November Blogger Awards

For the 4th straight month The Matthew Never Knew* had over 2000 unique visitors, but I don't know if that's good or bad. Anyways, it's time for another round of BBC blogger awards. Here are November's Top Posts:**

AP's Skeptical about Skepticism
Angela's 20 Fun Facts
Elliott's School of Rock
Kirk's 7000 Word Post
Liz asks another popular question

Feel free to leave a vote for post of the month***

Blog of the Month: Gone Global
Elliott had some fun, some informative & some thought provoking posts in November. Well done, good and faithful blogger!

January: Elizabeth S
February: Paul T
March: Steph I
April: No Award Given
May: Andrew B
June: Aaron P
July: Heather D
August: Joanna H
September: Kayla H
October: Joanna H
November: Elliott I

* Yes, I just linked to myself
** Of course, these are just my opinions. I quite possibly have bad taste
***Disclaimer: I have chosen not to nominate 'birth-posts' even though I love to read about and see pictures of new babies. I'm just afraid I'd miss someone's baby post and I don't want to play favorites!

Basketball

Each Wednesday, after leading our prayer meeting, I go over to the gym and play basketball for roughly an hour with two of our teens. I was dreadfully out of shape when I first started doing this a few months ago. After 5-10 minutes of our 1st game of '21' I had 2 points and an empty tank. But it's working. Now I can play about 2.5 games without feeling exhausted and I'm competitive, scoring in the teens most games. I predict victory sometime in November. I'll let you know because I'm sure you're all anxious to find out when I accomplish this mission.

Gilmore Girls 9

Gilmore Girls Survivor

On the day of the next 6 'new' episodes, you will find the names of 3 randomly selected characters from the show. Your job is to vote FOR (+1) your favorite AND AGAINST (-1) your least favorite (and explain why). The cast member with the worst result of the trio will be eliminated from the tournament.

Paris
Jess
Logan



Vote away. And check back later for my review of tonight's episode

Story

Somewhere in the midst of reading NT Wright, 'Resident Aliens,' the Gospel according to Luke, certain blogs & fiction in general (and listening to those who have been urging me to read fiction), I am finally starting to grasp the greatness of 'story.' I have nothing further to add at this time, I just want to say thanks to all of the above.

Nicolas Cage

Great
Good
It Could Happen to You
National Treasure
Average
National Treasure 2
Rock, The
Con Air
Face/Off
City of Angels
Family Man, The
Weather Man, The
MatchStick Men
Bad

Current Total: 2 pts

I struggled with a lot of Cage's rankings b/c he tends to make a lot of movies that are somewhere between average and good. I don't particularly care for his acting skills, so that broke the tie and placed most of his films in the average category.

Stranger than Fiction

Friday night I saw 'Stranger than Fiction' with Will Ferrell. I'm not a fan of his in general. I thought 'A Night at the Roxbury' was one of the dumbest movies of all time (though, I'll admit, I only endured 8 minutes of it). He wasn't bad in 'Elf', though it's certainly no classic. And despite popular opinion, I believe 'Anchorman' stunk like skunk. Thankfully, his role in 'Wedding Crashers' was kept to a minimum.

All that being said, this movie (and Ferrell's performance) was above average. It's basically about a guy who suddenly begins to hear his life being narrated and comes to find out that he's a character in a struggling author's book. Strange premise, I know, but the movie was actually pretty simple and made a very common point about life. A point worth pondering from time to time.

Rating: 6.8
Status: Worth the Time

For more Knew Movie Reviews click HERE

Family Pic 06

Back (L to R) brother Jordan, me, Dad, brother-in-law Derek, Jill's boyfriend Justin Front (L to R) sister Carrie, sister Lauren, Mom, niece Emma, nephew Ryan, nephew Dominick, sister Jill

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is, by far, my favorite holiday. Family, Food & Football. Hard to beat that trio. I'm ready for a day off too. I'm pretty exhausted for some reason. I guess I've been doing more pastoral visitation than usual. Plus, I played about an hours worth of basketball tonight after I led the Thanksgiving Eve service. Speaking of that service, I kept my tradition (this was year #3) of reading the 'sermon on the mount' straight through without commentary/interuption. I like this tradition. It takes about 13 minutes. I just switch translations each year (NKJV, NIV, NLT). I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving (or, if you are in Canada, a happy Thursday). God bless.

