Stronghold

Another entry into the d$'s Random Emails of Encouragement series...

I'm working on my Disney blog, telling a few stories of note, but this afternoon, I kinda (re)stumbled onto this via the iPod.  After listening to the song for like, four times in a row, noticing it was getting a bit dusty in the room, I thought it might be good reading for you, Coffee Drinker.  Perhaps someone out there might get some use out of it. 

The band Watermark is one of the Top Five most influential artists of my lifetime.  The lyrics of Nathan Nockel and the voice of his wife Christy have done so much to my Spiritual Walk that I was brokenhearted when they announced their breakup.  In fact, the track "Welcome to Delaware" is not only the title of the soon-to-be-never-forthcoming soundtrack to my own life, but thoughts of changing this site to be called "Welcome to Delaware" have crossed my mind... but its too complicated to do so.  Anyway, Watermark, you are missed. (I have Christy Nockel's solo CD, its just not the same..)

If I’m not mistaken, this was written for Laura DeGarmo, a friend of mine who is now in Nashville. Her cousin is actually Diana DeGarmo of American Idol fame, and her uncle is the DeGarmo of DeGarmo and Key (for you old-schoolers out there). I’m guessing if your name is DeGarmo, somehow you are a) musically inclined and b) related to Laura.  


Stronghold
This one is for my dear friend who needed a Stronghold last night…

One of my all time favorite movies is A Few Good Men. No sex, not a whole lot of language, only a few f-bombs, violence is minimal… featuring stellar performances from Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson and of course, Kevin Pollak, one of the truly great “That Guys”. (That Guy is a one of those actors or actresses in movies you see all the time but you don’t know who they are… That Guy Hall of Fame would include William H. Macy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Baker Hall, Don Cheadle and my favorite, Joe Pantoliano… you may not know any names, but you’d see them and say “Oh, That Guy!”… wait, I’m babbling)

Sidebar: Okay, so the most famous part of the A Few Good Men is Jack Nicholson’s “you can’t handle the truth” speech. Remember that one? Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) asks him about the incident, and Col. Jessep (Jack) says, “You want the truth?” and Kaffee says, “I want answers!” and Jessep says, “You want the truth?” and Kaffee says, “I think I’m entitled to it!” and then Jessep yells, “You can’t handle the truth!” and the proceeds to rant on about “we use words like honor, code, loyalty, we use those words as the backbone of a lifetime spent defending something, you use them as a punch line… who’s gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?... I’d rather you say thank you and be on your way, either way, I don’t give a darn to what you think you are entitled to…” After that incredible, powerful speech, you would think Kaffee would address it. No, he just skips it. His next question is, “Did you order the code red? “ After all that talking from Jessep, it could have been left out entirely, and it wouldn’t have mattered, because Kaffee’s line of questioning had nothing to do with his speech. Amazing.

  (warning, you might find these Non Emmy Turnbow Safe:  one illegitimate child reference, one d-word, one GD, and its on DIVX...)
Back to the point…

In this movie, two Marines are charged with the murder of a fellow Marine, a weaker guy who no one liked. Defending them is amateur lawyer Daniel Kaffee, and his partners are Lt. Sam Weinberg and Lt. Com. Jo Anne Galloway. There is a scene where Kaffee, Weinberg (Pollak) and Galloway (Moore) are standing in the courtroom, and Galloway asks Lt. Weinberg why he hates the defendants. He replies, “Because they picked on the little guy. They killed him. Why? Cause he couldn’t run fast.” Then he asks Galloway, “Why do you like them so much?”

“Because they stand on a wall. They say you can sleep tonight, because no one will harm you… not on my watch.”

That’s a powerful line. To know that someone is standing over you, saying, “It’s okay, you can relax. Nothing is going to harm you. Not while I’m here. Nothing.”

And it’s that way with God. He stands firm in front of us, and declares, “Child, no harm will come to you. Not while I’m here. Not on my watch.” And the most awesome, comforting thing to know is that, it’s always His watch. He’s always there. It’s not as if He’s going to go on break, so we have a few minutes we have to worry, until He comes back… He stands there like an ironclad Warrior and says, “I dare anything to come against you.”

Of course, things do come. He sometimes lets things go by Him. He allows things to happen to us because He knows it will glorify Himself in the long run… but those things go by with His knowledge. They don’t slip past Him undetected, where they can destroy us without Him even knowing about it. He stands and sometimes allows things to come, but then cautions those things, saying, “Don’t get cocky… I will protect my child.”

During worship, I often scribble in my notebook just whatever is in my head. Sometimes it’s the beginning of an encouragement that I feel I should write later, sometimes its just a thought I think I should remember later, sometimes its just whatever… last night it was a song lyric. There is a song by Watermark called Stronghold, and I began to write down the chorus…

Oh Lord, You’re my protection from my enemies
You set my high upon the rock and defend my soul
When their waves advance against me I am confident
They cannot make me less for You have made me whole
You are my Stronghold


You are my Stronghold

Then I began to realize how powerful this is… He is our stronghold. Stronghold. Two words, one meaning strength, power, might, the other meaning grasp, grip… Stronghold.

God then gave me a name to share this chorus with, so I did. She asked me to write it down for her, and I did. Some time later, I glanced over at her, and noticed she sat, notebook in hand, just stared at the words that I had written on the page. It was as if she were soaking it in, telling herself over and over that she had a Stronghold… reminding herself of that very fact. And the cool thing is we both have Strongholds in God. He is a rock that is our protection from all enemies. When the enemies advance, threatening to tear us down, they may succeed… but only with provision from the Stronghold.

There are some reading this that are being torn down right now. They are falling apart, no matter how great they look on the outside, on the inside they are in tatters, in pieces, in doubt that God is even listening to them… they know God listens to them, but only because its been drilled in their head from a lifetime of church, not because of recent experience. You feel sick, you feel weary, you feel disappointing, you feel that by now you should be so far ahead spiritually than where you are, but yet, you aren’t… Right now, you may feel less than worthy, right now you may feel less than anything God wants of His children…

But no matter what the enemy does to us, they cannot make us less than what we are, and that is complete in Christ. As a Christ-follower, we have been made whole in Him, and that cannot be taken away, no matter what is done to us, no matter how hard we crash on our knees, no matter what presses us… He has made us whole. He is your Stronghold. He has promised to make us everything we are to be. He is your Stronghold. He has promised to lift us up, He has promised to hug us, hold us, allow us to crawl in His lap, rest our head on His chest and just be. He is your Stronghold. His hug, his embrace is unlike that of anything that will ever diminish, unlike that of anything that is less than forever… for He is our Stronghold. He is your Stronghold. Our Father is so powerful, powerful enough to obliterate those that would hurt His children, gentle enough to calm us with a touch when we feel obliterated. He is our Stronghold.


