One of the things that I love about modern technology and entertainment is how they update things that have already been done. I've watched technology vastly improve comic book hero movies from the way they were like The Hulk and Spider-Man back in the 80s and 90s to the flawless smooth realistic heroes of today.
It's funny to call them realistic because they're all computer generated graphics but it's still fun. Printing and reporting has gotten a lot better and even movies based on the Bible have gotten better.
The people at Angel Studios have done the series called The Chosen on The Life of Jesus and it's been amazing. It's so fascinating how the pace is so slow compared to other entertainment but it just feels like you're there.
It seems a little too clean at times but you don't want to get all grubby because the guys were basically wandering around homeless with Jesus were sleeping on the ground and doing all those things. But the series The Chosen has been amazing.
It just brings the Bible to life. Just like all the other entertainment things that brought the Bible to life. life before, but with the increase in scenes and acting and understanding and even my age and knowledge about the Bible, it just seems so much better than past attempts to bring the Bible to life on the screens.
At the end of the third season, they had a scene where Jesus walked on the water and they had built up the whole concept that Peter was having doubts and was frustrated because he thought Jesus was giving away what was for the Jews to the Gentiles.
When Peter stepped out on the water the scene was so awesome. When he fell into the water because of his slipping faith and Jesus pulled him up and then got him in the boat they had the character playing Peter just holding on to Jesus sobbing and saying, "please don't let go of me".
That was so touching and moving. One of the things that I love about God is that he doesn't let go of us. Once we've accepted him, we're his. And nothing, not even us, can separate us from the love of God through Jesus.
I really enjoyed it and I really enjoy the series The Chosen. I like the Christmas special that they did on the birth of Jesus. Even though it was very slow, I liked the movie about Abraham and him taking Isaac to sacrifice him and God telling him no and providing a sacrifice. Such a pivotal moment in the Bible brought to life that way was incredible. All in the comfort of my home.
Amazing.
The Chosen on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Shabbat/dp/B0CBYFFQVD/ref=sr_1_8?crid=73BB5RLEDNTO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.V95nWeq5ua-6ptSn971CgzPef87uxmYx1DVE1xan_5dev9_UUUDQzNxtKNEgzNiV8IGdCzdwNNXArLMBQ_PawaZZtg_el46BNrK4ucgzuPbjczBCsDlCjDRi21rd2hJW57OF0mVAu__ymPNhWngqRPFFdqrhET8fw5FB2rKjuQww5iOnfles1N9Qt5rqqgtnF5s2VcVIlhOxQSQV8rkA5FJoP_A-8uPI0DtGFFrDwaY.lFx3f9v3PjGaoAWQPa7wQIY1hpn2g95W2-EgaRppGaQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+chosen+video&qid=1711631084&sprefix=the+chosen+video%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-8
Angel Studios:
https://www.angel.com/
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Monday, April 22, 2024
Digital or analog ~
One of the things I keep "struggling" with is the balance between digital and analog.
There are so many people worked up about screen time and phone addiction and all of that. Lots of the videos that YouTube suggests to me right now are about pocket notebooks and how keeping an analog notebook can change my life for the better.
I've read about how the physical act of writing helps my brain remember things better. It seems to be more about the time it takes and the feeling that it's more "permanent" with it on paper instead of on a screen.
But I like my digital solutions to capturing and managing my thoughts and ideas. They seem to really help me, both in remembering things and in taking action on them.
One of the devices I've integrated into my processes is a voice recorder. Yes, I can record my voice both on my phone and my watch. But when I want to just talk for a while and not worry about how it will look typed in a text file I reach for my voice recorder. I love my Olympus VP-10 pen-shaped recorder, but keep looking at other devices and styles to see if I can do better. So far I haven't been able to beat this one.
My transcription process is not as automatic as it was but it works well. I run recordings through the transcription service every week or two and then edit and tag the text files as needed. I capture some good stuff for my journal, for my ideas folder, and other things. I still don't have a good process for transcribed facts, jokes, and quotes, but I keep trying things.
I guess I'll stick with digital. But I like to pull out a pen and scribbling on an index card or two every now and then...
There are so many people worked up about screen time and phone addiction and all of that. Lots of the videos that YouTube suggests to me right now are about pocket notebooks and how keeping an analog notebook can change my life for the better.
I've read about how the physical act of writing helps my brain remember things better. It seems to be more about the time it takes and the feeling that it's more "permanent" with it on paper instead of on a screen.
But I like my digital solutions to capturing and managing my thoughts and ideas. They seem to really help me, both in remembering things and in taking action on them.
One of the devices I've integrated into my processes is a voice recorder. Yes, I can record my voice both on my phone and my watch. But when I want to just talk for a while and not worry about how it will look typed in a text file I reach for my voice recorder. I love my Olympus VP-10 pen-shaped recorder, but keep looking at other devices and styles to see if I can do better. So far I haven't been able to beat this one.
My transcription process is not as automatic as it was but it works well. I run recordings through the transcription service every week or two and then edit and tag the text files as needed. I capture some good stuff for my journal, for my ideas folder, and other things. I still don't have a good process for transcribed facts, jokes, and quotes, but I keep trying things.
