new blog address

In case you missed it, I've moved to wordpress. All your online diary for the masses needs will henceforth be met at http://www.derrickoliver.com. For details on why I switched and what it means for you, click here or scroll down to the post directly below this one. Thanks, odfm management.

I'm moving

It's true. I'm done here.

It's really, truly been fun, but sometimes you just have to move on. Change is inevitable, and that's all there is to it.

So at this point you're probably thinking:
Where are you going, D.O.? I'm going to Wordpress!

So what does that mean for me? Well it means more than you might think. I would appreciate it greatly if you would be so gracious as to do the following:

- Think about how you normally get to my blog, and then change it to say http://derrickoliver.wordpress.com.

- If you yourself have a blog that links to mine, please change that in your sidebar as well. (I'd do the same for you).

- If you normally get to these parts via an RSS feed, click here to subscribe to the wordpress blog. Isn't that easy?

Why are you leaving blogger? Well good question. Initially I really didn't want to. I've been very faithful to blogger over the years, and I adore Google, so it's been a tough decision.

One of the main reasons I'm making the switch is this: Wordpress allows you to make multiple pages per blog. When you go over to the new online diary for the masses you'll see a link for, among other things, a Bio page. I like that. To do that here you have to create a whole new blog, and it just kinda gets sloppy. It allows me to expand the ways I use my blog and it is a little more organized, which you know I like.

Also, it offers a great deal of widgets allowing you to make your blog more accessible such as a search bar, which I've utilized. It probably won't get used, but its there if you ever want to see if I've blogged your name or something.

So basically, there are no major reasons why I'm leaving blogger, only minor reasons that have added up to be enough to make the move. I still love you Google, I promise. Hire me, please.

Well, there you have it. Blogger, I hope we can still be friends. I really do. It's not you, it's me. I'm so sorry.

mom, look what I made (vol. 1)

I assume you readers who are parents love having your kid come home from school or church with a piece of art in their hands, raised high for you to see, often accompanied by the words, "Mom! Dad! Look what I made!"

You readers who are still in [grade] school know how much you love completing a piece of work - maybe a painting or an awesome drawing of a ship - and taking it to your parents to proudly show them and say, "Look what I made!"

Well this is my version of what I just described, only it's not only for my parents' eyes. It is for all to enjoy.

"(Insert your name here)! Look what I made!"

this makes me want to cuss

When I open up my Internet and see numbers like these, it makes me want to load up my car and drive North. Seriously. Eighty nine degrees for the high on November 14th? That rounds up to 90. This, friends, is not acceptable. That 73 is a glimpse of hope. I'm sure humidity will be pushing 90%.

If you'd like to vent (about the weather or anything else), the comments section is open.

Hat tip: Andy S.

3-in-1 post on mortality...

If somebody asked me today where I would go if I could go anywhere, I think I'd bend the conventional rules of the question by answering "my own funeral."

I've not been to a ton of funerals, but the ones I have attended always bring the same thought processes to mind. I think, "how cool that this one person affected all of the people in this room." This leads into thoughts like, "I wonder how many people would show up to my funeral" and "Man, wouldn't it be cool to go to your own funeral and see who's there and what the people are saying about you?"

Part I: A Friend's Father

I just got back home from a close friend's father's funeral. It was pretty incredible. There were no less than 500 people in attendance. This man really made a big impact on the lives of countless people, and his family was blessed with the ability to be encouraged by having some of those people show up to the funeral to celebrate his life. There is no way that every single person affected by this man could have come to the funeral today. That just makes my mind reel. I seriously doubt that this man had a clue of what a weighty impact he made on so many different people, and what those people are doing today as a result of his influence on them. It's really crazy to think about. Life is so short, but that doesn't mean we can't make a difference while we're here.

Part II: A Friend I've Only Read About

You may recall my book review on Into the Wild, the story of the life of Chris McCandless, a man with whom I greatly identified. I recently got a chance to see the Sean Penn's film version of the book. Though I wasn't by any stretch of the imagine blown away by the film, it did bring back to mind thoughts I had throughout the time I was reading the book. These two thoughts in particular kept coming up: One, how fortunate is the McCandless family to have somebody (author Jon Krakauer) research their son's life in depth, that they are now able to see who he affected and how he affected them during his two years of traveling? And two, I have no doubt that Chris McCandless knew not the impact he made on the people he met as he traveled. He probably just saw them as people who were nice enough to give him a ride or a bed, but he really impacted a number of them. He only lived to see his mid-twenties, but he was (and thanks to the book, forever will be) a very influential person to many. Life is so short, but that doesn't mean we can't make a difference while we're here.

Part III: My Own Mortality

When thinking about life and death and things of that nature, I sometimes think of how I want things handled after I die, and I realize that for any of the things I want to actually materialize, I'll have to write them, well, while I still can. I see this as a good opportunity. I want my funeral to be enjoyable for the people who are gracious enough to attend it. I'm aware that the chances are pretty good that my funeral will bring people together who probably haven't seen each other in a while, and I want those people to be able to have some quality time with one another. I don't know what that looks like really. Maybe a lunch or something after the funeral. Like the funeral I attended today, I would like "It Is Well" to be sung by any of my immensely talented friends. I want every possible organ of mine to be donated to people who need them and whatever's left can be burned or whatever option cheapest. If I die before Click does I want someone to bring him to the funeral. If I die before I get married, and my remnants are cremated, I think I'd like to divide up the ashes between my family and my roommates. That way my fam could keep them somewhere, and I'd ask my roommates to scatter them on one of their awesome trips, somewhere they think I'd like. But more importantly than all of the "Things I want done after I die" list is this: I really want to live in the reality that life is so short, but that doesn't mean that I can't make a difference while I'm here.

ladies and gentlemen, I give you the...

No, I'm not the loser because of the awesome mustache I had in that picture. I'm the loser because, well... this is how it went:

(A real phone call that took place last night between Mikey Mills and myself)

D.O.: Did Laura see her post on my blog?

Mikey: [turns to the side and asks Laura]... No, hold on.

[Time passes while Mikey and Laura read the post written in Laura's honor]

D.O.: Does she love that? I made the picture in GIMP.