Lord, You are my Light and my Salvation
Whom shall I fear if You are near?
Lord, You are my peace when there is war all around me
Even here inside me I will have no fear

Lord, You are my strength so let my head be lifted up
So that I may glory in the ways You’ve overcome
Lord, You are my hope, cause You created in me
A heart that lives the victory that You’ve already won

Oh Lord, You’re my protection from my enemies
You set me high upon the rock and You defend my soul
When their waves advance against me I am confident
That they cannot make me less for You have made me whole
You are my Stronghold, You are my Stronghold

A heart that lives the victory that You’ve already won. I just wiped a tear from my eyes as I read that line… A Victory You’ve Already Won. Wow. My Stronghold.

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear, though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

For in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling, he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me. Psalm 27: 1-3, 5-6

Written July 9th, 2002

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to 25K

I was trying to coincide post #500 with crossing the 25,000 page loads, but its not going to happen. I'd have to churn out three posts, with one of them being something extra special, in the next 24 to 36 hours, and its just not going to happen... but hey, if you come to the page and you notice the numbers "25,000" on the counter, let me know. Using the honor system, maybe I can get you a prize or something... I've been thinking of doing some sort of Clouds in My Coffee contest or gift or whatever.

FREDDIE ON MY TV
WWE Raw has had this ongoing thing the last several weeks where they've invited special "guest" hosts to run the program, ergo, the script writers just tell the celebrities what matches to announce, as opposed to telling the announcers what match to announce.

This is the reason that Freddie Prinze Jr has been on my television screen for the first time since the first (and thankfully, last) viewing of "Scooby Doo". He's the guest host on Raw tonight, and he's chumming it up with a guy named Santino Morella, which, I'll be honest, is one of the greatest parts about this show... he's stupid, he's hilarious and he's willing to look stupid in an effort to be hilarious.

MOVIE REVIEW!!
"Julie & Julia"... Oh, man I loved this movie. It helped quite a bit that it has Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with, but Meryl Streep is also fantastic... as always. It tells two stories, one being Julia Childs' beginnings in France as a cook and chef, while paralleling the story of Julie Powell, who is looking for something more in her life, and decides to take on the task of cooking all 524 of Julia Childs' recipes in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in a single year... and she blogs about it. And both stories are true, with Julia Childs being... well, Julia Childs, and Julie Powell actually having a real blog telling this adventure.


Its Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with. Even with short hair. At one point, I leaned over to The Lovely Steph Leann and said, "I think she's my Colin Firth".

The movie is great, it moves fast (despite its 2:04 running time) and is fun. The Lovely Steph Leann and I laughed throughout, there were a couple of "awww..." moments when I think The Lovely Steph Leann found the theater to be a little dusty, and I think I can now watch Amy Adams in just about anything. And call me old fashioned, and I guess this was only portrayed in the movie because that's how it was in real life... but I like the fact that Julie and Eric, her significant other, are married. Not just dating and living together, but married. Somehow that means something. Chris Messina is awesome as Eric, who goes through just as much as Julie does, trying to cope with his wife under this massive undertaking.

Sidebar... I did watch Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with, in a movie called "The Last Run", a movie I only watched because she was in it and I thought since she's emerged as my favorite actress, I'd catch up on her earlier work... it looked promising, with the two stars billed, in this order, Fred Savage and Amy Adams. It is absolutely terrible. Revolting. Horrible. Despite her name appearing 2nd in the credits, she's in it for about 8 minutes, if that. The rest of the movie is a grown up Kevin Arnold from the Wonder Years gettin' it on with random chicks, which none are Winnie Cooper so therefore, its disturbing.

The main Julie Powell story is based on a book called "Julie & Julia", which I have on audio and look forward to listening to. She also has her own blogsite she still keeps up, which does have a colorful use of the English language, so beware.

THE JOY OF STANLEY TUCCI
So this guy might be creeping up the list of my favorite actors. I don't know that he'd ever top it, cause I'd never mancrush on The Tuch like I mancrush on The Rock, but Stanley Tucci is in everything. And I don't mean "everything" like, Jon Voight and Samuel L. Jackson will take ANY job and is in EVERYthing, I mean "everything" as in, he's extremely versitile.



Check this out... amongst the 82 links he has on his IMDB resume, he's been an assassin ("The Pelican Brief"), he's been an elf ("A Midsummer Night's Dream"), he's been a gangter ("The Road to Perdition"), he's been a jerkweek airport administrator in the movie ranked 17th on TheDave 100, he's been Stanley Kubrick ("The Life & Death of Peter Sellers"), he's been a gay magazine assistant ("The Devil Wears Prada"), he's been a scientist (an abomination), and now, he's been the supportive and loving and loyal husband to Julia Childs, in another excellent performance.

You'll next see The Tuch as a very bad man in the upcoming adaptation of "The Lovely Bones", which, if the movie is as 1/4 as good as the trailer, I'm excited...



WE WAS PO' FOLKS LIVIN' IN A RICH FOLKS WORLD
...We sho' was a hungry bunch. If the wolf had ever come to our front door, he'd a had to brought a picnic lunch... Bill Anderson, 1961

Growing up on old country, when I see a Po' Folks restaurant, this is the song I think of--and why shouldn't I? This is where the restaurant name comes from. Po' Folks is one of those down home country eatin' places that serves collards and hamburger steak and (probably frozen) fried shrimp and fish and greens and not mashed potatoes, but mash'n taters and such.

Essentially, Hurricane Rhett & Lily B mentioned Po' Folks on their blog, and we had this exchange...

Me: Not gonna lie, I love me some Po’ Folks. They have one down in Enterprise, and used to have one in Dothan (maybe they still do). I took dates there. They had this deal with a BOWL of popcorn shrimp and a hamburger steak for $8.95. And it was good.

Lily B: Well I have good news for you d$! There’s one that just opened in my ‘hood, Pelham. It’s right on Hwy 31. Y’all come on down, ya hear?

So naturally, what did I do on Wednesday? I went on down to Pelham and visited not a Po' Folks... but a Po' Folks EXPRESS. Being a fast food conessouir that I am, I immediately recognized the building as an old Captain D's, first by the two front doors facing opposite sides, then by the long bar you have to walk around to get to the counter. It was around 2pm or so when I went, so there wasn't much traffic.


THIS was not the Po' Folks I visited, as this one looks like its in an old Bahama Breeze building. But I looked for the PFE online, and I got nothing.

I got called "sweetie" and "sugar" by the older lady behind the counter, which I not only expected, but welcomed. The server at Quizno's calls you "sweetie" and "sugar", walk away. The server at Po' Folks, however, it perfectly fine doing so. I studied the menu, considered the fish, thought about a burger, but elected to go for the All Day Buffet for only $5.99, which included the lunch bar, the salad bar and dessert.