VERSE OF THE DAY
They... order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

Gilmore Girls 8

NEW GAME: Gilmore Girls Survivor
Pick your favorite 2 of the following

Taylor, Michel, Lulu, Zach, Liz, TJ, Jackson, Babette, Miss Patty, Mrs. Kim, Doyle, Anna, Caesar, Other (obscure Write-in candidate)

Once we've selected 2 of the above, 16 characters will be part of a GG playoff bracket. Don't worry about how it'll work. I have it all figured out. Just do your part and vote.
Click HERE for character descriptions

Now on to my review of tonight's episode:
This episode is making me appreciate the new writers. They are very craftily weaving themes into the episode story line (much more like 'Lost' than past seasons of GG). It seems to be there is much more symbolism and foreshadowing.

The episode starts with Chris trying to bring the Gilmore Girl's house up to 'high society' standards. She resists. All of this (and things like it) are done playfully, but do put the viewer on notice that there is some real friction at the foundation of this relationship.

Meanwhile, Rory is surprised by Logan's presence in North America. They both agree that Logan doesn't do anything in a 'boring' manner. We learn that Logan is moving 'next door' (compared to London) to Rory. More on that later.

Next, we are shown Luke and April preparing for supper. Luke tells her the story of when he confronted by a grizzly bear during a camping trip. So how did Luke get away? According to Luke he, "backed away real slow, avoided eye contact, that's how you show you're submissive." He tells April that in such a situation you've gotta try to stay calm, but admits he was anything but! More on that later too.

Later on, back to Rory, this time at one of Logan's 'high society' get-togethers. It's obvious to all viewers that she finds this group of people utterly annoying with the exception of a man who asks Rory to submit an article for his new website (and hints that a column about the party itself would be a good topic). When she writes the piece, however, Logan doesn't approve and they begin to fight. The light-hearted friction we saw earlier b/w Chris & Lorelei we now see bubbling over b/w Logan & Rory. Rory walks out.

Fast-forward to Chris trying to change Rory's room into one for Gigi. Lorelei, once again, is defensive showing that she's not quite certain about the way things are going. Friction intensifying for Chris/Lorelei.

A little while later we watch Lorelei come to see Luke at the hospital (April had appendicitis). She's got her coat over her wedding ring at first. They talk about April. Luke eventually sees her ring just as he's called in to see April. Lorelei then, knowing that he knows, looks at the ring as she turns to leave the hospital.

In the last segment we witness Logan/Rory making up. She apologizes for criticizing 'high society,' but asserts that she needs to get out on her own (not live alone at Logan's apartment while he's in NYC). Then Lorelei arrives at the apartment and her & Rory make-up (Rory was mad about not being at the wedding). But Lorelei also confesses that if she had talked to Rory before the wedding, she would have been talked out of getting married so quickly. Couple this with the fact that Lorelei feels compelled to keep repeating, verbally, the fact that she's happy to be married, and add to that that she didn't take Chris's last name, and we get the impression that she's not so sure. As usual, though, everything seems neat & tidy at the end for Chris/Lorelei. She agrees to Gigi'fy the room.

Now the part of the show I REALLY want to discuss is the ending scene where Luke is flipping channels as April sleeps in her hospital bed. At the risk of reading way too much into this scene, I submit the following: Each channel was significant.

Clip #1
The first one, a weather channel, showed high pressure and low-pressure fronts combating each other over the US of A. This represents the contrasts present in Luke's life. Visibly happy that April is OK. Invisibly devastated by Lorelei's wedding ring. Hating high-pressure situations (like Lorelei's ultimatum), but loving low pressure living (his own personality).

Clip #2
The second clip was a nature/animal show about Grizzly bears. Now remember, earlier in the episode April & Luke had talked about Luke's encounter with just such a bear. In my opinion the bear represents Lorelei's aggressive ultimatum. How did Luke respond? The same way in both cases. He backed away and pretended not to 'care' (so to speak).