Mikey: Yeah, that's good... [increasing snickering in the background] This is real funny...

D.O.: What?

Mikey: Laura didn't answer the question on that post.

D.O.: It said Laura!

Laura in the background: You should click the link on that comment...

D.O.: [Goes and clicks said link]... Holy crap... I'm such an idiot...

All: [Eruptions of laughter]

It turns out that Laura Nutter didn't win (or participate) in the poetry contest. It was Laura Stiller, wife of my Arlington friend, Danny Stiller... I don't know much about her, but, since she really did win the contest, I'll tell you what I do know.

Laura is married to my Arlington friend Danny Stiller. They have a married people blog that I just added to the "theirs" section of my links. She confessed to reading my blog back in March and we here at odfm are very happy to have her. She has about a million different blogs. Her profile lives here. It's overwhelming.

Congratulations Laura Stiller! No congratulations to Laura Nutter.

ladies and gentlemen, I give you the...

As promised, I'm giving the winner of my poetry contest a award as great as any I'm able to give... blog recognition. Our winner was one Laura Nutter who came up with the correct answers Ogden Nash and Joyce Kilmer.

For those of you who don't know, Laura is one of my sweet friends from the beloved college days and the slightly less popular Dallas days. She's proven to be a faithful and loyal pal over the years, and has provided many with some of the best hugs around. But boys, don't get any ideas, because she's taken. Mikey dates her. That's right. Mikey.

So congratulations to Laura on her big victory. I hope our friendship will be able to endure this post... and that picture.

Honorable mention goes to Andrew Shepherd who successfully got Kilmer without using Google. If you've never checked out his blog, you really should. It's far better than anything you'll get in these parts.

gimp 2.4

The fine folks over at GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) have gone and outdone themselves. GIMP 2.4 has recently been released in its stable version and is available for free download here. It's been available for a while, but the stable version hasn't been available (to my knowledge) until a few weeks ago. Either way, it's here now, and you should get it if you're looking for a powerful photo editing and graphic design software. You no doubt remember my previous entry on the GIMP about six posts ago.

Now for the true reason for this post. Pictured above is my current - and possibly your future - desktop background. I'd like to use it to introduce the first online diary for the masses contest for November, 2007. The person/persons who provide me with the author of the poem written above the tree will have bragging rights in the blogosphere. However, the winner will be the one who provides not only the person who penned the provided poem, but also the author of the original poem from which the provided poem was derived. The winner will be rewarded as generously as I'm possibly able to reward someone. Google is a permissible resource, however if you are able to answer it correctly without google... I'll come find you and hug you.

A hint: click on the picture above or you'll have a very hard time reading the poem.

An observation: it is very presumptuous of me to expect anyone to participate in this contest. Yet another example of how I make my blog out to be a much bigger deal than it actually is.

really?

I find it hard to believe that every talk show host who interviews an author and claims to have read their most recent book has actually read said book. I've seen various hosts claim to have really enjoyed so and so's book, and then the next three nights they say the same thing to different authors about different (thick) books. I'm not sure I believe all of them, and that's all I have to say about that. Feel free to share your thoughts, and if Leno, Letterman, Conan, John Stewart, or any other late night talk show hosts who subscribe to my blog would like to justify themselves, please feel free to do so in the comments section.

a (quarter) milestone

This one almost came and went like your odometer rolling over 100,000 miles and you looking at it on mile 100,002. Luckily, almost doesn't count. I caught it just in time. We have avoided a great disaster today my friends.

I've decided to treat this 250th post like a reflection episode of Saved by the Bell. I'll be Zack talking to the camera and when I'm done, things will blur into a look back at some posts of days gone by. (I'm not clever enough to make your computer screen blur between the time you click the links and the page actually loading, so just pretend, and please, click the links, as it will certainly be to your enjoyment... I used to be funnier than I am now).

As many of you know, things here at odfm started way back on May Fool's Day, 2005, with a debut post most have never read and the rest have forgotten. It's mind-blowingly creative title was, "testing..." I was gearing up for my big summer in China, and I planned on using this blog (inspired by one Joshua Langston) to keep the masses updated on how I was doing. Things started off well but really exploded when a post titled "red carpet at the barber shop" boasted double digit comments (thanks to Jon's mom posting the same comment twice). Double digit comments is a feat that has only been achieved 7 other times in odfm history.

Upon arriving back in the States I posted a few posts on reverse culture shock and then I went out on a limb and posted a non-China post entitled "laying out aka lawn mowing." This post was not only significant for trail-blazing a way for odfm to survive in America, it also debuted the first ever total stranger comment by "Immortal Beloved."

At that point in blogging history, you didn't have all the blogs you have today. As I recall it was only Joshua, the Supercinski's, and myself. Of course we weren't the only three bloggers in the world at that time, but in my circle of friends, that was it. In the two years that followed blogging spread like gangrene to the point that everybody and (literally) their non-speaking-much-less-typing babies had blogs.

I've had many posts from that fateful 1 May 2005 to present. The following are some of my personal favorites (in chronological order).

- the bike crash heard round the world
- superhero soirée
- trip results...
- ... down in New Orleans
- Bush, Graham, Osteen and Oliver
- "the sub that hacks"
- first ever contest!
- 75 things that make me smile and/or things I like
- freshman door... an epic
- done and done.
- Reformation Day, 2006
- my ears are still ringing
- undeserved
- perfection
- to all the nay-sayers
- a (quarter) milestone

It's crazy to think about how much stuff has happened since I started this blog. I've thoroughly enjoyed keeping it and you guys are gracious enough to pretend like you enjoy it as well. It's a wonderful blessing to know that most of you readers have been my friends longer than this blog's been alive. I'm sincerely thankful for my readers and I'm at a loss of words when it comes to describing my friends. I'll just go ahead and sum it up with one: love.

Thanks for reading. Here's to 250 more posts...

(note: this entry took longer to create than any other post in odfm history, bar none... in case anyone asks)

redefining beauty

how green are you? huh??