What is on the buffet, you ask? Well, fried and baked chicken, fried fish, mash'n taters with thick brown gravy, green beans, fried chicken livers and a few other vegetable options. I loaded up my plate with a few pieces of chicken, a piece of fish, some green beans and some mash'n taters (no gravy) and decided to skip the salad bar. Not cause I don't really like salad much, but more because it didn't look too appealing.

While the mash'n taters were exceptional (I had seconds), the rest was... well, eh. It was pretty good. Not great. The dessert wasn't all that great either, with the only dessert option being banana pudding. Banana pudding is something that's hard to win me over on, having grown up with my mother's banana puddin' laced with whole Nilla Wafers. Is there anything better than unbroken, perfecting circular Nilla Wafers lining the edge of your helping of banana puddin'? Number one, baby, number one.

Go for the price, not for the food. Remember this was an "Express", not a real Po' Folks, though I'll be honest with you, I don't know the difference.

And if I told you that I wasn't waiting for someone to ask me a question that I could answer intelligently, and then respond to the question, "Are you a genius?" with "No, but I did eat at a Po' Folks Express last night", and was disappointed when no one did... then I'd be lying.

MOVIE REVIEW!!
"District 9"... I sorta kinda knew what this movie was about, having read about it in EW, but I didn't fully comprehend the storyline, which is as follows: Twenty years ago, a huge spacecraft appeared and permanently hovered above Johannesburg, South Africa. After no response or movement from anyone in the ship, the South African government finally flew up, broke into the ship and discovered hundreds of thousands of aliens living in poverty and malnourished in the bowels of the ship. They were brought down, cared for and put in an area that is called District 9.
In the present day, District 9 is now like an alien ghetto, so the government makes a plan to move the now million-plus aliens to another location, District 10. A mild, meek official named Wikus is put in charge of the re-location project... but of course, all does not go as planned. I won't go any further so as not to spoil the plot for you, but you can read the full synopsis here.

I thought the film was excellent. And The Lovely Steph Leann really liked it, which is unusual for a science fiction/alien film, though she did throw her caveat on it, the dreaded, "Yeah I liked it, but its not something I want to see again", ensuring that she'll never watch the film. Ever. There's a lot of talk about the modern day parallels on apartheid in the film, and even the immigration issues and so on, and yeah, hearing that I can stretch the film's plotline to fit those parameters, but really, just enjoy the movie.

I will caution you, though... the violence is really alien violence (some of the weaponry makes people blow up on site), but there is a lot of language. The F-bombs are in South African English, so the "U" and the "C" sound like they are two "O"s in the middle, but you get the word anyway.
TAX EVASION
While watching WWE Raw, they like to show this Taco Bell commercial where this guy runs around collecting pennies from the "Give a Penny Take a Penny" jars scattered about the city. He's trying to save up 89 cents to buy a taco or whatever, and when he plunks his change down at the Taco Bell, and starts to walk off with his chicken burrito. The girl then says, "There's only 88 cents here", and he reaches over and grabs a penny from the penny jar, and says, "89!".



I have a problem with this. Like, where this guy lives, is there no tax? Do they not charge tax on food? You do that here, you pay 96 cents, not 89. Next, you'd better have the 96 cents, cause there ain't a Taco Bell in this city of Birmingham that would have ANY change not stolen in a "Take a Penny" cup. Finally, how does this guy get his taco before he finishes paying for it?

At the Taco Bell near my home, after paying for your food, you'd actually have time to drive to the airport, catch a plane to Tijuana, have authentic Mexican tacos, fly back, make it through customs with the tequila you smuggled in, then fight 280 traffic before getting the tacos you paid for in the first place. They are not known for their speed at this particular location.

Granted it does say "prices exclude tax", and I really like the fact that the whole basis for the commercial is to advertise how cheap an 89 cent chicken burrito is, and then the fine print says "prices may vary".

LET ME E'SPLAIN... NO THERE IS TOO MUCH, LET ME SUM UP...
I don't really have an ending here. I've kinda goofed on the interweb for the last few minutes just thinking of a clever ending to the this here blog post, and I got nothing. So I'll just tell you that one of my all time favorite group/duos, Watermark, split up a few years back. Well, the wife of the husband & wife duo, Christy Nockels, has just put out her first solo CD. Family Christian Stores has it for $7.99...

Does anyone remember when CDs and DVDs were like, crack expensive? I mean, this CD a few years ago would have been minimum $16.98... I went into a Blockbuster the other day for the first time in forever (I'm not a fan of this place, fyi) and saw brand new DVDs for $4.99 and up. And not really crappy ones, either. Okay, they were crappy movies, but not really crappy, so its an improvement. I was a little shocked.

...and though I haven't listened to it yet, I look forward to it. So there.

I'll see you on the other side of 25,000... and by the way, dear Coffee Drinker, thank you. Thank you for coming back again and again. In borrowing my dear friend Erin the Marine Wife's own phrase, many kind regards to you.

All Things New II: Welcome to Delaware

A few days ago, I wrote "All Things New", a sort of different blog for Clouds in My Coffee. While I am a Christ Follower, and have never backed down from what I believe, at the same time, direct ministry has never been the aim of Clouds in My Coffee.

Having said that, I do want to make it clear that as Christ Followers, I think everything we do is a form of ministry, because with our salvation secure and our hearts a home for the Holy Spirit, we are, for lack of a better phrase, Christ Ambassadors... but here, its not just Biblical scripture, prayers, Jesus, The Messiah (no, not Obama, I mean the real one), God and so on... I've read sites like that. While inspiring, it can get a little tedious. I enjoy what I write here, and enjoy the comments I get on all sorts of things.

Now... having said THAT... I wanted you to know about a "sister" site I have created. Its called "Welcome to Delaware"... while I would love to drive as many people to Clouds as possible--and would love for you to do the same--I'll only mention Delaware in this post, and it will be listed among the Recommended Blogs in the links to the right.



I'm sure you have two questions... the first being, why did you create another site? What is it even about, and why should I care? (that's three questions, but I kinda condensed them into one inquisitive string). The second being, what is with that name??? Who gives a rip about Delaware?? (again, more than one, but you get the gist.)

I created another site because while I love to journal--hence, Clouds in My Coffee--I tire quickly of writing on paper. My brain works too fast, though I'm sure The Lovely Steph Leann might disagree, for me to write down what I want in a legible manner, and it ends up scribbled... however, I type pretty doggone fast. In Mrs. Rials typing class in 11th grade at Samson High School (go Tigers!) I was top in the class, reaching 75 perfect words per minute

So, if I'm going to continue on my journey that I call "30 Days of Him"...

