Fringe

The fall season of television has started and with it comes a few new programs. Tonight is the series premiere of Fringe on Fox. Fringe, yet another high concept show from creative genius J.J. Abrams - but as entertaining as this show is, it has me wondering why he's recycling aspects from his previous series - most notably LOST.

Fringe begins with a plane, which is highly reminiscent of LOST - you think J.J.'s got a thing for planes?? Plenty of crazy things happened on planes in Alias, too, as Jennifer Garner's character took down nefarious people all around the globe. On this particular plane, we've got what appears to be a terrorist attack with a disgusting, fast acting, flesh melting biological agent (yes, that's right melting - as opposed to flesh eating). Not only that, as we come to find out later the perpetrator of the biological agent was an unwitting pawn as his insulin injection was laced with the mysterious substance. Don't freak out - I haven't revealed anything that will take away from what J.J. is best at - those masterfully creative twists and turns. He still maintains his grasp of the unexpected plot divergence, as well as recruiting a familiar face from...LOST, of course. Although, it also seems as though he's imported the music from LOST, too. I understand this is supposed to be an ominous sci-fi series, but does the music have to be as heavy-handed as it is in LOST - and sound nearly identical?

One of the most fun aspects of the show: Joshua Jackson (of Dawson's Creek fame) is one of the main characters - this makes me very happy. In the midst of all the weird, pseudo-science, government/corporate spy shenanigans - Joshua Jackson excels at his specialty - snarky, sarcastic, quick-witted humor...sigh...it's so good to have him back in prime time again.

Even though this premiere episode proves to be as quick to reel me in as LOST, I dream of a day when J.J. will create another angst driven show like "Felicity" that is void of the sci-fi conspiracy antics and CGI.

Latest Message from Wendy

Just got this via Facebook from Wendy:

Ok so i got internet access again so i thought i would send yall a quick note but I have to copy and paste again cause stinky facebook only allows you to put so many people on message... LAME! Since the last time I wrote it has been crazy, half of our team got a stomach virus so we connected by being sick in the cho (aka the hole in the ground we call a bathroom). I was one of the lucky team members that got sick but we all got through it and God taught us to trust in Him because we luckily got sick before the kids came. We just finished our first week of camp and it was amazing. We had orphans as our first week of campers and it broke my heart to see them leave today, if only I were in a place to adopt there were definetely a couple I would love to adopt. The week was filled with games and bible study. BK and I are roomies and we had the youngest campers and half of them were bed wetters... which was interesting... pray the pee smell will air out soon. The cutest was, BK and I left the room to get ready and came back to see them draging their mattresses outside. Every day these kids start by washing their clothes in buckets with bars of soap so we would stand outside amazed at these kids scrubbing away while we stood watching in the same clothes we have worn for three days... sigh I have become disgusting and dirty, but a cold shower is just torture and no one showers here. These kids were amazing in the knowledge they already have in the Lord so we were stretched in trying to challenge them even more. Also these kids had pretty hard shells when they first got here due to constantly having people come in and out of their lives, so it was a bit of a battle to break through, but by the end of the week they were all hugging on us and sharing their lives with us. Please be in prayer for next week we have our regular campers but they do not know english as well, so we will be even more dependent on our translators.
All but one of the action packers was found, the baby supplies was located... YAY! the action packer that is lost does not have necessay supplies.
AHHH I have to go cause everyone is yelling at me cause we all have to share the computer.
I love you all!!!!
Wendy

Another Message from Wendy in Africa

I know it is kinda lame that I haven't actually written a post in a while, but I assure you that you will soon get your fix of more of my amazing wit and wisdom soon.....but in the meantime here is another message that my sister sent about her trip to Africa (actually she sent it on the same day as the last message - I'm just slow in posting it).


