Review: The Noticer

Andy Andrew’s “The Noticer” is one, absolutely incredible book.

If you were to look at the page count, the book is a quick read. But, the content encased by both covers offers a lifetime of hope, reassurance and inspiration.

The book’s key figure goes by the name, “Jones”. He is an elderly, grandfatherly man who seems to appear in peoples’ lives when they are at their bleakest and darkest. The words of wisdom from the book constantly reverberate through my memory as I recall the various times throughout the reading of the book that I felt the sting of self-reflection and the warmth of hopeful reconciliation. Jones is the “Noticer” who drops in and out of people’s lives and offers wisdom that penetrates hearts and inspires change. Jones’ gift is the power of perspective. When trouble hits our lives, it is easy to be entangled too deeply into the weeds of life’s worries and struggles. Jones steps into the lives of the people in the book and helps them to step back and view the options everyone can choose from. He patiently teaches and graciously offers the gift of perspective to anyone willing to simply listen.

There were several times throughout my reading of the book that I groaned inwardly as introspection led to revelation about my character and inspiration on where I can go from here. This isn’t you’re typical “feel good” book. While the messages found throughout the story come in easily managed doses they stick to you heart, soul and mind. I tried to leave this book immaculately unmarked and unscathed, thinking that this would make a great gift that I could pass on to another reader. But, I couldn’t stop myself from bending corners of countless pages and highlighting favorite passages, marking up parts of the book that called me to a deeper self-reflection and a greater motivation to change. I may end up just buying copies for others to mark up and dig into. No other book since the Bible has inspired me to address my personal weaknesses and face my personal challenges and move forward to personal changes.

There is the added bonus of “A Reader’s Guide” found at the back to take it even deeper. This has been one of the most rewarding and thought-provoking reads I have ever experienced. Andy Andrews is a gifted storyteller who can move our hearts and change our minds for the betterment and advancement of ourselves.

There was a song years ago from the soundtrack of the animated movie, “The Prince of Egypt” that beautifully captures the spirit of this simple and powerful book on the strength perspective can bring to our lives. The song’s title: “Through Heaven’s Eyes”.

Review: Skeeter and the Mystery of the Lost Mosquito Treasure

This is the first of Max Lucado’s family-oriented series, Hermie & Friends that I have ever experienced. Given that its target audience was for children ages 10 and below, I pulled in my son, who was a willing participant for anything animated.

At first, he said that the characters were for the little kids. It was at that point that I felt this may be a long hour. However, what followed was a small miracle.

The DVD we viewed was “Skeeter and the Mystery of the Lost Mosquito Treasure”. In this episode, Skeeter’s brother, Sir Sinclair M. Skeeto, a world famous adventurer, visits the garden inhabited by the cast of characters in search of a mysterious treasure map left by their father. Everyone in the garden fauns over Sinclair’s pomp and circumstance; moreover, they are shocked that the great Sinclair with all his celebrity, could be Skeeter’s own brother. The differences in both Skeeter and Sinclair, and the former’s resultant insecurity, are the issues addressed in this modern day parable.

Several times throughout the movie, my son guffawed and chuckled. My wife and I also had a few laughs at the expense of the perfectly timed dialogue and top-notch talents of the star-studded cast which included the great Tim Conway and animated John O’Hurley.

The generous soundtrack helped to keep the pace moving along as well as kill any potential dead-space that could leave a child’s mind wandering. The animation was fluid and bright and the colors were digitally crisp. The characters were endearing and the lesson uplifting. One of the unexpected treats was being able to see Max Lucado himself open and close the episode. I have seen pictures of him in his books over the years, but it was great seeing him interact with Hermie and the audience.

My wife and I loved this DVD so much that we brought it to our Sunday worship service the following day and give the children an opportunity to enjoy this animated and well thought-out gem. Is there a better way to express my recommendation?

Where the Heck is Matt?

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.


If it's too jumpy and jerky, turn off the HD option.

The Most Inspiring National Anthem Sung...Ever

The Last Lecture

Patrick Willis- Class Act

It's refreshing to see a story such as his.

The Manliest Contest in the World!!!

The fine gents at www.artofmanliness.com (one of my favorite blogs, if not THE favorite) is running a cool contest for people who want to look mighty fine for themselves and the world they're set out to conquer. Check out the site by clickety-clicking here and man up!

Tomorrow's Memoir

Tomorrow's Memoir

Inspiration via Parkour: Mental Block

Grant Morrison Interview

Here he is!

Incredible Talent!!!

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

America's Dance Crew has become one of my favorite shows of the week, right after Celebrity Apprentice. Here's a taste...

Review

“When you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you.”