I guess I'll stick with digital. But I like to pull out a pen and scribbling on an index card or two every now and then...
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Through the Bible with J Vernon McGee ~
I've been listening to recordings of the Through the Bible radio show with Jay Vernon McGee. I found the archive with all of his radio shows combined into MP3 files and I downloaded all of them. Why would I do that and take up that much storage on my hard drives?
When I was a young Christian and AM radio was where you listened to stuff like this. I loved through the Bible radio. I would listen to him and I would be shaking my head and not understanding. I learned a lot listening and then I actually ordered his five volume commentary books that were basically transcribed from these recordings.
He's an old style study person of the Bible and knew Greek and Hebrew and could tell you all the roots of everything and dates when things were written. I'm sure it was all well researched and he did a great job explaining it because he was very homespun and had a good southern accent.
When I looked at his picture he was an old man when I was a young man. And so now at this point I'm sure he's been dead many years but it's really kind of neat to hear his voice. And hear him teaching me some more about the Bible.
It's one of those things where I hear what he's saying and I get something new and different every time from when I read whatever section of the Bible I'm in. I'm glad to have J Vernon McGee in my life for a little while again.
You can check his work out at https://www.ttb.org/
When I was a young Christian and AM radio was where you listened to stuff like this. I loved through the Bible radio. I would listen to him and I would be shaking my head and not understanding. I learned a lot listening and then I actually ordered his five volume commentary books that were basically transcribed from these recordings.
He's an old style study person of the Bible and knew Greek and Hebrew and could tell you all the roots of everything and dates when things were written. I'm sure it was all well researched and he did a great job explaining it because he was very homespun and had a good southern accent.
When I looked at his picture he was an old man when I was a young man. And so now at this point I'm sure he's been dead many years but it's really kind of neat to hear his voice. And hear him teaching me some more about the Bible.
It's one of those things where I hear what he's saying and I get something new and different every time from when I read whatever section of the Bible I'm in. I'm glad to have J Vernon McGee in my life for a little while again.
You can check his work out at https://www.ttb.org/
Friday, April 12, 2024
Being an author ~
One of my dreams and goals has been to be an author. To write. This comes from my love of books and reading.
I'm not a popular geek. While I pay attention to the names of the authors whose books I enjoy I don't dive in and learn all about them and their lives and birth dates and who their spouses are where they travel or what was their inspiration for this or that. Sure, I'll learn little bits here and there as I go along, but I'm in it for the stories that they write, not them.
My efforts to be a writer are usually stymied. I can sit for hours and focus on the computer screen and keyboard but I tend to get distracted by all the opportunities available at the computer. The Internet with its vast quantities of diversions calls and I get into it way too much.
So I've devised some different ways to capture my thoughts and get them into a format that others can consume. This blog is one of them. I also keep a journal of sorts, but it's very private and I hope that others might enjoy it after I'm gone. I also keep a gratitude log, though it has become hit and miss as I go along.
Not because I don't have anything to be grateful for! I have a lot to be grateful for and am blessed beyond what I could even imagine. I just sometimes don't make note of that thing that I'm grateful for because I said "thank you" about it yesterday and the day before and the day before that.
But that's not what I'm trying to talk about right now.
Writing is viewed by many as just one thing: publishing a book.
My wife published a book. It's self published, and I helped her publish it and make it available using Amazon's Kindle format. You can go and order a copy of her book and paper or e-book format on her website and on Amazon.
(https://www.amazon.com/Days-Preparation-Missions-Susan-Holly-ebook/dp/B004Q9TW4G/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=50+days+of+preparations+for+missions&qid=1675617043&sr=8-1)
But I've noticed that when she tells people that she's a published author and then she says she self-published they have this downcast face and frown that seems to indicate that they think she's not really an author. I disagree.
My hope is that with this blog people learn more from my experiences and mistakes and life and things that I'm trying to share and maybe be better people than me. And it satisfies my urge to be a published author, since when I press send for the post I become published worldwide (solar system-wide?) again and again and again.
That's what the Internet has done for me! It's allowed me to break through all of the barriers and be a published author. Woohoo!
#writing
I'm not a popular geek. While I pay attention to the names of the authors whose books I enjoy I don't dive in and learn all about them and their lives and birth dates and who their spouses are where they travel or what was their inspiration for this or that. Sure, I'll learn little bits here and there as I go along, but I'm in it for the stories that they write, not them.
My efforts to be a writer are usually stymied. I can sit for hours and focus on the computer screen and keyboard but I tend to get distracted by all the opportunities available at the computer. The Internet with its vast quantities of diversions calls and I get into it way too much.
So I've devised some different ways to capture my thoughts and get them into a format that others can consume. This blog is one of them. I also keep a journal of sorts, but it's very private and I hope that others might enjoy it after I'm gone. I also keep a gratitude log, though it has become hit and miss as I go along.
