Get a job....

Smell like popcorn...?

Ultimate Fighter: Heavy-Weights

This is why God created DVR....won't miss one episode. I got to see some of the premiere last night...i'll watch the rest tonight...fantastic line up...this season is going to be a riot.

SPIKE - The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights - Awesome video clips here

RUDY....

So I am sitting in the ER at our local Sacred Heart Hospital waiting for some tests results concerning my wife who is laying in the bed and I hear something mechanical sounding coming down the hall. I turn and look out the door and there roaming the halls is Rudy. I was almost overwhelmed with a rush of 1977 giddiness. I snapped this picture to forever memorialize the moment when I first saw a real life robot at work in my day to day life. My inner sci-fi Twig was gushing with an overwhlming sense of history being made.

Sure it wasn't:
...but it was a Robot nonetheless...I have offically lived to an era that I lived only within my early child fantasies.

Now if I could only get ahold of a M41a Pulse Rifle....

Arrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!!

slam dunk...

Band of Brothers: Why We fight...episode

This episode in the Band of Brothers series, hit me like an emotional ton of bricks. I think it was more powerful than Schindlers List for me. I found myself truly getting angry at various points during the episode. The scene in the Cheese and Bread shop after the Allied Forces discovered the concentration camp was most visceral to me. Knowing that many of those German towns people knew of the atrocities outside their city got me wanting that solider to pull the trigger on the baker who was throwing a fit because the soldiers were taking food for the victims. I also felt the anger of the soldier cussing out the captured SS soldiers that were being marched down the highway. I felt the horror of new recruits discovering the houses of dying and dead in the camp...over and over, it was a emotional ride. What a hard hitting series, I dont think anything compares to it.

On a negative note...I was disappointed by the sex scene that came out of nowhere in this episode, no chance to edit or turn...just in your face...that was over the top. I understand the desire to explore the complex relationships between the conquered and the conquering and the ecstatic liberated people, the divorcing homeland spouses and the soldiers loneliness and the abuse of it all...but this scene was tackless. Other than that and the rough language throughout the film...I give this series 5 stars, two thumbs up etc..etc...it is the best war movie/series that I have seen.

And "The Pacific" looks like its going to be an excellent follow up to Band of Brothers, I cant wait to see it.

Is Sigourney Weaver a babe...?

So Austin, my 13 year old son wanted to watch the Alien series of movies, so him, Destiny my 15 year old daughter and Tlyer her boyfriend and Christian my 17 year old son and I watched the first one last night. The 3 younger all gave it an OK...me and my eldest give it two thumbs up. The naysayers felt it was too slow and didn't give them enough beastie on screen. They squirmed at a few parts; the tv version of the director's cut was edited, a bit too much I think...but they still got caught up in the suspense. Overall I loved it...especially the added few scenes...the one of the Alien looking down from the dark, wet chains, was awesome!

But then came the Ripley underwear scene....every action flick has got to have a heroine fighting the monster in her skivvies right...it makes perfect sense...well, at least to the money makers. But I digress...that scene unleashed a whole discussion afterwards about the beauty or lack of it, of Sigourney Weaver. You see, Christian has been pretty vocal over the years about his Sigourney crush. So the kids got a up close look at her in this film and all of them were giving him a hard time. Austin was going on and on about her grandma looks etc...Christian defended his ground, even though he admitted that she had a butt that was about as attractive as a sheet of plywood.
For the love of Zeus's Beard, lady, eat a few Big-Macs and give those underwear something to hold on too! Oh and wash them in cold water, then they wont shrink so much! So in the end (no pun intended), we were all divided on whether she was worthy of babe status or not...Christin and I were in the yes camp and the other three were in the "no" zone. Not sure what that all means..but it was a funny discussion.

Interesting note: The director originally wanted a darker ending. He wanted the alien to bite Ripley's head off in the escape shuttle then sit in her chair and start speaking with her voice in a message to Earth. Apparently, 20th Century Fox wasn’t down with that.

One of the best fight scenes ever...Matrix Reloaded

A Band of Brothers books....

Here are some resources that should be part of every man's journey of manhood. Not all books espouse all Christian doctrine or practice (the first two) but all of them speak to issues where men live. Some secular books speak better than some of the christian books do in my opinion. That said, they all have something worth hearing, depending on where one is at in their lives. That's where the leading of the Holy Spirit comes in.

Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man

Iron John: A Book About Men

Seizing Your Divine Moment: Dare to Live a Life of Adventure

Samson and the Pirate Monks: Calling Men to Authentic Brotherhood


All John Elderidge books

One other note: Re: the danger of men's books:

"There is a tragic irony to Bly's book which perhaps he himself has not fully considered. Unlike the meetings he has held around the country, where his own forceful presence brings emotion to the surface, the book is read and experienced in isolation. Bly identifies the need for direct, man to man acknowledgment of grief and loss. He makes a compassionate plea that older men take up the challenge of helping younger men by giving them personal recognition of their struggle. But his book merely describes such nourishment; it cannot provide it. In fact, as Bly well knows (since he has obviously sampled Gurdjieff Work and Jungian analytic practice, using an inconsistent hodgepodge of their techniques himself) all esoteric ideas depend for their efficacy upon personal transmission from the mouth of the teacher to the ear of the student. His book reads like an edited transcript of a face to face meeting, but it is impersonal and inert on the page. It is easy to picture thousands of men reading his book alone in their rooms, nodding in agreement, but unable to do anything on their own to ease their sadness or change the nature of their predicament. To acknowledge inner problems, but do nothing towards a cure, may even be counterproductive, as ideas powerful in the air become vulgarized and dated on the page." From a review of Robert Bly's book Iron John

Sooooo...grab a book, invite a brother to read it with you, gather, discuss and include others...

beards of Iron and wine....

Iron and Wine
Now THAT...is a manly beard!

Bruce and Chuck...come on!!!

Muffin Top...

Camping....

Are you a cool guy?

Manhood: in need of an Archetype...

"A man must go on a quest,
to discover the sacred fire,
in the sanctuary of his own belly,
to ignite the flame in his heart,
to fuel the blaze in the hearth,
to rekindle his ardor for the earth.
-Sam Keen

This is a early shot of a painting I am working on that embodies the imagery of Ezekiel 10:1-22, the four faced (man, ox, lion, eagle) beings. I am using this as an archetype image for some men's stuff I am working on and some Youth to Teen to Manhood rites of passage material I am writing. It's an attempt to formulate some rites of passage events and material to help the process of maturity in my own sons lives, and in our faith community. I desire to see the fathering/eldering role strengthened in our community. Having values, traditions and a meaningful passage process for developing young men and men who carry the passion for authentic manhood to be passed on. I know this area is fit with psychological and sociological pitfalls, theological overemphasis and down right bizarre chest beating, testosterone worship. But I also see a cultural drift that is at play that is producing more and more identity confusion, role ambiguity and life skill underdevelopment among young men.

I see more and more insecurity, fear, trepidation, inability to make life decisions, submerged masculinity, laziness, lack of creativity, meaningless goals, lack of life vision and the internal fire to create new realities. The glazed over disinterest, blah like yawn, the tv daze, the internet gaming escapism and all the vicarious entertainment self medicating that is going on.

There is a monotonous monogamy that is plaguing men and the languishing lusting that is replacing it is undermining marriages and its becoming more and more viral. Men are in a quagmire of numbing banalities that have softened the wall of manhood into a penetrable and porous familial gate. Manhood no longer stands erect as a cultural barrier to the erosion and corrosion of the image of God in man. Many men are clueless about where to go, how to get there and why they should even wake from their trojan stupor. Fatherlessness is rampant as men drift without a compass or purpose...and the encroaching pointlessness of manhood is excruciating....especially in the church.

As our leaders continue to parade an example of infidelity, corruption, deception, greed, power hungry self service and abusive disregard for life, the world and the future...the situation is ripe for a return to the ancient wisdom of generational passage.

In this work, we need images, stories, examples, patterns, guides, voices, lights and willing sages that will engage the hard work of soul formation. Men who will hold to their dependance on God, His word, cultural wisdom, life experiences, naked faith and the ever moving work of the Spirit. We need images that remind us, awaken us, move and haunt us. We need Bards and Poets to recapture the art of storytelling for transformation.

I'm using the Ox, Eagle, Lion and the Man, to form a literary archetype for the passing of wisdom. This becomes a trellis to build upon as we engage consciously and unconsciously in the act of raising sons to become men and helping men discover the purpose of manhood.

Archetype: noun
1. the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.
2. (in Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches.

"Life is a storm. You will bask in the sunlight one moment - and be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when the storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout, 'Do your worst, for I will do mine!' Then the fates will know you as we know you - A MAN!"
- The Count of Monte Cristo

The problem with mens books....

