Runner's Tool

Are you a runner who listens to music while running? Do you wonder how fast your favorite song is or if it's really the right beat for what you're trying to do?

Here's a great website I just found where you just have to tap along to the song's beat and it will tell you average beats per minute:

http://www.all8.com/tools/bpm.htm

Pretty cool! Unless you don't know how to keep a beat. Then it might suck. ;-)

Revelation

No, I didn't have a Revelation. I heard one. On the radio. New song by Third Day. Struck a chord deep enough that I had to share the lyrics. Enjoy!

===============================================

Revelation
My life,
Has led me down the road that's so uncertain
And now I am left alone and I am broken,
Trying to find my way,
Trying to find the faith that's gone
This time,
I know that you are holding all the answers
I'm tired of losing hope and taking chances,
On roads that never seem,
To be the ones that bring me home

CHORUS
Give me a revelation,
Show me what to do
Cause I've been trying to find my way,
I haven't got a clue
Tell me should I stay here,
Or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I've got nothing without You
I've got nothing without You

My life,
Has led me down this path that's ever winding
Through every twist and turn I'm always finding,
That I am lost again (I am lost again)
Tell me when this road will ever end

CHORUS

I don't know where I can turn
Tell me when will I learn
Won't You show me where I need to go
Oh oh
Let me follow Your lead,
I know that it's the only way that I can get back home

CHORUS

Oh, give me a revelation...

I've got nothing without You
I've got nothing without You

1st Grade Barnyard Moosical

The 1st graders had their musical tonight and it was SO much fun! The boys were so excited about it and they did so well.

Travis as a Neatnik Pig.

Travis' Song - When Pigs Fly


Thomas, as a funky chicken.
We keep telling him looked like Elton John up on stage. :-)

Thomas' Song Funky Chicken Strut

MeMe - Silly Little Love Songs

[The title of this entry is part of the meme (see the last step). ]

Directions:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, iPod etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Runaway / Bon Jovi

2. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Break On Through / The Doors

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Black Water / Doobie Brothers

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Let 'Er Rip / Dixie Chicks

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Lay Down My Pride / Jeremy Camp

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
O Holy Night / Barlow Girl

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Keep On / KidStuf song

8. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
She's Gonna Make It / Garth Brooks

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Smooth / Rob Thomas & Santana

10. WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Wide Open Spaces / Dixie Chicks

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR EX?
Does Anybody Hear Her / Casting Crowns

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Restored / Jeremy Camp

13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Pick Me Up / KidStuf Song

14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
I Am Somebody / KidStuf song

15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
You Oughta Know / Alanis Morissette

16. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
With Arms Wide Open / Creed

17. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
My Best Friend / KidStuf song

18. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Fire / Krystal Meyers

19. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
All I Really Want / Alanis Morissette

20. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Fortunate Son / CCR

Now press "next" one more time and use it as your title. [silly little love songs / wings]

**************************
I found this list posted on another blog and had to do it for myself. I thought a lot of my answers were oddly fitting! I added the singer/band because I have such an ecclectic mix on my iPod (seriously, how many people pair Jeremy Camp or Casting Crowns with Alanis Morissette??). Most of you won't know the KidStuf songs, but the titles usually give a pretty good clue as to the point of the song!

Feel free to leave a comment with your results or add a link to your own blog post with this list - I'd love to see what YOUR music says about YOU!

Sprint Center Opening Act Announced

Kansas City has a new arena downtown - the Sprint Center. It looks really freaking cool. And guess who gets to open it?

ELTON JOHN

Now, if you know me AT ALL, you probably know this is my FAVORITE artist of all time. and I'm SO excited!

Joe told me to go ahead and buy two tickets. Then he told me to find someone else to take since he won't go. So, that's a bit of a downer. But, his reluctance to attend will not dampen my excitement or willingness to attend. Even if I go alone. Which I won't. Friend of mine has already said he'd like to go with me. Just gotta decide if going with another GUY is worth the 3 years grief I'll get out of it. Which it probably IS. =)

Anyway, read about the Sprint Center and all it's coolness and the Elton Concert right here:

http://sprintcenter.com/press_073007.php

Now - if I can just figure out how to go see Sir Elton in Vegas the following week with my cousin, I'd definitely have my fix for the year!

American Idol

I have to admit, publicly, I'm a huge AI fan. Not the beginning part where they make fun of people - I actually really hate that part. But I do like the beginning where there's all these amazing kids and young people who screw up their courage, get in a group of thousands of people, sing in front of Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell (him alone would scare the bejesus out of me!), and pray that their God-given talent is recognized and they are put through to Hollywood.

If they make it to Hollywood, they have a chance to sing in front of millions - yes MILLIONS - of people who then get to decide every week if they stay or go. Each week they get to transform songs - normally well-known songs - into 2 minute blurbs to showcase their best singing assests, while adding some stage presence to get the crowd excited about their act. The next night, they get to sit through Ryan Seacrest's filler and rewinds of the night before and chew their nails waiting for the results. Ouch!

So - why do I like this show? Lots of reasons...

1. Simon. Yes, I like Simon. He's English, blunt and to the point. Most people DON'T like him. But I do. Mostly because I think I'm a lot like him. He's telling these kids the truth - and sometimes that hurts. Alot. He can be a little tactless sometimes, granted, but I think he simply wants to get it into their heads that this is TOUGH - it's HARD - and very very DEMANDING. Not just the show but the career - the life - the "idol"ness. And if they can't stand a little criticism on their craft now, they won't survive in that business.
   
   
2. Paula. She is ALWAYS a breathe of fresh air. Even when she's telling someone they're bad, she just does it so darn SWEETLY! I've been a fan of hers since her own pop idol days - especially her video with MC Skat Cat. She's a Hollywood icon to me and she's wonderful.
   


3. Randy. Of course. He's always 'keeping it real, dawg'. The fact the he was in Journey just endears him to me even more. He's a cross between Paula and Simon. He tells it like it is most of the time, just sometimes a little nicer than Simon.
   


4. The band! My goodness, they are wonderful! Learning twelve new songs each week for many weeks, adjusting to each singers tempo, pitch, voice indiviudally is just amazing. The piano player (I think it's the same each week) changes song keys and other details at the mere suggestion from any pro they get on there to make the song work for the singer. I'm in awe of this group! Maybe that's just the band geek in me though - always was my dream to be in a professional band. =)
   


5. The music. Sometimes it's good, sometimes not so much. I personally don't like it when a singer makes a popular, Top-40 ( Top-10!) song "their own". Certain songs are meant to be sung the way it is. But sometimes, a singer just really nails a song and makes it theirs in a way never before heard. Like Katharine with "Black Horse & a Cherry Tree", or any song that Taylor did last season, Blake's rendition of "You Give Love A Bad Name", or Kelly Clarkson & Carrie Underwood - those two ladies just ROCK! I've even been watching AI Rewind so I can watch Kelly all over again - and catch myself cheering her on or crying over the tension - and I KNOW whe's going to win!
   


6. The families. Parent, siblings, grandparents, spouses, children and close friends. They encourage and support - from the theatre back to home states. People who spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars in support of these dreams - from childhood all the way through the day the are voted off the stage. And beyond. They cry, they cheer, they sing along. They're amazing!

I could probably keep going, but you get the idea. They could lose the obviously bad singers in the first 4 or 5 weeks, lose Ryan (or at least tell him to give up the sniping with Simon - it's just annoying!) and lose the frustrating and heart-wrenching portions of the "results show" and making it touching and wonderful instead. Keep the rest. It's an amazing show that truly gives someone a chance to completely flip their world upside down and use the talent God gave them for a positive influence on the world.