muenchuwe's Xanga

Your Band & Album Cover

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:56:33 GMT

Instructions:

1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together

So: Introducing Ward Creek with their album The Words of Another...:

Update on the ninjas Frank, Fred, and Floyd

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:30:11 GMT

Approximately a year ago, my friend Tim Faas hired some ninjas for a report on me in Germany, and later for reports on some other friends. The ninjas eventually couldn't cope with Haiti - not too surprising, as Haiti was the Pearl of the Caribbean for a long time, where a lot of Pirates were stationed. Although those Pirates are not there anymore, I guess some ninjas came up with some excuses and disappeared; only one left a last report. I hadn't heard of them or about them since, until Frank, Fred, and Floyd contacted me on Dec 29, 2008 at the SfC conference (SfC = Students for Christ = Chi Alpha) in Berlin. Apparently they are also impacted by the financial crisis, so they asked if I needed some reconnaissance work or something like that.

I didn't really need any report, but to give these ninjas something to do, I was thinking about an easy task and asked about a report on Tim Faas. The next day, the ninjas came back and told me that Tim Faas is at the very same conference as myself and Vanesa - in Berlin. They showed me their photo evidence:

Now, that report was a surprise. The pictures are sure interesting. However,
I doubted that Tim was in Berlin. But nonetheless, Vanesa and I were calling out 'Tim' many times. Nobody answered, so apparently there was no Tim in Berlin at all... Hence, I asked the ninjas for more info and better quality pictures.

The ninjas explained that Tim was using a pseudonym and said that he claimed that he was married. Then they showed me this picture of Tim and his wife:

I immediately recognized Florian and Anne Krämer on this picture, as they are the leaders of SfC Cologne. The ninjas were embarrassed and disappeared completely.

Disappointed by the ninjas' performance, I looked for real evidence about Tim's whereabouts at the end of December. I soon found some reliable evidence that Tim Faas was at The World Missions Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio (as I had expected) through my friend Flo:

Video on facebook (access restriction apply).

So, as it turns out, the ninjas were partially right: Tim used a pseudonym (Curt Harlow) and claimed to be married to Kelly Harlow...

Tim - feel free to use the above pictures as facebook profile pictures.

Best 'Lost' episode ever

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:44:42 GMT

It has been a long time - so, I'm finally back...

Updates will have to wait (they will come eventually), but the Lost episode this past Feb 28 was the best TV since Episode 7, Season 2 of Twin Peaks. Wow!

The rest of this blog probably only makes sense if you have seen the episode and the show... Anyway: Let me just quote a reviewer named Ryan McGee: "...let us first take a moment to marvel at the euphoric catharsis that was the conversation between Penelope and Desmond near the end of this mind-blowing episode. That, gentle readers, is why I love Lost. The show has its mythology, and that's great. It's got its mysteries, and that's great. ... But in the end, without strong relationships between its characters, Lost would simply be another genre show, one of many. The impact and emotion of that phone call shows why Lost stands so far and above just about anything else currently on air."

Yes, I cried. Euphoric catharsis indeed. And yes, strong relationships was the most important ingredient of Twin Peaks, and it is with Lost.

Again Ryan McGee: "I was frankly shocked to see them make any type of "real world" connection this early in the show (I had that pegged as a Season 6 activity), but in that they still have a long way to go before truly meeting again, I marveled at this conversation as a way for these two to steel themselves up for the last, and most difficult, part of their journey back towards each other. I've said it before, and having this episode, I feel it more strongly than ever: these two are the romantic heart of the show. Sorry, but for having had such little screen time together, it's nothing short of a miracle on behalf of both the actors and writers to construct a relationship that anchors the actions of everyone else in the Lost universe. And it puts the squabbles over time travel, wormholes, and electromagnetic anomalies into their proper context."

The moment the need for a constant was mentioned, I knew Des and Penny would be able to talk. But the acting and the writing really brought it home. Well done!

So, I think the last scene of Season 6 might be, Desmond and Penelope actually meeting. That would be awesome.