(I got that catchy little name from the movie "30 Days of Night", though thats where the similarilies end, I think--never pictured God as a vampire zombie. Randomly, vampires have been prevelant around my life lately... not that I know any, but I just finished reading "Salem's Lot" by Stephen King, an excellent vamp novel, I talked to Amy McL today about reading vampire novels, and I somehow ended up watching "Twilight" this afternoon... bored to tears. Seriously. There is about 10 minutes of that movie that I thought was enjoyable and... where was I?)

...I figured it would be better to type it out than write it. Plus, it would give me an outlet to start reprinting some of the "Random Emails of Encouragment" I used to write, long long ago. And Delaware will be simply that. God stuff. That's why I wanted to keep it separate from Clouds...

Don't fret, though, Coffee Drinkers. This will be my main site.

Now, why should you care? You don't have to, actually. You can visit every day, you might never go there. Its okay. I might mention it from time to time, but over all, its not a big deal.

Now... the name...

You've probably heard me mention "Welcome to Delaware" as a song, or that it is the title of the d$ Life Soundtrack, the double disc edition... well, I guess I should explain. McQ asked me tonight the perfect question... what does it mean to you?

"Welcome to Delaware" is a song from the former Christian duo WaterMark. I say "former", though Nathan and Christy Nockel are still together. They performed for years as WaterMark, now do separate projects, he as a worship leader for Passion, a writer and producer, and she as a worship leader for Passion and a solo artist.

The song is the 7th track off their 1998 self titled debut (you'll see from the link its now out of print), and its one of those hidden gems that few people even know about. It just stuck with me. When I was working at WTBF in Troy (Go Trojans!) I interviewed Christy for Sunday Night Power, my Christian Music show on Sunday nights, and I asked her the meaning behind the title...

She said, and I'm paraphrasing, "We had a concert in Delaware upcoming at the time, and neither of us had ever been there. We were nervous about it, about the area, it was winter, it was cold, it was unfamiliar... and it just kind of became a prayer. Its about God taking us to places we have never seen, cold places, unfamiliar places. Places we are not comfortable with."

Such is my life. I moved to Birmingham in August of 1998... I didn't know a soul, Amy Wible had abandoned me, I had an apartment I couldn't afford, my job I moved for was kaput after a week... and God was saying, "All you really have here now... is Me".

Well, its bitter cold December, and the leaves are falling true, and I do believe I'm still in love with You. Yeah, my scenery keeps changing, and sometimes its hard to view, but You've let me see so much since I've known You. But I headed to what seemed like nowhere (Birmingham?) but You told me to come, You told me You'd meet me here.

You were here to say, "Welcome to Delaware, I know you've traveled far. And its a lot colder here than what you're used to. And I know that in the wintertime, things aren't what they used to be, all you really have here now... is Me. All you really have here now is Me.

(by the way, the next verse is one of the most beautiful, deepest, sweetest verses to me in all of Christian music... I'm not kidding... as I sit here and think about how it applies to my life, I just wiped a tear away... man, its dusty in here...)

So I settled here, and that is that. For You to show me who I am, You had to take me to a place I've never been. And all the things I've dreaded most about the things unseen have now become the sweetest part of me...

Though I headed to what seemed like nowhere, I knew you would come, I knew You would meet me here.

You were here to say, "Welcome to Delaware, I know you've traveled far, and its alot colder here than what you're used to. And I know that in the wintertime, things aren't what they used to be. All you really have here now is Me."

Though I headed to what seemed like nowhere, I knew You would come, I knew You would meet me here. You were here to say "Welcome to Delaware... All you really have here now... is Me."

That song changed my life. No kidding.

That's why the site is called "Welcome to Delaware". Of course, it helps that its just offbeat enough to be memorable and quirky.

By the way, the line you see on the bottom of the title, "Thoughts of a Grace Abuser" comes from another song that changed my life. The song is called "Disappear", which was actually a consideration for the title of the site, from the band Out of the Grey, which was Christine and Scott Dente, another husband & wife duo.

The second verse--something about second verses and souls being stirred--says, "Given, I've been given so much freedom, Grace abounds and I'm the chief abuser..." That about sums it up.

Matter of fact, random Dave Trivia, years ago when I was about to leave AOL for good to get a Gmail email address, I was talking to Jessica Rogers about what my new screenname/email should be... GraceAbuser came up in the conversation, and she said, "That sounds cool, if you know what it means, but if you don't, it sounds like you are beating some girl named Grace." Touche. SuperDave it is.

Anyway, you can check the site out, or not, up to you. Bookmark it, or never look at it, its fine. I just did want to share, and let you know it was there.

But I'll expect you back here at least every few days.

All Things New

New to the blog? Click here...

And I'm so thankful for this life that I know That I am no longer what I was Because of Your love And the beauty of the cross I can see Your work in me

Man, I need a quiet time.

Seriously. I was thinking about it today, and its been a while since I've had a seat with my Jesus, dug into his Word and just... well, just been.

My problem isn't a want-to, its a do. I do want to. I just never find the time to do it. Then, I feel bad because sometimes when I do it...

...for those of you who perhaps are a little confused by the term "quiet time", its simply a time alone with God. It can be praying. It can be reading. It can be worshipping somehow. It can be studying--though some people say that "studying" isn't a quiet time, its Word Study, because a quiet time is supposed to be a time of peace and... quiet....

...anyway, sometimes when I do it, its kind of a guilty feeling, because I'm not doing it out of a desire to be closer to Him, I'm doing it out of... well, obligation. And it shouldn't be that way, should it? So, I say, "forget it. I'll do it later", and then turn to read the book, watch the movie, write the blog, update the DFC, visit the Chipotle Grill, listen to the song, live the life, walk the walk, but not with Him.

And I've just got to simply change that. See, I want to be that guy that people say, "Wow, he's all about some Jesus, ain't he?" Not that I want to be a "look at me! I'm kind of a big deal around God's Kingdom here" kind of guy, but if people say things like, "Ya know, that guy has some Jesus in him," then it means I'm doing something right.

I was thinking about it at work today, and at Starbucks tonight. So what if I just dove right in? What if I just said, "Ya know what, for the next week, I'm just doing it. Ten minutes per day. Fifteen. Whatever. I'll make it work." Then I thought, "Well, lets make it a month. Thirty one days, I'll start when I get home."

Of course, I only got to chat with The Lovely Steph Leann for a few minutes tonight, so to ensure that I can get up early enough to do this, plus spend some quality time with my life partner and best friend, it might be best to start tomorrow. That being Tuesday. The obvious question, is of course, "Why December? Dude, its going to be really busy, you'll never keep that kind of committment", and the answer simply is, "Why not December? Its the busiest time, which makes it the time I need the Word most."

I'm going to call on some of you to hold me accountable, and I'm going to write a daily blurb about it on another blog site I have semi-set up. I'll update that tomorrow night, though.

Anyway, wanted to post this song... its the song I was listening to on the way home. (stick around at the bottom for the random story)


From the album "All Things New", its first ballot Dave Hall of Famers WaterMark. You may want to cut the playlist music off for this.

