds me of my Grandpa Nick.