Clip #3
Luke then skips 2 channels (not shown) and arrives at an old movie (which, obviously, reminds us of Lorelei). So what movie was it? It's the 1940 flick "Philadelphia Story" which was later remade under the title "High Society." Clearly, this movie was chosen by the writers to symbolize Luke's dilemma. In the movie, a divorced women (whose ex had recently moved next door and, therefore, back into the picture) is on the verge of marrying a stable (yet boring) fellow, but everything falls apart on the wedding day. Luke picks up at the point when the woman is about to tell her guests the wedding is off, but the ex boldly steps in wanting to marry her himself. She smilingly agrees, happy to find such a risk taking and adventurous man. The episode fades with Luke staring at the screen.

Thus, all the story lines are woven together skillfully. Both Lorelei & Rory are struggling with whether they are 'high society' kind of girls. If so, their relationships with Chris & Logan make all the sense in the world. Just like the ex in the movie, those two guys 'moved' closer to their respective girl during this episode. Rory had long since left her stable 'lower society' relationship (Dean) and Lorelei had done so just recently (Luke).

There are two ways to interpret the final scene. Either it is predictive or representative. If predictive, we can expect Lorelei & Chris to stay together, since that was the 'happy ending' in the movie 'High Society.' If representative, the ending simply shows that Luke, emotionally, is coming to terms with what has happened, but doesn't necessarily tell us what he'll do from there.

Personally, I hope the latter interpretation is correct.

Big Dogs

I find it baffling that so many people keep big dogs in their house. Being a pastor, I visit a lot of homes. It's amazing to me how many of those homes are ruled (as far as I can tell) by pets. The noise is overwhelming. Guests are attacked. Rooms are disaster areas. Meals can't be enjoyed in peace. Etc.

On the other hand, I'm greatly impressed when I visit a home with a well-trained dog. But folks, they are few and far between.

Teaching/Reading/Thinking

Teaching:
Sunday School- We're in week 36 of Luke
Sunday Service- May next sermon is 12/17
Sunday Night- Just finished 'Life of Solomon'
Wednesday Nights- Just finished 'Apostolic Fathers'
Thursday Nights- Covered Joel & Topical stuff

Reading:
Finished Wright's NT & People of God
Finished Wright's The Last Word
Reading Hauerwas/Willimon's Resident Aliens
Reading Edwards Tale of Three Kings
Reading Zacharias' Deliver us from Evil

Thinking:
About Kenosis Theory
About the Sabbath Day
About Evangelism

Mel Gibson

OK, Mel is the last guy I know that qualifies right now

Great
Good
Forever Young
Maverick
Braveheart
Conspiracy Theory
Patriot, The
Signs
Average
Man Without a Face, The
What Women Want
Bad

CURRENT TOTAL: 6 POINTS

Click HERE for all actors on the list

Robin Williams

Great
Patch Adams
Mrs. Doubtfire
Good
Hook
Jumanji
Final Cut
Good Will Hunting
What Dreams May Come
Average
Good Morning, Vietnam
Man of the Year
Cadillac Man
One Hour Photo
August Rush
Night at the Museum
Bicentennial Man
Bad

CURRENT TOTAL: 11 POINTS

Click HERE for all actors on the list

Kevin Costner

Great
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Good
Field of Dreams
Waterworld
Postman, The
Average
Dances with Wolves
Guardian, The
Bodyguard, The
For Love of the Game
Message in a Bottle
Upside of Anger, The
Tin Cup
Bad
Open Range

CURRENT TOTAL: 4 POINTS

Click HERE for all Actors on the list

Time Travel

I don't believe it's possible to travel in time because I believe that only the present currently exists. I do think, however, that it is theoretically possible to view the past 'live', so to speak. For instance, when we see a star explode, or whatnot, we're actually viewing an event that happened in the past. The only reason we see it in the present is because it took a while for the light rays to reach us.

Now imagine we could travel faster than the speed of light. And imagine we had a telescope powerful enough to zoom up on individuals from lightyears away. If we had the technology to travel that far and zoom that much, then we could 'beat' the light rights of, say, the atomic bomb of 1945 to a certain spot in space. Right?

