Blogging the VMAs

I'm just chillin with my little pal here watching the VMA's. Its pretty uneventful so far except Beyonce. Wow! I loved her breakdown dance. That was SOOO cool! That's the best choreography I've seen in a long time. Beyonce is definitely on top of the world right now.

I'm feeling a little out of touch with the culture when it comes to some of these young rockers though. Their tracks sound much better than the live version. I hate it when that happens. I also hate it when they come out to accept their award and they're already wasted. At least Snoop Dog doesn't act a fool while holding his Gin and Juice.

I was really enjoying the tribute to Hype Williams until Missy came out on that toy truck. That was so funny!! It wouldn't even run and she couldn't get off of it. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Sarah Silverman is not funny.

Thats all for now...

Who Needs Cloud and Townsend When You've Got Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper to build Christian teen center
Rocker hopes Arizona facility will teach kids values of ‘boundaries’

PHOENIX - For all the envelope-pushing Alice Cooper has done as a shock rocker, he also knows the value of boundaries, especially for children.
“Kids love boundaries. We used to fight against them. But in all reality, what we really did want was to know where we could go. Of course, you always step over the line just a little bit to see what’s going to happen,” said the 58-year-old rocker, known for his ghoulish makeup and hits such as 1975’s “Welcome to My Nightmare.”
Cooper said his Christian, nonprofit Solid Rock Foundation has begun fundraising efforts for a 20,000-square-foot teen activity center to be called The Rock, to be built at Grand Canyon University in West Phoenix.

read more here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14136694/

Birth Date Calculator

This is an interesting birth date calculator.
http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp
Apparently I was:
29 years old, 358 months old, 1,557 weeks old, 10,895 days old, 261,495 hours old, 15,689,748 minutes old, 941,384,925 seconds old, when I did this.

Celebrities who share my birthday are:
Amit Paul (1983)
Ben Foster (1980)
Winona Ryder (1971)
Kate Jackson (1948)
Richard Dreyfuss (1947)
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (1938)
Bill Mauldin (1921)
Fanny Brice (1891)

Kay Warren on the battle against AIDS

Warren: Christians must do more to combat AIDS, comfort victims
What would Jesus do when confronted by AIDS?
By Kay WarrenSpecial to CNN

Editor's note: Kay Warren, wife of Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church and author of "The Purpose Driven Life," is executive director of Saddleback's HIV/AIDS initiative. An accomplished writer, Mrs. Warren has traveled globally to speak and learn about the AIDS pandemic

LAKE FOREST, California (CNN) -- Joana crawled toward me on her skeletal elbows and knees, each movement a painful reminder of the fact that she was dying.
When I met her, this emaciated woman was homeless, living under a tree. She had unrelenting diarrhea, little food, no earthly possessions, and only an elderly auntie who had taken pity on her to care for her needs.
Still, she roused herself to offer me, an American visitor to her part of Mozambique, a traditional greeting.
The African pastors who brought me to visit her told me that she had been evicted from her village when it became known that she had AIDS. Now, in this second village, her tiny stick house had mysteriously burned after her status became known. A short time later, Joana died -- rejected, abandoned, persecuted and destitute.
We may think this doesn't happen in the United States. "People who are HIV-positive are treated better than that here," we say. But I'm not so sure.
I live in affluent Orange County, California, yet a disabled man in my area who was HIV positive was not allowed to enter his brother's home.
He and his wife could live in the backyard, but he couldn't come inside. To bathe him, his wife had to attach a nozzle to a hose and shoot him with a hard spray of water that would hopefully dislodge dirt and grime. The family dog was treated better than this man; at least it could go in the house.
Like Joana in Mozambique, this man may also die rejected, abandoned, persecuted and destitute.
As a follower of Christ, I am seriously disturbed by both stories.
Horrific and startling images confront each of us daily through newspapers, televisions, and eyewitness accounts of those suffering from AIDS. You can do what I did for years -- choose to ignore it all because it was too painful -- or you can become disturbed -- seriously, dangerously disturbed -- so disturbed that you are compelled to do something.
Christians are just as guilty as non-Christians of wanting to look the other way when it comes to the problems confronting our world, the topics that make us uncomfortable. But we need to be seriously disturbed about homelessness, child prostitution, rape, poverty, injustice, and HIV/AIDS.
Twenty-five years into the AIDS pandemic, being HIV-positive still carries stigma and shame. But God cares for the sick and so must we.
It's not a sin to be sick. The Bible tells us Jesus was repeatedly "filled with compassion" as he encountered broken bodies and broken minds. While polite society vigorously avoided contact with those they considered diseased outcasts, Jesus responded in a radical way: He cared, he touched, he healed.
I had no medication that could cure Joana, nothing to alleviate her pain, nothing that would restore her to health. But I offered the one thing that all of us can offer: I offered my presence. I put my arms gently around her, prayed for relief from her suffering and whispered, "I love you."
This is a start, but much more is needed. Today, I challenge the worldwide church to take on the global giants of spiritual darkness, lack of servant leaders, poverty, disease, and ignorance. It's past time for those who claim to be Christ's followers to join the struggle against the devastation that the HIV virus brings.
How many more like Joana have to die before you become seriously disturbed?