"In the midway of this our life, I found me in a gloomy wood, astray" -Dante's Inferno

Walking the path of manhood is often a lonely path. Even though we are surrounded by people in almost every sphere of life, we can discover that internally we are wandering in the proverbial woods. Our culture has increasingly disconnected us from face to face relationships, traditions are forgotten, rite and rituals that used to add meaning to moments and seasons of life are increasingly being erased. We are more like ships without rudders, at the mercy of life, the winds and our own directionless living.

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." Thoreau

Like, Dante who awoke to find himself at midlife in a dark wood, not knowing where he was or where he was going. We like Dante, soon discover, it was (and will not be our) "Beatrice" who helped him to find himself and reintegrate his fragmented being, but his mentor, Virgil. But his reunion with Beatrice did come...after the long journey (as should ours)

That long journey, doesn't have to be a complete solo trek...in fact, it shouldn't because at some point you will discover, and bewail:

"Quaestio mihi factus sum" (I have become a question to myself) -St. Augustine, Confessions

You will need brothers, elders and sons....

"There is a tragic irony to Bly's book which perhaps he himself has not fully considered. Unlike the meetings he has held around the country, where his own forceful presence brings emotion to the surface, the book is read and experienced in isolation. Bly identifies the need for direct, man to man acknowledgment of grief and loss. He makes a compassionate plea that older men take up the challenge of helping younger men by giving them personal recognition of their struggle. But his book merely describes such nourishment; it cannot provide it. In fact, as Bly well knows (since he has obviously sampled Gurdjieff Work and Jungian analytic practice, using an inconsistent hodgepodge of their techniques himself) all esoteric ideas depend for their efficacy upon personal transmission from the mouth of the teacher to the ear of the student. His book reads like an edited transcript of a face to face meeting, but it is impersonal and inert on the page. It is easy to picture thousands of men reading his book alone in their rooms, nodding in agreement, but unable to do anything on their own to ease their sadness or change the nature of their predicament. To acknowledge inner problems, but do nothing towards a cure, may even be counterproductive, as ideas powerful in the air become vulgarized and dated on the page." From a review of Robert Bly's book Iron John

So true...

Yet, men are so difficult to provoke out of their women's all encompassing embrace, their career castles and their techno-shells. Finding a meaningful path & plan for doing life together, that doesn't rely on scheduling or programing and doesn't descend into some male version of constructing iron chastity belts, whipping posts for poor fathering and another unending spiritual honey-do-list...is tough.

We often quote such bible verse as:

Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken. - Ecclesiastes 4:12

But how often do we truly reach out for support, encouragement or help?

I challenge you to take steps beyond the books...form, gather, assemble, quest, journey, fight, meet, share, pray, weep, confess, sing......share life, war, brotherhood and wisdom.

There is a path through the wood...but it can't be travelled alone.

Geckos and science....

Failing Fathers...the hope of the future

"I remember that I was 50 years old at least before I could talk to men in a way they felt was a true way. When I was 35, it didn't matter what I said. They didn't trust me. There was a certain moment when I realized men, and to a certain extent women, trusted me when I talked." -Robert Bly

I'm formulating the path of my Father's Day message and its been deep work. I am working with the title "A Failing Father: the only hope for the future" based out of the story of Manoah, the father of Samson. I am meandering through various fields of thought on the subject of fathers, parenting, initiation and the mythopoetic idea present in greek mythology of the father eating the son. It's been a decent into places of the soul where caged demons and angels dwell.

Here is one of Robert Bly's poem's to stir the emotional waters: My Father's Wedding

Therefore, fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and scatter all your remnant to every wind. -Ezekiel 5:10

The Father/Son relationship can be a volatile one, as the biblical stories honestly reveal and the tales of mythology or literature expound. The outworking of independence, ascension of youth and descending of age, the discovery of sexual fire and the attempts to learn the art of carrying the sacred ember in the rites of marriage are all woven together in this drama of parenting, family and fathering.

Reducing Father's Day to a nice little moment to celebrate the dads...is a horrid truncation of all that this epic journey thrusts upon manhood. The true life realities found in most homes are far more explosive than most preachers dare to share...we've not been wide-eyed oracles of apocalyptic dawns...but sentimental story tellers of dusk like sleepiness.

Becoming a father should scare the hell out of you...and awaken in your breast, the dreams of God.

Any intelligent, contrary thoughts....?

Beer....

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" -Benjamin Franklin

Watch this little video on American beer history...I found it interesting
Beer—An American Revolution

MEN....!!!!

If you didn't see this episode, you missed a great show...but some of the funny lines are in this clip. I love Will and Bear...so the combo was perfect.

"Out here...just me and Bear Grylls..in the wild, urinating together." -Will Ferrell

On tattoo's...

