(Rolling Stone) The Record Industry's Decline -- How It All Went Wrong

Very interesting! Click the "Read More" like for more...Record sales are tanking, and there's no hope in sight. The major labels are struggling to reinvent their business models, even as some wonder whether it's too late. "The record business is over," says music attorney Peter Paterno, who represents Metallica and Dr. Dre. "The labels have wonderful assets -- they just can't make any money off them."

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6/28/07 - The Power of Prayer

So, yesterday I lost the family guinea pig. I tried for a long time to find her in the dead of night. I prayed like mad for her return as I was going to sleep last night, and then again when I woke up this morning.

Laura & the kids came home just to look for the pig. Within 20 minutes, they found her. Praise Jesus! :)

DVD Frustrations

Yesterday I was trying to watch a DVD on my laptop. Since the error correction isn't very good, it kept getting stuck at chapter 8. I tried 4 different times to eject the disc, clean it, & reinsert it. Every single time I had to sit through the FBI warnings, in multiple languages (on a region 1 disc! But that's another story.) Since bedtime was nearing, I wanted to finish the movie before I collapsed from exhaustion. I eventually decided to skip the trouble making chapters to solve the problem. I had already seen the movie years ago, so skipping 2 chapters wasn't the end of the world. But the most annoying part was the cumulative 15 minutes I had to wait before I even got to the menu.

The poster is right, sometimes it just pays to pirate.

June 26, 2007

Do you ever wish you had a video camera that could record your thoughts? Tonight I was at 1-Thing, and while the guys were praying for me, I hod so many thoughts running thru my head. From ways to connect spiritually with my kids, to the wonderful gift of grace God has bestowed upon me. Vision after vision. Of course, by the time I could get home, I had forgotten most of it. The one thing though, that has not left my head/heart is the desire to teach my children about Jesus. Knowing that God loves you no matter what is just so awesome.

I got home and called Laura. We discussed a bit about ways I can assist in a sort of prayer time with the kids. She gave me an example of what we could do. I didn't like it. It's not that I didn't like the idea per se, it's just that I don't think it's me. She suggested that I "sit in" on a few times until I can get the hang of it. I think that sounds like a grand idea.

God told us that we (men) are the spiritual leaders of the family. I'm pretty sure that I'm still leadint the family spiritually even if I'm not nevesarily the one leading them in prayer. That's good to know. Praise Jesus!

June 23, 2007

My final exam starts today. I've been married for 9 years. For 94% of that time has been spent with my wife (excluding work of course). This week she's taking the kids to house sit a friend's house. I am going to be all by myself. Dinner, grocery shopping, etc. I'm nervous. It's been years since I've had to do that by myself. I think the most intimidating part is, I'm not going to have anyone there to hold me accountable.

"God, help me this week as I live without my fam. Help me devote more time to you and your word. This is a critical time, & I don't want to screw it up. Father, I thank you for your grace everyday. Even if I don't verbalize it, know that in my heart I am grateful. Follow my family this week, & keep them safe. Amen."

June 22. 2007

I am reminded about a minor incident with a friend a few years ago. He was driving his family to church as was I. To make a long story short he turned right in front of me. I was close enough that I could clearly see all their faces. And of course there was Laura with her hands pressed against the dashboard. We later met up after service like we would usually do. I gave him a hard time, with a smile on my face. He said, "you must have gunned it from the light." I did. We were late. I was able to forgive him with just a shrug; you know, because he's human. And humans tend to make mistakes.

Applying that same philosophy to strangers is just so difficult to me. I think because often I feel that the mistakes people are making are just so obvious. I feel I can justify my lack of forgiveness because whatever they've done is their fault. How unChristlike is that?? I mean sheesh! The funny thing is, God's perspective is the same. My mistakes are so obvious. How can he(I) make them?

"Day of Silence" protest by Internet radio on June 26

A number of Internet radio stations will be participating in a Day of Silence on June 26 to protest the retroactive royalty rate increases due to go into effect on July 15. Organized by Kurt Hanson, publisher of the Radio and Internet Newsletter, the protest is designed to remind listeners that silence is "what the Internet could be reduced to... Click the link for more details.



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June 18-21, 2007

These last few days I've really not wanted to write anything; been kind of cranky too.

Countless times, when I've thought to myself, "was I this whiney?" And the answer is, most likely. I think one of the highest things on the Annoying Meter is kids' whining. That's why it's so prevalent in those kids comedy movies. All parents can identify with their children whining.

I'm sure God listens to us whine & shakes his head at us. The beauty of Him though, is that he had the grace to handle it. If only parents could have even a fraction of His grace to bestow on their children...