So living green and saving the environment are about the coolest, most popular things you can do these days. If you want to be cool, you have to change your light bulbs, recycle, eat organic and carpool. So you're probably wondering, well I wonder how cool I am? Wonder no longer, my friend. Simply click here and take the sustainability test. It's cool. Take it.

After spending the entire 7 minutes it takes to complete this test, you will be able to tell your friends how many planet Earth's would be required if everyone in the world lived the way you did. It's pretty interesting. I'll tell you how many planets would be necessary if everyone lived as sustainably as I do, but you have to take the test and tell me your answer first. Seriously, do it. It'll give us something to talk about next time we see each other.

RSS how-to revisited

Seen that thing before? Wondered what it meant? Well you're gon' find out.

Ok, I must start by saying I've blogged about this before. The reasons I'm revisiting it are two-fold: One, I'm convinced that there are far more people reading blogs at this point in history than there were when I originally posted about it. Two, Lynsey's recently posted about it and apparently had some issues. So for you technologically savvy readers, please pardon the repetition. It's for the good of the whole. Here we go.

Problem: You waste too much time clicking every single link on the Hendrick's blog (and give them an undue amount of pageloads) to see which blogs have been updated that day.

Solution: RSS feeds. Blogs are set up to where you can check them without actually going to them. You'll save heaps of time.

It's important to know that there are tons of different RSS feeds out there, some of them have more bells and whistles than others, and this post is only going to address two different ways to go about doing things.

Option 1: How do I set up an RSS feed? Click that and it'll take you to the post I put up about a year ago, and it shows you one way to install and use one type of feed. It requires that you browse the web in firefox, which you should be doing already. I happen to know that over 60% of my readers are still using Internet Explorer... come on people. At any rate, if you use firefox or are willing to start using it, this is a very easy and low-profile feed you can use.

Option 2: I don't have firefox, and I don't want it, you say? Well let's agree to disagree and then talk about Google Reader. To use Google Reader you have to have an account with Google. Again, this is something that you should already have as an Internet user in the year 2007. If you don't have one, it's super easy to set up (you can do it from the link given above). If you don't want to set one up, go back to option 1. Ok, if you have a Google account, go ahead and click here to see a video explaining Google Reader to you. I could do it myself, but it's already been done, so no need. It's super easy.

So there's a little recap on RSS feeds. If you don't like either of those options, there is still (tons of) hope! Just google "rss how-to" or something of that nature to see other possibilities. If you have any questions or are having issues making either of my two options work, let me know. I like helping people. I'll leave you with a suggestion of how to spend your newfound free time: bake me some cookies (I like them crispy).

GIMP 2.2

One of the perks of having the abundance of free time I've experienced this past month is that it offers me the ability of honing my [very amateur] photo editing and graphic design skills. Over a year ago I learned of a freeware program called GIMP that is comparable to Photoshop, equally powerful, yet free!

I've had GIMP on my machine for a while, but up until this past month I'd been pretty intimidated by it and hadn't really messed with it much. However recently I was motivated (upon having the desire to give odfm a rhytidectomy) to tackle the GIMP. I've done lots of research, learned lots of stuff, and made lots of things. This post will exhibit some of those things.

Above is the ever popular mostly-black-and-white-with-one-colored-item photograph. Subject: Lauren Rouse (who's engaged by the way, for those you hadn't heard). Below I hope you'll enjoy my new desktop background, followed by some headers I made just for kicks, and finally my most recent facebook profile picture. Comment away. Or don't.

60 hrs in D.O.'s head (abridged)

I've had absolutely nothing but time on my hands the past week, and as a result I've done absurd amounts of thinking. Even on days when I have little to no free time, I still manage to do a good bit of thinking, so you can imagine how busy my brain has been the past few days. It hasn't stopped. Here is a very honest (G-rated) look into the things I think about:

- What the heck am I doing with my life?
- Why am I in College Station? Every ounce of my being wants to be in the northwest enjoying mountains, a cooler climate, and a different culture.
- Does God care if I leave and go to another place without his specifically telling me to do it?
- Why do so many areas of my life look so differently than I want them to look (and how the Bible says they should look)?
- Am I the pathetic guy who continues to relive his college life in his second year of out school?
- Why am I seemingly unable to settle for a random job that I can build experience in?
- Do I even want to get a job in College Station, which will all but force me to stay here (potentially) longer than I want?
- What am I doing wrong in the way of hearing what Father wants from me? Is His silence a way of telling me to simply go and act on faith and trust him with whatever that looks like?
- Why on Earth do I feel so dang sorry for myself all the time?
- I wish I were better at playing guitar, piano, and writing songs on each.
- Why am I fighting feelings of loneliness when I'm in the middle of a town where I know more people than almost anywhere else? (Probably because I'm not working, therefore I've got too much time alone, but I'm not working because I'm not sure, again, if I want to work here...)
- Why do I see both sides of EVERY issue under the sun, making it nearly impossible to have a firm opinion on any of the things pertinent to my current life stage?
- Should I move back to Dallas, live with Colby (who I adore), humbly ask for my job at REI back, go to the Village, and try to go to China with them next year?
- Is my thinking all these things good? Bad? Neutral?
- Why am I having such a hard time reading the Word in the midst of having an entirely empty schedule?
- Why am I so intolerant of people closest to me?
- Why don't people update their blogs more so I'd have a little something more to do during the day?
- I want to go for a walk, but it's too hot outside.
- What does it look like to actually surrender stuff to Jesus?
- Why am I all of the sudden somewhat upset and dissatisfied with God's intangibility?
- Why do I act like, think like, pretend like I've got everything figured out when I KNOW I have absolutely nothing figured out (save the fact that I don't know anything. I know that).
- Persons A, B, C, and so on think I should shave my beard. That makes me want to keep it more than I did before.
- What am I going to do with the lessons I've learned/ will learn throughout this season?
- When is Jessica Schmale going to come to the Station so I can hash all this stuff out with her over a cup of whatever she wants to drink?
- Why do over half of the visitors to my blog spend less than 5 seconds here?
- Why do my recent journal entries end in "UGH!"?