— Frederich Nietzche

The Killer is a haunting, graphical masterpiece that explores the intricate and intimate minutiae of a killer’s mind. Writer Matz and Artist Luc Jacamon excellently depict the inner conflict of guilt and conscience trumped by seemingly forced rationalization and self-justification in the mind of a professional killer. Not since Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment or Nabokov’s Lolita has the journey into a man’s mind been both so eloquently and brutally intriguing.

Luc Jacamon’s artwork is absolutely brilliant. Jacamon’s simple and deft pencils and inks emphasize the contradiction of the simplicity of his line work and the resultant beautifully complex and highly detailed artwork. Moreover, the lushly hued pages display a color palette rarely seen in most modern comic books. The muted and understated colors gently accentuate and breathe life into the book’s characters.

Matz’s journey into the nameless title character’s inner being is an exploration of a man’s heart spooned out and discarded with each kill. He has no scruples and no morality. There is a hair-raising sequence in the story where the killer contemplates true friendship. Lonely...isolated...detached. His only “friends” are the victims whose lives he has viciously and abruptly cut short by savagely murdering them. He rationalizes that they were his closest friends because he knew everything about them as is wont for preparation of his contracts. Ironically, he knew everything about them, but they knew absolutely nothing about him.

The killer’s one true friend is an individual who had shaped him into the man he is today. Perhaps his closest and most enduring relationship in his life, Eduoard is driven to a guilt-ridden suicide. He can no longer take the murderous lifestyle he leads. The message is clear to everyone except the killer himself: money isn’t worth a poisoned conscience, a hardened heart or a blackened soul.

The Killer is a European import that is arguably the best comic book on the market today. The evocative artwork and personally intimate narrative provide a disturbingly unique perspective on morals gone fatally askew and a conscience slowly melting away.

(Note: this review originally posted in my column, "The Whirling Spinner Rack" at www.ComicCritique.com)

Portrait of Father and Son




Aaaauuugggghhhhh!


[Posted using hblogger 2.0 on my Palm TX]

Video Review of Astraware's Casino

Originally posted on Palm Addicts

You Gotta Check Out: Olive Tree's CEVL Bible

Olive Tree.com has been the software leader in providing user’s with top-quality, highly educational and divinely inspirational Christian content in the form of Bibles and biblical studies, tools and references. Their software crosses over to a multitude of mobile platforms as well as a host of different languages from many countries all over the world. Olive Tree offers a plethora of content that can be viewed in various formats. Olive Tree’s cutting-edge software allows users to view content as books, articles, maps, pictures and illustrations, animation and videos.

There simply is no other company that provides the wealth of choices for the seeker or the follower, novice in the faith or mature disciple. The content on Olive Tree’s site continues to grow as new material is regularly updated and added. OliveTree.com is THE choice for your source of Christian studies and Bibles for your PDA.

The Contemporary English Version Learning Bible is the work of the combined efforts of the editors and writers of this version and the CEV’s corresponding commentary.

In the Forward to the book Creating and Crafting the Contemporary English Version (1996), America Bible Society President Eugene B. Habecker describes the beginnings of this version:

Work on the CEV began in 1984 when Dr. Barclay Newman, Ph.D., a distinguished biblical scholar who had provided several decades of service as a translations consultant in the Asia Pacific Region of the United Bible Societies, first began to apply his considerable knowledge to his own first language—English. He meticulously studied the language that people, and especially children, used and were exposed to on a daily basis through books, magazines, newspapers, the movies, and television. This eclectic and careful study helped him to understand what terms and sentence structures were most understandable to people who used English in their day-to-day communication. He learned what sorts of constructions confused readers, and even more significantly, he learned which terms and grammatical constructions were likely to be misunderstood by people who heard texts being read aloud.

Those who do not have much of a religious or Christian background can manageably understand the CEV Learning Bible as it succeeds in simplifying the texts’ meaning. Additionally, the CEVL is also good source of deeper study and biblical exploration for more experienced readers. It was written with today’s modern sensibilities in mind. Moreover, the CEVL has writing that is very direct and imbued with more force whenever the text requires it.

A good example of this is taken from Hebrews 11:1:
“Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see”.

As compared to another popular version of the Bible:
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”.

Although the meanings are similar, the Contemporary English Version Learning Bible’s text is written in a stronger imperative voice, expressing it with more command and affirmation.

One of the concerns with producing a modernized version of the Bible is the risk of filtering out the original meaning that the ancient writers’ intended. I have always encouraged those seeking to understand the truths of the Bible to read alternative versions to deepen, amplify and enrich their understanding on greater levels than if the reader had only read a singular version.

The Contemporary English Version Learning Bible comes with is a Bible and bible handbook in one! The CEVL comes equipped with many tools to enliven and strengthen the novice and veteran in their personal Scriptural study.