Help Randy!!!

My Friend over at Ethos needs your help to defeat a challenge by our fellow blogger Carlos. You can read his plea at http://randyelrod.typepad.com/. Show him some link love!!

Nashville Area Concert Calendar

Here's who's coming to town in the next few months:

Nickleback 9-9 GEC
Muse 9-13 War memorial
Gomez 9-20 Ryman
Bonnie Raitt 10-1 Opry
Indigo Girls 10-3 Ryman
Dixie Chicks 10-3 GEC?
John Mayer/ Sheryl Crow 10-08 AmSouth
The Fray 10-12 Ryman
Yeah Yeah Yeahs 10-16 War Memorial
Aerosmith 10-19 AmSouth
Nick Lachey 10-21 Ryman
Jonny Lang 10-28 Ryman
Dixie Chicks 12-1 GEC?

Happy Birthday MTV

MTV turned 25 this year. I remember the good ol days when they actually showed music videos. I became an avid MTV viewer at the age of 12 when we finally got cable in our small town. I was hooked from the beginning. From that moment on my world increased exponentially.

When MTV launched the Real World in 1994, I was forever hooked on Reality TV. Our World will never be the same.

Here's a little timeline of MTV events that will take you back...

• The debut: Aug. 1, 1981 first video? The slyly prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the now-forgotten Buggles.
• March 31, 1983 Michael Jackson becomes the first black artist with a video on MTV.
• Dec. 2, 1983 Less a video than a 14-minute mini-movie with Vincent Price, ghouls and goblins, the premiere of Jackson's "Thriller" was an event.
• Madonna busts out: Sept. 14, 1984Performing "Like a Virgin" at the first Video Music Awards
• Money For Nothing: 1985The Dire Straits song was about MTV, mocked MTV and became the band's biggest hit because of MTV. It was one of the first videos to feature computer animation, and Sting made a clever cameo echoing his role in iconic "I want my MTV" ads.
• Bye-bye VJsOriginal video jock J.J. Jackson's contract expired in 1985. Nina Blackwood followed him out the next year and so did Martha Quinn, breaking the hearts of countless teenage boys. Alan Hunter and Mark Goodman were next. Only Adam Curry lasted into the '90s.
• Spring break: March 21, 1985College students who couldn't make it south in person could turn on MTV to catch the party.
• Rap blasts off: Aug. 6, 1986It's no coincidence that "Yo! MTV Raps!" premiered about the same time rap started becoming the dominant music form for young America.
• Enter grunge: Sept. 29, 1991Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video killed the hair metal scene and signaled the ascendancy of grunge.
• Boxers or briefs?: April 19, 1994Two years in office, President Clinton submitted to 90 minutes of questions on complex policy issues by 16-to-20-year-olds before a live MTV audience.
• Heh-heh. Cool: March 24, 1994Who'd have thunk that "Beavis & Butt-Head" would make the cover of Rolling Stone?
• Reality Bites: June 23, 1994It's hard to recall a time when setting up a group of strangers in a camera-filled home was a new idea. But the debut of "The Real World" "invented reality TV," says Thompson. "It's absolutely ground zero." And the inclusion of Pedro Zamora, who was gay and soon to die of AIDS, did more to promote tolerance than hundreds of public service announcements. "It was probably the most riveting piece of television I had ever seen," says Brian Graden, then a young, gay man and now an MTV programming exec. "I had never seen someone like myself reflected back to me ... it really changed things for a whole generation of gay people."
• Times Square Live: Oct. 22, 1998The Backstreet Boys shut down Times Square during a "Total Request Live" appearance. The ruckus cemented "TRL's" role as pop culture's home page, with Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears as king and queen of the new scene.
• Tipsy: Oct. 1, 2000Thinking about "Jackass" Johnny Knoxville getting tipped over in the port-a-potty still makes you hold your nose.