"...this tattooing, had been the work of a departed prophet and seer of his island, who, by those hieroglyphic marks, had written out on his body a complete theory of the heavens and earth, and a mystical treatise on the art of attaining truth; so that Queequeg in his own proper person was a riddle to unfold; a wonderous work in one volume; but whose mysteries not even he himself could read, though his own live heart beat against them; and these mysteries were therefore destined in the end to moulder away with the living parchment whereon they were inscribed, and so be unresolved to the last. And this thought it must have been which suggested to Ahab that wild exclamation of his, when one morning turning away from surveying poor Queequeg - "Oh, devilish tantalization of the gods!"
-Moby Dick

Helpless

Helpless from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

I dig....

G.I. JOE trailer in HD

Deadliest Warrior

Deadliest Warrior Sneak Peek | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

My new fave....

Impressive...

Kids Band Recess Play Journey's "Seperate Ways" - Click here for more amazing videos

Tru Lub.......

I saw this display of daring affection today and had to snap a picture...Im not sure, but it appears "Billy" would have to have hung over the side somehow to manage this artistic act of urban vandalism. Kinda impressive...

Beards are so Super....

I noticed as I was getting ready to take Micah to school that he was watching "Justice League" on the tv and low and behold good ol' Aquaman was sporting a mean looking beast beard...not a metrosexual, neatly trimmed whisker shadow, but a burley, hide the swallow and eggs...neck nest!

I had to get online and discover what kind of testosterone inducing, life transformation took place to take him from slick to Sasquatch?

"In 2001, the animated Aquaman would get a bit of an update on Cartoon Network's "Justice League." Though "JL" shares a continuity with "Superman The Animated Series," the producers decided that Aquaman should by now have developed his beard-and-long-hair look that he had in the comics. The show even created their own interpretation of how he wound up with that hook... with his hand trapped under a rock after a landslide and his infant son in mortal danger, Aquaman cuts off his own hand in order to save his child's life."

I should of known such an act would be accomplished by only a wild mountain (or ocean man)...hosting a Chin Chandelier of such manly proportions.

Them Dang Toilet Talkers...

In light of our conversation at the Spokane Gentleman's Society Breakfast about proper bathroom etiquette and the toilet talkers...I give you this gem.

He...brews...

21 Big Lessons You Can Learn from Little Kids

1. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Even when there's not a prize in the bottom of the box.

2. Sometimes it's best to be completely blunt with people, as you used to be with relatives who wanted you to do something embarrassing or tedious for a shiny quarter.

3. Asking questions is how you figure things out. Lots and lots of questions.

4. An older, wiser Gordie Lachance says in Stand By Me, "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12." Lachance is right. The trick is to try to be the friend you were when you were 12: fun-loving and loyal, with no strings attached.

5. Playing is work. Approach your downtime with all the seriousness of a 5-year-old with a secret treasure map.

6. Real guys don't dip their toes in the water. They jump right in.

7. Girls have cooties. Well, the ones you meet in certain bars do, anyway.

8. You hated it when a grown-up told you, "We'll see." It's still unacceptable. Don't say it yourself.

9. The only way to know how something works is to completely disassemble it. (This is still good advice when tackling a complex problem. Your plasma TV? Not so much).

10. There's a reason they don't give credit cards to 8-year-olds. You're supposed to save up money before you buy a new toy.

11. Your body was designed for throwing baseballs, shooting hoops, and jumping off diving boards and stuff. In the secret language of children, the word "fitness" doesn't exist. It's called "having fun."

12. Your world can be half-real and half-imaginary.

13. Homework blows. Bring work home with you and it'll ruin your night. And your marriage. And your family. And your life.

14. Too much of anything will give you a tummy ache. Like, say, bourbon.

15. If there's even the slightest doubt, hit the potty before you leave.

16. The coolest adults were the ones who took the time to listen to you. You still want to grow up to be a cool adult, right?

17.Treasure Island, Dracula: The best books are consumed after dark with a flashlight.

18. Use adrenaline as your drug of choice. You don't need beer, pot, or cigarettes to have a good time.

19. Kissing a girl on the cheek is a big deal. Kissing her lips is an even bigger deal. Seeing her naked for the first time is a major, life-altering event.

20. Going after a target in the urinal makes the time whiz by.

21. Seeing a thunderstorm roll in is better than watching HDTV. And rain isn't something to curse, but to enjoy. Hurry up, before it clears.

-From Men's Health Guy Wisdom Lists

if you have ever had these...you know the pain.

Double trouble...

Tim Hawkins - Cletus Take the Reel