"Groovy Kind of Dove" - Christmas Parody by Brad Irons

Lots of people have asked to hear my Christmas parody, "Groovy Kind of Dove". So here's a video of it, live from the Facebook Live acoustic concert. :-) Merry Christmas!!! Feel free to share. :-)

www.bradirons.com
www.gofundme.com/bradirons

Yes or Noah?

So as promised, here's my review of Noah. I'll probably get slammed but that's ok. I've already been slammed for going to go see the movie. Here we go. Remember this is my opinion. I don't think there are any spoilers here, but maybe...

2 out of 5 stars

Great cast! Well acted. Great effects. Decent CGI. Buuuuuuuut... Kind of shallow. This has nothing to do with whether it was biblical (it wasn't and yet it was and yet it wasn't). The story just left me untouched and unmoved. The only characters I felt any real feelings for were the weird fallen angel rock creatures. Lol!

I guess the subject matter was meant to carry itself so the director felt no need to delve deeper into the characters or the plot. The whole thing seemed to skim along the surface. It suffered from that on which it capitalized: familiarity with the Noah story. I think it assumed too much and too little of the audience. It expected you to know enough to not need more than precursory explanation of the info. But then it assumed that you were disconnected enough from the story to allow the director to flip the plot on its head. In the end, I had a sense of floating. Like the raven sent out from the ark, I kept searching for a place to land but couldn't find one. So I returned to what I knew, the ark. But the people on board didn't look familiar either.

The plot twists, once they have entered the ark, disconnected it from the biblical story and set it adrift on its own course which didn't seem to go anywhere familiar (except maybe the story of Abraham). In fact, things that happened once they enter the ark seemed stranger than those weird rock creatures (who should get a walk on role in the new Transformers movie!!).

In the end, I felt lost; feeling like I had just watched what should have been a great movie. Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connally, a big budget, great source material, etc, added together seems to say masterpiece. And despite what the horribly erroneous articles and statements have said, I think the director does draw some powerful things out of the story. I now see things about the Noah Bible story that I hadn't considered before and it has enriched my understanding of what he went through.

There were touching moments and times of great acting. But weird plot twists, lack of real character development, rock creatures and other missteps really kind of just left me feeling like I was constantly treading water. Am I glad I saw it? Uh..Ok... Sure. Do I want to see it again? Not really. I know it's one of the top movies in the world, but that only means that it is popular not that it's great.

My personal pet peeve... (Other than the Abrahamic plot twist)

- You'll see the creation story at the end... Or do you? Watch it closely. Is that evolution or creation?

Keep the Change - Thinking about Dad.

Change...
 
It's what you get back when you give more than is required. It rattles around between the couches of everyday life where we sit or stand or read or relax or just do the daily.

The debit card generation may not understand this. We slide the card for the exact worth of the thing and get nothing back. There's no counting money... no interaction necessary in the average transaction. Slip, slide, and away.

But we used to get change. We'd place a dollar on the counter for a 53 cent candy bar. The other person would take our dollar, count out the value of the product, then give us back our 47 cents: a quarter, two dimes and two pennies. We'd drop it in our pocket, walk away with a jingle, and eventually sit down somewhere, allowing the change to tumble from our pockets and find a home in the cushions of the family couch. Later, it would be found by the fumbling fingers of children, desperate for candy money (but not yet desperate enough to risk being offered funds in exchange for chores).

So the change would continue its journey, jingling in someone else's pockets, or rattling around in someone else's cars and couch cushions.

Change...

As a kid, I made my living off my father's change. "Here's ten dollars. Go to the store and get some _____________." And usually, the price of the item was far below 10 dollars.

At first, I wondered if my dad every really knew about change. I mean, if he had gone to the store instead of sending me, I'm sure he would have been shocked to find out how much he unknowingly invested in my comic book and candy bar addiction. Eventually, I figured out that he knew he had change. He was probably letting me keep it for reasons of his own. He didn't ask for his change back, and honestly, I never offered. We had an understanding. Even when he did go to the store, dad tended to leave his change all around the cab of his big brown dualie. It was like leaving bread crumbs for scavengers as I constantly raided the silver in his truck's ashtray.

However, when I look back, I see that leaving change behind was a way of life for him.

