I'm Rusty

WOW! It's been a while since I wrote anything on here... Sop much has gone on, what do I write about? Well how about the hilite of the past 2 weeks? Steve Jones' wedding.

Steve got married a couple weeks ago and it was a lot of fun. I got to wear my suit, (for the first time) and everyone from Life rocked flip-flops to the wedding in honor of Steve. One thing that made me a little sad though was the fact that most people didn't dress up! I thought you wear a suit to weddings and funerals and maybe to some church events... I guess that's changed. People showed up in shorts and t-shirts. Is NOTHING sacred?!?!?! Seriously though. I know it was hot, but could you dress up a little for Steve? Other than that it was very nice. I think it might be the only time I'll ever see Steve in a tux ;-)

Magic In Passing

Well I can't say it was totally unexpected... BJ Harris caused quite a stir tonight. I was expecting people to call in and voice their opinion on why they think magic is evil, but I got the opposite. People wanting to know how they can get a hold of BJ, find out more information about him and maybe book him at their church. Can I say I'm happy to see this? I'm happy to see we've brushed off the uber-conservative state of mind and moved out of the dark ages. (www.bjharris.com)



On a semi-related note, it was interesting to see the response to the news Jerry Falwell passed away today. I was at the dry cleaners when 5 o'clock hit and the news on the radio (not Life 100.3) was about this crazy man dying... They play clips of Mr Falwell making outlandish statements and made him seem like a lunatic. I flip onto Life 100.3 once I get in the car and our take is that Jerry Falwell is a saint. I think the truth lies somewhere in between.

[My opinion does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of Life 100.3]

He did many great things...
- Founded Liberty University
- Began Thomas Road Baptist Church
- Took over PTL after Jim Bakker
- Championed the anti-abortion cause

He also (like all of us) screwed up...
- Criticized Martin Luther King Jr and supported racial segregation
- Encouraged people to ban the Teletubbies because Tinky-Winky might be gay
- Came up with this gem: "AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals."
- Supported Apartheid in South Africa
- Blurred the line between Religion and Politics

Jerry Falwell was no doubt a good man... Liberty University has become a respected academic institution under his guidance, he grew a church of 35 to over 24,000, and he became a major player in Christianity. A part of me respects the man, and yet another part of me is embarrassed to be lumped into the same "Christian" pool as him. I'm not sure how I feel about his passing.

In 15 years, what will he be remembered as? A tremendous leader who built up a mega-church and an educational institution? Or a wack-job that believed that the 9/11 attacks were a direct result of God punishing America for legalised abortion and the feminist movement? I have no idea... Only time will tell.

Sunburns!

I spent a good portion of Saturday outside... It was cloudy, not very warm (10 degrees) and it was windy. Judging by the description I just gave, would you wear sunscreen? Probably not. I didn't either, and I'm paying for it. My neck is bright red and it hurts like nobody's business whenever something touches it. "But it was cloudy and cool" you say. I know, but for some reason I still got burnt. "Not fair" is what I say.

So my advice to you... "Slip on a shirt, slap on a hat, and slop on some sunscreen... No matter what the weather is like!"

Interviews

Tonight marked the first of many interviews I will air from my time in Nashville. As you hear the different artists do their thing every Thursday night, I want you to listen for something... They are normal people! We tend to put them on pedestals as rockstars, but truth is, a lot of them are in their late teens or early twenties just like some of us. They struggle with their identity as much as we do. In many cases they don't have the freedom we do... they travel from show to show, living on a bus and getting very little sleep. It's not all glamour and groupies.

Mc Happy Anniversary

Today marks the 2 year anniversary of my coming to Life 100.3... and you know how I celebrated? I worked at McDonald's for an hour this afternoon! Not only was this my 2 year, it was also McHappy Day. Tim Maassarany and I made our way over to the Mapleview McDonald's in Barrie today to try our hand at fast food. Now it may not seem like fast food when you order and then wait for your burger, but once you're in the back... IT'S TOTALLY FAST!

Tim and I were on bun duty, and it was much more complex than I figured it would be. You stand there and watch the order screen and when an order comes in then you put the bun into the toaster. Seems easy right? Not quite. If it's a cheeseburger you put in one kind of bun. If it's a quarter pounder it's another type of bun, and if it's a Big Mac... You guessed it, another type of bun. So when you start getting busy with all different types of buns you start to get mixed up. The toaster spits out all the buns you put in, then you have to take the hot buns and match them up so they fit right. Tim and I struggled. (I got yelled at a couple times)

Let me tell you I have a new found respect for people that do that on a regular basis... CRAZY! I'll take my warehouse jobs in high school over fast food... They were way easier!