Blue skies that take me back to being a child, trees with leaves that turn the colors I love.
A heart that's beating to Your melodies ringing, and I am a miracle 'cause heaven is a part of me
and You are the song that I'm singing

I was created to love You, I was created to need You
I was created to know You and I am a miracle 'cause heaven is a part of me and You are the air that I'm breathin'

Because of who You are and who I am in you
You make all things pure
Because of who You are and who I am in You
You make all things true
You make all things new

I was created to love You
I was created to need You
I was created to know You and
I am a miracle 'cause heaven is a part of me and
You are the air that I'm breathin'

And I'm so thankful for this life that I know
That I am no longer what I was
Because of Your love and the beauty of the cross
I can see Your work in me
All things new
All things new in me
All things new
All things new in me

Random Story That Somehow Fits:
So, my iPod is dying. The battery is dying, and its very painful, because I can only listen to it when its hooked up to a power source, ie, I'm close to a wall or in the car. No walking around. It really stinks. I know, I can get it changed for about, I dunno, $80 or something, and since I just have that right around here somwhere, I'll do that.

Anyway, its been bothersome because I've been re-reading/listening to "'Salem's Lot" by Stephen King, and after getting all excited and tense in the car, I would absent-mindedly take it out of the car cradle and just listen to it in the house... and after about, maybe six seconds, it would die.

Tonight, I'm driving home, listening to my favorite WaterMark songs, with this whole Quiet Time every day concept application in my head, and I was listening to All Things New, which is just a powerful song... I am a miracle, cause heaven is a part of me... and when it says "I'm so thankful for this life that I know, that I am no longer what I was, because of Your love and the beauty of the cross..." wow, it just gets me.

I listen to the whole song, and flip back to hear it one more time, really just praying the lyrics, concentrating hard, when I get to The Cabana. Still a 1:44 left in the song. Its cold, so with sigh, I gather my junk up, pull it out of the car iPod cradle, and head inside. And it doesn't die. In fact, it played the rest of the song... the iPod died with :02 left in the song. Just in time for me to turn around and see The Lovely Steph Leann at the sink.

Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was God wanting me to hear the lyrics again. I dunno. But I'm always struck something I heard Marla Ingram say, back in 1994 at Troy... we're sitting around the table eating lunch, and Marla walks up. Thin, pretty red head, bouncy, she drew all of our attention--the guys, anyway--as we all conversed with her. Finally, she said, "Well, I gotta go!" with an excited voice.
"Class?" I asked.
"No! I always spend time with God around this time of the morning, in between classes, and I'm excited!" And with that, she walked off.

One day soon. All things new.

New Month, New Theme... November's Music List

Thought five days into the month, it might be time to change our music. For a day it was the appropriate "What a Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers, but I didn't have a great mix to surround it with.

So I spent a little time and come up with a good playlist for the month of November, which typically is known for its great fall weather, Thanksgiving, craziness in college football, DeNick AND DeLisa's birthdays and even more...

And here's what I chose for November:

"As Good As I Once Was" by Toby Keith... Wow... this could definately be my new theme song. For a while, I kept "Your So Vain" by Carly Simon in the leadoff spot, but this song is perfect. Because yes, I ain't as good as I once was... and that's just the cold, hard truth. I still throw a few back, talk a little smack when I'm feeling bulletproof. So don't double dog dare me now, I might have to call your bluff... cause I ain't as good as I once was... but I'm as good once, as I ever was. (possibly the funniest country video ever)

You'll probably want to pause the regular music player before hitting play on this... but its worth it.

"When I Get Where I'm Going" by Brad Paisley, featuring Dolly Parton... Talk about sentimental. This is one of those songs that make you sit back and just... well, sigh, and think of how beautiful Home will finally be.

"1,2,3" by Gloria Estefan. Gotta say, I lurves me some Gloria, always have. Even when she does that Spanish Cuban music I can't understand. Still, she's magnficent. I actually wanted "Here We Are", one of the Top Five Most Painful Songs Ever Written, but this will do. Makes me think of the Junior Honor Society Beach trips we'd go on in the Spring. It had to be an "educational" trip, so Mrs Whittle and Mrs. Rials would take us to the "Frog House", a mansion where the movie "Frogs" was filmed in the 70s. Terrible movie. Interesting house. Then we'd go to the beach. Its where I, as a 13 year old boy, first glimpsed not only Jennifer Lambert but also Stephanie Phillips in a swimsuit. When you are that young, this is an awesome thing. Now? I feel kinda creepy thinking about it. Crap. Chris Hansen is on my porch.

"Shameless" by Garth Brooks. I always liked Amanda Webster. Well, not "like" like, I mean, I wasn't crushin' on her by no means-that was Julie Wise, the Clouds In My Coffee Official Samson High Crush, but Amanda was always really cool to me. I only mention this because Amanda was my 2nd slow dance ever. Angiejay--who has rejected me on Facebook, by the way, and that has made me very bitter--was my first, to Alan Jackson's "Wanted". Where was I going with all of this, if only to rail against Angiejay again? I'm not really sure. But Amanda and I danced to this song at her birthday party. Amanda, I hope you are superduper well!

"If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" by Sting. Some artists, U2 comes to mind, have now hit that "we are so big we're almost overrated" status. Honestly, U2 really hasn't done that much in the last several years. I mean, Bono wears the sunglasses and goes to Africa alot, but musically, their stuff have just been, well, 'eh. Sting, however? He's still the man. He's hit that "I can do whatever the crap I want, I'm freakin' Sting" status. This is a song directly from that status' peak.

"More Than You'll Ever Know" by Watermark. Unfortunately, the title track to the d$'s Life Soundtrack was unavailable. No, not "You're So Vain" (and no, not "Your an Frickin Idiot", Anonymous Poster), but "Welcome to Delaware. So, I chose this little friendship ditty from one of my all time favorite bands, Watermark, who stopped performing as "Watermark"--I was going to say broke up, but since Watermark was husband and wife Nathan and Christy Nockel, how bad would that be?

"Let's Stay Together" by Al Green. The man, the master, the pimpdaddy of soulful 70s. Seriously, does it get any more pimp than Al? This is a song used masterfully in "Pulp Fiction", as most all songs are in a Tarantino movie.

"Alone" by Heart. When I hear this song now, it makes me think of Carrie Underwood on American Idol, in leather, with big, hairsprayed up hair, blowing this song out of the water. This truly is one of Heart's best. Perhaps next month I'll rock it a little more with Barracuda. But for now... How do I get you aloooone? How do I get you aloooone??

"Like a Child" by Jars of Clay. One of the best two or three Christian albums ever. Talk about the Law of Hootie--come out with your first album, and five albums later, the first is still the most popular and best of the bunch? I've actually interviewed Steve Mason from Jars of Clay, back when I did Sunday Night Power, a Christian Music show for Troy's WTBF in college. Steve said this was one of their favorites to record, because its just so simple. Faith like a child.