Not because I don't have anything to be grateful for! I have a lot to be grateful for and am blessed beyond what I could even imagine. I just sometimes don't make note of that thing that I'm grateful for because I said "thank you" about it yesterday and the day before and the day before that.
But that's not what I'm trying to talk about right now.
Writing is viewed by many as just one thing: publishing a book.
My wife published a book. It's self published, and I helped her publish it and make it available using Amazon's Kindle format. You can go and order a copy of her book and paper or e-book format on her website and on Amazon.
(https://www.amazon.com/Days-Preparation-Missions-Susan-Holly-ebook/dp/B004Q9TW4G/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=50+days+of+preparations+for+missions&qid=1675617043&sr=8-1)
But I've noticed that when she tells people that she's a published author and then she says she self-published they have this downcast face and frown that seems to indicate that they think she's not really an author. I disagree.
My hope is that with this blog people learn more from my experiences and mistakes and life and things that I'm trying to share and maybe be better people than me. And it satisfies my urge to be a published author, since when I press send for the post I become published worldwide (solar system-wide?) again and again and again.
That's what the Internet has done for me! It's allowed me to break through all of the barriers and be a published author. Woohoo!
#writing
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Basketball stats ~
My youngest son was telling me he went to a basketball game recently. He said he really enjoyed it because he went with his girlfriend and the tickets were free. They had a good time. But him telling me about that reminded me of a college professor that I had at University of Central Florida.
He was a statistics professor and would go on and on in our evening class about the National Basketball Association teams and professional basketball statistics and how he was tracking the statistics for his team and could predict a win with a certain percentage of accuracy.
He was very excited about it. He would tell us about it every week over and over. Remembering that reminded me of a guy that I worked with. When the lottery came out in our state he put together a pool of people that would all throw in some money and then he used some analysis to statistically predict the winning numbers and would spread their money out on the numbers around those so that they could statistically have a better chance of winning. I don't know that they ever won very much but they were pretty intense about it for a couple of years.
I always think that's funny when people get all intense about statistics. Numbers don't lie unless you get marketing involved and then numbers can tell you almost anything that you want to hear.
Be careful out there.
He was a statistics professor and would go on and on in our evening class about the National Basketball Association teams and professional basketball statistics and how he was tracking the statistics for his team and could predict a win with a certain percentage of accuracy.
He was very excited about it. He would tell us about it every week over and over. Remembering that reminded me of a guy that I worked with. When the lottery came out in our state he put together a pool of people that would all throw in some money and then he used some analysis to statistically predict the winning numbers and would spread their money out on the numbers around those so that they could statistically have a better chance of winning. I don't know that they ever won very much but they were pretty intense about it for a couple of years.
I always think that's funny when people get all intense about statistics. Numbers don't lie unless you get marketing involved and then numbers can tell you almost anything that you want to hear.
Be careful out there.
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Being available ~
I tend to get asked for help when I'm in stores. I think it's because
I am one of the few people looking around at other people and have an
open and available demeanor, but sometimes I think it's because I look
older or more responsbile than those around me.
When I go to Lowe's I tend to make the mistake of wearing a red shirt. That's the color that Lowe's employees tend to wear, and I think that's the color of their aprons unless they changed them to blue. But almost every time I would go in a Lowe's I would get asked by women and men where something was. It got to a point where I decided not to go to Lowe's for a while, and I've only been back once in the past couple of years.
This happens in Home Depot, in Wal-Mart, in grocery stores, and other places. Not so much in clothing stores, but I don't go to them very often and now I usually go with my wife.
Recently I was sitting in a chair in the hallway of a college campus building actively using my iPad and phone with ear buds on. A student stopped and asked me if I had a key to the lab. I had to take an ear bud out and ask her what she said, then chuckled and shook my head.
I guess I'm at that age and level of accomplishment where I seem to be "in charge" even when I'm not. I must exude confidence and availability, which cracks me up since from what I understand many people think I'm too busy to talk with them.
Often I feel like I'm not even seen or thought of. But when I get asked a question in a public location I realize I am not invisible and that I am approachable and available.
Funny how that works.
When I go to Lowe's I tend to make the mistake of wearing a red shirt. That's the color that Lowe's employees tend to wear, and I think that's the color of their aprons unless they changed them to blue. But almost every time I would go in a Lowe's I would get asked by women and men where something was. It got to a point where I decided not to go to Lowe's for a while, and I've only been back once in the past couple of years.
This happens in Home Depot, in Wal-Mart, in grocery stores, and other places. Not so much in clothing stores, but I don't go to them very often and now I usually go with my wife.
Recently I was sitting in a chair in the hallway of a college campus building actively using my iPad and phone with ear buds on. A student stopped and asked me if I had a key to the lab. I had to take an ear bud out and ask her what she said, then chuckled and shook my head.
I guess I'm at that age and level of accomplishment where I seem to be "in charge" even when I'm not. I must exude confidence and availability, which cracks me up since from what I understand many people think I'm too busy to talk with them.
Often I feel like I'm not even seen or thought of. But when I get asked a question in a public location I realize I am not invisible and that I am approachable and available.
Funny how that works.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)