Living A Page Turner

I had Donald Miller on the show tonight. He's got a new book out called A Million Miles In A Thousand Years. Basically it's about these film-makers that came over and worked with Don to put his bestseller Blue Like Jazz to film. BUT it's not as easy as you think. Through the process of creating a filmatic masterpiece Don learned a lot about what makes a good story, and up until that point he hadn't been living a good story. So some artistic license had to be taken. The book outlines what goes into making a good story.


I read the early manuscript a couple months ago, and after reading it felt challenged to look at my own story. Was I living a good story, or was I (as Don puts it) trying to buy a volvo. It was a sobering look at what I was working towards and the kind of story I was writing. Not exactly an epic tale. But it's not natural to write a page-turner with your life. It's freakin' scary. So I am in the process of trying to figure out what I can do to write a better story. A story that took a while to take off, but when it did it was a classic.


Get the book, read it, and ask yourself: "What kind of story am I writing?"

Hobbies vs Jobs

I'm reading a book where I came across this line: "A man should never turn his hobby into a job. One day he has a job and a hobby, the next he's got a job and no hobby. A man needs both, for a man with no hobby finds trouble."

Agree? Disagree?

Launch Party

Windows 7... October 22, 2009... You excited?

Bonus points if you make it through all 6+ minutes.

(By the way, the dude at Microsoft who makes 6+ figures to come up with marketing campaigns for them should be fired)

New Music Tuesday - Hawk Nelson

Tonight we premiered the new album from Hawk Nelson: Live Life Loud. Also handed out copies of the new CD to some lucky listeners. Congrats in store for Jordan White (Newmarket), Earl Weyman (Midland), Jonathan Kolenda (Aurora), Candace Mayers (Richmond Hill), Lynn McAffee (Shelbourne), Kelly Baker (Barrie), Hillary Eppel (Owen Sound) & Donna Rauws (Barrie).

Could It Be?

Could this be true? NO WAY! A Seinfeld reunion show? CAN'T BE!

It appears so my pessimistic friend. I remember watching Seinfeld with my family back in its hay-day. The show was gold. And it's coming back... sort of.

Drops Like Stars - The Notes

Last night I had the opportunity to travel down to Toronto and catch Rob Bell on his Drops Like Stars tour. Here's a quick recap of some of the hilites.

• The problem with "Out Of The Box" is that "The Box" is still our primary point of reference.
• Suffering forces us to imagine a new future, because the one we were planning is gone.
• If we aren't careful, our success and security and abundance can lead to a certain sort of boredom; a numbing predictability, a paralyzing indifference that comes from being too comfortable.
• Sometimes there is a truth just below the surface that is, in fact, the real issue. And to get it out in the open, we have to suffer. Pain has a way of making us honest.
• Great artists put into words what so many of us are thinking, feeling and wondering. They affirm that we aren't the only ones having this experience.
• It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, black or white, young or old - if you have the same disease as someone else, or if you both have a daughter with an eating disorder, or you were both recently fired... You have a bond that transcends whatever differences you have. That is what suffering does. It is the art of solidarity.
• The first Christians insisted that when Jesus died on the cross, this wasn't another execution by the Roman Empire, This was God in flesh and blood. Bloody, thirsty, suffering, A God who was not somewhere else, distant, aloof, detached - but a God who was among us, feeling what we feel, aching how we ache, suffering like us. The cross was God's way of saying "I know how you feel."
• Sculptors shape and form and rearrange, but at the most basic level they take away. And there is an extraordinary, beautiful art to knowing what to take away.
• There is greatness within you. Courage. Desire. Integrity. Compassion. It's in there somewhere and sometimes we need to suffer to get at it.
• It isn't just a failure, a mistake, a sin, a wrong. It's also an opportunity to grow, expand, evolve, and learn. It's the art of failure.

He went for almost 2 hours without any notes, holding the crowd's attention for the entire time. It was Rob's first time speaking in Toronto, hopefully not his last.

Drops Like Stars

I'm going to see Rob Bell in Toronto tomorrow! I'm pretty pumped.

Rob Bell "Everything Is Spiritual" Intro from Fancy Lad Music on Vimeo.

Drops Like Stars - LIVE

Next Wednesday Rob Bell will be on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto on his Drops Like Stars tour. I had the chance to catch up with Rob earlier today and talk about the new book, his Nooma videos and how he deals with hate mail. You can eavesdrop on our conversation HERE.

Interested in checking it out? Tickets are available HERE.

The Mystery Box

Let me start off by confessing that I have never actually watched Lost, but I am a fan of JJ Abrams. Even more so after watching this talk from TED. Check it out.

Sweet CD Cover

Coolest CD cover I've ever seen!

Spinning On My iPod

Every other Monday a group of Life staff get together and listen to music. (Yes, it's part of the job) At these music meetings we spend a couple hours listening to new music, and picking a handful to add to the station's playlist the following week. So yesterday I brought in a couple suggestions, and we added two of them! Starting Monday you'll have the pleasure of hearing a couple bands that have been getting some serious airplay on my iPod lately... Danyew - "Closer We Are" and Owl City - "Fireflies"! Maybe in two weeks I'll bring in some more of my hidden gems. Like Forever The Sickest Kids, Dr Seahorse, Seabird or We Shot The Moon.

Who are you digging that is flying under the radar?