Jume 18, 2007

Father's Day. Since the kids were at their gramma's this weekend, we delegated today as Father's Day. As soon as I walked thru the door, Tess was there to yell out, "Happy father's day!" It really warmed my heart. I had forgotten. Tessa was there to remind me.

June 17, 2007

Lately, I've been searching for something to pray about. This morning, at church, the message I heard was "Pray for your children." It was kind of weird to hear something so obvious, yet so important. I knew that, yet I commonly neglected.

"Father, you are the Almighty Father. Teach me what it really means to be a (good) father. Watch over my kids. Guide them in ways that I am unable..."

June 16, 2007

No post today. I really didn't feel like it.

June 15, 2007

It's funny what a little Chris Tomlin in the car early in the morning will do.

I was reminded of why Laura & I started to attend church.

We were in the car on the way to something, and she had WMUZ on the radio. It had been the um-teenth time she had it on while we were in the car, & I was tired of it. As I was arguing to remove the Christian "crap" from the radio, she was arguing to keep it. She unloaded. She said something about how she has exhausted all other resources, & she was trying to make her attempt to seek God in hopes that He could solve our problems. By then the tears were rolling down her cheek. IT occurred to me then, that this was my fault, and the pain swelled in my chest.

That was the first time my heart was truly broken,,,and I, was the one that broke it.

Shortly after this conversation, we received the famous Genesis vodka flier. And God saved the day.

June 14, 2007

Anxiety. We all have varying degrees of it. Some of us may even need medication to get a handle on it.

As I've mentioned before, a friend of mine is struggling with some personal issues. I know I need to plant the seed, but I don't know how to do it. How do you tell someone, who probably has no history of Jesus in their life, "Just hand your anxiety over to Jesus"?

Nightmare at Reagan Airport

This is so disgusting. ...and people wonder why I have a problem with authority. (Click thru to read)



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June 13, 2007

Sometimes, I wonder if serving on the Tech Team @ Genesis is really "serving." Laura reminded me that it must be if I'm willing to be there for setup at 6am on Sunday, when she finds it so difficult to get me up.

June 12, 2007

Grace. It seems to be a common theme here. As I was going to bed last night (
Tuesday), I realized that one thing I'm really lacking is the ability to extend grace.

I get cranky when my body needs to rest. In fact, I often use my crankiness measurement to determine my bedtime. I was all ready for bed when I noticed a few things in the bedroom that weren't right. My crankiness meter went through the roof.

As I lie there falling off to sleep, I kept thinking that there are so many things I bitch about, but yet I don't help with. "What a dick." I thought. Then came the lightbulb.

"Jesus, you have blessed me with never ending grace. Teach me how to extend that to others, especially my family. I'll take baby steps, but I think in this case, more aggressive steps are needed. Thank you Lord for your awesome example of love."

photo by Hanzabean

June 11, 2007

So, today I had a couple of thoughts.

On my drive home, I kept getting disgusted at other drivers. Normally I try to relax a bit on the drive home; not let things get to me. I can often get away with it. Today, I wasn't so lucky. Usually my driving frustration stems from others not following the rules, mostly due to ignorance. Today was no different. After a few grumblings, I turned down the radio & did a little reflection. The more I thought about how absurd I was being, & that I can make the same mistakes, the more I realized how hard it is to kick the "habit." Which leads me to my second thought...

I received a pamphlet of sorts via email the other day that somebody from my church thought I should read. I was looking for some down time so I thought I'd give it a go. I opened up page one and started reading. Immediately my mind started thinking about the "chore" of reading this document. It didn't take long for my thoughts to proceed to a statement of, "I don't feel very Christ Like these days."

Yikes! That was a true statement. I later did a little more reflection and thought, if I don't start walking back to Him, things will go down hill. I've been there before.

Jesus, help me walk back toward you. Remind me that you are what I need, & nothing else.

June 10, 2007

Today I want to talk about my awesome wife. Since the night before was kind of ucky, I spent most of Sunday recovering. I did manage to mow the lawn, & plant grass seed, so that was good. But on the whole, I just lounged around.
Laura was a sweetheart. She made me lunch, lemonade. She even made me steak with sautéd mushrooms & onions for dinner. She was very nice to me all day, when she could have been annoyed that I wasn't pulling my weight around the house.
It just goes to show that God really has blessed me with a real soul mate, and blessed her with the gift of grace. I don't thank God enough for her. I think I'm gonna start.

June 9, 2007

Saturday night I went to bed early. I wasn't feeling good, so it felt good to get some extra rest. I the middle of the night I prayed to have God take away my suffering. I was having some serious stomach pain. The Lord granted my request. About a half hour later, I woke up to throw up everything remaining in my stomach. It wasn't quite what I was asking for, but it worked. I fell back to sleep in no time.

