Adore

I know it's not December yet, but I am talking about Christmas anyway. Because in the Duran household, Christmas starts when I say it does (which is usually October 1st... don't judge me...)
I have begun to work through my annual list of "must listen to Christmas albums". So far, so good. I've even added to it. The latest cd to serenade my eardrums is Chris Tomlin's Adore. Man... It's got some great songs!

The best of which is the title track.

A lot of Christmas songs have traditional verses with the artist writing a modern chorus. Adore is different in that it takes the chorus of an old hymn, changes the melody and adds in modern verses. It's not a flashy song with bells and soaring guitar solos. It's a reflection on the Christmas season... and a great song of worship.
Soothing is probably the best way I know to describe it.

Give it a listen. Hopefully you dig it as much as I have been!

Politics

What a weird election! Not only is this the longest election in Canadian history (by something like 7 days), it also feels like the most discussed. That's weird to me. I was raised that you keep your political opinions to yourself. I can see why. Sharing them seems to cause nothing but fighting!

Facebook is full of examples. I've seen posts with upwards of 4k angry comments complaining about this party or that party. That's not even touching on the actual conversations that I've been a part of or listened in on. People really get worked up about this sort of thing!

It's also frustrating how confusing it's making the election. It's hard to get a grasp on what party to vote for when there are 5 million voices all screaming what they think. It's really taking the "fun" out of the election. Sure discussion is important, but there isn't a discussion. It's a yelling contest.

What I am most discouraged by is the fact that all the whining and complaining and opinionating wont end on the 19th. No matter who wins, Facebook will have plenty to say about it on the 20th!

Singing

Singing is really really hard. I have huge amounts of respect for people that are able to get up on stage, sing and put on a killer show. I struggle to maintain the right key let alone project and turn on the stage presence.

Then there's this person.

I don't really know what category they fall under... but hopefully you enjoy this video either way.

Worship Tunes

I had the chance to play on my church's worship team on Sunday. Playing music is awesome in general, but worship music just has that extra something too it... probably the worship aspect. That's my guess.

It's been about a year since I was on a team. Man, have I missed it! Working together as a team to arrange the songs, practising them like crazy and then playing them on Sunday morning is just... awesome!

Anyway, I've discovered a couple of new favourite tracks that I thought I would share.

Kari Jobe - Hands To The Heavens

Really cool song. Saw her play this one at Wonderjam this year and fell in love instantly.

Revelation Song - Candi Person Shelton
We play a couple of Candi's songs on Praise and Worship Sunday, but I hadn't been introduced to her cover of Revelation Song until Sunday. I dig (which I guess goes without saying as I wouldn't have put it on this list if I hated it...)



Chris Tomlin - At The Cross
The chorus of this song is so poetic. "Where your love ran red and my sin washed white". I know that's Christianity 101, but still, such a great way to phrase it!

Beyond The Mask

I'm pretty hyped for this movie. I know, I know. I say that a lot... but I get hyped for a lot of movies!

This one has a lot of promise. Good early reviews (although God's Not Dead had the same thing...), great looking trailer and it's written by Paul McCusker (he has worked on Adventures in Odyssey for years).

It's premise is what has me intrigued. From IMDB -

A British East India Trading Company assassin seeks to redeem his past by thwarting a plot against a young nation's hope for freedom.

That's right, it's a Christian movie about an assasin who is trying to prevent a plot involving the revolutionary war in the U.S. How is that going to play out!??! I guess we'll have to see this weekend.

It hits select theatres Friday, hopefully I'll be able to catch a showing and report back next week.

Have you had a chance to catch it yet?

Kingdom Bound 2015 ~ In Pictures

I've talked a lot before about my love of concert photography. Big concerts have a lot going on. There are countless great shots to get in all the chaos of lights, people and sound.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Kingdom Bound 2015.
I'm a little mad that I didn't get more of for King & Country. I wanted to enjoy the show (which I did) with my eyes and not my lens. In retrospect I succeeded... but missed out on a lot of cool pictures.

Aside from that... enjoy the shots!

For King And Country 

Michael Tait and Newsboys... but mostly Tait...

