Just finished the latest 007 novel (if it is going to be a few more years before the next movie… glad someone was commissioned by the Ian Fleming family to write a new one).  Carte Blanche is yet another reboot of a classic character.  Bond is introduced as an agent in his early 30s who is a veteran of the Afghan War.  To me the last two movies which combined as a reboot failed horribly by being something the franchise is not.  They are WAY too serious and totally dismissed what is so fun about the classic Bond movies.  However, they are all back in the pages of the first official Bond book penned by an American, Jeffery Deaver (author of such suspense novels as The Bone Collector which became a Denzel Washington/Angelina Jolie film).

Supporting Cast:

• M… Bond’s boss is once again a male character.  I enjoy Dame Judy Dench as the head of MI6 but liked a return to the classic male figure
• Q… Quartermaster… weapons guy who provides agents with the most advanced weaponry available…. whether or not it comes back intact at the end of the adventure is always fun to see.  Sadly missed in the last two movies.
• Miss Moneypenny… a bit different role in the books than in the movies but also missed in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
• Felix Leiter… CIA Agent who has more of a cameo role in this one.

The Bond Girls:  There are three in this one.  One of the three MORE than lives up to her name.  Another is as icy as Pussy Galore, herself.

The villain: Severan Hydt. Quite memorable.  I don’t think there has been a Bond villain quite as interesting in quite a while.

Of course, 007 is sent on a hazardous mission with Earth shaking consequences and millions of lives at risk.  All of these elements combine to bring James and company into the 21st century.  The reader is even provided with quite a bit of backstory into the life of the secret agent that ties directly into the action.  Exotic locales, breathless action sequences, and twists, including an ending most unusual for a Bond vehicle.  Let’s hope the movies get back on track.

Okay, it looks like I focused a great deal on one small aspect of camp last time, but hey- it was new, and I enjoyed my role as director as much as how the skit went.  How about something a little less focused?  A lot of the camp activities was same-old for me, but how else could some thing be after seven years, even with a new cabin each year.  The camp staples were there- archery, riflery, crafts, competition games, food, bedrest (Michigan law- an hour each day must be spent in bed during the day to avoid overexhaustion).  Some things are new every year, like the Zorb this year as I already mentioned.  Also new this year was a game in the courtyard called gaga-ball (nothing to do with the pop star, actually a game imported from Israel) and one in the swim front area called nine-square, though we never played the latter.  Also new this year was the almost daily rain.  Years past have had no more than a couple days with some rain, but until the last day we had some rain every day.  Last year that rain canceled our wacky water sports instructional, but it was replaced by- a different wacky water sport the entire camp engaged in.  What they did was lay a tarp across a large portion of the game field and create a giant slip ‘n’ slide.  On it they had races and wacky games like an extreme duck-duck-goose.  Well, we had one time like that this year as well, during our canoeing time and free time after that.  That time started out normal, mind you.  By the time we actually got into our canoes, however, the rain started.  Meh- a little rain never hurt anyone.  But then it turned into sheets of rain accompanied by thunder.  Whoops- time to get out of the water.  No one overturned their canoe, but by the time we were ashore it sure felt like it.  We spent the next 15 minutes or so in a shelter before heading out, ending up in the tarp-encrusted game field.

Erm- so much for unfocused I guess.  Let’s see now.  Besides raining out part of an instructional, one of the competitions got rained out, except that time we all raced for the shelter of the lodge.  Our infamous counselor hunt also was nearly rained out, but it did stop in time for the hunt.  Last year I hid so well that no one found me.  This year I made it easier for them.  A group of three leaders were hidden as it turned out not very well, and I went downhill from them.  All the kids had to do was look down and there I was!  Then they had to climb down a steep hill to get to me- mwa-ha-ha-ha.  Well, once they saw me not a single group passed up the chance, but not all saw me oddly enough.

At the end of the week, the students were given an opportunity to give testimonies about their week at camp, and I was happy to see two of my own cabin go up to the microphones.  There they talked about accepting Jesus if they did, rededicating themselves, how they learned what kind of heart they had (shallow, crowded), and how they wanted a fruitful heart (see the parable of the seeds being sown on different soils).  A testimony that really touched me was from a boy from Iowa who started his testimony out with “I thought I knew God, but I really didn’t.”  I may be paraphrasing a little, I don’t remember the exact words.  How many of us think we really know who God is only to find out through some teaching somewhere, or some action by someone, that we really don’t know Him at all.  That’s the point where God enters into our lives as He revels Himself, and we either gladly grab on to the life preserver he gives us, or we utterly reject it and spend the rest of our lives trying to manage on our own.  Has He revealed Himself to you?  Did you grab on, repent, and become His adopted child?