• $#@!: March 5, 2002Sharrrr-rronnnn! The first bleeped-out swear word on "The Osbournes" premiere was followed by 58 others.
• Dogging Eminem: Aug. 29, 2002The rap star was in no mood to hear Triumph the Insult Comic Dog chew over his feud with Moby. So when approached by the puppet on the VMAs, Eminem delivered a sucker punch and then flew into a rage backstage.
• Ashton punks Justin: March 17, 2003"Candid Camera" with an edge, the debut of Kutcher's series "Punk'd"
• Chicken or tuna?: Aug. 19, 2003"Newlyweds" followed the telegenic Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey as they navigated marital bliss.
• The kiss: Aug. 28, 2003It was MTV's idea to bring back Madonna for a reprise of "Like a Virgin" for the 20th video music awards, and MTV's idea to pair her with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. The open-mouthed kiss that she planted on the two young stars? That was pure Madonna, and it outranked the creepy Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley for most memorable kiss.
• Stephen & LC: Nov. 26, 2004Viewers were gripped by the love triangle on new MTV hit "Laguna Beach"

Reclusive Russian Math Dude Turns Down Prize/ Money

Sounds like this guy has an extreme case of pride... He does have nice eyebrows though.

A reclusive Russian won the math world's highest honor Tuesday for solving a problem that has stumped some of the discipline's greatest minds for a century -- but he refused the award.
Grigory Perelman, a 40-year-old native of St. Petersburg, won a Fields Medal -- often described as math's equivalent of the Nobel Prize -- for a breakthrough in the study of shapes that experts say might help scientists figure out the shape of the universe.
John Ball, president of the International Mathematical Union, said that he had urged Perelman to accept the medal, but Perelman said he felt isolated from the mathematics community and "does not want to be seen as its figurehead." Ball offered no further details of the conversation.
Besides shunning the award for his work in topology, Perelman also seems uninterested, according to colleagues, in a separate $1 million prize he could win for proving the Poincare conjecture, a theorem about the nature of multidimensional space.

Read more here:
http://www.wired.com/news/wireservice/0,71634-0.html?tw=wn_index_6

Franklin Copyright Solutions

My new company, Franklin Copyright Solutions LLC., will roll out this fall! I've been doing copyright consulting for churches and businesses for a while now on a small scale. I decided last year to take my company to the next level.

The goal is to have a website to meet all of your copyright needs. It will be a one-stop copyright/licensing clearance shop. In my years of handling copyrights for the People's Church, I've experienced a great need for this service. In addition to my consulting services, I will be providing, for free, resources and up-to-date copyright information.

Stay tuned for more information...

Madonna on a Cross

Wonder what she's trying to say by doing this. Anyone know? Do you see this as offensive?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14411012/

Making a Difference One Dollar at a Time

Becky posted this comment on my blog about Bono at the Summit:
Thanks Kari for the summary, I will be curious to know how you are personally going to wrestle with these principles. I have heard Lynn Hybels talk about the AIDs issue, and my question is-how do I do something being a mom, with limited resources about this issue in the world-not just writing a check or a letter and that being the end of it. My personal question is how can we make a difference daily in regards to this issue so its transforming our hearts to the heart of God.