The Queen

Crystal and I rented a movie on Sunday night... We decided on "The Queen." When I first saw the previews in the theatre, I thought it looked really good. I never made it to theatres to see it, so we picked it up as a rental. I was really impressed! Now I realize they probably took some liberties with the storyline, but the whole royal family and Diana relationship was very believable. Overall I'd give it a 4 out of 5. It seemed long, but the storyline, acting and mix of real-life and fiction was great. If you're at the video store anytime soon, I'd recommend picking up "The Queen."

Double Headers

This past weekend my baseball season kicked off with a double-header (2 games in a row) on Sunday afternoon. I was so excited I couldn't sleep on Saturday night. Sunday morning I got up and I had SO MUCH ENERGY! So I got dressed, grabbed my gear and headed down to my car. I got in and had Anberlin blasting through the stereo... This was not going to happen. I swapped it for Mat Kearney's disc and began to drive out to Midhurst. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, it was the perfect day for ball.

Game 1
We start the season with a bleacher-full of fans, who are very vocal. We loved it! Fans chirping at the other team, cheering us on. (Thanks to all who showed up) The fans were the inspiration we needed to keep the ball game close. We ended up losing 2-1. A hard-fought game, (we actually had bases loaded with one out and didn't score in the last inning) and we were as pleased as you can be with a loss.

Game 2
Embarassing! We made a ton of errors, didn't hit the ball at all, and just looked flat out sad. We lost 17-1. Did I mention the fans went home after Game 1? I think that's why we lost so bad. No fan support=no extra boost in energy=big loss.

So here's my challenge for our next home game (May 27) Let's pack the stands! Can we do it? I think so!

Spider-Man 3

After my show last night I headed over the the Bayfield 7 Cinemas in Barrie to check out Spider-Man 3. Here's what I thought:

GOOD STUFF
The Moral of the Story
- Forgiveness over revenge
- Marriage is a big time commitment, not to be taken lightly
- Selfless sacrifice to save someone else
Special Effects
- Sandman and the other villians are well done.
- CGI is not as cheesy as in Spider-Man 2
James Franco
- He was fantastic!

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
It Seemed Really Long
- About 2 hours long, but felt much longer.
Too Many Sub-Plots
- Lots of storylines, but you never go too deep in any of them and never really get attached to any of the characters.

Overall it was an enjoyable movie. I wouldn't put it in the same class as Good Will Hunting or Shawshank, but it was an enjoyable experience. Worth laying down a couple bucks if you go to the matinee.

Summer Movie Season!

Summer movie season officially starts now! This summer you can expect to catch the third "Pirates Of The Carribean" movie, the third installment in the "Shrek" story and this weekend the third chapter in the "Spiderman" saga. Can I say I'm excited? Well I am. Midnight tonight I'm heading over to Bayfield 7 Cinemas in Barrie to catch Spidey in all his special effected goodness. Make sure you hit the Wonderblog tomorrow night for a full review!

Gotta go my Spidey-sense is tingling!

GMA Hilites

Last night I gave you the rundown of what happened at GMA this year... Well tonight I spill the beans on what was the most entertaining. There were lots of hilites, but I'm going to pick a couple that will stand out in my mind.

1 - The Song Writer Showcase on Sunday Night

This was when they had the writers (not necessarily the performers) of the songs nominated for song of the year come on stage, tell the story behind the song and then sing it. For example, Stellar Kart's song "Me & Jesus." It was written by Ian Eskelin (of All Star United) so he came up on stage talked about the song and then sang it. That however, was not the hilite. Matt Hammitt of Sanctus Real got up on stage with just an accoustic guitar and sang "I'm Not Alright." Now you need to understand there was no rockin' band behind Matt, just an accoustic guitar. But did he wail! It was amazing! He belted out that chorus at the top of his lungs, and you could just feel the emotion and passion when he sang "I'M NOT ALRIGHT!" I can understand getting into a song when there's the entire band behind you, but all he had was an accoustic guitar. Matt blew me away.

2 - The Artists Were All SUPER Nice

You saw musicians and bands everywhere you went all week long, and you know what? They were really nice! I expected them to big league me most of the time, but they would stop and talk and at least seem like they were interested. The radio people, on the other hand had some egos. But big shots like Chris Tomlin, tobyMac, Family Force 5 would all stop and talk as long as you wanted to. Very impressed!

Overall it was a GREAT experience. Even if you aren't in the music industry I would recommend you check it out.

With Falling Up

With KJ-52

With Manafest

With Matt from Sanctus Real

With Nevertheless