"The Way I Am" by Jennifer Knapp. Its better to be deaf, dumb and blind than to be the way I am. Could I sum up my life any better than those 15 words? Brilliant writing, and you can't believe how much I miss J-Knapp. This is from "The Way I Am", her final CD before Gotee Records released like, 40 greatest hits and live packages. The CD was actually going to be called "Deaf, Dumb and Blind" but producers nixed that idea.

"Take It On the Run" by REO Speedwagon. All I know is this... you will leave this computer singing this song. If you aren't singing it, it will be stuck in your head. If you did an entire album of songs that are meant to be played at high volume inside a fast moving vehicle, this would have to be on there. Heard if from a friend who heard it from a friend who heard it from another you been messing around. Isn't that how rumors get started?

"The Promise" by When In Rome. So, I worked at WKMX in Enterprise, doing the overnights on weekends. Well, during the Breakfast Jam with BJ Kelly, they would do a "name this old song" type of contest. Naturally, working there, I couldn't win, but one day, they played the first three or four notes of this song. I'm not kidding, I knew it as soon as those few little notes were played (when you hear it, you'll know what I mean). I immediately called, threw on this very feminine--and very fake sounding--voice. When they asked me my name, I said the first chick name that came to my mind--Valerie Newman.

Well, I/Valerie won, and then even asked me, "We thought this was a hard one, how did you know this so fast?" and in my fake, high pitched voice, I replied, "I just love this song!" Well the real Valerie Newman had never heard it, or so she told me when I called her a few minutes later. She was living in the Alpha Gamma Delta house at the time, and so a few days later, she, I and FarmHouse brother Jason White jumped in her Pontiac Grand Am and made the 30 minute trek to Enterprise to pick up her prize. I don't remember what it was, except that there was a free tanning package included. I don't know that she ever said thanks. Hmm...

"Kiss & Say Goodbye" by The Manhattans. Another American Idol reference, this one from Season Two. One of my top two or three performances ever was watching Ruben Studdard come out and just knock this song out of the park. He was amazing, so much so that I rewound it (I had a VCR at the time) and watched it four times. I'm afraid to go find it on YouTube, because I'm afraid it won't be as good as I remember. Kinda like a slow dance now with Angiejay.

Yep. I watched it again on YouTube. Yes, its good. But not nearly as good as I remember it being. Wait... what if Angiejay is my Anonymous Poster? That would make sense... hmmm...

"American Boy" by Estelle, featuring Kanye West. Let's be very clear, I'm not a fan of Kanye's politicking. I personally don't agree with him that Dubya hates black people. Truthbetold, I don't really like most of Kanye's stuff--"Gold Digger" is the exception. However, I can dig this song. Its a little rap, a little R&B, and even he manages not to screw it up too badly. And the bad word is deleted in the song... this might be my favorite song of 2008 thusfar.

"Your So Vain" by Carly Simon. Naturally. Its a Clouds In My Coffee music playlist standard.

There ya have it... November's playlist selection. Fifteen songs, different genres, yet somehow, they seemingly kinda go with each other.

Musical Seasons of September

Someone actually told me that they were anxiously awaiting what was being chosen for September... so, uh... here we go!

I will say this... some music, like some great movies, have a few concepts which aren't necessarily on the up and up. So for some of you, especially you EMMY TURNBOW, when you hear the words, "Hello daddy...", its time for you to skip to the next song. And I think if you hear the fiddle and bluegrass, you'll want to do the same.

"You're So Vain" by Carly Simon... of course. This stays.

"Learn to Fly" by The Foo Fighters... Just awesome. Epitome of the 90s rock sound, and just a fun driving song.

"Seasons of Love" by the Cast of Rent... I have to say that I liked the show, I didn't love the show. I also enjoyed the movie, perhaps because I think Idina Menzel is as hot as rock fire, in a Jennifer Herndon sort of way, and I've always liked Anthony Rapp, who you might recognize as Daryl from "Adventures in Babysitting". This song, however, is magnificent.


Here's the video from the movie, and yes, its That Guy from Law & Order. Personally, I like the Broadway version better, but this is still a pretty good version. Also, I recommend Anthony Rapp's biography.

(SOAPBOX ALERT!!) Can I tell you why I like this show, as a Believer and Christ Follower? This show is a great example of who we are supposed to be about. Its easy to sit in church, and pray and encourage each other, and love on each other, and fellowships and so on... and yes, that is what Jesus wants us to do. But you know what else He wants us to do? Love on the people who aren't Christ Followers. And that means more than the potty mouth guy in your office, or the somewhat promiscious secretary down the hall... but it also means the people in Rent. The bisexuals. The transvestities. The drug addicts. The lesbians. The straight people. All of them. Every one of them. So when Angel dies of AIDS in this show, I can only think of how many Angel-type people in this world die everyday without the full knowledge of The Gospel, because people like me don't care enough to deal with them.

Oh, and I don't mean The Angel, because that's Heather Hanson. I mean Angel Schunard, in the show, the transvestite. There is a difference. We'll be back to The 700 Club after this break.

Where was I?

"You Give Good Love" by Whitney Houston... For Michelle. Inside joke.

"Better Man" by Pearl Jam... For KT, though its not an inside joke. We just both like this song.

"Sitting, Wishing, Waiting" by Jack Johnson... one of those elite few artists who can continually be popular and much loved without ever having much mainstream success. Good tune.

"Best of My Love" by The Emotions... Disco at its finest. Well, "finest" might be the wrong word, but Disco at its best... hmm, "best" might also be a strong word. Um, how about, a great example of Disco. I love this song. It makes me smile, and any song that can make me smile is worth it for me.

"Push" by Sarah McLachlan. This one might be for The Lovely Steph Leann. "You stay the course, you hold the line, you keep it all together. You're the one true thing I know I can believe in." Well, her and The Messiah. And since I'm not a Democrat, I mean Jesus, not Barack Hussein Obama. Just sayin'.

"Who Am I/Grace Flows Down" by Watermark. One of my all time favorite worship songs, from a band thats a guaranteed future Dave Hall of Famer.

"Live Like You Were Dying," by Tim McGraw. The Lovely Steph Leann and I went out the other night (how old are you when date night includes a stop at Wal-Mart?) and we were joking around and listening to the radio and talking and what have you... and this song came on. And we both sang. Its such a simple, perhaps silly song, but its really genius.

"This Song Remembers When" by Trisha Yearwood. In May of 2006, on this very blog, I ranked this as the saddest song ever written. I stand by that assertion. How painful is it when you think you've gotten over someone, and a song comes on that takes it all back for you? Ouch.