Vanilla Coke is back

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 04:01:47 GMT

Two years ago, when several of us moved to Los Angeles, Coke Company discontinued Vanilla Coke. It replaced it with BlackCherry Vanilla Coke. Not the same!
So, earlier this year, BlackCherry Vanilla Coke was discontinued. After a search, I found it on Wikipedia: Vanilla Coke should be reintroduced 'later this year'. At the end of last month, there finally was the press release: Vanilla Coke is back. Supposedly on Memorial Day. I saw billboards, saying Welcome back Vanilla Coke. I saw a commercial for it in the movie theatre. But no luck yet in the grocery stores.
So, today I went to Pavillions, and it was there... I bought three 2-l bottles, the check-out lady said 'Vanilla Coke is back', and I am drinking my first bottled Vanilla Coke in over 2 years (only Rubio's on the UCLA campus had fountain Vanilla Coke). I'm happy...

Book review

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 08:33:06 GMT

Well, I was quiet for a while. There would be many things to report on, for example, the Chi Alpha Final Banquet. However, my digital camera broke and I have no pictures, so I wait for pictures from other people, I guess...

Earlier this year, I got a review copy for the above book. I have read it and finally wrote down my review. So, here it is:

As a leader in a campus ministry, I really enjoyed reading Dr. Creps's
insights into ministry in today's culture. The book is a mixture
between scholarly endeavor and thought-provoking, down-to-earth
conversation with the reader. It is not always clear if the target
audience is ministry leaders or any Christian, but there are useful
observations and challenges in the book that any believer can grow
closer to the heart of Christ. Off-road Disciplines provides many good
challenges to conventional thinking about ministry in today's society
- you don't have to agree with every thought to enjoy the book and
these challenges are very needed to encourage creative thinking about
such a relevant topic.

Dr. Earl Creps published a study guide for this book on his website
(www.earlcreps.com), and I highly recommend it as addition to the
book. It contains great summaries of each chapter from a fresh angle,
and challenging questions to further think about the topics. There are also
endnotes to each chapter at the end of the book. While common in
scholarly publications, I find endnotes less helpful as
footnotes. However, the decision for endnotes was probably editorial
and having to look for them is just a minor inconvenience.

In the first half of the book, Dr. Creps is investigating personal
disciplines, such as the willingness to learn and being transformed,
and finding a pragmatic trust in God. The third chapter, discussing
the term postmodernism, is surprisingly disappointing - maybe I just
expected more from such an expert like Earl Creps - the chapter's
theology seems stuck in a modern worldview. To make up for it, the
next chapter is the books best, introducing the concept of reverse
mentoring. I can't wait to learn more about it in Dr. Creps's next
book. The first half of the book finishes with talking about effective
ways of connecting with "the sought" (thanks for introducing this
wonderful term), and about how real humility is not self-depreciation.

The second half of the book is investigating corporate
disciplines. After a chapter on how to honestly evaluate a ministry,
the next chapter discusses trying to find unity between innovation and
preservation drives. Different ministry types on the
innovation-preservation-spectrum are described by comparing them with
TV shows and Biblical cities. While I like this idea, I think the
comparisons could be stronger and are too generalizing. The remaining
chapter are all very strong, talking about the need to combine
theology and practical ministry, about the three dimensions of ministry
(heart, venue, Spirit), about sacrifice and the surrender of personal
preference, giving Timothy's circumcision as example, and, finally,
about passing the baton and transitions.

Anyone who likes to be challenged to think about Jesus's call to
ministry, will find good observations and food for thought in Off-Road
Disciplines.

Haiti

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:55:06 GMT

There are many exciting things coming up this month, in May and June, but I am looking forward to going back to 'our place' in Haiti in July...:

I have been to Haiti six times between 2002 and 2005, so it's more than time to go back. Instead of telling you all the information on Haiti right now, here are some links to some of our websites:

Brian's reports on our last 5 trips
Background information and links about Haiti
If you have Google Earth and want to see our place: the above link has the coordinates to go there...
Link to my gallery and exact dates of my previous trips

I leave you with two more pictures of Haiti - one is a view about 90 minutes away from our place and the other is a view on our lake from our place.

Misc.

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 06:04:24 GMT

More than time for an update...

- March Madness has begun. My bracket is already screwed, because Duke lost... On the other hand, UCLA is doing fine. I also predicted 23 first round results correctly, 9 were wrong...

- I really enjoyed the Chinese New Year's party last month (yes, I am late...). I played in the pingpong tournament and it went well until I played the Chinese winner of it all. He was really good, and I lost 3-11, 1-11. I was really excited about the one point in the second game... It was wonderful to meet so many new people, and hang out with old friends.