Kutless (who didn't perform Sea of Faces...)

A crowd rocking out to Disciple. Really dig anything with hands in the air. 

I know it's not the fanciest photo, just love the lighting/ crowd.

Casting Crowns. This captures the sea of faces (mmmm) watching the show.

My friends in AFT rocking out!

I'm not sure if getting that much lens flare is good or not... but I like it. That's all I care about.

Not a great picture for being close, but again, that lighting!

Did I mention Kutless didn't do Sea of Faces?

For King & Country

I was hanging out at Kingdom Bound last week. It's one of my most favorite events to do at LIFE. You're surrounded by some of the biggest and best in Christian music for 4 days in a different country. It's just so cool!

The first year I came, I saw a band called for King & Country on the"Park Stage." That's where up and coming bands play, usually rock. They weren't really a rock band, but man, they were so good. I actually felt bad for them. They put on this amazing show and there were only about 20 people watching.

That must be discouraging.

You take all of this time to write songs, record them, fit them into a live set and then hit the road to tour them... and 20 people half listen at a festival.

It would certainly discourage me.

Fast forward a few years and now they are opening for a bigger band. Their on a bigger stage now, more musicians. Good on them.

Wednesday night they opened Kingdom Bound as the headliner. Wow. I've never seen anything like that in my life. 6 drum kids. SIX. Chimes, a glockenspiel, two horns, cello, guitars, bass, everyone doing vocals... oh, and by everyone, I mean the 7 members. That's right, all those instruments are getting played by 7 people. It must be exhausting for them to run around between them for an hour!

Anyway, all of that wall of text to say this - Don't get discouraged.

I imagine at some point they thought "this music thing is really hard." They could have folded right then and there. But, they knew what they were capable of. What they were called to. They stuck with it. They've "made it." If we throw in the towel, we'll never get to see what God had coming our way. What his master plan was.

Also, go see for King & Country. Seriously. Just do it.

Canada Day

I am a huge fan of holidays. Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving are all favourites. This year, I'm really excited about Canada Day. It's no where near the Christmas level of excitement, but it might be beating out Thanksgiving!

Why?

I don't actually know! It's just a cool holiday. It's generally a middle of the week day off. Which is kinda weird. Usually statutory holidays fall on a Monday or Friday. Having your week disrupted is pretty cool.

There's also the celebration. People are everywhere in town! There's lots of red
and white on the streets, kids with painted faces running around with flags. Patios throw their doors wide open to let the smell of fries drift across the festivities.

That's not even talking about the fireworks display! In Barrie, they send a barge out into the middle of the bay and launch them off. Because Barrie has a massive waterfront, this makes for a pretty spectacular view! I was blown away by it last year, here's hoping for a repeat performance!

What do you have planned for the 1st?

Sandwiches

I seem to have a thing for sandwiches. I didn't realize I did until recently when I went almost a month of bringing them to work.

They're easy to make, easy to transport and really have unlimited options when it comes to ingredients.

One of my favourite sandwiches is the grilled cheese. Seriously, there's so much to love! It gets even better when you start throwing extra ingredients into it.

Suffice it to say I got pretty excited when I found out there was a grilled cheese restaurant 4 minutes from my house!

On Saturday, I made the plunge. Their menu filled with all kinds of weird and wonderful creations. I settled on what I felt like mowing down. A cheddar, cream cheese, bacon and jalapeño pepper sandwich. Cream Cheese and Bacon... and Cheddar. O.K. That sounds like a horrible mix... but they are selling it, so it must be o.k.

Man, was it great! I was almost sad when I ran out of sandwich!

I guess the moral of the story is throw as much stuff as you can between two slices of bread and it will eventually taste great!

Also, the next time you make a grilled cheese, slap some bacon and cream cheese in there. It's better than it sounds.

I Can't Read Non-Fiction

I learned that about myself when I was still in grade school. Any time I picked up anything that wasn't fiction for casual reading... well.. I set it back down again.

I've heard a lot of people say that they can only read non-fiction, which reminded me of my original conclusion. So I decided to test it.