I'm not a scientist by any means, but I'm guessing we'd be limited to major events (like atomic bombs) because the event would have had to produce light powerful enough to escape the pull of the earth and reach beyond its atmosphere. We couldn't, for instance, figure out exactly where the shot that killed JFK came from because the light from a gun isn't powerful enough to escape into space. It'd have to be something that was/is visible from space. Or, perhaps, I have no idea what I'm talking about!

Gilmore Girls 7

Live thoughts as I watched Tuesday's Episode:

I really liked that Marty was in the recap! Is that a sign of things to come? Opening dialogue between Lorelei and Chris was actually well written. Rory looks prettier this season. That Zach thought they were having siamese twins was comical. OK, once again Lorelei/Chris is getting annoying. Rory's new 'friends' add nothing to the show. I like the word 'chicanery.' First 15 minutes = very good. Middle half-hour = very boring. Go Chris. Push. Ruin everything! There's Marty! Weird. Should have seen that coming.

As for the ending, I'm mad. BUT, I think Chris's lack of patience will be his final ruin. This will all come crashing down around him (as the previews projected). Rory's mad. Luke, I'm sure, can kick the crap out of Chris. Etc. It's all downhill from here for Chris.

21 Questions

It's my brother's birthday. So I asked him questions like I did last year. Who/what is your favorite...

Sport FOOTBALL Team SABRES Athlete NATE CLEMENTS Singer/band KANYE WEST Song KARMA POLICE BY RADIOHEAD Movie FIGHT CLUB Actor TOM CRUISE Actress JESSICA BIEL Channel ESPN Website JROFOSHO.COM Letter R Number 21 Color BLUE Season SEASON 5 OF THE SHIELD State TENNESSEE Country USA Party REPUBLICAN Politician JOHN MCCAIN Meal CHICKEN FRIED RICE NO ONIONS Desert ICE CREAM CAKE Drink BLUE POWERADE

My Favorites

I'm adding a category to my 'get to know me' section (top left) called 'my favorites' and this post will serve as the container of all such lists (I love lists, so it should fill up pretty fast). Also, I will probably keep the lists updated.

My Favorite...
Actor
Athletes
Candybars
Cereals

Church Bulletin Mistakes
Composer
Country Songs
Denominations/Churches
Drinks
Foods
Funny Bible Verses
Hymns
Movies
Praise Songs
Preachers
Radio Talk Shows
TV Shows

College Football 15

Most of you will ignore this post, but I'm finding myself more and more interested in College Football. Maybe it's because my favorite NFL team (Buffalo) isn't very good. I really like Notre Dame, Rutgers & West Virginia football! The rankings come out each Monday, so I thought I'd make my own top 15 and see how different my opinion is from the experts and computers. Blue means that I think the team still has a shot at making the national title game.

1. 11-0 Ohio State
2. 11-0 Michigan
3. 09-1 Florida
4. 08-1 USC
5. 09-1 Notre Dame
6. 09-1 Arkansas
7. 09-0 Rutgers
8. 08-1 Louisville
9. 08-1 West Virginia
10. 09-2 Texas
11. 09-2 Auburn
12. 08-2 LSU
13. 10-1 Wisconson
14. 08-2 California
15. 10-0 Boise State

Wigs

I hate hair. Especially mine. I like it either really short or really long. But if I have it really short, I have to keep maintaining the shortness! I'm told some guys get their hair cut every 2 weeks! I only want to get a hair cut once or twice a year. So I've tried having long hair. I don't mind that at all except for the fact that you end up needing to wash it like every day. That's just another annoying morning task. There is no happy middle-position b/c my hair sticks up in funny places during the in-between stage. And SO, I want a wig.