Becky and everyone,
I have a few ideas about this. My friend Jennifer reminded me that we can take our kids to Mercy Children's Clinic in Franklin. They offer full pediatric services to anyone who has or does not have health insurance. Those of us who are fortunate to have health insurance can help support the clinic so that those less fortunate can benefit from great medical care. The staff at Mercy could make alot more money for what they do but have chosen to live like Jesus. Lets support them by taking our kids there. I'm sure there's a similar clinic wherever you live.

Another idea I have is this: Create a monthly food budget that you think you are spending currently for all of your grocery/ dining out needs. Work to save anyway you can during the month like buying off brand grocery items or sharing meals at restaurants. At the end of the month, send whatever you didn't spend to Compassion. I'm going to try this and see what happens. I'll let you know!

Let's keep this dialogue going! Let me know if you have any ideas.

No Purpose Driven Team

OK. Someone told me that Rick Warren is purchasing the New Orleans Saints. It is not true! It was created by LarkNews.com. I was so disappointed and a little embarrassed when I found out yesterday that it was all a lie especially after I told several people myself. I hate to be taken. But, we're all be gullible at times. :) It pays to google what you hear before you start spreading the news!

Here's the article:
http://www.larknews.com/january_2006/secondary.php?page=1

The Great Omission

This book is blowing my mind. The main gist of the book is about how the western church somehow forgot about the make disciples part of the Great Commission. We've become obsessed with "saving" people or being "saved." But what happens after someone is "saved?" Furthermore, what does it really mean to be "saved?"

Here's an excerpt from The Great Omission.

But, someone will say, can I not be "saved"- that is, get into heaven when I die- without any of this (meaning discipling)? Perhaps you can. God's goodness is so great, I am sure that He will let you in if He can find any basis at all to do so, But you might wish to think about what your life amounts to before you die, about what kind of person you're becoming, and about whether you really would be comfortable for eternity in the presence of One whose company you have not found especially desirable for the few hours and days of your earthly existence. And, He is, after all, One who says to you now, "Follow me!"

My World Has Been Rocked!

OK. I take back everything I said yesterday about the Summit being weak. All I have to say is Bono! He rocked my world today. I can't put into words how motivated I am. I know, without a doubt now, why I was put on this earth.

Anyway, I'm not going to blog the whole three pages of notes that I took today from Bono's address to the Summit. I'll just give you some of the highlights.

• Every 24 hours 8000 people die of aids.
• By 2015 35 million children will be orphaned by aids.
• Bono never had a problem with Jesus Christ. He did struggle with Christians.
• In a survey, 6% of evangelical Christians felt that it was important that the church help with the aids crisis.
• There's poetic power in the Christ Child being born into poverty.
• The church has alot of catching up to do when it comes to aids and poverty.
• Love thy neighbor is not advice, it is a command. Who are our global neighbors?
• We CANNOT say it is not our concern if we are Christians.
• The only time Jesus talks about judgment in the Bible is when he says "What you do to the least of these, you do to me"
• God is with the poor. He will be with us if we are with them.
• We have to be strategic about ending poverty
• There's no excuse for "stupid poverty" in our world today.
• We CAN end poverty.

Lets stand up for the least of these! Lets also give our politicians the permission to help the least of these!

Final note: I am convinced that Bono will be the lead worshipper in heaven. Just watch the Vertigo DVD.

You can read almost a word for word transcript here: http://williamguice.typepad.com/

Long Day

Today was the first day of the Leadership Summit. I'm not really getting into this one as I have in years past. I'm not sure if it's just me or if it's pretty week this year. It could be just me. Surprisingly, Bill Hybles' talk was the most inspirational one today in my opinion. I'm too tired to blog about the details, plus, my dog has really bad gas and I'm getting physically ill, so I'll send you over to William's blog. He did a great job of blogging from the Summit today.

http://williamguice.typepad.com/

Idol Coming to a Town Near You

Here are the cities and dates for American Idol auditions. I know several people who need to audition! You know who you are.