Believe me, I could go on, but I used the word "abridged" in the title of this post so I'll stop. Everything that goes on beneath my balding head isn't as negative as it may have just seemed. I think of it as being more realistic than negative. Realistic and frustrating. I'm not going to lie. It's frustrating. I apologize if you found this post too serious or depressing or anything less than satisfying or entertaining, but at the same time I don't really care. I've always tried to be very honest and authentic, and this blog is no exception. Oh, and if anyone wants to share their thoughts, there's a comment section and if you're reading this you probably know my email address and phone number. Go ahead. Lord knows I need it.

to all the nay-sayers

Short Version: To those of you who think I look bad now, aren't you glad I no longer look like this?

Awesome Version: If someone were to write a book on Texas A&M University, the 21st century, Mullet Week 2002 would get at least 1,500 words. It was truly a week of epic proportions. An excerpt from the story would look a little something like this:

The men of the Sbisa crew decided that it was time for us to cut our long hair. They determined a far better idea would be to have mullets. So one night 11 shaggy men, accompanied by approximately 6 beauty technicians, piled in to Lauren Davis and Brittany Garner's dorm room. Each of these shameless males left the room that night with a different style of mullet. Shaved into the sides of their heads were stripes, arrows, and lightning bolts. It was a special sight to behold. As they went out that night they commenced what would come to be known as Mullet Week.

It just so happened that Mullet Week happened to coincide with Texas A&M's Howdy Week, a week devoted to feeble attempts at resurrecting the "howdy" greeting that few around here use anymore, much to the dismay of people whose great grandparents went to A&M. This happenstance worked out to the benefit of Mullet Week participators, however.

One day while enjoying their daily Sbisa lunch the newly mulleted Sbisa crew watched as six people entered the dining hall arm-in-arm, each with a large letter on their shirt that read "HOWDY!" Had they been standing in a different order their message may have been "WD!OYH". These six tradition proselytizers stood in front of the masses and yelled, "HOWDY!" to which the lunch-eating public obligatorily responded in kind.

At that very moment all of the mullet sporting men of Sbisa crew looked at each other, nodded, stood up, linked arms, and walked to the very place where the howdy crew had been standing. They stood there, arms linked, chests out, shoulders back, and they yelled passionately, "MULLET!". The response was the most authentic display of love and appreciation that Sbisa has e'er seen. Those eating their meals stopped immediately to erupt in laughter, cheering and applause. Some were even moved to the point of a standing ovation. It was a powerful, important moment in the history of Texas A&M University. Things would never again be the same.

You'd buy that book wouldn't you? Someone should write it. Of course, if I'd started my blog way back in the year 2002, then said book would in large part already be written. Sadly, that's not the case. The point I had in posting this entry (which was originally going to be a picture and a single sentence) is this: To those of you who think I look bad now, aren't you glad I no longer look like this?

under construction 2nd mvt.

I've been churning out the posts more rapidly than normal this week (see i-dub and jiffy news) which made me hesitant to post this disclaimer submission, but I think it necessary.

As I really hope you're able to tell, I've done some more work on the aesthetics of odfm. I called it that on a previous post... that means online diary for the masses... in case you weren't sure. Anyway, I think I've been able to fix most of the problems I've been running across over the past few hours. Still, I'm having trouble with the background (or the stuff on either side of what you're currently reading). If it looks like the picture above, we're sitting pretty. If it's white... then we've still got problems... and I fear that's the case.

I think my problem (here I'm looking for confirmation) is that I'm using jpeg's instead of gif's. The reason being, I can't find a site to host my gif's. The links I'm replacing with my cool canvas pieces were gif's. So... yeah, thoughts? Anyone know of a place I could keep my gif's in order to use them here? I think you do know. Go ahead. Fess up.

jiffy news revisited... sort of

Some of you may have already read Brandon Roger's most recent post regarding news and gossip. He talks about how we like to read stories about all kinds of silly things in personal lives of complete strangers. So there's that.

To further emphasize his point, and to magnify how messed up our priorities as a country are, I give you CNN.com's top 10 most viewed stories as of 1:55pm, September 26th, 2007. I copied it straight off their website.

These are the most read stories of the day. If someone who didn't know what was going on in world affairs (Heather Hendrick) saw this list, they'd think that the third most pressing issue today is the fact that Elton John lost one of his home decorations. Well as it turns out, it isn't.

On a day when monks protesting for democracy in Myanmar are being killed by their country's military, we in America would rather read about how "pets have weight problems too"... amazing. On the heels of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to New York and the absolute verbal beating he received from Columbia University's president as he was being introduced, we read about a celebrities child with a handicap. With religious leaders being sentenced to jail for abetting in rape and Union workers ending their strike for rights, we read about Sarah Silverman jokes. If you wanted the links to any of the stories I dubbed "lesser" you'll have to visit CNN's website.

Seriously, there are ten stories more important than the ten that have been most visited on CNN today. I'm not sure who to point the finger at here. I started to point at the general new-checking public for valuing silly, mostly pointless stories over stories of substance. Then I decided to point at the media for feeding us the stories (and perspectives) that they feed us. But the reason, arguably, that media gives us what they do is that they know we love it. It's a messed up cycle. Thoughts?

Now is the cycle messed up enough to motivate me to revive Jiffy News? (No link provided for JN because it is, at this point, dead). Not sure. That remains to be seen.

i-dub

I had the privilege this weekend of hanging out with some of my family at iWitness Ministries. It was the annual reunion/banquet weekend in which we shared meals, conversations, hugs, laughs, and Sharpie tattoos. After reflecting on my weekend and time spent with these wonderful people, I opted to publish something to occupy and educate my readers for a moment.

iWitness are the folks that mobilized me to go to China back in Summer 05. In doing so they unknowingly launched online diary for the masses, America's second most popular blog (according to... nobody). So if that were all they'd ever done, I think that'd be sufficient. However iW has done a lot more than send a blogging, red bearded college kid to China. They've sent hundreds of students overseas to some of the least reached places on Earth in order that they might spread the Good News.

That would be enough for most people to approve of them as a mobilizing agency, but there is really so much more than that. The way they do missions is, in my opinion, extremely biblical. What I love about iW is that they train students to live missional lives, regardless of what their geographic location is. They teach everyone who go on their trips that the "front line" is more of a way of life than it is a place. Also, and this is big, they value involvement in the local church, and see it as necessary to Great Commission fulfillment. I can see the fruit of things I've learned through this ministry and it's staff continually in my life, over two years after going on my trip.