"Sin Wagon" by The Dixie Chicks. I'll admit it... I'm a fool for chicks with guitars and fiddles, and this has both. Another song I love to hear in the car, as I beat my steering wheel with reckless abandon, and move my head unintentionally. With any luck, you'll hear "Who Am I/Grace Falls Down" immediately after this, just to keep you straight.

"Hook" by Blues Traveler. I thought perhaps of "Run Around", and thats on the list for October, but I really liked this one too. John Popper is pretty talented on the harmonica.

"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" by Elton John. This is The Lovely Steph Leann's favorite Elton John song, and thought I was a fan of "Tiny Dancer" and "Take Me to the Pilot", I have to admit, this is right up there. Great piano, great tune, great voice.

"Loungin' (who do you love?)" by LL Cool J. I'm a huge Cool J fan, always have been, even with the crappy stuff from the 80s ("I Need Love"? Puh-leez...). Anyway, the song officially has no dirty words in it, though it has a few (!) innuendos. So, this is the PG-13 part of the blog.

Again, with any luck, you'll hear "Sin Wagon", followed by "Who Am I/Grace Falls Down", only to finish with "Loungin' (who do you love?)"... because that's what just happened to me. I'm so conflicted.

Got a song you'd love to hear in October? Let me know.

Idol Inspiration

Okay, it was funny at first. But if I have to see Spongebob Nopants standing up in the bathtub, bubbles covering his giblets, I might kick a cement block barefoot. I’m just saying.

Alright, its… AMERICAL IDOL TIME! I haven’t done a complete review in several, several weeks, so I’m excited! It’s time for Idol Gives Back! And Sanjaya is nowhere to be seen! This could be a great night.

Basically, News Corp is going to offer 10 cents for the first 50,000,000 votes, which is $5 million bucks. And you know who's showing up tomorrow night? Bono. Yep, that Bono. I’ve heard it said that Bono is so cool, that if a guy makes out with Bono, you don’t call that guy gay… you ask him how cool it was.

Personally, I think U2 has kind of lost the edge (no, not The Edge, he’s still there… I mean the edge). They can put an album out of singing Waffle House menus, and it will go triple platinum, win four Grammys out of nine nominations, and Michael Nipp will buy it the second it comes out.

The money donated tonight through votes, and through people donating tomorrow night during the star-studded, two hour results show, will be going to fund charities in Africa, and here. And tonight’s themes are songs that inspire. Oh boy.

C-Rich is singing “Change the World” by Eric Clapton. This was featured in the underrated movie Phenomenon, starring John Travolta, and is found on the soundtrack to said movie… strangely enough, its one of my favorite CDs of all time. Jewel, Peter Gabriel, Aaron Neville, Clapton and several others sing some classics and its just a great rainy day album. And The Iguanas sing some Spanish song called "Para Donde Vas", which, ten years later, I still have no idea what it means, but it sounds cool.


Here's a CD you should go out and buy, like, right now. Really. Go get it.

Oh yeah, Chris Richardson is singing. Its kinda nasally, though that’s him anyway. I don’t imagine Eric Clapton will be too scared that Chris will be taking his place. Randy loved it, Paula loved it (I’m proud of you, seeing your journey, here’s my room key). Simon liked it too. Really? I didn’t think it was all that great, but that’s why I’m tone-hard-of-hearing.

Conversely, the Cingular "dropped the call" ads are hysterical. I love the new one, where the guy is calling the girl back, talking about a connection... when the call drops and he can't hear her response, he says some stupid comment about, "...you know, like a brother and sister connection? Like, I would never make out with my sister...". The look on his face when he says this is priceless.

Mindy Doo is busting out some Faith Hill, a song called "There Will Come a Day". Its one I'm not too familiar with, me not being a big Faith Hill fan.

Songs that inspire me?
"Gonna Fly Now (Rocky's Theme)" by Bill Conti. How can you not be totally pumped up and excited about life after hearing this song? I mean, the push at the end just makes my blood race. If I can change, you can change, we all can change. Rocky ended the cold war with that line.

Randy used the word "so dope" when describing Mindy Doo. Paula loved her too (magical, no one like you, make sure Chris uses that key I gave him). Simon loved it because it wasn't a copycat, calling it a "vocal masterclass". Yeah, it was a great performance... but it was kinda boring.

"Welcome to Delaware" by Watermark inspires me. Its the theme song of my life, and cut #3 on the "The Original d$ Life Soundtrack".

Blake Lewis is up next. John Lennon's "Imagine" is on tap.. its a song I like, but not one I'm crazy about.

I love "Standing Outside the Fire" by Garth Brooks... the video is just superduper. Oh, and "Promise of a New Day" by Paula Abdul, but maybe thats just because this was 1991, when Paula was hot, and in the video she's in a small dress standing under a waterfall. Or maybe not.

Randy says "just aight for me, dude", while Paula liked it lots. Simon says it was sincere. I thought it was just okay... nothing tonight is just making me excited. Sigh.

You know what else inspires me? "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J. No, seriously. Its a great song that just makes you clinch your fist and take on the world.

Another song that just lifts me up is "Healing" by Wynonna Judd and Michael English. It came right after English was pretty much ostracized from the Christian music scene after admitting to an affair, and was featured in the ridiculous movie "Silent Fall". Beautifully sung, powerful words, and you can tell that Michael English is truly living the words. You should click the link and buy it now... only one is available. Hurry!

LaKisha is singing "I Believe", by former Idol winner Fantasia? Wouldn't it be great if LaKisha had instead sung "Baby Mama"? How fantastic would that have been? "I chose 'Baby Mama', because as a single mother, I think its important to recognize all those bee-ay-bee-why em-ay-em-ay... this goes out to all my baby mamas, I got love for all my baby mamas." I would pay a little extra for that...

Randy liked it just okay, Paula tosses some sunshine LaKisha's way, though she stumbles all over her words. Simon didn't like it much either. For me, eh. Perhaps Jordin or Phil got some good stuff coming... I'm waiting for this Idol episode to be good.

Phil Stacey is ready to inspire me. And he's singing some Garth, "The Change". I miss Garth, I really do. He had one heck of a run in the 90s, didn't he? His take on "Calling Baton Rouge" is probably my favorite, but "Two of a Kind (working on a full house)", "Rodeo", his version of "Shameless", "Ain't Goin' Down til the Sun Comes Up", and tons more... great, great stuff. Heck, I don't even mind he shacked up with Trisha Yearwood... they make good music together, a la Johnny & June Carter.


Here's another one you should own. Yes, this is the one that has "Friends in Low Places".

Oh, Phil's singing. And I'm bored to tears. Perhaps Jordin will bust out "Mama Said Knock You Out". I think I would actually get up and run around the apartment in joy if she did that.

Randy liked it, as did Paula. They both agree that country is Phil's forte. Simon really likes Phil, or so he says. "If you can connect with [style and country], you'll do well, because I think people like you."

