Quick and dirty

Here it comes, fast and simple:

The football team has gone on a tear and will be playing at BC Place stadium on December 2nd at 10:30am for the BC High School Football AA JV provincial title!! Important note: they are the defending champions, so getting back to the title game is a big deal... Coach P (head coach - 73 years old) said today that if you told him back in spring camp that we'd be getting ready this week for the championship game, he'd have told you you were dreaming! He then proceeded to tell us that he had declared to his wife that it'd be a short season this year and he'd have tons of extra time in November for her...well, we're still playing and don't finish til December 2!! Sorry Mrs. Coach P.. ; )

I have been incredibly blog averse these last couple months because I have adopted (or more accurately, renewed) a different internet habit that has taken up tremendous amounts of my browsing time. Now, I don't know if you're like me (maybe yes, maybe no), but I'm not a big internet guy for the most part. I think it's like talking on the phone: it has its good purposes, but I don't want to spend more time on it than I have to. So, I love reading others' blogs and enjoy the creative acts of writing and trying to make the blog look better...yet I found myself unable to sustain the creative efforts and maintain my desired standards (oooooooo so high :P ), leaving me no choice but to withdraw. A blogrecluse. A bloghermit. [cool looking word: bloghermit... could be pronounced so many ways... bah-log-her-mitt...bah-logger-mitt...bah-loffer-mitt...so fun]

The renewed habit is eBay. AAAAAARRRRGGGHGHHHH. I really don't like garage sales, but I think it's not because of the high ratio of crap to treasure... after two months of eBay, I realize I can wade through tons of crap and come out happy... it's because of the travel time associated with it. The internet (and eBay) have created a massive, worldwide garage sale that is on constantly and all you have to do is find your treasure! Awesome! So I'm out there searching for my treasure when I should be faithfully updating my blog. Sorry about that.

Now, I want to be clear that I'm not randomly searching for great deals of any kind out there in the e-world...I have goals. Nerdy goals. Geeky goals. But goals nonetheless! Not the goals of a football coach or a "cool" youth worker, just a dork. I'm looking for G.I. Joe comics. 'Nuff said.

If you want to see what kind of a task I'm up against, check this out.

End Result

To make a long story short, Snitchy Switchy is now a part of a coaching team one member to the lesser. After said event (see last post) and an in-game explosion, my fellow coach was essentially asked to cease coaching the team this season. It's more developed than that, but it is what it is.

We lost the "explosion" game by the score of 21-20. Since then (with more staff unity and peace), our team has gone 3-0 with decisive wins over every team we've played. It's been pretty incredible (two 40+ point shutout victories)....

I don't want to belabor this event in my life, but I thought you might like to hear a little bit of resolution. :)

Snitchy Switchy

I was thinking today, "Okay Brent, your nickname is Switch right? If you ratted out someone, you could be Switch the Snitch...not a bad 30s gangster name for a ratfink. If we followed a futuristic, sci-fi kinda theme, you could go with Swytch the Snych...oooooohhhhh, except 'snych' looks too much like sync(with an 'h') and people would get that wrong all the time..."
"Hey Brent, why they call you Switch the Synch(sink)?"
I sigh.....

Okay, so I thought about this cause I think I became a snitch! Sort of innocently, telling a story I thought was silly, I ratted out someone who will pay the price for my story! The story is true, mind you, and the price paid is due to an assortment of infractions of which my story is merely the last straw...but that would still make me a snitch! A rat! NO WAY!!!!!

I've been coaching a high school football team this year. It's a grade 9/10 team and it is really fun! The head coach is an older fellow (73/74 - somewhere in there) and has coached longer than I've been alive so there is lots to learn! One of my fellow coaches was a former player of the older fellow and thus respects him a ton. Nevertheless, he was what we might call 'an independent type.' Despite his respect for the head coach, he tended to do his own thing and perhaps sent some mixed messages to the players, thoroughly confusing these newbies (many first timers to organized football). That had him on the hotseat.