So what's the point of this post? I don't know exactly. I've had iW on my mind a lot, and sometimes things that reside in my brain for more than a few days end up on this blog. Also though, this weekend was all about supporting iWitness, mainly through finances, of which I have little. So, I thought I could support this wonderful ministry through... well my blog. So now you know. If you know of any high school or college students who think Father's tugging at their hearts for the nations, may I humbly recommend that you point them in the direction of igoglobal.org. They will not be upset. Also, if you ever want to talk about iW or missions or anything else, feel free to ask. Seriously. I don't say things I don't mean.

So thanks iW for the weekend. Only you could lift my spirits from the movie debut upset. I love you.

it's a big weekend

Two highly anticipated movies (in my book of highly anticipated things) are coming out nation-wide this weekend. This is an exciting time!

Into the Wild - This is the film interpretation of the Jon Krakauer's book that I reviewed a while back. Initially I wasn't too fired up about this coming out because I figured for sure the movie wouldn't do the book (a true story) justice. Well I've heard some things since that have changed my mind. I'm pumped about seeing this one, and you should be too.

Across the Universe - This is a musical featuring exclusively (so far as I know) Beatles music and takes place in the 60's. It promises to be visually stimulating and all around weird. I think I'm going to love it, and I think a lot of people are going to disagree with me. Go see it and we'll hash it out.

So there. Some movie recommendations from D.O. I felt obligated to inform the masses of this epic weekend in the movie world. If you live in Bryan/College Station, you really have no excuse for not seeing at least one of these films in the upcoming week, seeing that tickets are what? $4.00 now? Yeah, you can do it.

world's first bearded super hero

Having spent all of four weekends back here in College Station at my beloved church, Living Hope, this weekend the powers that be decided it was time to put me back in a skit. I've been in a handful of skits at the Hopester over the past few years, but only once have I played a super hero. This was super hero week.

I was "Trial Man", the superhero who swoops in to your everyday situations to alert you that you're currently in the midst of a trial. The kind of trials that James talks about in the 1st chapter of his best-selling book. How does Trial Man warn unsuspecting believers that a trial is coming, you ask? Well it's not by words. I have to work my way up to the point of playing skit characters with lines. See the air horn in his right hand? That's how he warns the masses.

A brief note on the costume: It's pretty simple. All you need is the outfit you wore to church, a yellow shirt with a "T" on it, a pair of XL Sponge Bob boxer shorts, a red cape, and (this is important) a piece of poop slice of red fabric with two eye holes in it for the mask. It needs to fall apart more and more as you make your way through three services.

You're probably thinking, man, D.O., that's great. I'm glad to see you're involved in the children's ministry at your church, I bet those kids thought you were a riot. Well thanks for the encouragement, but no, this wasn't a kid's church skit character... Trial Man was for big church. This was the skit for the adults. Only at Living Hope...

[Edit 09.17.07: Photograph's background was necessarily changed from a skit closet to an American flag. Keep that in mind when reading comments. Thanks, odfm mgmt.]

I'm a sucker for musicals

Of all the videos taking up world wide web space on YouTube (and sadly GodTube... who's idea was that??), this is one that is actually worth 180 seconds of your time. I first saw it probably three years ago and fell in love. At one point I was very serious about doing at Texas A&M what these students did at their New York school. It's brilliant, it's hilarious, and it's rated PG. Enjoy.

under construction

A series of events have occurred lately (Andrew's improved blog, a growing personal dissatisfaction with mine, heaps of free time) inspiring me to attempt something I've not done since Mike Hnatt's Info 210 class: editing the layout of a website.

As you've probably noticed, the header is (mostly) new. I spent a long time making that header today. I was very excited to see how it'd look when I threw it up at the top of my blog and was pretty disappointed to see the solid brown strip still hanging out below it. I'm sure I'll be able to fix it at some point, but for now, they blog's gonna have some things that are less appealing to the eye.

Those of you who've seen my CD wallet (every CD separated by genre and none turned upside down or sideways) will know that these visual discrepancies are something I'm not okay with. I look forward to figuring all these formatting issues out. Until then, be gracious with me. Being gracious with me may include asking me to come over so you can help me with these problems. Also, please keep curse words to a minimum in the comments during this time.

Here's one plus: if the changes continue to be gradual, you won't be so scared when you visit the blog and it looks entirely different. Hang in there readers. I'll be done before Texas Ave construction is finished.

done and done

Ladies and gentleman, as promised, I give you the completed stairwell. Remember back when I had painty face syndrome? Well the labor wasn't in vain. See?

If you'd like to read what Heather had to say on the issue (and indeed her opinion is, in this case, the only one that matters) you may do so at her acclaimed blog, Sit a Spell. Of course chances are, you already have.

little did I know

Not too terribly long ago I posted this piece offering all the sneaky p's who read my blog without commenting an opportunity to show themselves. At that point I felt pretty well caught up on who the newest members of my readership were. Well it turns out I jumped to conclusions.

Since resurfacing in College Station I've had, I kid you not, no less than 4 different people or groups of people approach me and say, "Oh, you're D.O., I'm _________. You don't know me, but I read your blog." Some have even been so forward as to claim that they've been "blog-stalking" me. None of these people were the ones who reared their precious faces in the afore mentioned post. They're all new. This brings my total number of readers to 13 or so.

Now a lot of people would probably cringe at the thought of a total stranger stalking them via the Internet, but not me. I'm ok with it. I'd be more ok if people added on to their confessions of blog-stalking comments like "... I read your blog, and it's truly excellent!" or "... I read your blog and in my humble opinion, it's an epic masterpiece" or really positive feedback they feel like wrapping their confessions up with. But I'm content. They fact that they're (you're) reading really speaks enough to the blog's worthwhileness. (It's only fair that I inform you guys that you really are deceived.)