Wesleyan Church

I have family who is Wesleyan, and at the risk of making some here angry-I gotta say, it is VERY cult like in it's works based salvation. I don't know if all weslyans are like them-but most of their religion is defined by the way they look ie no hair cuts for women, no facial hair for men, no tv, long dresses for the women-with ugly shoes of course, and no jewelry of any kind except for a watch. They (at least the ones in my family) know nothing of God's love. I'd just stear clear.

the above is a copy of what a poster on a message board posted
after someone asked what the Wesleyan Church was all about

Country Top 54

This is a list of all the country songs that I really enjoy

Cheap Seats (Alabama)
Remember When (Alan Jackson)
Chattahoochie (Alan Jackson)
Little Bitty (Alan Jackson)
Gone Country (Alan Jackson)
Where I Come From (Alan Jackson)
Where Were You (Alan Jackson)
Boot Scootin Boogie (Brooks & Dunn)
Jesus, Take the Wheel (Carrie Underwood)
Don’t Forget to Remember Me (Carrie Underwood)
Only on Days that End in Y (Clay Walker)
Daddy Never was the Cadillac Kind (Confederate RR)
Earl Had to Die (Dixie Chicks)
Cowboy Take Me Away (Dixie Chicks)
Friends in Low Places (Garth Brooks)
The Dance (Garth Brooks)
If Tomorrow Never Comes (Garth Brooks)
Thunder Rolls (Garth Brooks)
Unanswered Prayers (Garth Brooks)
The River (Garth Brooks)
Standing Outside the Fire (Garth Brooks)
Ocean Front Property (George Straight)
Sold (John Michael Montgomery)
If You’ve Got Love (John Michael Montgomery)
Rope the Moon (John Michael Montgomery)
I Love the Way You Love Me (John Michael Montgomery)
Friends (John Michael Montgomery)
Cowboy Love (John Michael Montgomery)
I Miss You a Little (John Michael Montgomery)
Beer and Bones (John Michael Montgomery)
I Can Love You Like That (John Michael Montgomery)
Be My Baby Tonight (John Michael Montgomery)
I Swear (John Michael Montgomery)
Life’s a Dance (John Michael Montgomery)
The Swin (James Bonamy)
You’ll think of me (Keith Urban)
Making Memories of Us (Keith Urban)
Tonight I Wanna Cry (Keith Urban)
Somebody Like You (Keith Urban)
Concrete Angel (Martina McBride)
Independence Day (Martina McBride)
How Far (Martina McBride)
I Love You (Martina McBride)
Forever and Ever, Amen (Randy Travis)
Three Wooden Crosses (Randy Travis)
King of the Road (Randy Travis)
Too Gone Too Long (Randy Travis)
If I Didn’t Have You (Randy Travis)
Deeper than the Holler (Randy Travis)
Live Like You Were Dying (Tim McGraw)
Don’t Take the Girl (Tim McGraw)
I Like it, I Love it (Tim McGraw)
Time Marches On (Tracy Lawrence)
She’s in Love with the Boy (Trisha Yearwood)

Kevin Spacey

Great
Se7en
Good
The Life of David Gale
A Time to Kill
Pay it Forward
American Beauty
Average
K-Pax
United States of Leland
Bad
The Usual Suspects

CURRENT TOTAL: 5 POINTS

GG 6 Lost 6

Gilmore Girls- The new writers really have changed this show a lot. It's not horrible. It seems much more relationally themed. I liked that they fit most of the characters into the episode tonight. And there were certainly some clever parts. I really like Luke & April. And Rory is becoming more and more likeable (maybe b/c she's detached from Logan). I still hate the Lorelei/Chris storyline though and it just seems, to me, like she is faking being happy.

Lost- Wednesday night's episode was the last until February 7th (starting then, they'll show 16 consecutive new episodes). This episode was, I thought, one of the strangest so far. It wasn't strange in the normal 'lost' sense (unexplainable). Instead, it was strange in the sense that characters seemed to act differently than themselves.

Local Elections

Tomorrow is voting day. Times have really changed. I imagine that in the not so distant past, most 'little' towns came out and voted for guys they had known throughout their lives. They knew their character and their politics. But now we live in a society where you don't have to leave your living room to buy groceries. We live in a culture where people are more likely to relate with like-minded people on the internet than potentially disagreeable people next door.

So how does one decide who to vote for in local elections? Party-line? Try your hardest to figure out who's who? The guy with the most signs? Whoever knocked on the door? I really don't know. I try a little bit of everything. I tend to vote republican, especially if the candidate has sent me some mail describing his position and/or stopped at my house to talk. I also pay close attention to the nature of their media ads. Are they mostly negative (about the other person) or positive (about their own plan). That's the best I care to do.