So my first message was ridiculous because i was in such a hurry and could not get myself to calm down and think so let me try this again. Oh and facebook restricts how many people you can send stuff too that is silly. Anyway we are at a girl's school and the girls there are fabulous and just so happy to have us there. They ask us all sorts of questions and love teaching us the language and teaching us to dance. We went to church on sunday and the girls sang to us and it was the most beauticul song I have ever heard. I did not know the words but just to praise God with them was such an amazing blessing. The girls will only be there a few more days and I wish that we were putting on camp for them so we could get to know them better. They love getting their picture taken and want to see themselves because there are no mirrors so many of them have not seen themselves for a very long time. We played volleyball with them and they completely killed us we rematched four times and only won one game. And they are amazing at scrabble and yes we were using english words and they put down words i never would have thought of. Oh and they have such a love for the Lord that I pray I could have that much faith. Today we went to the market and bought way too much stuff but then again I do have a shopping problem. The people there are very aggressive and you have to be careful becuase they will put things on you and then you have to pay for it or somehow get it back into their hands and everything is up for negotiation. The craziest was when we were buying out of the top of our van. Oh the vans we are in are for safaris so the tops pop up so right before our safari we were buying more stuff. I made the mistake of getting out of the van to get my sunglasses from our other van and got completely mobbed and had to be rescued. I thought i was fine but Lucas, one of my teammates got a little worried due to my face issues (aka i don't like my face touched as you all know). As i said before we are at a resort right now so we got hot showers and got to get cleaned. It was the first time since we got here that i got to see myself in a full lenght mirror and it was not a pretty sight, but then again when you haven't showered in four days that is to be expected. This place is just amazing, and beautiful and the people we are working along side with are just so filled with God's love and teaching me so much about loving people well. The team we have is definetly hand picked by God and so far we have such amazing unity and bonding, I pray that continues once we have been together for a couple of weeks and know each others annoyances. I have so much to say. I have so many thoughts going through my head my hands just can't type fast enough 15 min is not enough time!!!! I love this place so much and want to tell you everything. Mainly how amazing these kids are I want to adopt on so bad and bring it home with me. Don't worry Mom, GG, Val and Barbara I am not going to do it, i just want to, they are precious. Plus kenya law doesn't allow me to. You think the airlines would notice if i brought a little boy with me on the plane he could be my personal item. Anyways, Please be in prayer as we continue planning for next week. The kids are finally coming!!!! Also the airport lost a lot of luggage 6 bags and 4 of our action packers and Tiffany's bag and 2 action packer are still missing. Tiffany is the one here with her 9 month old so her bag is vital or we have to get supplies quickly shipped from the states. Also please pray for continued unity as the honeymoon phase ends with this group. oh I have to go because this silly faceboook message thing won't let me send this to everyone. ...(blah blah blah - personal shout-outs to her peeps)...Thank you all for your prayers and I will see if i can find a computer later, but Lances died once we got here. There have been many little blips so i am sure God is going to move in a might way. Ahhh time is almost up!!! I miss and love EVERYONE.

Message from Wendy in Kenya!

My sister left a week ago with a group from Sky Ranch for Kenya. She will be there for a full month! Those of you who know Wendy, also know that she can be quite the princess ;-) Yet, she has dreamed of going to Kenya and ministering to the kiddos over there for several years - and now she's finally doing it! Here is a note that she just sent via Facebook about her experience so far in Kenya:

Ok so it is completely ridiculous that i am in Kenya and on facebook but it was the quickest way to get in contact with all the people I love and who could copy and email this out to everyone else who is not on facebook. This country is BEAUTIFUL and I LOVE it!!!! We don't have campers just yet but we are visiting schools were our campers go. They rush to the cars and just want to touch us, like we are famous and it is one of the most humbling expericences I have ever encountered, because I am so unworthy of this attention. They all love to touch my hair as well and it is completely dirty due to not showering in 4 days. Yes that is right I didn't shower for 4 days but neither did anyone else because it is a cold bucket of water. Oh and yes i have gone to the bathroom in a hole in the ground and it really isn't all that bad, your legs get really strong as well. The food is actually wonderful. But by far my favorite part is the children and i can not wait until camp begins. I just want to take them all home. the first week of camp is orphans from the two orphanages in the area. Oh my goodness i am almost out of time on this computer and I have so much more to say. I am at a resort right now yeah i knwo it is a mission trip but we went on a safari and we saw lots of animails in their natural habitats and it was awesome. Sorry for the awful writing i am typing as fast as i can and the connectino is really slow. I didn't get everyone on this message due to it loading so slow so please pass this on to everyone and let them know i love them - BYE

