Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter (Lyrics Interpretation)

(Courtesy of Bill Simmons, one of the greatest writers of all time.)

Speechless...

LeBron's a Flirt

THANK YOU, LEBRON JAMES.

Thank you for finally unveiling your full glory.  Thank you for taking the spotlight off of Kobe Bryant's flip-flopping meltdown.  Thank you for turning our full attention back to the NBA playoffs action happening outside of tired San Antonio.  Thank you for giving us the unexpected.  Thank you for being the most incredible 22 year-old to grace this planet.  Thank you for finding that killer instinct that you said you lacked earlier in your career  Thank you for taking over this game and this league.

THANK YOU!

Okay, all hyperboles aside, if you missed out on Game 5 of the Detroit-Cleveland series you should punch yourself in the mouth.  LeBron was absolutely amazing.  48/9/7 doesn't even begin to explain his dominance in Game 5.

If you saw the game, did you notice how quiet and downright scared the Detroit crowd was during the two overtimes, and especially on Detroit's last play with 2.2 left?  The muted crowd said it all with their silence: they were witnessing inexorable glory right in front of their eyes and they knew there was nothing anyone in that building could do about it.  That was awesome.

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I came across a kickin' site today:  The Hood Internet.  It's a site that features a bunch of awesome mashups.  One of my favorites so far is I'm A Flirt (Shoreline), which mashes R. Kelly and Broken Social Scene together.

You can watch a cool mashup video for the song that someone made below:

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Finally, on June 4th, 2007 (Monday), Ask.com will have a brand new user interface.  I've seen it and it looks really sexy.  And it's not purely aesthetic either.  The new interface will give users a fresh and improved search experience, which other big competitors are lacking.

And no, I am not getting paid to say any of this.  Other bigger, smarter, and more experienced people in the industry are already saying flattering things about it.

But seriously, on Monday, June 4th (in the afternoon I believe) be ready to take a gander at a sweet new interface on Ask.com.

At Stamina's End; Barbossa's Profundity

Our company treated us to a Friday afternoon viewing of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," even renting out an entire theater for ourselves.  It was quite a nice gesture, and I looked forward to it even though I was not very excited about the movie, which was getting mediocre reviews.

Well, to make a 2 hours and 45 minutes story short, I didn't like the movie.  The first two hours were saturated with twisty deals, backstabbings, and draining dialogue, which all amounted to me being quite confused.  For some movies it's okay to be confused for a bit, because after a few minutes the film will usually unravel the confusion for you and lead you to an "ah-ha" moment.  For "Pirates," the same could not be said.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that I almost fell asleep halfway through the film.

Chow Yun-Fat was wasted, Keira Knightley's frailty and tinny voice made it unbearable to see her for a third straight installment trying to be tough, and Orlando Bloom is proving that he can be nothing but an effeminate elf, and is the farthest thing from a pirate.  Even Johnny Depp's fun and humorous Jack Sparrow was kind getting lame by the end of the film.

I'll stop bashing on the movie now, because if I don't I'll probably go on for another fifty three lines.  If you've seen it, then you probably know the deal.

I give it a resounding D+.  The only thing that kept this movie afloat for me was Davy Jones (one of my favorite movie characters of all time, played by the brilliant Bill Nighy) and some nice CGI effects.

Anyhow, there was one scene that I particularly enjoyed.  (Spoiler alert.)  It was the scene where the Chinese boat had passed through an arctic sea and was riding calmly on the black water at nighttime, with the bright stars reflecting pristinely off of the sea, making it appear that the boat was floating in space.

The crew begins to become distressed at Captain Barbossa's seemingly careless guidance to Davy Jones' locker (which we find is death).  He confesses that he is lost, and the crew panics, much to his pleasure.  Barbossa smiles and says:

"You have to be lost to find a place that's never been found."

Boy oh boy, when I heard him say that line I immediately woke up from my stupor.

For those who have put their trust in Christ, I think this line says a lot.  When you are lost you are unable to guide yourself, you cease to have control over your path, and your surroundings are wholly unfamiliar to you.  I think many times, God puts you in these "lost" moments.  It may be cruel at first, and it may come in the horrible form of a loved one's death, the loss of a job, the sullying of your reputation, the crumbling of your GPA, or the confusion over your career path, among many other things.  But I really believe (from personal experience, and from countless stories in the Bible) that God leads you through these lost moments to bring you to "a place that's never been found."  Do you want to get to higher ground, greater joy, fuller fulfillment, and more intimacy?  Don't be surprised if this requires you to get lost first.

For those who do not believe in Christ, I think that it is very likely that God will make you fully aware of your lostness if he desires you to find him.  He will make it clear to you that you are lost, that you have no control over your life.  You've tried your darndest to find peace, fulfillment, and lasting joy on your own, but in the end you'll find that it's "a place that's never been found."

It's after you realize, acknowledge, and confess this fact that you begin to get "unlost."

Of course, it can't stop there.  I can get lost somewhere in Nebraska and admit it, but that doesn't help me to find my way.  I need to get help, and that is what salvation is.  It isn't political, it isn't financial, it isn't emotional.  It is the very real God hearing your confession of lostness and your plea for help, and his merciful response to save you where you are.  He does not demand that you find your way to him.  He finds his way to you.

Jesus on the cross is God's promise to save on full display for all the world to see.  At your call he will save you from whatever lostness you're in, wherever you are, and you will be found.

"You have to be lost to find a place that's never been found."

To Catch a Sinner

The videos embedded above are compilations of some highlights from one of my guilty pleasures, "To Catch a Predator," and its Canadian counterpart.

It's a highly entertaining show because of a few reasons, though it does shed light on a very disturbing, frustrating, and sad underbelly that is shockingly real.

One of the major draws for me is the rawness of it all. The reactions when people are caught, the lies that they try to tell, the despair that gushes out of some of them...it all shows the stripped down nature of these men, who are drowning in their own perversions and lusts, to the point where their consciences are virtually silenced.

But to be honest, the more and more I watch "To Catch a Predator," the more I realize that there is something painfully true and "holy" in these reactions.

Now, please don't read into that too much and think that I am defending these wretched people and trying to hide them behind religion (some of them do that by themselves). I'm just saying that when these people first see Chris Hansen walk out and realize that they are caught, there is a very obvious indication that they are fully aware that they are in the wrong, that they are evil, and that justice is headed their way.

Those are all traits of one who is in the presence of holiness, isn't it?

Whether the predator immediately apologizes, breaks down, yells at the host, or even tries to run away, he is fully aware that his deepest, darkest self is unveiled for all the world to see and he immediately realizes that that self is wholly wicked and punishable. Any reaction they have is founded upon a deep fear and gloom.

In its most basic form, this epiphany is virtually identical to those of various figures in the Bible when they were in God's presence or were in the face of impending wrath. (Deut. 9:18, 1 Kings 18:39, 1 Chron. 9:20, Luke 5:8, Heb. 12:21)

And in a very strange way, I almost envy this moment of enlightenment that these sexually depraved men have on that show.

I know that we are no longer living in Old Testament times, and that Christ's life, death, and resurrection close the gap between us and our Creator, but I still feel as though I do not understand God's holiness and my iniquity enough.

If I did, I would turn into the same blabbering, remorseful, and fearful man that those men became.

So, I guess there is a part of me that really wishes that I would be caught in the Lord's holiness one day, and that I would experience that moment of truth, of total clarity, where I would finally understand what I am compared to what he is. I am convinced that even a passing moment in that state would change me forever.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

- Philippians 2:9-13