Anyway, the whole point of these five paragraphs isn't to ask all the new ghost readers to fess up by posting comments (though this is obviously welcome) or to brag on how the online diary for the masses family has grown. Don't worry, you readers are still an elite community. The point is this: I give mad props to those of you who have the gusto to come up to the random guy with the red beard and tell him that you've been keeping up with his mindless digital rants. Along those lines, it is important to note that if there are any remaining blog stalkers our there, you should feel welcome to approach me and tell me so. I won't think you're weird.

So thank you to all the honest goku stalkers (see pic) out there. Though I'll never understand why you spend any of your valuable time in these parts, rest assured that I'm truly glad you do. And also I'd like to thank those of you who've made room in your sidebar for a D.O. link. That's very sweet.

pointer finger tip: numb

No, this isn't a picture of my trip to College Station's latest death metal show, nor is it my head shot for my haunted house application (though I do need a job). It's what I looked like after applying a fresh coat of spray paint to the Hendrick staircase.

Aaron and I had the brilliant, what-could-go-wrong idea of plastic-ing off the area surrounding the staircase so we could spray freely, without concern for dirtying up the rest of the house. We even made a resealable door to get in and out of our plastic vat (background of picture). Well after a couple hours and about 8 cans of spray paint we learned a few valuable lessons:

1) Spray paint makes things sticky, and when you're surrounded by 1mm plastic walls and floors, sticky is, to put it lightly, miserable.

2) Josh Langston surgical masks help with the fume factor, while simultaneously concentrating loose paint beneath your eyes, and in my case, in your beard.

3) When you made an opening in your vat, regardless of whether or not it's resealable, loose paint that doesn't end up on your face ends up in every neighboring room the house has.

4) Paint thinner isn't so easy on the eyes... As in, I wouldn't put it in your eyes. It burns.

5) Because of Lesson 3, spray painting in the house may save you some time as far as the paint is concerned, but when you factor in the clean up... it's hardly worth it.

6) Apparently the professionals put Vaseline beneath their eyes and nose in order to make for easy facial clean up. (We of course found this out as we were rubbing paint thinner in places it needn't be).

Nevertheless, Aaron and I enjoyed serving Heather in that quasi-toxic plastic vat. Well I did... I think Aaron did too. If not, he's more than welcome to defend himself by correcting me in the comments below.

Stay tuned for a photo of the finished project!

college station (part 2 of ??)

So far, exactly 21 days into my epic self-actualizating journey, I've made it 2.75 hours South of Dallas. At this rate I won't see Canada for another 231 days or so.

For those of you who've had more than two or three conversations with me, it should come as no surprise that I paid the Hendrick fam a visit during my stay. They've changed locations and their kids have grown up a little, but a lot of things about this family hasn't changed. The kids are obviously still adorable, Heather's still writing long blogs that are read by approximately 2% of all Americans, and Aaron's still fixing things and being handy (like a spiral stairwell, stay tuned for more on that. Another constant with the fam is that they still love me after a year of absence. They love me enough to tell me things that they know I won't necessarily enjoy hearing.

They lovingly brought up their concern that in my quest for vision, it would be foolish to do it out on my own, disconnected from a loving body of believers. Community. It's kind of a theme in these parts. They encouraged me to rethink how I was going about this trip.

I did. In my seeking Father and thinking about my current situation, I realized that this trip went from being an idea, something I'd told a handful of people about, to a reality, something I was actually doing. I said from the get go on my trip that if Father told me to stay and hang out in any given city, if He had work for me there, that I'd do it. Well I never thought it'd be the second stop on my trip but it turns out it is. Crazy huh?

So I'll be hanging out here in the Station (Bryan, actually) for the next _____ weeks/months/whatever. I'm going to pour in to the Body that I was growing in a year and half ago, and I'm going to let that Body pour in to me. I'm going to continue to seek Father for vision and direction for my life while I'm here, but I'll be doing it in the context of service to the Church and, again, community. After that, who knows? Well God does, and I'm confident that by the time I'm supposed to leave, He'll have thrown me a bone and I'll go chasing it.

I've been all over the map in my head in coming to this decision, and if you'd like to hear more details (they'll probably bore you unless you think too much like I tend to) then feel free to give me a call. I'd write it out but then the post would be long and only 5 people would read it as opposed to the 10 that will since it's this length. So, what do ya think?

this is nice

I really think that living in a big city that forfeits you the ability of seeing sunsets on a regular basis is unhealthy. I've seen more beautiful sunsets in the past 10 days of being in College Station than I did my entire year in Dallas. They are so refreshing. In the midst of this hectic, crazy, and often confusing life, it's so nice to be able to look West around 7 or 8pm to see such beauty. It's peaceful, and dare I say healing.

So thank you Lord for sunsets and thank you George Bush Pond for your hospitality.

book review vol. twelve

I came across this book at a Dallas area Half Price Books I visited with a friend. I had no intentions of leaving the store having made a purchase, but upon thumbing through this book I thought it worthy of my $6.47. At first, second, and possibly third glance, I wasn't sure how to go about thinking of this book. Was it a joke? Was it serious? The cover and certain charts (including the "Common Handraising Postures" chart) made it seem as if it were a sarcastic book, but the content of much of the body seemed too right on to be a joke.

Well it turns out that A Field Guide to Evangelicals & their Habitat is in fact a satirical look at, well, evangelicals. The author, Joel Kilpatrick, creator of Lark News, is said to "attend church regularly for personal fulfillment and new material." Well having completed the book it is evident that this man does indeed attend church and has a knack for picking up on the humorous nuances that occur across the nation in churches residing under the "evangelical" umbrella, ella, ella.

So after reading this book, not only will you have laughed a lot (assuming you're one who can poke fun at things that are typically taboo to laugh at), but you will also have learned:

- What evangelicals believe
- How to identify an evangelical on the field
- How to plan and execute a field trip to an evangelical church
- How to talk and act like an evangelical without being one
- Evangelical habits overseas
- How to decorate like an evangelical
- and much more.

Some recurring themes you'll come across in this book is the fact that evangelicals love homeschooling, eating, and voting Republican. Meanwhile, they hate bars, R-rated movies, and CNN.