I am reminded that we may not always get exactly what we ask for, but the results often are.

June 8, 2007

Pathetic. I failed miserably at my post for today. Oops, my bad.

June 7, 2007

There's a guy here at work that is having a tough time. He's been married for less than a year and in the beginning stages of a divorce. Even considering the national statistics for divorce, I wouldn't chalk him up as another statistic. From what I could tell, he really made an effort. His wife had already made up her mind.

Being a complete outsider, it was hard for me to have a real understanding of how he felt for her. Given his current state, I'd say he really cared for her.

I've been meaning to talk to him about it, but the opportunity hasn't really risen. I prayed last night for God to setup a situation that will motivate both of us.

June 6, 2007

Ok, this daily journal thing is tough! I had my Married Men group meeting last night. The main topic was Fathering. We talked about the good, the bad, & how we can change the path with which our fathers & grandfathers have set us on. It was pretty cool, and yet intimidating to realize all the effect you have on the generations to come. We also discussed journaling. :)

Yesterday (6/6) I have to say, my Godly influence was limited to this men's group & my family. I'm willing to accept that for the time being. Prayer was light, but not insignificant.

June 5, 20007

Last night (6/5) I was thinking about when would be a good time to show my kids (mainly Carly) some of the great movies of our time, that aren't appropriate for children.

• The Doors
• Apocalypse Now
• Pulp Fiction

are just a few that came to mind. 18? Man, I don't want to wait that long. That's 11 more years! 17? When is a good time? I continued to watch Apocalypse Now Redux. Then I started thinking, maybe 25 would be better. I was getting the impression that God was telling me not to expose my kids to this kind of movie. Then I came to the conclusion that if it's not OK for my Carly at any age, then I shouldn't even be watching this...

I didn't really like that kind of thinking; not that I should be allowed to see whatever I want, but just the mere fact that I really like that movie (and others like it).

For the past few years I have been trying to filter what I see. I've been using film reviews (usually designed to inform parents of what not to show their children) to help me decide what not to see; e.g. Saw.

The struggle I keep having though, is movies like these are true art forms that represent our culture. The problem with these art forms, is that the all contain parts that are just inappropriate. I think I will just keep my current plan: No >PG movies until at least 13. That'll give me another 6 years...

Loo's first experience with DRM

About a month ago, Laura received a bunch of free-download coupons for the iTunes store. After she downloaded a few songs she was eager to try them out. She said, "OK, let's put them on my phone (LG Chocolate)" I said, "sorry, no can do. You'd need an iPod to do that." I won't buy an iPod, but that's another story.

She asks me why she can't put it on her phone. I say, "That's DRM for ya." She says, "wha?" I repeat, "DRM." She continues to look at me with a blank stare.
She says, "What the hell? I just 'bought' these songs. How am I supposed to listen to them?"
I said, "You can listen to them on my computer."
She says, "I don't want to listen to them on my computer, I want to listen to them on my phone!"
Then I mention the burn-rip-transfer work-around. She was fine with that.

I think she was ok with the work-around, because she/we don't buy music (especially @ $.99 per song) online) very often. Most of the CDs I get these days come from Lala.

I think she represents a very common demographic. People want their music where & how they want it; and are usually willing to jump through a few hoops to get it that way.

Weird...divine fate?

So, I'm reading a cool book for my monthly men's group. After each chapter there is a quiz of sorts. I just read this from the end of chapter 9:

2. Try keeping a journal for one week, recording how much time you spend and how much insight you gain in cultivating your relationship with God, the ultimate father.

I wonder what God's telling me? :)

June 4, 2007

The stress is starting to mount. I have 3 chapters to read in a book for my mens group by Wednesday; Laura just called me to tell my our 2yo laptop is dead; and we're having family over for dinner tonight, consisting of about 10 additional people. Oh, the agony.

I remember letting my mind wander yesterday at church when Beau was announcing the Real World Genesis. I heard God tell me for the zillionth time that prayer is the one thing I need to be challenged in. I thought about what it would be like to film myself for a few minutes a day, everyday for a week, about my struggles with prayer in my life. (I thought I could "cheat" by actually going to 1-thing, but I don't like to cheat at anything.)

I think that now (and later) calls for a time of prayer. Maybe some prayer for stress relief, & help when it comes to the problems to face ahead.

Picture by LastExit on Flickr

I am going to make a commitment to make a daily blog entry for 30 days, even if it's short. These entries aren't intended to be 'public' per se, but all are welcome to read.
Mark