Why 94?

Heather commented on the previous post by asking what the deal was with the number 94 on my blog. Instead of just telling everybody, I'll let people guess. Below you'll find 9 theories, only 1 is correct.

1) I was 94 years old when I started this blog
2) I was the world's first blogger in 1994
3) I graduated from middle school in 94'
4) Matthew 1-93 were taken
5) I was saved in 1994
6) The only reached '94 bottles of beer on the wall'
7) I was born on September 4th
8) My favorite nascar Driver was #94
9) It was blogger's 1st suggestion besides 'matthew'

District Youth Questions

I went to an interesting meeting today. It was a meeting about the WNY District "Wesleyan Youth". Lots of interesting problems. Like most districts, we aren't following "the discipline" when it comes to district youth. Local churches haven't been electing delagates and so they stopped doing annual conferences. Without a conference, it became nearly impossible to form a district youth cabinet. There have been grumblings that something isn't quite right, especially in regards to the disconnect b/w youth groups with staff leaders and groups with volunteer lay leaders. Here are the key questions:

1) Did churches stop participating in "youth government" because it was ineffective or did it become ineffective because churches stopped participating?
2) Is having a district youth cabinet/conference more work than it is worth?
3) What kind of person should the district youth president be? A senior pastor? A youth pastor? A lay leader?
4) Do churches with full-time youth pastors really need district help?
5) Is it realistic to expect full-time & volunteer youth leaders to be on the same wavelength?

I'm sure there are more and better questions to ask. I'm an outsider in that I have almost no involvment with teen ministry. So here's my uneducated opinion. I think the culture has changed too much to practice the disciplines guidelines. I don't think a youth conference (seperate from the general district conference) is necessary in our district. Nor a district cabinet. If it were my decision, I'd have the District Board appoint a District Youth President and put him in charge of just 2 things:

1) Offering training geared toward volunteer youth workers each year
2) Keeping the lines of communication with youth leaders open

Once the District Youth President does those 2 things well for a couple years, we could start adding other neat things like:

1) A leadership devolopment weekend for teen leaders
2) A district camp
3) Etc.

Bad News First?

Do you want the good news or the bad news first? We probably all get asked that from time to time. I always want the bad news first so that the conversation can end on a good note. How bout you? Anyways, here are the bad pieces of news that happened to me today:

1. I woke up a lil late
2. My hair wouldn't stop sticking up
3. I had some problems with Photostory
4. I had a post deleted on a message board
5. I had some technological issues
6. I had to be fancy for a few hours
7. The Sabres fell behind 4-1 to Boston

But alas, there was some corresponding good news!

1. I woke up to donuts!
2. My sister said I looked nice 4 times
3. The Photostory looked good
4. I found out why my post was deleted
5. The technological issues weren't too bad
6. The food was great
7. The Sabres won 5-4 in overtime

Lost 5

My favorite 5 Characters
(if you're "catching up" you may not want to read this b/c it could include some information you haven't learned yet)

1. Sun- Admittedly, she's probably number 1 b/c I think she's pretty. But I really do enjoy when her and Jin (her husband) are the main storyline. She can be both submissive and strong willed. 2. Sayid- He's very skilled and passionate, yet hasn't made any horrible mistakes (at least not that I can remember, maybe he shot someone or something). I think he's been under-utilized by the powers that be. 3. Juliet- Sure, she's not a regular (and not even one of the survivors), but she's very likeable! I like her facial expressions & line delivery. And I really like her developing storyline, especially from the latest episode. 4. Claire- I love her accent and she's cute. Her storyline is somewhat boring lately, but she has a baby so I'm not upset that she's not running around doing crazy stuff. 5. Jack- It was tough including him in my favorite 5 b/c for a while I was angry that Jack & Locke were making so many decisions for everyone. But he's a pretty interesting character and probably the key character overall.

Crush on Myself

I stumbled upon a site that analyzes faces and tells you what celebrities you look like. Low and behold, one of my top 5 look-alikes is a girl! And not just any girl, Jena Malone. She happens to be a crush of mine. All this time I've secretly had a crush on myself!