It's been years since I thought this, surely I have grown out of it and I can enjoy non-fiction now! So I bought a book about a guy trying to make it in Hollywood. I think movie making is a cool subject, I know the guy is successful, so that should add some meta humor and it's a short book. This will be a piece of cake!

It's been 3 months since I touched it.

And I was enjoying it too.... I just don't seem to do well when I know something actually happened!

It's amazing I've been able to read the Bible as consistently as I have over the years. Considering I can't even finish a 200 page biography I'm interested in!

Are you only able to read one class of book? Or are you capable of going between the two without giving up?

Songs I'm Digging

If you're a regular on this blog, you know there are two things I have an endless passion for - Music and Movies.

I really don't think I would enjoy life nearly as much if I didn't have music... yesh... just thinking about it is sad...

With that in mind here are my favourite songs right now! On and off the radio.

Audio Adrenaline - Dirty
I love this song so much. Great message and a KILLER guitar line! So many hooks. So catch. Mmmmmm



Mat Kearney - Heartbeat
Speaking of hooks... this song has a great one! It's got this perfect mix of retro groove and modern pop. I feel like I could listen to it on repeat for an hour and still love it... that could be an exaggeration though...



Jonathan Thulin - Compass
Jonathan is one of my favourite song writers right now. He's a real word smith. I crank this one whenever it comes up on LIFE!



Tenth Avenue North - For Those Who Can't Speak
Another song under the "great message" banner. It's also just got an all round great vibe!



Press Play - Force of Nature
I like the chorus. Nuff said



Allies - My Life
While listening to The Retro Show with Scott Jackson a few weeks ago it hit me "you really like Allies". And you know what? I was right! I do like Allies!



Chris Tomlin - All My Fountians
Heard it in church about a month ago. Really cool sound for Chris. Also, I counted 5 (FIVE!) guitars on it.



Delirious - Rain Down
Along with discovering how much I love Audio Adrenaline and Allies over the last week... Delirious has also been added to that list. Man, I regret not seeing them live...



Anthem For Today - Raise It Up
This may or may not be another shameless plug for the music video... however I do legitimately like the song! Such a fun one!

Anthem For Today - Raise It Up

Last week I shared about my current video project. This week, I present it!

I am fairly happy with how it came out. I'm slowly learning that most people are never truly happy with a finished product... unfortunately I am one of those people.

That being said, I'm still pretty excited about it!



A lot of credit needs to go to AFT's lead singer Pip Lucas. He help out a lot with cutting the words out.

Making A Mess And Having A Video Come Out

I can still remember the first stop motion video I did. I'm not sure what caused me to start experimenting with it. Maybe it was an old Christmas special? Something I learned in School? Not sure. Something caused a younger (shorter haired) version of me to dig out his favourite LEGO characters and make a 13 second video. 

It was nothing special. It was Doctor Octopus chasing spiderman on foot (totally not how it would play out in real life). However, it was enough to light a fire in my little mind.

Over the next few weeks I would construct more and more elaborate sets. It culminated in a man crossing the road of a small LEGO town. This would be my last stop motion project. It took 2 hours to process everything on the computer. Plus editing. I thought the computer was going to explode!

Fast forward a few years and I am ready to try it again.

I had the idea to do a lyric video for a song (really any song), with the words all animating on from all directions. Markers and crayons tumble across the screen in explosions of color. A Toy Story for art supplies. The only issue was I needed a song.

Thankfully, Pip Lucas (from AFT) loves stop motion as well. So when I made the suggestion, it was pretty much a done deal.

"'This should only take a few days'" said naive me with a big smile. Oh how wrong I was!

It started out with getting supplies. The goal was an explosion of color... so nothing that looked "normal" was allowed. 

Then we had to make the letters... Pip and I spent around 20 hours on that alone.... 

I'd like to think we're both going to be able to out scissor our kids at craft time in 15 years... I guess we'll have to wait and see on that.

After the cutting came production. That took approximately 14 days longer than the estimated 2...

I learned a lot about time budgeting and how bad I am at it over this project!

