Drumming for a Lifetime, pt 14

Here's my latest video project. Usually I do work for others but this is an original idea I put together for a worship concert at church.  Enjoy and then let me hear your feedback!

The Passing of a Legend

One of my heroes just died. Charlton Heston passed away at age 84 this past evening. He was most definitely one of the few remaining true stars of the silver screen - a group of people that has almost completely left us. He had class, high morals, and he was even married to the same woman (Lydia) for 64 years.

His acting accomplishments are well documented, but I have to say that I believe it takes a larger-than-life man to play the roles of Judah Ben Hur (for which he won an Oscar), Moses and John the Baptist. The man that can pull off all of those roles in one lifetime without it going completely to his head deserves everyone's respect.


Some of my favorites of his other roles include: George Taylor in "Planet of the Apes", Stewart Graff in "Earthquake", Capt. Matthew Garth in "Midway" and Robert Neville in "The Omega Man" - a movie that Will Smith just remade entitled "I Am Legend". He also had the small but important role of Henry Hooker in one of my all-time favorite westerns, "Tombstone".

He was a man's man, not just because of the roles he played, but because of what he stood for. He was an Air Force veteran, a social activist in his latter years, and in 2003, he won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, this nation's highest civilian honor.

As I said, there aren't many genuine Hollywood stars left. I am however thankful he came along to fill the need Hollywood had for a true hero.

Charlton Heston has left an opening for the next genuine Hollywood hero. Who can possibly fill it?

Inspiration For Pushing The Human Race Forward

About 7-8 years ago, Apple came out with the ad campaign "Think Different". You may remember it. I didn't think much of it (positive or negative) when I saw it at first.

But, in the summer of 2001, we were preparing to move from Tulsa, OK to Los Angeles - a risky move with a full-sized family.

I needed inspiration; I needed motivation. During that summer before moving, I again saw this ad, and the words grabbed me in a new way.

At that time, I needed to hear that doing something out of the ordinary was OK; that doing something risky was not just acceptable, but necessary for me to reach into the depths of my potential. Some people can reach their potential living in one place for their whole lives, but I needed a new environment.

I was fortunate to have a wife in Chana, that was right there with me, dreaming, scheming, praying and planning. If we weren't aligned, I don't think I could've or would've base-jumped into the unknown that is LA.

Here's the text of the ad:


Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some see them as the crazy ones,
We see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world,
Are the ones who do.

Click here to see the ad on YouTube.

Click here to see an alternate (and creative) version of the ad.

Sometimes it's easy to forget all of the little links in the chain that helped take you from point A to B, and I had forgotten about this one. I'm glad to revisit it now, 'cause it still inspires me.

Think different my friends.

And think big.

Remember Me

This video was created by 16-year-old Lizzie Palmer. I'd say she gets it. Not only does she do honor to the subject, but she has a real talent. Check it out.

Have A Slice of Americana

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, and Chevrolet...

What's weird, is that I've never been a Chevy driver, or a Chevy fan. But when I was a kid, this ad campaign (recently resurrected) was America to me. It meant: the 4th of July, ball games, playtime, parades, friends, summer, etc, etc.

At the time, when the commercials were originally running, I never realized that they were instilling in me a pride in our way of life, in our freedoms and values. I know they were just trying to sell cars, but the residuals have proven bigger - at least to me. Maybe I owe them a purchase?

Everyone has been influenced (whether good or bad) by the advertising of their youth. For me, when I think of the 4th of July, I try to remember to enjoy the freedoms for which we have paid so dearly, and I also usually think of this slogan.

Sigur Ros - Glosoli

I have been wanting to share this with you guys for some time now, but have never gotten around to it. I won't describe too much and let you form your own opinion.

Please allow yourself 7 uninterrupted minutes and wear good headphones if possible. (If none are available, then crank it up!) When "the Triibe" played in Spain last year, we used this as our opener.

I am continually inspired by this video.


The Sigur Ros official site

Here is a page you can go to and stream a very good quality version of this video (much better quality than the youtube link too). You can choose high quality Quicktime or Windows Media under the "streaming links" heading. Choose the highest and wait for it to load in - it's worth it. While you're there, you can read the Q&A with the cinematographer, it's very interesting.