- We had some great Chi Alpha services - especially the 'Friend of God' message (it's always good, when you answer the altar call and God works in you...), and I always enjoy it when we have Curt Harlow as guest...

- Our ISF bonfire was a lot of fun. It's so good to be friends with internationals, to learn about other cultures, and to teach them how to make smores... And our burn victim is healthy again, too...

- At the bowling activity, I broke the 100. My scores were 95 and 104, so my average is now 99.5, which is 0.5 points higher than my 99 last time... Yeah, I won't be on any athletic team any time soon...

- I'll try to update closer to the actual events..., comment on everyone's xanga..., and give full eProps to everyone... We'll see...

Beauty and the Geek

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 07:11:53 GMT

*** Warning: This blog has no spiritual content ***

Today, Brian, Curtis, and I visited Jessica and Sara for a BATG watch party. Thanks, girls, for the tasty food. At least, we managed to buy garlic bread...

My favorite team (and I know, I'm not alone) has left... Bye, bye Nadia and Hurley - I mean, Mario... Oh, how do I wish that Ceci would have left...

This season, there is something wrong with BATG, though: the elimination questions... Let me just say: 'outdoor advertising', spell 'antenna', 'which one is a circular saw'. And on other questions, we are picky: It's 'Pumping iron' not "Let's pump iron", it's 'mirroring' according to the study material, not 'mimicking'. Let's at least have all questions on the same level, please...

I just learned from an interview with Drew (who left last week), that Megan knew how to use the walkie talkie! It was Scooter who didn't *press* the right button... So, she basically won the second challenge in a row (although last week's was more Survivor anyway than an electronics challenge). How do I root for Megan, but not Scooter? How do I root for Nate, but not Ceci?

Back to important things...

Retreat, weather, etc...

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:48:30 GMT

The retreat was awesome. Curt Harlow's messages are always great. Even if I have heard a story before, they never get old. It was cool to see the next generation of students from Stanislaus after hearing the 'feed the students' story a few times...
And Sue Hegle had some challenging questions. I never had heard any stories about San Diego State, so I enjoyed that, especially the passover story.
It was great that we (that is: UCLA) had 28 people there, and I think God ministered and challenged everyone of us.
The electric slide celebration reminded me of the New Year's parties at other SALT's, so I finally embraced 2007...

Los Angeles is under extreme weather today. There was some rain, a thunderstorm, and - that is the unbelievable part, but true - some hail slush on the 405 between Santa Monica Blvd and Wilshire. I'm sure it's all melted by now, after all, it's still 50 degrees outside (freezing cold for LA)...

With respect to 24: Jack Bauer is back with a new signature move... Aaron Pierce is nowhere to be seen , but I'm glad they didn't make him Curtis Manning for now... Six Flags Magic Mountain is gone...
Other TV shows: Daybreak should be online by the end of February, unless ABC breaks their promise again. It looks as if the next season of Lost will go non-stop without break...

Ready for 24...

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 09:12:25 GMT

As this is my first entry of 2007: Happy new year!

Last football season was really good with all the bowl games. This season, it's exactly the opposite: Who won last year lost this time and vice versa: UCLA, Mizzou, and OU lost, USC won... Oh well, I'm over it. Two of the teams barely lost by a 2-point conversion, so at least they were close games. Heart-breakers, though...

The above movie is excellent. I would make it win the Oscar for 'Best Picture', Matt Damon 'Best Actor' for 'The Good Shepherd' and Laura Dern 'Best Actress' for 'Inland Empire'.

I am upset with ABC. Everything was set up really well, with a 13-episode show in between the two 'Lost' fall and spring seasons. The promise was that after the 13 episodes the show will be complete and everything answered. Now, it's cancelled and no news if it will be streamed online or not... 'Vanished' on Fox had a similar promise, it was streamed online, and it wasn't really good. You couldn't really care for most characters... Hopefully, I will know some time if 'Day Break' was any better, if ABC lets me see the remaining 7 episodes...

So, I guess, I am ready for '24'... Well, not really, as UCLA Chi Alpha will be on a retreat Jan 12 - Jan 15 in Northern Cal. It will be awesome! I am very excited about it.
Watching '24' later and on tape (being able to cut out the commercials) is much better anyway. As long as Fox won't cancel it, b/c of lack of viewers...