Normal film is 24 frames per second. That's like taking 24 pictures every second and then running them together really fast. Stop motion uses the same concept, but it's all manual. Move things a centimetre, take a picture. Move a centimetre, take a picture. Apparently that takes more time than I remember it taking when I was a kid!

After listening to roughly 6 Relevant Podcasts, multiple CDs, a sermon and a dozen hours of the Slam, the shoot was done!

As I finished, I turned around to see paper strewn throughout my work area... I guess I'm gonna need to clean that up...

Once I got it into my computer (different from the first one... thankfully!). It was time to makes some fixes. There were some wrong lyrics on the lyric sheet I had... which meant I had to use Photoshop and recreate some new letters... I also managed to misspell "Directed". Which I still think is hilarious. I never noticed. No one I showed it to noticed... until I had everything edited, and someone caught it. Thank God for that!. Stop motion takes a lot of focus apparently.

After all of that. We're done. I will have the video here to absorb into your visual cortex next week!

Everyone's A Critic

I'm about 20 hours into a video project. I think that estimate is more conservative than I care to admit... but I digress.

That's a lot of time on something. I'm very excited about it. However, I'm also very scared. I don't know how it's going to turn out.

Right now, all the footage looks great. However, I have no idea if I will get it open in post production (the step after production, usually editing) and realize I have wasted the equivalent of a day of my life on a failed effort.

It's scary.

Creative projects are like that. I love them. Being able to envision something and then make it happen is one of the most rewarding things in life for me. It's also the scariest. You're investing a part of yourself in something. Then, exposing that something to the world. For them to enjoy or hate. Love or reject.

I was thinking about this while spending a few more hours on the project. I am putting a lot of myself into this. What if it fails? What if no one likes it?

Then I got thinking about my own attitude towards other peoples art. 

I'll dislike a cd, and write it off as junk. Someone put a lot of heart and soul into it, and I'm writing it off. Same with movies... games... books. Someone spent hours toiling over this thing... and I'm going to hate on it?

Which is why I'm going to try and be less harsh towards stuff. Was that movie good? No. But someone tried really, really hard to make it good... and failed. They don't need us being negative. They need us being positive to encourage them to pick themselves up and try again. 

That's what's on my mind at least!

Hopefully next week I'll have a music video for you!

My Hour In Fast Food

I have had a (from what I understand) unusual professional life. LIFE 100.3 is the second real job I've ever had. The first was as a "Produce Clerk." That's a fancy term for someone who stacks oranges and bananas in ways that promote sales. Because of this, I have never really been able to relate to the scores of friends and acquaintances I have that work in fast food. Sure, I understand it's busy. Walking into a Tim Horton's on any given day will tell you that. However, I've never been able to understand what that busy feels like.

That changed today.

I went to the McDonald's on Holland St. West in Bradford to help out with McHappy Day (One of the perks of radio, doing someone else's job for a few hours!)

I got there like a school child. Eager. Excited. Ready to take on the world... and wiping sleep out of my eyes from the hour I had to rise at.

They handed me an apron and instruction. You are on coffee. The coffee department? Before Noon?

Oh dear.

A nice manager came over and quickly began walking me through the process. This is what a tea order looks like. This is what happens with a coffee. This is how to do a shot of espresso. It was a lot to take in... especially since he was fulfilling orders while giving the lesson!

Then it was my turn. No pressure. It wasn't that busy, really. However, to someone who has never made a coffee in his life (seriously, today was full of firsts) having 3 orders for a double double come in at the same time can be overwhelming.

Thank God I wasn't on drive thru.

After a few miserable attempts at getting things together quickly, my mentor encourages me. "You're doing great! You're getting the hang of this faster than I did".

I believe he was lying.

However, after about 45 minutes, I am getting into a groove. "I've got this on lock down" I think to myself as I hit the button for a small cream on an order for a large.

Whoops.

I guess "lock down" was the proverbial pride before the fall.

After a few (believe it or not successful !!!!) orders, I was done!

Lock down achieved.