I will leave you with these few pictures and videos from camp.  By the way, did anyone catch the title of my last post?  It is from a song we sang daily at camp, one where I witnessed the Holy Spirit at work more than some of the other songs, Like a Lion from the Passion Awakening album.  The Youtube video is at the end.

Gaga ball: dodgeball with nowhere to run!

[vimeo]https://www.vimeo.com/25938602[/vimeo]

Just a minute to win this…

Help- I’m upside down!

[vimeo]https://www.vimeo.com/25938827[/vimeo]

Humans + Foosball = life-sized foosball

[vimeo]https://www.vimeo.com/25938716[/vimeo]

Now this is a worship time!

This past week saw another great musician and conductor leave the confines of his earthly existence (morbid way to start, I know).  Ray has been ver instrumental in the formation of a community choir in my hometown for the past several years.  Each summer at our hometown festival, he gathers a good size group and leads them in a selection of patriotic songs.  I also recall singing Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus in an alumni choir directed by this fine man at high school Christmas concerts a time or two.  Each of Ray and Joan’s children developed and nurtured a passion for music.  Kevin, their oldest, is the music director of a school in Texas. Growing up,  I remember seeing Kris, Kermit,and Kyle in musicals and in show choir.  After graduating from THE Ohio State University, Kermit subbed a number of times for band and choir.  He would grab the second sousaphone and we would jam out to some pep band music… GOOD TIMES!

This summer’s Festival of Flags chorus will be in need of a new leader.  Unfortunately, Ray suffered a massive stroke and heart attack and was called to direct an even larger chorus.  Emily must have needed some help directing up there… of course, nearly three years is an awful long time 😉

Rest in Heavenly Peace.

Nope, didn’t even make the callbacks.  There was a message waiting when I got home the day after stating that I did not make the show.  It’s been a long time since I didn’t make a show.  This is not what it sounds like- in recent history I have only tried out for Oliver! and It’s a Wonderful Life before Dracula.  I didn’t even try out for Jekyll & Hyde, only responded to a plea for more actors.  Unfortunately along with a rejection comes a void that can’t be filled, a void of never knowing why.  Was something wrong with my audition?  It was only a singing audition and I feel I sang just fine.  The accompanist didn’t always keep up- was that counted against me?  I did a performance, not just the song.  Maybe I should have stood there and just sang?  Maybe my hair which I forgot to get cut bothered them?  Maybe they used the “Will you be willing to be in the ensemble/chorus” question as a weed-out tool- I said no because I would rather try out for Noah than be in the chorus- at my age I have this privilege, do I not?  Did someone find this blog and see I would rather be in Noah?  Was it even about me at all?  I do know it is a relatively small cast for two groups- yes it is a joint production between two groups.  Oh, well.  I am now free to try out for Noah whenever those auditions happen, assuming they don’t just pre-cast it since there is such a small cast.  If I make the show I will know for sure not making Dracula was a God thing (someone was praying for me).  Of course, considering the message of the Dracula story, it may just be a God thing no matter what happens.

Come to think of it, I was rejected more recently- when I did a general tryout for Metropolis last summer.  I was never called back for anything.  Well, that was professional theatre so it was expected.   I do so wish I could just call and ask, but I know that would be improper, so I will just continue to wonder.

NOTHING beats the sheer spectacle of a live theatrical performance.  However, when those of us do not live within reasonable driving distance to take in a professional show less than occasionally and scraping the $100+ for a single ticket… WELL…. Fifty years ago or so many of the bigger shows would be given the big screen treatment at “Affordable prices.”  However, the popularity of the movie musical has all but gone by the wayside.  There is the occasional offering… Chicago (good), Evita (ok, I suppose), and The Phantom of the Opera (not so ok).

It was announced today that a cinematic treatment of Schoenberg and Boublil’s Les Miserables (really, is there any other?) is finally in the works.  “In the works” insofar as the announcement that Hugh Jackman is attached to the project and a screenplay is being written. Wolverine as the “pup” Gavroche… I can see it now… with an Australian accent.   Of course, I have heard that the musical has been in development for ten years or more and we got nothing more than a Liam Neeson starring flick that “is not the musical” and I have not seen. So, we will see if this comes to fruition.

