A New Favorite Movie

Cyndi and I have this blockbuster subscription.. you know, the one where you can order movies online, 3 at a time and as you mail each one back, the next one on your selection list gets mailed out?

Well, it wasn’t long before every movie we've wanted to see in the top 300 movies was in our rear-view mirror.  To combat the recurring "empty queue", I’ve gotten into the habit of grabbing my laptop during the DVD previews of the movies we rent and adding interesting looking ones to my online queue.

I’ve picked some real losers.

Last night, my wife announced we should watch a movie. She went to the basket of incoming movies and pulled out “After The Wedding”.  She said, “what’s this about?”.    I really couldn’t remember. She rolled her eyes, but put it in the player, expecting yet another "Tim-blockbuster".

Well, we sat down and the movie began, with Sigor Ros as a sound-track. If you haven’t experienced Sigor Ros, then you won’t know what I’m talking about, but their stuff is wonderful. (I immediately googled to confirm it was them) Cyndi “loves it” when I google during a movie (not), and I could feel the wave of disapproval wafting from the far side of the couch. So I sat the laptop down and scooted over to enjoy the movie.   She actually said, "wow".  Ouch!

What a movie it was! Easily my favorite in the last 3 years. An emotional epic.  Surprizing character reveals and emotion twists, and amazing new cinematography.  Really fresh!

When it was done, Cyndi said, “Isn’t that, like, the best movie?!?”

I replied. “Well, I know how to pick ‘em!"

I almost fell over when the couch-pillow hit me in the head.

False modesty.

Funny how you read a verse again for the umpteenth time and see something new. 

I was reading in John 8 and Jesus talks about false modesty and calls it what it is. Lying.

Ever dismiss a compliment?  Ever try to deny praise for a gift you've been given?

This is a pretty cool translation, as well. Read the whole chapter for context. For that matter, the whole book is recommended. 

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://youversion.com/reader.php?startverse=John.8.55&version=msg

Tim Wheeler

(Sent from my iPhone)

Say Something, Dude!

Tomorrow I’m driving my youngest to East Lansing and moving him into his dorm. I know he’s thinking he’ll be back next summer. I’m thinking that too. I can’t help but remember, though, my mother, as she was loading me into the car with my cousin on my way to John Brown University. She looked at me with a tear in her eye and told me, “you know they say that when a boy goes off to college, he never really comes home again.” I remember laughing and saying that I would be home, but I realize, looking back, that she was right. I never looked at home the same, and the significance of that moment and that step largely eluded me at the time.

Emotions, for me, are running at the brim. Stress is high, (along with tuition) but mostly I’m numb. This has been a big year for my family. Big birthday, big anniversary, big wedding, college graduation, high school graduation and now this.

I’ve been mostly quiet on the writing front. When there was something springing forward, the energy has been lacking. If there’s energy, the inspiration is drown out by the business around me. While I discipline myself to write everyday, I sense that this period is a time to absorb life. To store every memory. Ponder every exchange between my son and I as well as his siblings. Banish regrets. Celebrate special times. Enjoy the moments we’re given, and give thanks for the moments gone by. Store them up until they are ready to come out.

There will be songs of joy and of sorrow. There will be songs of regret. There will be nostalgic songs, and songs of happiness. Sad songs, poignant songs, songs to celebrate the milestones, and songs that attempt to fill the emptiness of yet another room in our house. There will be many songs, but they wait, patiently, in the wings.

Right now at this moment, however, the only songs that come to mind are the songs of praise. Songs of thanksgiving. Songs of joy. The kind that streams down your face, wracks through your chest and then beams up and out through your cheeks. Songs of astounding humility for the being granted stewardship over a little boy who has always sensed the greater significance of his existence and the reason he was put here. The bigger picture of our lives. A little boy who often pictured himself in his older years, amazing his father who always thinks in the short term. A kid who at 6 years of age wondered why God made thunder, and then moments later pondered the fact that his children would have technology far beyond Nintendo.

I’ve marveled at his gift of seeing himself down the road, and now, that little boy has indeed arrived at a milestone down the path he has imagined so many times before.

I read a friend’s blog today who just lost his father. I lost mine a few months before that day I loaded up my Chevy Nova and my mother said goodbye in such a significant way. I’ve often thought about what he would have told me that day, had he lived a few months longer. I wonder because tomorrow its my turn to say something. Something significant. Something inspiring. Something that might give my son the presence of mind to grasp the importance of that moment.

What will I say to that little boy. The little boy who is so quickly bursting into manhood. The little boy who will leave tomorrow and will never really come home again.

Want Some Inspiration? Read This...

Regie Hamm's Blog post. (Regie wrote the American Idol Songwriting Contest Winner this Year)

Signs That Make You Say, "Huh?"

For the life of me, I can't figure out what this sign is good for,
other than positive affirmation for those entering.

Seen at the local Home Depot.

What's A Songwriter To Do?

I started writing songs when I was 13. Learned to play piano for real in the 10th and 11th grade. Played in bands through high school, college and single life. Kept writing and recording. Got married and lost the band gig. Kept writing. Raised kids, kept writing, even for them for awhile. Started writing professionally. Studied the model. Write. Cowrite. Get a publishing deal. Get cuts. Get airplay. Make boat-loads of money. Retire.

Side stories: Napster, mp3 format, broadband, Clear Channel, Record companies alienate (and criminalize) consumers, Major record company model collapses. Goodbye publisher-paid demo. Hello songwriter-paid demo. Hits don’t pay writers $500K anymore... or at least few and far between.

Bands aren’t discovered anymore. They have to build an audience, and then they can bargain for a deal. Trouble is, the deal they’re bargaining for isn’t such a deal anymore. CD sales are going away and the only way to monetize track sales is online.. which the record companies still haven’t figured out.

So where’s the future? Who the heck knows. If the rate of change continues, the industry will look completely different in 2 years, and then again in a year and a half. NSAI is battling in Washington for songwriter rights, and the record companies are battling for theirs at the expense of the artist and the songwriter.

The model has changed and will continue to change. Music sales may never come back to the levels they were, and because of that the major labels may lose their hold on monopoly and distribution (if they haven’t already).

On the bright side, the promotional playing field is leveling. Satellite radio is broadening the venues to hear cool stuff. Indie musicians seem to be making a living, better than before this all came down. Big stars, not so much. Sure, there’s Coldplay, but they could probably do what they did on the latest release without a label, next time.

So what’s a songwriter to do?

Let’s see... Figure out what’s next? Lobby Washington or champion those that do? Worry? Find cheaper demo studios and/or get more efficient at producing them? Network. (trying to replace all the people we knew who’ve left the industry)

I don’t think so. Sure we may need to spend some times in those areas. For some of us, more than others. For some none at all.

Some of these things might be good. Some of these things might give you an edge. Get you in the door. Break through the noise. Grease the palms.

But all of these things add up to squat, if you aint got at least one thing....

Great songs.

Write on.

Christian Clothing Woes

I recently came across a banner ad for a “Christian Clothing” vendor. I eagerly went to the site to see what they have available. I was disappointed, however, that after intense searching I was unable to find any Christian Underwear for sale.