My career at McDonald's is over after an hour and a half. Part of me wants to try it again. To hone my new found coffee brewing/ multitasking skills. The other realizes how stressful that would have been 2 hours earlier and that my hands STILL smell like coffee pots. Ya, I'll stick with radio.

That said, I have a huge amount of respect for workers in the industry. It takes nerves of steel. Good for you!

New Star Wars Trailer

As anyone who is on the internet knows, a new Star Wars teaser trailer dropped late last week. It seemed that all of social media exploded at once, like a million silent voices cried out in enthusiasm.

It's not hard to see why either, that's how you do a teaser trailer.

And while I could have written a blog praising whoever scripted/ cut that thing together (seriously, that guy deserves a raise), this is about another great editor.

Someone who saw the trailer and knew it could be better... in a different way.

This is a video of Matthew Mcconaughey reacting to the trailer.

.

It's actually video taken from the film Interstellar, but knowing that sorta takes the fun out of it. Seriously, the part where he raises his hand after the guy on the trailer does gets me every time.

Texting

There are a lot of things I love about my Smartphone. It's basically a pocket computer. Awesome!

It's also very easy to zone out of reality and into my phone. A few years ago I decided that whenever I'm out socially, the phone stays in my pocket.

Will I answer if it rings? Yes. Will I check a text? Yes. But I won't respond to a text unless it's an emergency. Call me old fashioned, that's just how I roll.

Really, the truth is, if I'd rather be talking to the person I'm texting than the person I am 4 feet away from... why am I bothering to hang out with that person at all?

If you've ever felt the same, this video should strike a cord with you!

Christianese

I've heard a lot of people in the church make fun of Christianese over the years. What's "Christianese?" It's Christian jargon... or terminology. A word or phrase you wouldn't use anywhere and have it make sense... except the church.

I have to admit, I've been guilty at laughing at it too. I laugh at hip hop slang too... but that's another blog.

Anyway.

While in the middle of thinking about how useless it was I began to play MOBAs. It's a genera of game with a high skill ceiling. I'm not very good at them. However, they keep bringing me back because of the amount of strategy, reflex and timing you need to get good at them. 

One of the things that adds to the difficulty is the language. There are a lot of terms that get thrown around in the heat of a round.

One night, I am seated at my computer when I hear this come out of my mouth -

"My ult is up and I just got a DD  I'll roam to mid to gank SF, if you want to TP in that may help. We can take a tier 1 after and maybe even go to bot to push that back."

Wha? That has to be gibberish! Well, it is... Unless you know MOBAs. If you do then you know that there is a lot of detail and description in the sentence.

So what is the point of this blog?

Everything has it's own version of Christianese. Gaming, sewing, hip hop (seriously though, that one is ridiculous). People say things that make no sense to the uninformed all the time, but, to someone in on the hobby, it makes complete sense. Are all the terms necessary? 

No (I still think we've really messed up the definition of anointed), but because of Christianese we are able to convey vast concepts in only a few words. 

Redemption through the blood, the grace of God, being anointed. 

All of those are subjects that could have blogs of their own. However, we are able to put those thoughts down with just a few short words.

The Ups And Downs of Photography

As I've mentioned multiple times before on this blog - I love film, music and radio. Those levels of love ebb and flow depending on the day, but all of them are things I get joy in doing. Something else I love is photography. Except... it's something that usually causes me more frustration than anything else!

Why? Well, photography is really all about luck. Yes, there is a load of skill involved too. Don't get me wrong. You have to know what ISO setting to use, how much light to let into the sensor... etc etc... But at the same time it's all about the timing.

You could have your focus perfect, settings exact with a great angle and still not get the a shot that is worth talking about. And if it's the last batch of photos I took... focus may be the biggest stumbling block!

Studio photography is different (obviously), but I find it less fun. I'd rather be shooting some video if we're in a studio.

So I guess I'm my own worst enemy... Don't like the controlled environment of studio photography and don't generally have the luck for live photography.

Thankfully Air Raid 24 was a different story. I was incredibly fortunate (BLESSED!) to be in the right place at the right time with the right focus (again... stupid focus)

The last one (one above this line) is one of my favourites. I know... it's dimly lit and there's no context for what's going on... but that's what I love about it. It looks science-fictiony to me. Gotta love that!