The commentary contains over 10,000 notes to assist readers in a deeper exploration of history, people, geography and the times. The commentary is divided into six helpful and informative categories:
· Geography
· People and Nations
· Objects, Plants, and Animals
· History and Culture
· Ideas and Concepts
· Cross references

There are tons of Scriptural and contextual cross-references that lead you to other verses and articles to enrich your personal study.

The CEVL is a good addition to anyone’s biblical library. Its modern sensibility makes it easier for newcomers or seekers in Christianity to get an initial grasp of deep, spiritual meanings and concepts. Moreover, the added commentary and content truly makes this a great learning experience for novices and more experienced readers alike.

You can find out more about the Contemporary English Version Learning Bible and other products at OliveTree.com !


Originally published in Palm Addicts

You Gotta Check Out: CrazySoft's The Final Battle

Over the years, I have purchased several of CrazySoft’s products. CrazySoft has a reputation for producing some of the most entertaining, quality puzzle, action and adventure games for PDA’s of various cross-platforms. Their latest addition, The Final Battle, is their most ambitious entry into the PDA gaming market.

The Final Battle is a quest-adventure where you begin the game having awakened in a prison. However, you are stricken with amnesia and don’t know who you are, much less how you ended up in jail. The game requires that you be on top of your mental game as it entails the use of your cognitive as well as your best, deductive skills. However, fans of “Lost in the Pyramid” know that the journey is a light-hearted one as characters are encouraged along by the great humorous interactions that prods game-players onward!

The Final Battle is a huge game that takes place at various locations: from the taverns to the Holy Place to the West Villa; from the Cemetery to the Forests and the Mines. The game is both intriguing and involving as you are whisked away to this medieval world of knights and knaves. The game-play is not linear where players go from left to right as the game progresses. You’ll have to move all over the map to pick up instruments to help you solve puzzles you previously encountered along the way. However, the game is easily grasped and not frustrating. The main functions of the character you control are the ability to examine and operate interactively with objects on the screen. The controls are intuitive and easily grasped. But, the trick is to use your noggin on how and when to use items on-screen.

Along your journey, you pick up useful items that you may place in your inventory for later use. Sometimes, you have to be a mind reader of sorts to anticipate a character’s thought process in your encounters. Don’t fret if your response is incorrect as you are given a limited number of options to choose from when responding to one of the game’s multitude of characters. Additionally, this is a journey of self-discovery as to pick up pieces of your past that you paste together to find out who you are.

The Final Battle is an intuitive and fun-filled romp through various levels of interactivity and entertainment. The artwork and graphics are fluid and entertaining. The storyline is engaging enough to propel gamers forward with interest and anticipation. This game is reminiscent of the old-school style of computer games with a modern sensibility. I highly recommend this game as good, clean entertainment for everyone in the family!

Test-drive The Final Battle from CrazySoft’s site here!



(Originally published on Palm Addicts)

Planting Seeds of Fun: Plantastic!

Astraware is the place to go for your handheld gaming and entertainment needs. With over 140 applications for most handheld platforms, Astraware is uniquely positioned to cater to anyone’s gaming and entertainment needs. Reviewing applications for Astraware can be a daunting task as they have such a wide range of diverse, quality applications. Astraware is truly “the home of handheld entertainment”.

With a perfectly timed-release date during the holiday season, Astraware and PalmStorm have teamed up to create a cornucopia of creative Cistercian-like game play with their newest addition to the ever-growing stable of world-renowned software from Astraware. Plantastic combines elements of gardening; puzzle solving and strategic thinking in a fun-filled meld of technology and frivolity.

The digitally crisp, clean graphics, and smooth animation along with the light-hearted sound effects and soundtrack are given the high-end treatment, as is par for the course for anything coming from Astraware. This game is perfect for the entire family to play, especially over the holidays.

This game requires great hand-eye coordination as you plant flowers of varied colors while working around various obstacles such as mushrooms that impede the development of bouquets or hungry moles that pop up out of nowhere to destroy your works in progress.

Plantastic is simply a fantastic way to wile away the minutes and hours with your virtual green thumbs. All you need is this great game and some time to kill and your set for some fun flowering goodness.

Test drive Plantastic on the Astraware site here!

(Originally posted in Palm Addicts)

Review: Thylus’ Thumb Stylus

Thylus’ Thumb Stylus is a unique writing instrument unlike anything you’ve ever seen on the market today. Over the years, I have used a variety of styli that come in the forms of multi-functional pens or styli that are a little thicker than coffee stirring sticks. However, Thylus has come up with a one-of-a-kind product that may revolutionize how you input data into your PDA, iPhone or other electronic device. (Admittedly, I don’t have an iPhone, but I can easily see how this instrument can save on smudging up the touch-screens found on that product. I have also used this on my Nintendo DS Lite and it worked fabulously)!