Inspiration For Editing

I double-checked, and I was actually surprised to find that I have not blogged about "The Cutting Edge - The Magic of Movie Editing" yet. I first saw this documentary around Christmas '05, have watched it a few times, and have since then bought several copies of it and given them away.

In short, it is a terrific history of the profession of movie editing. It discusses the first editors, and the risks they took to push forward the craft. It talks about the studio system of old, and how editors have come from the chop-shop cutter, to the director's right hand in post-production. Today, film editors have unprecedented say and creative input in the making of a movie - but it wasn't always so.

(Disclaimer: there is a shot showing too much of Sharon Stone from the movie "Basic Instinct", and though it made it's point about the editing of that scene well enough, I thought you deserved a heads-up. So, screen it before you decide to put it on for the high school film class.)

That said, I still highly recommend this film as an 'editing history and techniques primer', as well as a look at today's best editors and directors giving their insights into movie making and the working relationships they share. Check out this documentary if you haven't already seen it. It will inspire editors to further greatness, and compel those who aren't editors to become one.

A Blogging Phenomenon

This is the most unique (and sad) story I've heard in a long time, but at the same time it's very beautiful. I say that, because of the way this family has dealt with the loss of their daughter from a car crash, originally thinking she survived, only to find they have been caring for someone else's daughter in the hospital for several weeks.

Check out the Laura VanRyn blog.

UPDATE: This blog has been removed by the VanRyn family. I'm sure it was a reminder of the hardest time of their lives, so I understand. I read the last entry and it stated they were thankful for the support from all the readers (which numbered over 325,000 when I last checked the profile view count). Anyway, I'm glad they blogged while they did, because they shared the gospel straight ahead with many people who would never have heard it, and it was in a way that inspired - not hammered. God bless the VanRyn family.

Thanks to Yahoo! posting a story about it, about 100,000 people have read the blog as of the posting of this entry. That's a lot of people reading an amazing story of love and faith.

UPDATE 07-06-06
This blog is now alive again, but I was unable to comment as I'm not a team member. Regardless, it's still there in its entirety, and it's still just as moving.

UPDATE 01-23-07
All of the links in this entry seem to be dead now. I hope this story will be adequately told one day.

Special Olympics

The Special Olympics is definitely a special event. Even Bugs comes to volunteer. (Not sure if he's just looking for easy photo ops, but he played with everyone nicely - no sticks of dynamite or anything.)

The torch arrived via this gigantic helicopter. Some rescue guy was lowered to the ground to pass it off. Very cool touch. The crowd went ballistic. It's cool that they do these extras, 'cause it makes all the athletes know they matter and are being taken seriously.

The above photo was taken during the torch's lap around the track before the main torch was lit. Just before this, the motorcycle cop ran over my friend Jeannine's foot. I was on the phone with Chana when this guy was doing a u-turn, took it way fast, and ran up her foot with the front wheel. For some reason,he thought it was funny, and luckily she wasn't hurt, but MAN, next time I get pulled over I might have to give the cop a sobriety test.

For the last two years we've been at the entrance of the field when the teams (teamed up by community, like countries for the other Olympics) come onto the field. They walk in with their heads held high. They are totally pumped up and ready to compete. It's so inspiring, I have always found it hard to keep dry eyes as they walk by me and give me high-fives. The focus on their faces is profound.

Watching some of them compete, you'd think they belong in the other Olympics, because they can run well, or swim fast, or whatever. For some of them, it is a challenge to them to even try to participate in their respective event. For instance, last year I was involved in running the long jump. Some of them had good long jumps that you and I would be proud to have made. A couple of them, it was all they could muster to run the lane and jump over the scratch line. In the standing long jump, a few were afraid to go, so I asked if they wanted me to jump with them. They said yes, so together we would jump "on 3", and they would be so proud of themselves. The surrounding volunteers would go crazy and make noise for them. You could see a pride in their faces that I'm sure is seldom there. Thank God for the Special Olympics and the difference it's making.

Click here to see how you can get involved with the Special Olympics in your area.