Anyway... that's my rant on photography. Glad I was able to get some shots at Air Raid. Here's hoping something good comes out of Heart of Worship this Sunday as well!!!

School Curriculum

As Facebook has no doubt told you over and over and over (and over and over and over) again, there is some new (very controversial) curriculum coming to public schools this Fall.

This isn't a blog about that. There are enough voices on the net talking about the pros (and the infinite number of cons) to the situation.

Instead, I figure if we are adding stuff to the schools this fall, I might as well let my voice be heard. Here's what I think should be added to schools this fall.


Useful Math

Seriously, when was the last time you had to do the math to build a bridge? Or figure out how many apples Kim would have if Dianne ate three and gave David 9 oranges? When was the last time you had to worry about taxes?

That's right. I want basic accounting and taxes in schools! Never again would I have to worry about what on earth a T4 slip is!... or is it a T3... I would know this... if it was part of the curriculum!

Political Science

Really, Evan? You would make kids in Grade 6 learn about politics? Yes. Yes I would. We are constantly hearing about low voter turn out. Why? Well... there are a number of reasons... too many for one blog. However, a basic understanding of Canadian politics may help people get into it when they hit the age they can vote. Also, I just want kids to know the difference between an MP and an MPP...
Bear in mind, Basic Political Science was one of the few subjects I aced in high school... so I may be biased...

Reading

I know that reading is a part of school... I can't remember how much (I was home schooled for most of my life, which meant a LOT of reading), but I know it's there. However, there should be more... 'cause reading is awesome!

Small Engine Repar

O.K... admittedly, I am not really serious about this one. I do sorta wish they did cover that in Elementary School though... Every time I have to pay my mechanic... I kinda wish I was one!

Doctor Phil

I have debated for a couple of days on whether or not to share this.

So I shall share it with a disclaimer. It involves Dr. Phil. You have been warned.

What I love about the internet is it's a great place to create stuff. You can share original works of art, poetry, music and film with literally the world as your audience.

What does that have to do with Dr. Phil?

Some genius decided to try and make the ultimate episode of Dr. Phil... one with just the pauses.

It's awesome.

Again, it's Dr. Phil so the set up is pretty ridiculous  -

 

If this is what every episode of Dr. Phil was like, I wouldn't miss a show!

Brian Williams

I haven't been following the Brian Williams ordeal as closely as I wish I was, however, it's still fascinating.

If this is new to you, here's my basic understanding. He lied about being on a helicopter that was shot down. The weird thing is that it was shot down over 10 years ago... how it's taken this long to come out that he was lying is beyond me.

Now he's on a 3 month suspension from NBC and most of his "personal stories" are being called into question.

It reminds me a lot of Steven Glass. He's a guy that fabricated 27 out of 41 articles he wrote for the news magazine The New Republic. Imagine that... you make up over half of your NEWS articles!

It's crazy. It's also a great reminder to be careful what we say.

Obviously, it takes a lot of trying to get into a situation like Williams or Glass, however we still have to give an account of what we say.

A white lie might not seem as bad as claiming to be on a helicopter that was shot down. It's still a lie though.

Eventually, even the smallest most unnoticeable lie will catch up with you. And that will hurt your reputation. News anchor or not. Once your credibility is smashed, it's pretty hard to put back together too.

For Glass, he had to start writing fiction. Probably what he should have been doing from the start. For Williams, I guess time will tell.

The truth hurts, but lying can be fatal.

Selma

David Oyelowo says that God told him to play Martin Luther King Jr in the film Selma. When someone says something like that, I will hold them too it. In fact, my expectations are doubled.

I had really high expectations going into Selma.

It exceeded them all.

I haven't been moved by a movie to that extent in a long time. It leaves a mark on you. Makes you look at the world a little differently than you did when you went into it.

It did for me at least.

The part that stuck out to me the most, was King. He was a guy that wanted to make a change.
He dedicated his life to a cause that he felt called to. He put his career, reputation and even his life on the line. Selma shows that. What it also shows is the faith that motivated him to do that in the first place.