Said coach also has a bit of a temper and flared up many times during our half a season so far. Occasionally, his ire would fall on the right culprit at the right time yet too often it fell upon unwitting, innocent victims. This also had him in the hotseat (with parents and other coaches).

My story, you ask? What was this yellow fiber that caused the C4 and C5 vertebrae of the desert mammal to finally fracture? Well, following practice, said coach gathered the players around him to speak. Looking straight at me, he said, "Do you mind going?" To which I responded "ME?" I was surprised that a fellow coach would request such a thing in front of the players...unless he was going to come out of that huddle with a birthday cake and a song for me...

"Yeah, coach, could you go?" he repeated - which prompted a Nelson-esque "HA HA" from the starting quarterback as I walked away.

Curious as to why I would be asked to leave, I asked said coach why he chose such a course of action. His response: "I knew I was going to be off-color, so I didn't think you'd appreciate it."

He knew I work in the church and am a Christian, so he was merely being polite. Nice guy I suppose....

Except this is a high school football team, so if you think I wouldn't like to hear it, why would you tell it to the team (of 14-15 year old boys)? I was a little concerned, so I told my story to the other coaches (who weren't there at the time) and that was it... I became a snitch.

I wasn't telling on the guy. But isn't that always what snitches say?

Yeah, well, I'm a big boy and I suppose I can handle an expanded nickname...sigh.

Digital...

So I'm a musician with an album to sell...
I'm a worship song writer with songs to share with the church...
I'm a guy who's made an investment and wants to see a return...
I'm an unknown that needs exposure...

I feel as though the issues created by the digital movement will never be fully resolved, but they're not new! People have always been able to copy music they've never paid for (as long as there has been music to purchase, with the exception of phonograph records I suppose -which means they've been able to copy music since the invention of tape recording with 8-tracks...I digress) and that's only been escalated with the onset of the digital revolution.

I remember seeing Lars Ulrich (drummer from Metallica), Dr. Dre (you know who he is, admit it) and a host of suit guys debating on CNN about the availability of music (free music) created by Napster. Was it ethical? Was it fair to the artists? What about the record companies? What about the distributors, the record stores, the workers at the music stores? It just keeps flowing along, affecting people across the board. And this was 5 years ago...

Do you remember Napster? This was the first famous virtual network designed to share files worldwide on the internet. Created by Northeastern University student Shawn Fanning in the 90's as a way to promote a music community, he was taken to court by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) who claimed that this type of file sharing (music files) was illegal and circumvented copyright laws. Well, as expected, those with the $$ won the legal battle. This was not the end for Mr. Fanning however... he sold the rights to Napster to Roxio (a legally established file sharing company with no musical dealings) and they adopted the Napster name (how often does the purchased company become the namesake?) and in cooperation with Fanning, developed relationships with the RIAA so that mp3s could be sold efficiently and legally. Problem solved!

No. Of course, after Napster's demise as a free source of music to millions, other variations arose and still exist (Limewire, anyone?) and though there are many ways to legally download music through the internet, establishing markets for artists where once there were none (really, how could I sell a CD to someone in Japan...through the internet, it can now happen! Hallelujah!), there are still many ways to "illegally" share music files with your friends, family, neighbors, countrymen, and across borders!

I guess what I'm getting at is that calling filesharing illegal is not going to stop it. As an artist, I love the possibility of exposure and the opportunity to share with people I'll never meet. As a businessman, it's not that appealing. But what am I, an artist or a businessman? I'd rather be an artist...

"Confession" and "Invitation to the Thirsty" are yours: have at 'er friends! Be blessed

http://www.myspace.com/switch21music

Once and awhile

I'm not one for getting all emotional on my blog. Generally, I like to keep it at a distance, make strikes at being witty or thoughtful, occasionally dabbling in the auto-biographical. I don't know, it's not a set-in-stone-philosophy or anything, just the way it's worked out.

