JamSmooth.com

I wanted the Colts to win. I like Peyton Manning. I remember a game a few years back right after Katrina. The Falcons played the Saints on Monday Night Football. The Falcons got crushed. The momentum was stacked in the Saint’s favor. This game was much different in that the Colts had the momentum in the beginning, but were outplayed in the end. Peyton threw that last interception and sealed it for the Saints.

Help me understand this though. How does a professional sports team winning a televised sporting event help a city? I can see that it may gave one a temporary sense of pride and joy. What if I awake to the same daily reality of a city that is suffering from inept government and senseless crime? Does it matter if the Saints won?

I like to think I have good sportsmanship. I’m happy for the Saints. It’s a monumental achievement. However I’m not a Saints fan. I’m a Falcons fan, have been since I was a kid. The Saints are the Falcons’ biggest rival in the NFL. We love to hate the Saints. For true Falcons fans this is not good. It’s akin to being a Georgia Bulldog fan and seeing Florida win the National Championship. You think it’s easy to put aside a deep, intense rival like that? I do not.

I get it. This is just sports we’re talking about. This is not some life-changing experience. What I love is how the Superbowl brings us together once a year. Last night 18 of some of my closest friends gathered to watch the game. We had an unforgettable night of the three F’s: food, fellowship and football. Get rid of all the hoopla, the lackluster halftime show, the botched National anthem by Carrie Underwood and the commercials and what you have is a celebration of relationships. That’s what I love about the Superbowl.

Found out about this via Bob Lefsetz. It’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while. Jimmy Fallon nails Neil Young. It’s almost the best “Neil Young” song I’ve heard in years. It seriously sounds like Neil Young lyrics.

What do you think?

Since we’re talking about Don Henley let’s talk about great guitar solos. “Dirty Laundry,” has 2 epic solos. On the recording Steve Lukather plays the first one and Joe Walsh plays the second. I couldn’t find the studio recording online but I did find this outstanding live version. I’m not sure who the guy is taking the first solo. I am sure that it’s Atlanta’s own Peter Stroud taking the second solo. The both play the solos almost note for note from the original recording and they both kill it. Great song. Great guitar solo.

The studio version with Take 6 is legendary. Timothy Schmidt kills this fretless on this one. I’ve always loved this song.

NOTE: I’m making an effort to get JamSmooth.com back on track and having a least one or two (hopefully more) posts a week from now on. I got a extraordinary e-mail from a reader this week which gave me a new fire.

I wrote about how great it is that I can watch TV whenever and wherever we want. However is what I’m watching helping me? Does it fill my mind with crap, negativity, lust and envy? Is what I’m watching the best use of my time?

I watch shows like Entourage, True Blood, Party Down, Mad Men, Californication and Arrested Development. These shows make me laugh at loud which is saying something. I’m pretty jaded. However most of them frequently have female nudity, swearing and characters portraying decidedly Non Christ-Like behaviors like infidelity, doing drugs, getting drunk, not encouraging one another and lots of insecurity. These behaviors lead to great comedy but at what expense? Would Jesus watch these shows? Should I stop watching them? Are these shows having a negative affect on my spiritual life? Are they wasting my time? As a follower of Christ I am called to higher state.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Watching those shows is definitely not thinking about pure things. I’m watching others commit sin after sin.

You could say, “Well Jam, it’s just entertainment. Are you doing the things depicted in the shows? Are you wanting to be like the characters? Why are you being so uptight?” Valid questions. Honestly I can say that I haven’t felt the Spirit telling me I should stop. I don’t feel like watching these shows is affecting my relationship with Christ. Yet am I missing it? Is there a hidden, subconscious effect?

Sometimes I ask the question not what would Jesus do, but what would Andy Stanley do? Andy Stanley is my pastor and leads 30,000 people in Atlanta. I doubt that Andy watches these shows. You could say, “Well Andy has a family and doesn’t have as much time as you. Plus he leads a huge organization.”

True but Andy is no better than I. Andy is called to the same level as a follower that I am. I think it all comes down to this, are you attached to things of the world or things from above. Think about these verses, 1 Corinthians 10:31-33, ” So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.”

If others know I am a follower and watch these types of shows they’ll think it’s ok, right? What if someone else watches these shows and it does cause them to sin? Am I at fault? It doesn’t matter if I’m leading a huge church. If I cause one person to stumble I’m going against God’s commands clearly.

Again I feel confident that these shows are not affecting me. It’s entertainment for me. Now I’ve told you all about these shows. You may watch them. What if watching them causes you to sin? For that reason alone should I stop?

I can’t remember the last time I intentionally sat down in front of the TV and flipped through channels. I can’t remember the last time I listened to terrestrial radio.