Los AngelesPasadena Rose Bowl
Tues. Aug. 8, 2006
San AntonioAlamodome
Fri. Aug. 11, 2006
East RutherfordContinental Air. Arena
Mon. Aug. 14, 2006
BirminghamBJCC
Mon. Aug. 21, 2006
MemphisFedExForum
Sun. Sep. 3, 2006
MinneapolisTarget Center
Fri. Sep. 8, 2006
SeattleKeyArena
Tue. Sep. 19, 2006

Props to Memphis

I got my career start in Memphis, TN working at Ardent Records/Studios while in college. I was privileged to work with great producers like John Hampton, Pete Matthews, the legendary John Fry and Paul Ebersold.
Some of their clients included:
The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, 3 Doors Down, R.E.M., Hustle & Flow (Movie Score), Cheap Trick, The Replacements, Steve Earle, Soundgarden, ZZ Top, Skillet, The Posies, Dave Matthews, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Fuel, Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers, DC Talk, Big Tent Revival and Three 6 Mafia.

The mastering studio was located by our label offices. While I was stuffing envelopes or calling Christian radio stations around the country begging them to play Big Tent or Skillet stuff, Three 6 Mafia and other rap artists could be heard in the background spouting off expletives from the mixing room. It was so cool working there!

Three 6 Mafia did their thing in Memphis and regionally for years before they finally got their break. I will never forget the moment they won the Oscar for "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp." The look on peoples faces was priceless.

Unfortunately, I don't listen to much of their music because it's a little too over the top Rap for me. I just think it's cool to see them go from the Memphis scene to the big screen.

Memphis still has it!!

Read more here about the future of Three 6 Mafia:
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002952102

Which Comes First... The Sex or the Songs

Here's another sad commentary on the youth of America today. I wonder though, is it the music that is making the kids more interested in sex or is something else driving them to the music? Maybe a lack of self worth? I dunno. I'm just asking. Please note: I'm not a hater of Hip Hop or Rap music. Any form of music can be positive or negative in my opinion.

My husband and I were talking about something similar too this last night. When I see someone on the news who has done something really terrible like killing people or abusing children, I can't help but see the inner child within them. They were once just an innocent child who had a chance to succeed like every other child born. Unfortunately, that chance was ripped away by abuse and/or neglect. That makes me sad.

See the link below:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14227775/

Newsweek Gives Props to Billy Graham

This is a great article on Billy Graham. I would highly recommend taking some time to read it. I'm going to go out and get a hard copy to show support for Rev. Graham.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14204483/

It's The End of the World As We Know It

This is great.
(HT: What If)

Thought For The Day

OK. So I was watching Oprah yesterday. Yes, I know. Such a female thing to do. She had Garth and Trisha Brooks on. Garth said something that really hit me. So here's the thought for the day from Garth Brook's pastor (I'm not sure who this guy is).

Garth asked him, "when do we know we're grown up" to which he replies, "We grow up when we start living for someone other than ourselves."

Whew... let that soak in.

My Babies

Girls gone wired!

I'm afraid this is true for me too. So long Tiffanys, DeBeers. Hello Plasma and Ipods. See the link bleow.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14149701/

Welcome to my blog!!

Today I am officially entering the world of blogging. I've been wanting to do this for a while now but life's been busy. Here's an introduction to my blog:

This blog is not:
Going to be a blog strictly for women or mothers
Going to be used to motivate you politically
Going to be boring!!

This blog is:
Going to be updated frequently
Going to be interesting!!
Going to rock your world sometimes!
Going to not rock your world sometimes!
Going to be open to all subjects
Going to be interactive

Why am I doing a blog you ask?
Well, I'm glad you asked. The answer is, I have something to say! I've been actively perusing blogs for a while now without saying anything. My goal is to share information that may help to stretch us, challenge us or just entertain us.

Another reason I've started blogging is because the female to male blogging ratio is way off balance. Women, we have a voice and we need to share it! I challenge all of my sisters to start blogging!

So, I hope you enjoy my blog. Please show some grace while I figure out what I'm doing. It might be a little rough in the beginning.

Enjoy my blog!!

Kari