Last night, I got the opportunity to head out to Camp Luther with some youth. I brought 5 teens who had never been out to camp (not totally true, some had been campers way long ago) and my wife was there with me too (the first time she'd been to Camp Luther while in summer mode). It was really great! I love that place and the people I've known because of it. It is truly a special, God-blessed sanctuary that is a home for so many incredible young men and women....it's awesome (not in the watered-down version of awesome, but the intended, passionate, drop-to-your-knees and shudder awesome). Yeah.

These youth seemed to like it. They were thankful for the chance to experience it and see what their friends find so amazing (three other youth from Zion were at camp there). I was glad to hear that :)

I am poor at keeping my eyes-ears-heart-mind open to God encouraging me and yet, I managed to see-hear-feel-sense Him this time...so often, the knowledge of the impact any one of our lives can have on another (peer-parent-camper-youth-whatever) is hidden from us to keep us humble (I think so)...when we can see it, even for a moment, the potential blows us away. I am blown away and I am blessed to have served.

Yeah.

P.S. - I unintentionally started chaining words-thoughts-ideas together with hyphens tonight...weird.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Everybody chooses an order for their stuff: CDs, books, names, phone numbers, etc. Lists and piles require organization of some sort. Now for you smart-aleks (also read: dumbasses) out there who are going to tell me they don't organize at all, "I just live in extraordinary, unadulterated filth and mess"...you still choose an order for your stuff...it's just a 'less-work' version on the scale of organizationality (I know you like that made up word).

The movie "High Fidelity" made the Top-5 Lists famous (or at least famous to those who've seen the movie - YOU SHOULD SEE THE MOVIE). As well, the concept of arranging one's things by genre came into effect in the film. For example, one collector sorted his records in order of when he heard them; not when they were made, not alphabetically, but essentially autobiographically. Pretty cool. Again, you should see the movie. Smile:)

Anyhow, it's not uncommon in Blogdom to find crazy lists of links on the sidebar of any particular blog. Names, titles, codewords, phrases...whatever suits the fancy of the blogger and his/her readers. Well, my challenge to you is to find out how I've sorted my link-list....first sleuth to correctly meet the challenge wins a prize!!

Good luck and Godspeed.

What are they going to call it?

There is a new behaviour to study. Pyschologists and behavioural scientists all across the world are fascinated with this breed rising up within popular culture. Fortunately, variations of this conduct have been around for millenia and this latest strain will be analyzed starting from existing research, giving scientists an imporant head start in combatting this vicious malady.

It is contagious and spreading, much like a mob grows in the midst of rebellion. As the crowd advances, more and more catch on, no longer watching from the fringe, but joining in as the madness swells! Arrogance balloons and a sudden, proud swagger appears even amongst those once considered the most meek and mild in society. Were this pattern of growth to continue, surely it will bring about the destruction of all we hold sacred, shattering the precious psyches of many fragile friends, disrupting the proliferation of creative thought, inhibiting fertile minds, assimilating all but the strongest of wills.

The existence of this behaviour should not be surprising. As mentioned above, earlier variants have thrived throughout the course of human history; this new blip on the radar, though compelling, was not unexpected. What has caught researchers offguard is how quickly these mannerisms have been adopted by society-at-large, threatening to overpower a burgeoning industry. In reality, it is merely following the pattern of everything else associated with its source: the internet.

What is this virulent manner, you ask? What is this plague poised on the precipice of disaster? What is threatening to plunge each one of us into the abyss of despair?

Blog bullies.

You know who you are: you who demand updates only to scratch your junkie itch, to satiate your unceasing need to read more and more AND MORE! You know who you are: You who feign interest in personal lives in order to hide your informant's addicition to know all! You know who you are: daring to dispirit the private world of creative genius by demanding production according to your timetables! Yes, you know who you are.