The Thumb Stylus comes with an adjustable band that wraps around your thumb attached to a light, plastic tip. When finished, users can return the Thumb Stylus in the cool, little black box container that you can easily attach to the back of your PDA through an adhesive found in the package.

At first, the Thumb Stylus took some getting used to. But, after a few minutes, I was able to get the hang of it. The Thumb Stylus needs to be writing characters at a comfortable angle in order for users to efficiently input their information. I’ve had bouts of carpal tunnel whenever I write. The Thumb Stylus is a good solution to winning that battle, as you are not forced to position your fingers in a way that causes aggravation to the muscles used in writing.

After trying several times using the Thumb Stylus on my thumb, I switched over and placed it on my index finger. Although the stylus was made with the thumb in mind, I also had success writing with my index finger.

Thylus’ Thumb Stylus is an innovative writing utensil for your PDA or other electronic device that requires manually writing characters in order to input your data. Its unique form also spares your screen of scratches and smudges since the pressure applied by your thumb or finger is lesser than when you write with a normal stylus. For an inexpensive and unique writing accessory that is lightweight, durable and very practical, Thylus’ Thumb Stylus is the way to go! This definitely rates a 5 out of 5 stars!

You can find out more about Thylus’ Thumb Stylus by going to their site here. The developer is also very helpful and responds to any inquiry fairly quickly.


(This review originally appeared on the Palm Addicts site)

Astraware's Boardgames Review

Astraware is the place to go for your handheld gaming and entertainment needs. With over 140 applications for most handheld platforms, Astraware is uniquely positioned to cater to anyone’s gaming and entertainment needs. Reviewing applications for Astraware can be a daunting task as they have such a wide range of diverse, quality applications. Astraware is truly “the home of handheld entertainment”.

Astraware has done it again! They’ve taken some of the world’s most revered and popular board games and bundled them into an eclectic mix of game-playing and technological wizardry.




Over the years, I’ve spent a good penny buying individual games for my PDA. I bought a chess game for $25. I bought another chess game for $35. I’ve purchased a backgammon game for about $20. I bought a checker game for $10. I have a Reversi game for about $12. With these games alone, I’ve spent over $100! To be honest, some of these games have left a lot to be desired in terms of game play and presentation. Sadly, many of their developers have been left behind in the wake of the speed of technological progress and advancing operating systems. What was once enjoyable on my Palm m550 isn’t as hip on my TX (and maybe not even playable on the newer OS). Astraware’s Boardgames covers all these bases.

Astraware continues to take gaming to the next level, as their latest release Boardgames goes on sale this coming Wednesday, October 10th, with a stable of eight full games all for the measly price of $19.99. You read it correctly: EIGHT games! The list of games includes Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, Snakes & Ladders (also known as Chutes & Ladders), Reversi, Ludo, Tic Tac Toe, and Nine Men's Morris. Each game comes with an easy-to-follow tutorial for those of us not so familiar with any of the aforementioned games. I’ve never played Chutes and Ladders nor Ludo. However, the instructions were kept simple and basic enough for me to jump in after a few minutes of reading. I’m a bit of an impatient guy who doesn’t like to read tutorials, but the instructions were a breeze and allowed me to jump in and enjoy the games.




The game play and graphics are top-notch as is customary for anything coming out from Astraware. The games offer game-learning curves for both novices and more experienced players to enjoy at personally compatible levels of competition. Rather than spend over a $100 searching out these individual games, you’re better off purchasing this combo game gem for a low price. You won’t be disappointed with Astraware’s high-end reputation for producing games that are great to look at and even greater to play. Moreover, if you have any technical problems (which have been few and far between over the years I’ve supported Astraware), they have an excellent tech support staff that will get back to you with practical and immediate resolutions.

Not surprisingly, I give this game 5 out of 5 Stars!!

Give these games a test-drive and find out for yourself! Click here!

(Originally posted on Palm Addicts)

Woah

Bruce Lee Backyard Training

I've seen portions of this clip in the past, but never like this. You can even hear their kids in the background and some of the comments of his students.

Game of Death-Finale with Kareem

Enter The Dragon

In Linda Lee's book about her late husband, "Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew" she mentioned that Bruce was so fast that in Enter The Dragon, they had to slow down some of frames of his fights because they were concerned that the audience may think that the film was sped up to accent his quickness. His fights were either slowed down or shown at normal speed. His movements were never enhanced.

Also, the character O'Hara was Bruce's personal bodyguard. One would think it funny that Bruce Lee even had one, but he had to given his meteoric rise in cinema. I believe at one point, he was the highest paid international movie star of his time. Another interesting anecdote is in the scene when Bruce kicks O'Hara into the crowd, one of the extras actually broke his arm given the force of Bruce's kick while attempting to break O'Hara's fall.

Chinese Connection-Japanese School

Return of the Dragon