In a day where fathers are absent and children are second thoughts, I think about how my father tried to make sure that his traveling and work didn't keep him from being a part of our lives. Sometimes I wonder how I can have so many memories of my dad when I know he was often gone for long periods of time. I realize that, when he was home, he often gave more than necessary to us. So when he left, there was change around the house. Echoes of his laughter, wisdom, discipline and love hung in the air. He knew that, even though the situation may only need 50 percent, he should give 100. And after he left, there would still be change to live on until we saw him again.

Change...

My father passed away a few years ago. When he did, I wrote this about him...

"My earthly father has gone home to hang with my heavenly Father. And I can't think of two people in better company."

I miss him everyday. There is no man on earth that I have ever respected more. My dad was not perfect. He was a man with a third grade education, who overcame many of his own personal hangups and shortcomings to eventually build a business and help mom raise 14 kids, tons of grand kids and even great grand kids. He was a man who loved God and loved us; who took very little and made a lot. He spoke to paupers and princes with the same voice. He had one face, not two. Even if that was all there was to him, he would be a man worthy of respect.

But when I think of my father, I see a man dedicated to leaving change around... pieces of himself, valuable pieces that fell out of his pocket as he sat with us on the couch watching Bonanza or Gunsmoke. Or that rolled into the grass as we sat on the front porch talking about nothing and everything at the same time. It was everywhere. And we collected it and were able to use it in our own lives. Sometimes, we kids even shared the change with each other when we needed to get through tough situations. His words of wisdom were there for us to find if we were willing to get off the couch and do a little digging beneath the surface of our places of personal comfort.

So dad, thank you for giving us more than we deserved and letting us keep the change.As I live my life I will try to do the same. I will try to be a good husband, a good father, a good friend. When I leave, I want there to be change. So I'll take what you've given me, try to invest and spend it wisely. I want to give so much to those I love, that it is more than enough. And when they wonder what to do with what's leftover, I can say, keep the change. Use it on those you love.

Brad

Before You Give Up, Remember... Pt 2

Continued from a previous post. The blog entry seemed to long, so I broke it into two postings.

21. After his first audition, Sidney Poitier was told by the casting director, "Why don't you stop wasting people's time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?" It was at that moment, recalls Poitier, that he decided to devote his life to acting.

22. When Lucille Ball began studying to be actress in 1927, she was told by the head instructor of the John Murray Anderson Drama School, "Try any other profession."

23. The first time Jerry Seinfeld walked on-stage at a comedy club as a professional comic, he looked out at the audience, froze, and forgot the English language. He stumbled through "a minute-and a half" of material and was jeered offstage. He returned the following night and closed his set to wild applause.

24. In 1944, Emmeline Snively, director of the Blue Book Modeling Agency, told modeling hopeful Norma Jean Baker, "You'd better learn secretarial work or else get married." I'm sure you know that Norma Jean was Marilyn Monroe. Now . . . who was Emmeline Snively?

25. After Harrison Ford's first performance as a hotel bellhop in the film Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round, the studio vice-president called him in to his office. "Sit down kid," the studio head said, "I want to tell you a story. The first time Tony Curtis was ever in a movie he delivered a bag of groceries. We took one look at him and knew he was a movie star." Ford replied, "I thought you were spossed to think that he was a grocery delivery boy." The vice president dismissed Ford with "You ain't got it kid , you ain't got it ... now get out of here."

26. Charlie Chaplin was initially rejected by Hollywood studio chiefs because his pantomime was considered "nonsense."

27. Decca Records turned down a recording contract with the Beatles with the unprophetic evaluation, "We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out." After Decca rejected the Beatles, Columbia records followed suit.

28. In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after one performance. He told Presley, "You ain't goin' nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck."

29. Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him "hopeless as a composer." And, of course, you know that he wrote five of his greatest symphonies while completely deaf.

30. A Paris art dealer refused Picasso shelter when he asked if he could bring in his paintings from out of the rain. One hopes that there is justice in this world and that the art dealer eventually went broke.

31. Van Gogh sold only one painting during his life. And this to the sister of one of his friends for 400 francs (approximately $50). This didn't stop him from completing over 800 paintings.

32. Stravinsky was run out of town by an enraged audience and critics after the first performance of the Rite of Spring.

33. Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college. He was described as both "unable and unwilling to learn." No doubt a slow developer.

34. Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, was encouraged to find work as a servant by her family.