Okay Jordin... give me something good to end this yawning show.

She's singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" by.... by... should I know this? Okay, Jordin. Blow me away. Wait for it... wait for it...

...wait for it...

...still waiting...

..and there she goes with the big vocals. She is truly your next American Idol. Randy says "one of the best vocals ever on six seasons of American Idol." Paula loved it. Simon says "fantastic". I'm pulling for her to take it home, all the way.

You know what else I like? "No Such Thing" by John Mayer. Yeah, really. Its a great song about life. Makes me happy. Even just the line "...I can't wait 'til my ten year reunion, I'm gonna bust down the double doors..." is worth it.

Course, I was just tossing out secular songs, with the exception of Watermark. I mean, add in Christian music, and the list of inspiring songs grows by a mile... "Faith My Eyes", "Close of Autumn", "Be My Glory", "Trinity", so on and so on... then again, you have to find that line between inspiring and encouraging and worshipful.

I'm not inspired by this show. Perhaps I'll toss on some Garth.

Note: Moments after finishing this review, I played "Calling Baton Rouge" three times on my iPod... then my internet crashed, I had to call Charter, stayed on the phone with the for about 30 minutes... and this was 130 in the morning. Good times, good times.)

The No Questions Asked Pantheon (and Mariah, ft. Ludacris & Da Brat)

I've got a lot of CDs. No, really. A whole LOT of CDs.

My collection runs into the several hundreds, perhaps. Am I saying this to brag? No... some of them I think I've listen to once, some of them I can't remember if I've ever listened to... to be fair, Steph had a 100 or so, so our collection combined makes up that number, but still, thats alot of CDs. Steph wants me to get rid of some, but I don't know that I'd get much from Coconuts trying to sell Tammy Trent's "Set You Free".

This is all stemming from my latest project... in anticipation of getting my iPod (read the previous entry), I'm loading my CDs into the computer so I can load them in the iPod, when I finally get one. It's a slow process, and its keeping me up nights, but its slowly coming together. Some albums get the whole thing loaded--Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl", for example, or Antigone Rising's "From the Ground Up". I like the whole thing... I just insert and hit "upload".

Other artists, most of them, in fact, get the "check treatment". As in, I've got to go through and uncheck the songs I don't want. Audio Adrenaline, Bush, Michael Bolton (as I hear Tommy say "Um.. I'd uncheck all of those), Boyz II Men, currently Mariah Carey... those all get certain songs.

Sidebar: Speaking of Mariah, loading and listening to her music last night made me think... is there anyone in history who was so good who turned so freakishly weird? Love it or hate it, you can't deny that the early 90s stuff--"Vision of Love", "Dreamlover", "Always Be My Baby", "Can't Let Go"--had an incredible voice behind it. I was reading the liner notes to her CDs as I went along--which I found out that she wrote or co-wrote 99% of her songs, and on every CD she has a verse and a thanks to God--and around 1997, with the release of "Butterfly" (the follow-up to her excellent Daydream album) she started getting a little thuggish. This might have been right before she and Coumbia exec Tommy Mottola divorced. Anyway, Steph thinks she's a total slut, and she might be--however, I do admire the fact that not only does she not curse in her music, but not in her interviews (even with Rolling Stone, where chicks like Britney and Christina cut loose), nor in her liner notes. Anyway, no one can take away her 90s stuff from me. Vh1's Behind the Music will return.

One more Mariah Moment... one of the funniest things I've ever seen is the video for "Honey", her first true "Even though I've made millions singing white pop, I'm going to embrace my blackness now" song... all these black dudes are everywhere dancing, on the beach, on jet skis... and she's romancing a studly white guy.

It's like the execs at Columbia were sitting around saying "Um... Ms. Carey, we know that on Tuesday you decided you'd be black, but for the sake of your fans, let's make this transition gradual... how about for "Honey", you make out with a white guy this time, and we'll just surround you with African Americans? Perhaps we can arrange a light skinned, creamy smooth brother for you to make out with next time..."

One last observation... for Mariah and any other artist who is thinking of doing this: Is there really a need to have three versions of the same song on your CD? I mean, the normal one is fine, perhaps the reprise (which is mostly a cop out to add another track), but another remix featuring Da Brat, Ludacris, Twenty II and Shawnna? I mean, if I actually owned the Glitter soundtrack, this would bother me, but I.. uh, I mean I don't really (laugh uncomfortably)... um, lets go to the Pantheon...

There are a few artists in my Pantheon of "Doesn't Matter What They Sing, They Get All of Their CDs Loaded No Questions Asked"... those are the ones that I want the entire album on there, even if I'm not entirely jazzed about all the songs, simply because their so-so music is better than most artist's "good" music. You'll probably notice a "Girls With Guitars Theme" going on here.

Here's the Pantheon of "No Questions Asked", in no particular order:

• Hootie & the Blowfish. Liked them since college. Love their sound, love their music. I've only got their first three, though I could probably get their stuff used and cheap at Coconuts if I looked.
• Plumb. Perhaps one of my top five albums of all time is "Candycoatedwaterdrops", and her latest, "Chaotic Resolve" is EXCELLENT.
• Watermark. When they make a movie of my life, they'll have a song or two on the two disc soundtrack. Though "All Things New" is to me the definitive album, they are all good. Sadly, they are ceasing to perform as Watermark now, doing some silly stuff like devoting time to kids and more worship music. Their new album is a live album, and their final one--and its a fantastic way to say "thanks and goodbye."
• The Dixie Chicks. They got a raw deal a few years back. Do I agree with them? No. Do I think they should have said it? Not at all... I don't think its what Natalie Maines said, but how she said it. But do I agree with the results? Not in the least. Still, I'm a fan, I've always been hot for Natalie in a Jennifer Herndon sort of way, and I'll get their new CD when it comes out in May. Chicks rule.
• Jennifer Knapp. Oh wherefore art thou, J-Knapp? I just picked up the live album the record company released--I can't say she released it, because I haven't heard a thing from her in years.
• PM Dawn. I really don't have a comment here... I just realy like the Bliss Album, which features the song that has been my favorite song of all time since 1991 , "I'd Die Without You".
• Sheryl Crow. Don't know why, but something about Sheryl Crow just makes me happy. Always has. I will say "Wildflower", her latest, is a little unsatisfying, so she's on the edge of this list, but still...

I would add Stone Temple Pilots, but they didn't stop after three albums, and Scott Weiland decided to get sober. I mean, let's be honest... yes, its awesome he's free of heroin... but there was a price to pay. The only time Scott and STP truly rocked was "Core", "Purple" and "Tiny Music fron the Vatican Gift Shop", all when he was high as a kite.

And I would add Pearl Jam, but they didn't stop after one album.

American Idol reviews tomorrow!!