I realize that adverts are what drive television but that’s the main reason I choose not to watch. I hate the constant interruptions to the story. Not only are they so annoying they last for 3 to 4 minutes at a time.

My break from TV started a while back when a former roommate introduced me to watchtvsitcoms.com. Last time I checked that site was down. The legality of that site was questionable at best. Then came Hulu.com. Hulu gave me a huge selection of shows with only 2 or 3, 30 second commercial breaks during an episode. Not only that, I can watch the shows when I want to watch them. Tivo has been around for years but for those without that we were forced to use, gasp, VCRs!

Those days are gone. Anyone with an Internet connection can watch any show whenever they want either through Hulu or other nefarious means. Increasingly even live sporting events are being broadcast on the Internet. There are products like Apple TV and Boxee which give you even more options for watching what you want, when you want. I love it. Today’s technology is all about controlling the content you want.

Sure I still have a TV for watching films and live sports. When it comes to scripted programming the user says when they’ll watch it and on what format: mobile phone, laptop or TV. These options give producers more options for their shows. As bandwidth increases we’ll be able to watch any live event or show without cable. I’m all for it.

What’s up world? I’m still here, in case you were wondering.

I’ve become a huge fan of Battlestar Galactica, the one that just ended. I know I’m about 5 years behind on that one. I’m midway through season 3 and the series is totally addictive. The characters, special effects and plots are all remarkable. I highly recommend checking that out.

A second interview is on the horizon. That’s all I’ll say about it. For those that will, please pray for me because it’s a stellar opportunity.

My attendance at the gym is excellent lately. Been exercising 5 to 7 times a week. I’m still not where I want to be but hopefully I’m making progress. I must be because one of the trainers at the gym told me I was looking buff. It’s hard to notice your own progress unless you take photos, which I haven’t done lately.

I need your help to raise the remaining funds for the Cambodia trip. The deadline will be here soon, within the next 2 weeks. So please consider partnering with me. We will be doing construction at New Life Orphanage in Batdambang. Details on how you can give are here. We are leaving May 7th so it’s less an month away!

We’ve also got the Atlanta Metblog back to life. Go here to check it out. We’re doing a series right now on songs about Atlanta.

Tomorrow is Good Friday and I’m excited about the service at Buckhead Church. Last year’s service left many of us speechless. They’ve put in a lot of work this year so I’m certain this year will prove great as well. I love that our church makes a big deal about Easter. Easter is the core of our faith as followers of Christ.

One last thing. If you live in Atlanta your help is needed on an urgent issue. MARTA was denied access to its own funds due to an inept state legislature. Go here to read Thomas Wheatley’s excellent coverage of the story. Please go here for info on how you can act.

Today marks 4 weeks unemployed. It hasn’t been bad at all. I’ve had lots of time to think and reflect. I haven’t worked out this much in years. Been hitting the gym 6, sometimes 7 times a week.

Have watched lots of movies. Have watched little or no TV. I’ve shifted all my TV watching to the Internet. The shows I watch: Damages, 24 and Late Nite with Jimmy Fallon are online at Hulu.com. My attitude towards TV has shifted like many others with Tivo and DVRs. I watch what I watch when I want and with no commercials.

The other time is spent looking for jobs. I keep a spreadsheet of every single action I take. The spreadsheet shows that I’m doing something and reminds me of all the things I’ve done which is encouraging.

Yesterday I met with The Creative Group. They are a staffing agency for creative professionals in advertising and marketing. I won’t speak on the job we talked about. If I get it then you’ll know.

I have some inside help at Apple Computer. They are not hiring right now but when things thaw out that is a definite contender. I love the Apple brand and I think it would be a good fit for me.

There are other leads as well but I won’t speak on them because I nothing is certain and I don’t want to jinx myself.

Thanks for all of you who are praying for me. It definitely helps. I know God is in control. My prayer is that He uses this trial for His glory.

Just watch the video.

My best friend from college is on TV in Washington, DC. Sean Lakos and I met at WUOG at The University of Georgia in 1994. We’ve been friends ever since. We’ve traveled to Jamaica and shared many good times. Most recently we saw 311 and Snoop Dogg last month when he was in town.

Sean owns and operates a Carrabba’s in Centreville, VA, about 20 minutes outside of DC. Recently he was asked to do the mid day cooking segment on the local Fox affiliate. This was his first time and I think he did an outstanding job. Go HERE to check it out. Go down to “Related Items” and click on video to watch Sean cooking up some shrimp, scallops, chicken and salmon.

He’ll be doing more segments in the future and I know he’ll only improve on camera.