35. Emily Dickinson had only seven poems published in her lifetime.

36. 15 publishers rejected a manuscript by e. e. cummings. When he finally got it published by his mother, the dedication, printed in uppercase letters, read WITH NO THANKS TO . . . followed by the list of publishers who had rejected his prized offering. Nice going Eddie. Thanks for illustrating that nobody loses all the time.

37. 21 publishers rejected Richard Hooker's humorous war novel, M*A*S*H. He had worked on it for seven years.

38. 27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss's first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

39. Jack London received six hundred rejection slips before he sold his first story.

40. Gertrude Stein submitted poems to editors for nearly 20 years before one was finally accepted. See . . . a rose is a rose.

41. I bet you didn't know that John Milton wrote Paradise Lost 16 years after losing his eyesight

information gathered from: http://des.emory.edu/mfp/efficacynotgiveup.html

==========================

And here's a look at some classic books that were rejected!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1712987/classic_books_that_were_rejected_by.html

Before You Give Up, Remember... Pt. 1

Did you know that before the book Chicken Soup for the Soul was finally picked up, it had been rejected 140 times? Since then Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books has sold over 80 million copies! Here are some more reasons not to give up. You don't have to read them all in one sitting. Read a few and come back later to read some more. But do read them and do take them to heart. 

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1.    As a young man, Abraham Lincoln went to war a captain and returned a private. Afterwards, he was a failure as a businessman. As a lawyer in Springfield, he was too impractical and temperamental to be a success.

 He turned to politics and was defeated in his first try for the legislature, again defeated in his first attempt to be nominated for congress, defeated in his application to be commissioner of the General Land Office, defeated in the senatorial election of 1854, defeated in his efforts for the vice-presidency in 1856, and defeated in the senatorial election of 1858. At about that time, he wrote in a letter to a friend, "I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth."

2.    Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. He later wrote, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up."

3.    Charles Darwin gave up a medical career and was told by his father, "You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat catching." In his autobiography, Darwin wrote, "I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect." Clearly, he evolved.

4.    Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

5.    Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was "sub-normal," and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams." He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. He did eventually learn to speak and read. Even to do a little math.

6.    Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he succeeded.

7.    R. H. Macy (Macy’s Deparment Store) failed seven times before his store in New York City caught on.

8.    When Bell telephone was struggling to get started, its owners offered all their rights to Western Union for $100,000. The offer was disdainfully rejected with the pronouncement, "What use could this company make of an electrical toy."

9.    Rocket scientist Robert Goddard found his ideas bitterly rejected by his scientific peers on the grounds that rocket propulsion would not work in the rarefied atmosphere of outer space.
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10. Daniel Boone was once asked by a reporter if he had ever been lost in the wilderness. Boone thought for a moment and replied, "No, but I was once bewildered for about three days."

11. An expert said of Vince Lombardi: "He possesses minimal football knowledge and lacks motivation." Lombardi would later write, "It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get back up."

12. Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy were each cut from their high school basketball teams. Jordan once observed, "I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."

13. Babe Ruth is famous for his past home run record, but for decades he also held the record for strikeouts. He hit 714 home runs and struck out 1,330 times in his career (about which he said, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."). And didn't Mark McGwire break that strikeout record? (John Wooden once explained that winners make the most errors.)

14. Hank Aaron went 0 for 5 his first time at bat with the Milwaukee Braves.

15. Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, and Jimmy Johnson accounted for 11 of the 19 Super Bowl victories from 1974 to 1993. They also share the distinction of having the worst records of first-season head coaches in NFL history - they didn't win a single game.

16. Johnny Unitas's first pass in the NFL was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Joe Montana's first pass was also intercepted.

17. During his first season Troy Aikman threw twice as many interceptions (18) as touchdowns (9) . . . oh, and he didn't win a single game. You think there's a lesson here?

18. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.

19. Charles Schultz had every cartoon he submitted rejected by his high school yearbook staff. Oh, and Walt Disney wouldn't hire him.

20. After Fred Astaire's first screen test, the memo from the testing director of MGM, dated 1933, read, "Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little." He kept that memo over the fire place in his Beverly Hills home. Astaire once observed that "when you're experimenting, you have to try so many things before you choose what you want, that you may go days getting nothing but exhaustion." And here is the reward for perseverance: "The higher up you go, the more mistakes you are allowed. Right at the top, if you make enough of them, it's considered to be your style."


information gathered from: http://des.emory.edu/mfp/efficacynotgiveup.html

==========================

And here's a look at some classic books that were rejected!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1712987/classic_books_that_were_rejected_by.html

Father Thoughts - To The Man Who Would Date My Daughter...