Though I did laugh throughout the entirety of this book (less in the "Evangelical Mating Habits" chapter), about half way through I started to question how fruitful it is to go into this much detail poking fun at the quirkiness of the current status of the church in America. Though I doubt anyone reads the book this way, a beneficial way to look at it would be to realize that, though it is a satire, this book does justice to how the non-believing world sees believers. Upon realizing that, if we could strive to be less lame, that, I think, would be fruitful.

I'll leave you with a few quotes from the book:

[On how missionaries make a living]
"Long-term missionaries spend every third year traveling the US... they also dress in the perceived traditional clothing from their country of service, playing to Americans' mistaken belief that Third World residents dress in colorful handcrafted garb... missionaries know that if they showed up to preach in an old *NSync T-shirt and ill-fitting swim trunks, nobody would give them a dime"

[On decorating like an evangelical]
"On the wall immediately visible when you walk in, hang a framed cross-stitch or embroidery that reads, 'As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, Joshua 3'. There is simply no substitute for this particular piece if you wish to maintain a convincing evangelical design"

[On greeting evangelicals]
"...offer a standard greeting, coupled with a phrase like 'God is good' or 'Praise God' or 'What a blessing'. Give a warm handshake, perhaps pulled into a brief hug if the person is of the same gender."

[On bars, nightclubs, and poolhalls] (Bold added)
"You will not find evangelicals in places that encourage drunkenness, fornication, dancing, or fighting with pool cues. The only time they might duck into such a place is to hang a poster for a Christian concert or a notice about an alcohol recovery program at their church. Evangelicals don't want to make the mistake Jesus made in hanging around society's lowlifes and becoming known as winebibbers and drunkards -- a reputation that put a major crimp in his earthy ministry."

Waco, TX

The first stop of many on my current journey was all of an hour and half due south of Dallas. Many people only know Waco as the city where Baylor University is and the place that 35 and Highway 6 meet. Though that comes close to summing up the entirety of the city, there is in fact a little more to be known of Waco. You won't learn about these things in this blog, but there is more to be known. What you'll learn here is things I've experienced during my stay.


I've split my nights sleeping on the couches and floors of Jessie Epperson Harris, my college roommate (that's right, he's got a blog now) and Sam Binkley, my best friend from high school. That picture of Jessie isn't current, but I couldn't resist. Believe it or not, he actually looks cooler than that now. I know, it's a tough cookie to swallow. Sam is the one on the far right of the couch on which I've been sleeping.

Last time you heard from me was my first full day in Waco. I've done some neat things since then. Arguably the most eventful of which was my visit to Homestead Heritage. Many people visit this place to eat of their tasty, home-grown food or to visit their shops where visitors can buy homemade pots, furniture, blacksmith stuff. I, however, went to visit with people who live in community. Basically, these people live outside of Waco in the country and they live communally. They grow their own food, have church, school, and life together. It's the kind of thing that most people would look at and say, "that's weird" or "they're a cult" but I'd beg to differ. I think they're cool. Here's a pic of their mill, which was powered by a water wheel that is slightly visible out the window in the back. The flo. Pretty cool.

Another noteworthy happening that has occurred since my arrival in Waco is the birth of new friendships. I've been privileged to meet a handful of people who have really encouraged me and with whom I'd hang out more if I actually lived in this town. Among these fine people are Niki Fullbright and Natalie Adeleye. They are two separate people but from what I've observed they function as one entity. I've been given the opportunity of hanging out with them two or three times during the past week, and each time I leave thinking about how truly enjoyable the fellowship was. It was to these new but faithful friends I turned when searching for a place to watch the So You Think You Can Dance finale. So thank you friends. I've enjoyed you much more than you've enjoyed me, I promise.

So that more or less sums up the highlights of my Waco time. The only thing I could speak on that I didn't would be all the time I've been able to spend with Father while here. He's been showing me some good things and I'm confident He'll continue to do so. When all these things start coming together and making coherent thoughts, rest assured, I'll share them. Until then, thanks for reading and Waco, thanks a lot for being so hospitable. You're not a bad city.

Next stop: College Station, TX!

good to go

If the past few days are any indication of how the rest of my journey will be, then I'm sad to say these trip updates will occur a lot less often than I'd like. However, so long as I'm able to find a Panera Bread in any given town, I'll be all set. Thank you Panera, for offering free wi-fi. It is greatly appreciated.

So I started living out of my car on Friday, the 10th. I feel this somehow adds some legitimacy to my having modeled for Vagabond Clothing Co. I packed my car (who will be henceforth referred to as Skylar) in such a way as to allow maximum comfort in the front seat while utilizing ample amounts of storage space in the back seat and trunk, and keeping the most visibility out my rear view mirror. I believe I've succeeded. I like to keep the front seat open so I can give people rides. This has already proven a fruitful idea.

The contents of what I've packed include: clothing for all seasons, a sleeping pad, a sleeping bag, a pillow, a towel, a washcloth, toiletries, books, two packs full of climbing gear, one bouldering pad, a frisbee and a slackline. All the essentials. Oh, and my purse which contains the things that I keep with me at all times: books I'm currently reading, my laptop, a rain jacket, a long sleeved shirt, a headlamp, a camera, speed Scrabble, and a hacky sack.

And now, for some FAQs:

So where are you now? I'm in Waco. I'm staying with one Jessie Harris, who left town last night and will return on Thursday evening. This is of course not a problem because my good friend Sam Binkley also lives in Waco, and is apparently, at present, carrying a broken phone. I've not been able to get a hold of him. So Panera Bread it is.

Where do I plan on going? Ultimately I'd really like to make it up in to Canada. Will that happen? I don't know. I'm basically just hanging out from city to city and enjoying whatever the Lord throws my way. If I feel like he tells me at some point to stop traveling and invest in a particular location, or to go back home, or to do some other option I'm not creative enough to muster up, then I'll do it. I think it'll be a good time, whatever happens.

Why are you doing this? Good question. There are a few reasons as to why I'm doing this. One being simply that I will likely never again in life have an opportunity to take such an adventure. Another reason (and this one satisfies the spiritual types) is I'm seeking vision in -- and for -- my life. I'd be doing this whether I was traveling or not. I long to have something in my life that I know Father gave me to run towards. Right now the only thing I know that I ought to be running towards is Him. That's a great start, but that can manifest itself in so many different ways. I want to discover, by seriously seeking the face of God, what he created me to do. I'm not naive as to think I'll have this all figured out in three months from now, but I want to be closer to it by then.