Until then, the musical itself is coming to the area in November!

I realize that most of us wake up everyday planning for a new adventure. We make sure that every thing we will need is in it’s place and off we go to find a new challenge. Wait a minute, you don’t do that? You wake up knowing that your day will be almost a carbon copy of the day before? You aren’t looking forward to that daily grind? Life is static?

Do you remember the adventures? Your feelings before they happened? That can’t hold me back attitude that a true adventure brings? Think about the feelings of that first day of school. The night before Christmas. The day before a special family trip. The first day at a new job. That drive to get going and tackle anything given to you that day.

We know what the feelings are like, but they don’t happen everyday for most of us. I am determined to try to make each day an adventure. New experiences are just waiting for me to find them. And if this old man can find the old drive for a few extra days in the week, that would be something.

So tomorrow I will be off on a new grand adventure. Anyone with me?

The kids are growing by leaps and bounds before my eyes, and it’s unbelievable because I’m used to seeing them most of the day, every day – and I can still see the changes.  They are growing up literally before my eyes!

So far this summer, the kids and I have carried a normal daily schedule that finds our time divided between fun activities and miscellaneous appointments (like Bible study class, violin lessons, doctor’s and dental appointments, etc).  I think we’ve done a good job of making the days fun, and we’ve also had some great family weekends since school has let out.  Father’s Day weekend saw us heading out to the African Wildlife Safari Park in Port Clinton Ohio.  We love that place, but it’s almost 2 hours away so we hadn’t made it out there in a few years.  But there was a Groupon a few months ago, and we got a great price on admission, so Hubby planned a trip there.  Can’t go to Port Clinton Ohio and not stop at Cheesehaven – 88 types of cheese, meats, sauces… yummy stuff.  They have free samples so you can try before you buy.  Should you find yourself in this little Lake Erie town (which is near the more well known tourist attraction: roller-coaster filled Cedar Point), stop by Cheesehaven and get a fresh corned beef sandwich – YUM!!

The Safari Park is great –  you drive around the animals’ huge enclosure, and herds of all types of different animals approach your car looking for food!  There are alpacas, llamas, white-tailed deer, elk, elands, bison, reindeer (I never found this one in the guidebook, but it looked like a reindeer to me!), even giraffes and zebras at the end (while you can still feed them, the giraffes and zebras are behind a fence whereas the other animals are not).  It’s so cool to feed all these guys!  Some are dainty, skittish eaters (the smaller deer), while the huge animals like the bison will fill your car with this hot, half-digested hay breath.  It’s delightfully disgusting, and only animal lovers should attempt to stomach this!  Here is the best video I could record while getting accosted by a thousand-pound bison (the kids were frustrating us adults since they would freak out and drop the carrot before the bison could grab it – we felt bad for the hungry fella!)

And what is the poor thing in the picture below?  A llama, I think?  He had a funny lip, which coupled with his flat ear gave him a whimsical look – he was a favorite to feed.

And next is a video of the giraffe  – sorry for the shakiness, but he was too tall to get in one shot!  You can see his curly toungue  that came out and helped him grab his carrot.  The car in front of us had the right idea  – they were feeding the giraffe out of their sunroof – it was a sight to see and I should have taken video!

The Safari Park also has pig races, an animal show, a small walk-thru zoo, and pony and camel  rides for the kids.  It was a SUPER day, followed by a special day to celebrate Dads after 🙂

‘E’S BACK!  Yes, I have returned from the state of Michigan to learn there was a tornado in the area while I was away.  Two towns away, with little damage and no casualties, so not exactly those news breakers of weeks past.  Moving on, in addition to the additions and subtractions they make from year to year (i.e., the Zorb this year replaced mountain biking), there are always differences in the kids and the weather.  Each group of campers is different.  I had ten boys in my cabin this year, and a junior leader who was one of my 4th/5th grade kids at church (not camp) from years past.  I have had the sweetest kids you could know, and some, well, not quite the other end of the scale but leaning that way.  Sometimes strongly.  The most difficult one I had this year was mostly trouble at bedtime, not wanting to stay in bed, his own bed, etc.  During the day he was great to lead.  I originally had nine boys, but one was added at the last minute so in addition to the nine 5th graders, I had one 4th grader.  I won’t be able to form a strong relationship with him however, as his family will be moving out of state soon.  Nor will I have any relationship at all with another, who came as a friend of one of our students.  He has Christian parents however (and he already accepted Christ), unlike another guest I had a few years ago who came from a decidedly non-Christian family, though he did accept Jesus during his week at camp.