I was just thinking so I wrote this down. It's not complete and this is not directed to any particular young man. I may do the same for the woman who would date my son. 

To the man who would date my daughter...

Do not think that the word "man" is a generic term that applies to any male. More than anything, I want my daughter to have a relationship with God and a relationship with a good man. If you are a little boy in men's clothing, please keep moving. If you don't know what I mean by "a good man", please return to your play ground of little girls who think you rudeness, arrogance, and stupidity is cute. Come back when you grow up. 

Do not think that you love her more because you hold her hand now. I've been doing that for years; almost as long as you've been alive. And, if you mess up, I will be the one doing it again.

Do not think that you know her better because of your "special bond". You are not the first boyfriend who thought that. But when the dust clears, I'm the one still around.

Do not think that, if she and her parents have issues, that it is ok to be silent or encourage her to not work things out with us. Teaching her to hate or become distant from someone who loves her may be sowing the seeds of your own destruction. What will she do when you are suddenly that person who "doesn't understand her"? And that will happen someday.

Do not think that helping her get around rules, lie to her parents or hide the truth "so she won't get in trouble" is doing her any favors. Someday you may have a similar situation, and you have now shown her how to handle you; that hiding from and  lying to someone you love is ok. 

Do not think that we (her parents) are oblivious to sex. Just because you think she's ready, doesn't mean she's ready. And just because we don't think that you should, doesn't mean we're old or old fashioned. If you believe sexual purity and commitment are arbitrary religious rules not to be considered important, I pray she remembers that you think this way before she considers dating you or especially before she commits to you in marriage. Because if you think that way now...

Lastly,

Do not think that, because you are now the man in her life, I am not there. I may step back and even sit in the shadows. But she is my daughter under my protection until she becomes your wife.  And even then, she is still my daughter. 

Fish Feet And Bumpers

And they talk about Christianity stealing people's stuff. LOL!

I saw a fish with feet.

Saw it on the back of a car. You've seen it. It's the evolutionary slap at Christianity. Lol, right? But maybe, it's saying more than they realize.

It seems, according to evolutionary thought formula, religion = faith. And  I agree to a point. I do think there's more to it. I believe there are tangible powerful reasons to be, at the least, agnostic and at the most Christian. But that's for another post.

I saw the fish with feet and thought, "so really, are you saying that your evolutionary feet are carrying a lot of faith around?" Let's face it, evolutionists have a lot more to deal with than "God created heaven and earth."

First, they've got nothing. No, I'm not being insulting. There's only two options that I know. There was always something or once upon a time there was nothing. Either nothing begat everything or everything has always been everything. Both theories require a huge leap of faith. Yep, faith. I'm starting to see why those feet had a fish on top of it.

So let's say there's nothing. Then, BANG, it explodes! Wait. Did I say that right? I think I did. What exploded? Nothing. I had one person explain to me that there was the potential energy for the nothing to be something. Really? And he said that with a straight face.

Ok. That won't work, so let's say there was something. Everything  was compressed into a dot no larger than the period on this page. No, that 's not some straw man argument I just set up. It was actually in some science text books. So then my evolutionary friends ask me, where did God come from. I say, "Dude, I hate to interrupt you but, you've some got a dot or something in the middle of your clean nothingness. Where did that come from?" Problems upon problems and we haven't even talked about orbits and quasars and feathers.

So, fish feet, you just keep hanging on that bumper reminding us all that your evolutionary appendages are carrying around a lot of baggage; or those of us who are religious like to call it, faith.

===========================
 “Today, the theory of evolution is an accepted fact for everyone but a fundamentalist minority, whose objections are based not on reasoning but on doctrinaire adherence to religious principles”
 James D. Watson

REALLY? Mr. Watson?


Stephen Hawking - "the actual point of creation lies outside the scope of presently known laws of physics,"

A less well-known but very distinguished cosmologist, Professor Alan Guth from MIT, says the "instant of creation remains unexplained."

http://www.leaderu.com/real/ri9404/bigbang.html