BACK OFF!!! I'll blog when I wanna!! SO THERE!!!
(author sticks out his tongue, makes a silly face and runs away as fast as his little feet can carry him)

Dibid yibou hibear thibat?

...fond memories of the past...

Back in high school, my friend Eric and I spent tons of time together. Most days, I'd drive him home from school (yes, I was the chauffeur) and we'd chill for a couple hours at his home, drinking coke, eating crap food and talking like guys do.

During many a late-afternoon visit, E's brother David and sister Lauren would hang around like younger siblings do, like units of "cool" could be absorbed by osmosis... we were so cool....
Though he didn't like these familial units hanging around most of the time, there were times where Eric engaged with his family in pestering the best friend, namely: me. They had their own language it seems...

The three of them (or the two of them, and occasionally, the mother would join in too) would jabber along in what seemed to me to be gibberish. Then they would laugh hysterically, making it very clear that it was at my expense. Needless to say, I put my language skills to work and, along with a couple hints, figured out what they were saying. They called it "Double Dutch" though the name doesn't matter. It was coded english, like the more well-known Pig Latin and it worked famously!

Those initial torture sessions led to the use of this code more often, and it was great. Imagine high school while being able to say anything at anytime about anyone and only the people you trust could understand. It was like we spoke Japanese or Swahili or Xhosa only even Japanese, Swahili, or Xhosas couldn't decipher it either!!! AMAZING!!!

Until Colleen quietly came up to me one day and rattled off a flawless sentence in Double Dutch. She knew.
She Knew?
She KNEW!?!
Yup. She knew.
You see, Colleen was another good friend and a smart one at that. She heard Eric and I (not that we were bashful about it or worried about being discovered) and put her brain to work, discovering the secrets on her own that I needed clues to find. She beat us. Bravo!

Death to Double Dutch.

Please stay seated

I must be honest. One solid reason I am writing this post is to avoid losing my coveted space on the bloglist of Neal. I simply do not want to give up my perch and thus, I write. You know, it's not that there's been nothing happening over the last month. Not so at all! In fact, much has been going on. Unfortunately for me, not so much of it is blogworthy, either being uninteresting, unfunny, too personal or some combination of the three. Sigh.

On one amazing note, my wife and I celebrated our first anniversary this week. We were driving back from E-town on this wonderful day and thus, did not celebrate as we would like. Plans are in the works to take the proper time to do it up! Lack-of-grand-celebration aside, I was (and still am) awestruck by the gift of my wife; that we have had this incredible time of growth together leaves me speechless, with tears of joy on my face. I am blessed to have such an encouraging partner with whom to learn about love...

Pastor Andrew wrote of transition and I heartily agree... so much of "growing up" is realizing that life is never settled, never fair, never finished. It is always at you, picking and prodding, until final peace is found in death. Fin.

Procrastinating

I think I couldn't have thought of a better name for my blog. I procrastinate to avoid procrastinating! I'm terrible.

The previous posts have the date of April 23 on them, though they were truly posted today. I had some thoughts and wanted to improve upon them, though the mirror post remained unchanged. Good intentions, though ultimately unnecessary. This "save a draft, post it later" thing is a strange feature of this bloggy world. A prior thought, if drafted, can be shared later and credited on the day upon which it was drafted, not shared. That is a feature worth paying for in other areas of life....

Imagine if you thought of something, wrote it down, and left it there (intentionally or not) until the context to which the thought (or behaviour) belonged had expired, yet you were able to retrieve the written thought and apply it now (out of context) in a meaningful way as though you had done so at the time of the thinking and writing! Forgetful men could save their anniversaries! Visa bills could be paid before the due date! Absent minded professors could get papers marked on time! Youth pastors could pass on wonderful encouragements to those they work with and get budgets finished! The whole world could be filled with the idealist behaviour we all wished we could exhibit...though it would be accepted a month late!!! It would be AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or maybe it just means the wrong date is stuck on your post in Blogger. Yikes.