One of the new things this year was a talent show.  I made sure to sign up for a skit, though I did come prepared with some songs from Oliver! in case we had to sing.  You see, there was only one slot available each night for skits.  This will have to be tweaked a bit for next year as no one signed up for the first night.  Too little rehearsal time?  Together we decided to do a backstage audition scene, though looking like an Idol episode with three judges holding their product-placement IBC root beer bottles.  We came up with a script the first couple days, tweaking it even at the last rehearsal.  I assigned three judge roles, one being kind of a mean one (yeah, you know…); six contestants in three acts (one became a security guard instead during a tweak); and one cameraman who dropped out when he wasn’t feeling very well on the day of performance, giving me his line which didn’t quite work out as it was meant for a cameraman, not someone yelling from offstage.  The one who didn’t want to even do a skit turned out to do a great job as a judge.  I would say that they wrote half the script adding great ideas like a group doing a purposely bad “pattycake” routine, calling themselves the Pattycake Pros, or PPs for short (remember the audience/participant ages!).  We also had a male diva contestant named Justin B-[eye]-ber, who the judges naturally mispronounce.  The mispronounced name was my idea, but the kids came up with the contestant idea among others.  He was dragged off by the security guard after hitting a judge, only to return later chased by that same security guard.  The kids added being chased by some girls at the end, so we borrowed a few from a girl’s cabin who would chase him thinking he must be the famous pop star, where he once again shouted that he was B-[eye]-ber, not B-[ee]-ber.  The most amazing addition they came up with was changing my generic “Jesus Rocks” at the end of another bad performance (making it a smashing hit in the judges eyes as a result instead of another flop) to a bible verse from the lesson earlier that day about not fearing, finding comfort in God instead.  I believe the verse was Psalm 27:1.  That was the Holy Spirit talking through the boy who came up with that change!

This post is getting kind of long, and I have to get a couple things done before I go to bed, so I will leave you with this video from the Zorb activity.  This answers the question, “Is it safe to be in front of a moving Zorb?”

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/25643379[/vimeo]

The beast had slept for thousands of years, but something or someone disturbed its slumber. It was now awake, and sacrifice would be required. Yes, the beast would be sated. Before this last slumber, the beast had battled the surface dwellers. They were bold, determined and tenacious, but with some forethought easy prey. They disturbed the balance again, and this would be the last time.

Slowly, quietly the beast made its way through the tunnels. Home for so many years, but now threatened. Yes the hunger was growing…

A lone man explores the vast network of caves and tunnels found during the ejustjvation. He shouldn’t be here and he really shouldn’t be alone, and he should have told somebody. If anything happens, it will be weeks before anyone realizes that he is missing. He is confident in his abilities, but it was an obsession that got him moving. There was something in these caves, something living, something dangerous, something that killed.

As we go through life we have many choices laid out in front of us. Paths to travel, things to see, places to go and people to meet. As we make our choices, the paths, things, places and people change, move and diverge. Each choice, by its nature, limits the things that will happen in our lives. Because of this, people will often ask “What if?” or “If only I could?”. Or to steal from a play I recently saw, “I wish I had…” Paths not taken, roads closed and detours set up.

There are many times in my life that I have played the games of “what if or I wish I had”. Normally, when I feel life isn’t going in the direction I like, I fall deep into those games.

And of course as we grow and gain experience we play those games to make plans for the future. What if I take this job? If I would put my money here. I think I will buy this thing. These thoughts can lead to comfort. Knowing that you planned for your future. Anticipating coming events. Or they can cause some trepidation. Fear of that Dr. Visit, maybe that big meeting coming up, or even wondering if something will or won’t happen.

As with most things in life, these games, the planning are all wonderful if done in moderation. Too much wondering about the past “what ifs” leads us to forget about the present and the future. Too many “If i do this, or I think I wills” can lead us to stagnation contemplating our futures. Not enough of either can lead to an extreme “go with the flow” attitude. Not preparing for the future or learning from the past.

So after all this, here is to reaching that choice in life. Here is to following the path that you choose. Taking some trips back down memory lane, and those trips made while planning for the future. While we live, there is always a new direction to take, just up the road…