And David Oyelowo nails the performance.

It may be tricky to find a showing (limited release by the look of it). However if you can find a showing, check it out. It's more than worth the price of admission.

All that praise aside, there is some content that you may want to be in the loop about - http://www.pluggedin.ca/movies/intheaters/selma.aspx

Favourite Songs

One of my jobs at LIFE is handling the music we play. I love this part of my job! Music has always been a huge part of my life, getting to work so closely with it on a daily basis is awesome!

Here are some of my favourite tracks on the air right now!

Matthew Parker - We Go



Owl City - You're Not Alone



Lecrae - Messengers



tobymac - Beyond Me

Way Too Young

I love music videos. I've mentioned it before on this blog, but I really can't get enough of them. That little boy in me (who, I might add, isn't really hidden most of the time anyway...) gets way more excited than he should whenever a new video hits the net. A good one nails it all. The shots, theme and artist's acting all coming together in a wonderful 3:30 package.

I never thought I would be blessed with the opportunity to make them myself. Well, I just wrapped up production on my 6th (well, 6th real one...).

This one is a little different from stuff I've worked on in the past. I didn't have to shoot anything. Which was weird. Someone else had done all that for me. This was all a matter of editing it together and then spending a few dozen hours adding the lyrics.

All in all, I love how it turned out!



Here's hoping I have more to throw on the ol' blog before 2015 expires!

The Best of 2014

I love the New Year. It gives you a chance to reflect on how (hopefully) awesome the preceding year was and get excited for the up-coming year.

I normally do a retrospective of my favourite things from the year, this year is no different!

Favourite Album - Switchfoot - Fading West

I don't listen to albums as much as I once did. Mostly, I listen to the radio. However, every now and then an album comes along that I just love to the max. Fading West was that album for me. It's one of those rare gems that doesn't stop being good from start to finish. It's artsy, it's catchy and it's fun. Plus, it's Switchfoot. How can you go wrong!?!? I would name a favourite track... but I can't. It's a solid album








Favourite Worship Album - Tie - Crowder - Neon Steeple/ John Mark McMillian - Boarderlands

I know I just said I hardly listen to CDs and I have 3 down as being my favourites, but to be fair... these were basically the only ones I listened to all year!


Hearing David Crowder's voice again was a treat this year. The guy is an amazing composer/ song writer. Loved being able to enjoy the guy that made me love worship music again.

John Mark McMillian is an acquired taste. His voice is... unique. Sometimes that means it's in it's own special key... however, that doesn't stop Boarderlands from being beautiful. It's a really weird album, mixing elements of 80's pop with modern worship. That's not even mentioning the blues fuelled horn sections. If you're a worship leader looking for some new songs, give it a listen. Future// Past alone is worth it.








Favourite Christian Movie - Grace Unplugged/ Believe Me

I know I know... that's two ties in one blog... I am an indecisive person when it comes to picking a "favourite".

Grace Unplugged technically came out last year, but I saw it this year. It's really good. It's the story of a girl who walks away from her family and faith to pursue a record deal. It's pretty realistic without being over the line. A good film for family movie night.

Believe Me is a really hard film to describe. It's one of the best examples of what Christian film should be, well shot, fantastic acting, believable characters and a story that makes you think long after the credits roll. However, it's not for everyone. Some of the jokes they make can definitely hit the wrong buttons... they did for me... but that's sort of the point. I recommend it, with the caveat that you it may offend you at times. And not in the ways you think it will.










And now for the rapid fire honourable mentions...

Favourite Superhero Movie - Captain America: Winter Soldier
Favourite Kids Movie - Lego Movie/ Big Hero 6 (nuts! another tie... I do have a problem...)
Favourite New Food - Chimichangas
Favourite Thing I Made -





Favourite Concert - 15th Anniversary of LIFE 100.3
Favourite Pair of Pants - Those sweet, sweet blue jeans.
Favourite TV Show - Doctor Who

O.K... that's enough about last year. Onward to 2015! What were your favourite things of 2014?