Stupid freaking internet

If I had a poetic bent, I would write an ode to the crap-tastic internet that we have at the CHP offices. It would be called An Ode to Crap-tastic Internet, and it would rhyme and be pithy and witty with an excellent tempo....it would even be in iambic pentameter! Okay, maybe not iambic pentameter - I mean, I'm not Shakespeare....who am I kidding? I'm not even actually writing a poem, just dreaming about writing a poem and how great it would be at describing how stinking frustrating this internet connection (or lack there of) is. The upload speed is about .000000002 kilobytes per second (kb/s) - or at least that's what it seems like more often than not. And the download speed is marginally better. You might be thinking...for a media ministry isn't it imperative to have a decent internet connection? Yep, it pretty much is but there aren't a lot of choices for us regarding the monopolistic internet providers in Louisville. And have fun trying to create and send out a web-based e-newsletter when the internet connection is sketchier than a televangelist selling prayer scarves.

If I perchance come to mind throughout your day/week/month, send up a prayer for us here at CHP as we slowly make our way through the work day with our stupid piece of trash internet. (Sorry I am not more grateful in this post...I like to be thankful, but this internet is just too ridiculous for me).

Prince Caspian

Several weeks ago, I watched Prince Caspian with my friend Cassie, her husband Tyler, and Tyler's little bro Matthew. First of all, some of you may have noticed this particular film wasn't on my "must-see" list for the summer. This is partially due to the fact that I didn't grow up in a Christ-centered home, and thus never read the Chronicles of Narnia series (nor have I taken the time to read them yet as an adult). I think I had a teacher who read the first novel to our class somewhere along the way in elementary school and had also seen one of the earlier film versions of it. And while I enjoyed the most recent film incarnation of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, I wasn't eagerly anticipating the release of this second film in the series. Yet, as I go back and see that the last film was released in 2005 - I understand a bit more as to why it did not resonate within me as much as this film did. I was only just starting on this journey that has influenced how I relate to God as Father and as Lover. When I saw Prince Caspian, the character Aslan evoked a much different response in me than the tepid one I'd experienced when watching The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. My favorite part of this film happens towards the end (so if you haven't read the book or watched the film - SPOILER ALERT).



Lucy is racing through the forest to find Aslan (who C.S. Lewis has created as an incredible picture of God) because they have finally realized that they cannot defeat the Telmarines without him. As she gets closer to finding him, she is being chased by one of the Telmarines. She finally happens upon Aslan, and he looks as if he might pounce on her as he roars, to which her expression shows the slightest bit of fear mixed in with her unyielding trust. Of course, Aslan is ferocious because he is about to pounce on her attacker - but that wildness and intensity - those are some of the qualities that cause my heart to flutter with yearning for my fierce Lover. In the next moment, he playfully rolls around with Lucy in the grass. The dichotomy of His ferocity and tenderness continues to set me off balance and yet draws me that much closer to Him. That desire grew even more when Aslan and Lucy marched onto the bridge to face off against the Telmarines, and Aslan's guttural roar called up the river waters to dispose of those treacherous people. With that vision of the water towering overhead, raised out of its peaceful rest to come barreling down on those who threaten his beloved - I became overwhelmed with love for this God who is gentle and sweet yet untamed, jealous, and protective. I am in love with a God who woos me with His power and His sweet gifts of sunlight, perfect stormy naps, mild summer days, and evocative writers like C.S. Lewis.

Laugh!

I LOVE to laugh. Which makes another one of my television watching guilty pleasures, so fitting....Last Comic Standing! And since they have to be tame enough for network television, the comedy is fairly clean (not entirely clean, but better than it would be on cable!) This is also one of the few shows that they do not post full episodes for online (which totally sucks - it's lame I tell ya! LAME!) If you're gonna get sucked into it, you have to be willing to catch it on Thursday nights, or be one of those technically savvy people with TiVo or DVR (which I'm not). Here is a montage of the 32 finalists:





So next week, pop yourself some popcorn, grab a Coke, and get ready to laugh at Last Comic Standing! If you become addicted, we'll just all blame my friend Bonnie because she's the one who got me hooked on it ;)