Where will you sleep? If I'm in a city where friends or acquaintances reside, then I plan on sleeping on their couch, floor, or yard. This applies to your acquaintances too. Got people in the western half of the US? Feel free to tell me. If I find myself in a city where I know absolutely nobody (and I expect this to happen many times), then couchsurfing.com will help me find a place to sleep. Check it out. It's a pretty sweet thing.

Alright, that's all I've got for you now. I could certainly go on (I've got nothing but time), but I bet you're tired of reading at this point... assuming you made it this far. Next stop: College Station.

book review vol. eleven

I bought this book after it was brought to my attention with a high recommendation from Allen Duty. You may recall the title from the review on the Duty's blog. Well now I've completed the book and it's my turn to give my two cents.

There is no question that at this point in history, the scientists, environmentalists, conservationists and preservationists have successfully informed the public of the deteriorating state of our world to the point that it is now very chic to be (or at least to appear) green. Some people are legitimately doing it, others fake it - not unlike claiming the name of Christ. Matthew Sleeth and his family are doing it. This gives him credibility in writing a book on the topic.

One of the biggest points that Sleeth gets across in this book is the fact that a part of obeying certain well-known commands from scripture (i.e. "Love your neighbor") includes living in such a way that minimally impacts the environment, both for the benefit of future generations and those living in today's third world countries. He teaches that our motivation for living green ought to be love, which comes from the Lord. That's true, and it's something that I'm sure a lot of people need to hear.

However, I came into this book already believing that it is our duty as believers (not to mention humans) to live modestly, and even sustainably. Though this book did open my eyes to a few areas where I could reduce my impact on the environment, most of what he taught I either already knew or could have figured out without too much thought. Now that isn't to say I'm practicing it, so it's good for me to hear, but still, it was less practical than I'd hoped.

I was also pretty disappointed with most of Sleeth's references to scripture and how he used them to make the point he was making. I found the majority of his arguments far from convincing. To say that you are experiencing "the peace that surpasses all understanding" because you were gardening with your wife just like God created you to... come on, that's weak. And I'm pro-gardening and certainly pro-wife.

In his defense, Sleeth did have a nice little collection of pages there in the appendices that were a lot more practical than the 200 pages that precede them. Unfortunately I found even those to be lacking. The theme of what he taught was to pick the appliance that used the least energy when purchasing new ones, and to make sure to turn things off when they aren't being used.

So thank you Allen for the book recommendation, I appreciate your thinking of me. But to my readers: I don't recommend this book to you unless you truly feel at a loss as to where you stand on environmental stewardship. If you find yourself unsure of what our role as believers is, then by all means pick up the book. I'll let you borrow mine. If you think you've got a pretty good grip on how we ought to treat our world, and what motivates us to act that way, you don't need to read this book. What you do need to do is check out the Supercinski's blog, where they're doing a series on getting greener. I do recommend this, and I strongly believe it will not be a waste of your time.

year in review: the Dallas year

I've been thinking about how I wanted to approach this post for a while. I decided I'd go with a couple explanatory sentences, followed by a couple introductory sentences, followed by a list of things I've learned this past year in Dallas, and conclude with some more sentences, only they won't be explanatory or introductory, they'll be the opposite... conclusilatory.

Those of you who've been reading my blog for the duration of this past year know that I've not been madly in love with my time here in Dallas. Hopefully you don't think I'm depressed, because you'd be wrong, but if you thought I wouldn't move back to Dallas save the Lord speaking it over me in three consecutive dreams, then you'd be correct. I decided about 3/4 of the way through my stint here that it would behoove me to pen some of the things that I've learned while living in the Big D, so as to ensure that my time here was not spent in vain. My friends, I give you the list (in no order of importance):

- I am able to support myself. For the first time this year I've lived without any parental subsidization.

- Living in a place for any amount of time and not being plugged in to a solid church is something no believer should have to be a part of. It makes things way harder than they ought to be.

- I don't like bars. They're lousy places to hang out, for about ten different reasons, yet it's where people my age want to hang out.

- Work doesn't have to suck.

- No matter how terrible you think your geographic location is, if you have people around you who you love and who love you, you'll be good to go. You'll think sometimes you're not, but you really are. People are so precious.

- If I had to take a college class on how to get around downtown Dallas, I'd fail, no question.

- Traffic, though detrimental to the environment, is otherwise only as bad as you make it. However even if you normally make it a pleasant thing, you're allowed a slip here and there. (Not sure what was going on the day I took that picture above, streets are never that clear).

- The Lord's ancient work is taking place all over the world, including in hundreds of places throughout any given community. It's easy to miss when you aren't living in the Spirit, but it is so sweet and refreshing when you do spot it.

- Regardless of your situation, how sorry you'd like to feel for yourself, or how angry you are at either society or God, the fact remains that though your circumstances have changed from previous times when things were "better", Jesus hasn't. It's no less accessible during your bad times than your good ones. He still longs for you to know him way more than you yourself want to know him.

- When you find people you like, you should hang out with them. I believe that.

- People in this generation (both believers and non-believers) long to be around authenticity. They can tell whether or not you're being real.

So there you have it. A list of eleven things I've learned (or relearned) during the past year. Nothing novel, nothing profound, but lessons nonetheless. I'll close with another list of sorts, a few thank you's to people who've made me like Dallas way more than I ever thought I would. You are the people who will make it hard for me to leave. If it weren't for you guys, I'd have no problem in the world washing my hands of this city. So thank you to Jon, Mikey, Colby, Laura, Rachel Reed, Nat-town, Hannah Morgan, Antwan Contrerras, Hunter Lott, Ford James, David Foltz, Keith Peeler, all the iW people, and Louie. I appreciate you guys and girls more than you'll ever know (especially those of you who don't read this blog and have no idea you're on this list).

So farewell Dallas. I'm sure you won't miss me, and rest assured, the feeling is mutual.