Blow Wind Blow, Flood Rain Flood

ï Hurricane Katrina was barely getting started blowing and dropping water on the gulf coast when pundits were already talking about EVEN HIGHER gas prices. Is there no end in sight?

ï Check out this new interview with Exorcism Of Emily Rose co-writer and director Scott Derrickson.

ï Did you know … “buried deep within the No Child Left Behind Act is a provision that requires public high schools to hand over students’ private contact information to military recruiters. If a school does not comply, it risks losing vital federal education funds. As if that weren’t bad enough, the Pentagon has now built an illegal database of 30 million 16 to 25-year-olds as another recruitment tool.” Find out how more at LeaveMyChildAlone.org.

ï Apple and Motorola have come together to put out a phone that plays iTunes downloads. It’s going to be available through Cingular. Read more about it here. Cool!

ï That’s right kids – it’s almost time for the CMJ Music Marathon 2005.

ï Have you used DogPile.com yet? It’s Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask Jeeves all piled into one. Try it out!

Day Of Rest…Not Really

ï Just got back from Church. I went to hear Tony Campolo speak in Ocean City at the tabernacle there. He was, as usual, outstanding and inspiring. I got to shake his hand afterward and share a word or two. If you ever get a chance to hear him speak – do not pass it up. In fact, if you are so inclined, you can download MP3′s of several of his sermons for free here. Next Sunday is Lloyd Ogilvie who was my childhood pastor who went on to be the chaplain of the senate. He married my parents. I have not seen him since I was a kid. I’m sure it will be quite a shock to see me coming down the line. Ha.

My First Audio Blog, Site Updates, Etc.

ï Yeah, pretty goofy. But it works amazing. Now I just have to figure out what I have to say. Ha ha. I re-posted my profile on the right. I also tweaked the fonts a little bit. Trying to make things a little easier to read. In case you didn’t notice, I also added a “Last 10 Concerts I Attended” on the right side of the page below the movies category. Kind of depressing that it spans over a year with so few – but that’s all about to change! Anyway, just adding some stuff. My traffic is going up again – so welcome to those of you who are new to my website/blog. I’m getting ready to make like Emeril and take it up another notch! Enjoy!

ï Rapper Pras ( from the Fugees ) has done a re-make of the U2 classic “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” ( MTV )

ï I’m quite sure I’m not the only person excited to see The Exorcism Of Emily Rose. You have to check out the website – epsecially the section called “Possession” which has case studies of documented demon possessions. Whether you believe or not, it’s pretty compelling. Did you also know that the director / co-writer Scott Derrickson is a Christian? Here’s the transcript of a lecture he gave.

ï I was the proud recipient of a package of CD’s from my kind friends at Tooth & Nail Records this week. All the discs are good, but I am especially enjoying new discs from Emery, Mae and As Cities Burn.

ï Legendary New York punk club CBGB’s lease runs out on August 31st. So it’s crunch time. Here’s a website with information on how you can do your part.

ï TonyCampolo.org got a makeover. Looks good. I’m looking forward to hearing Tony preach again this Sunday in Ocean City. He’s always inspiring.

“Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.” – Romans 14:16 ( NIV )

What Would Pat Robertson Do?

ï I’m sure by now you’ve seen all the furor caused by the Pat Robertson statement I mentioned a couple of days ago. It’s become quite the story. But I came across this article on the blog at Christianity Today which is must reading! Really interesting facts about all kinds of crazy things he’s said and why he can’t be stopped.

ï Steven “Stevo” Jensen of the Vandals (1959-2005) “Former Vandals lead singer Steven “Stevo” Jensen passed away at his home on the island of Maui last weekend due to causes as yet unknown. Jensen sang for the Vandals from 1980 through 1984, appearing on the band’s first two full-lengths, Peace Through Vandalism and When In Rome Do As The Vandals before being replaced by current vocalist Dave Quackenbush.” On a personal note, the Vandals are one of my favorite punk bands. I learned to play bass guitar to “Peace Through Vandalism” as a kid in high school. Years later I met Joe Escalante (only current original member) in France. I once had the Vandals tour bus pull up to my house in Washington and they stored some merch in my garage when they went up to Canada on the Warped Tour. I was able to stand on stage when they played in Seattle – right next to one of the best drummers in the world, Josh Freese. One of the many surreal moments in my life. But not nearly surreal as the guy from Texas that approached Blenderhead when we were on tour with MxPx and claimed to be the one-and-only Steveo from The Vandals. Of course, he was not. My thoughts are with the real Steveo’s family and friends. Details about his memorial can be found here.

ï Some of you hip kids will remember the band Frodus. Their drummer Jason Hamacher ( also from Combat Wounded Veteran, Decahedron and others ) is now on tour with Dillinger Escape Plan as a massage therapist. He has a cool – and quite funny – blog that you can check out here.

ï October 2005 is shaping up to be a great month for music. A new EP from Jimmy Eat World ( Oct. 4th ) as well as new full lengths from Canadian band Metric ( Oct. 4th ) and my favorite Seattle punk band The Briefs ( Oct. 18th ). Also coming in October – new releases from Dashboard Confessional and if you can believe it – Gang Of Four and Depeche Mode!

ï In Bill Power news … the hole in my mouth where my tooth used to be seems to be healing nicely. I’m looking forward to seeing my lovely girlfriend who has been at camp all week. I am still on the NYC/North Jersey job trail. I have an interview the week after labor day at a place I’d really like to work. So, we’ll see. Either way my last day at my current job is coming toward the end of next month. I’m looking forward to whatever comes next!

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” - Lamentations 3:22-23 ( NIV )

Happy Birthday Judith

ï Ronee and I sponsor a child through Compassion International. Her name is Judith and today is her birthday. You can help us celebrate Judith’s birthday by sponsoring a child yourself. There is so much bad in the world and trying to help those who are less fortunate can feel overwhelming. We receive letters from our sponsored child that are a real blessing to us. You can make the difference in the life of one child that will last his/her lifetime. Take some time now to click on the photo at the right and view some profiles at the Compassion website. Thanks!

It's My Lucky Day!

I was already going to the Militia Group CMJ showcase in New York this September. Why? Because my good pals Man Alive are playing at CBGB’s. AND it’s their singer’s (Jamie) birthday! But now I just found out that one of my other favorite bands, Cruiserweight are ALSO playing. You should come too! It’s going to be a blast! THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 @ CBGB’s downstairs: Man Alive: 8:30- 9:00pm and Cruiserweight: 10:45-11:15pm. And yeah, there’s a ton of other bands playing too.

Pat Robertson Is An Asshole

“If he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war.” – Pat Robertson told viewers on his 700 Club show yesterday. Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade. The fact that this man claims to be a Christian and then uses his airtime to advocate government sanctioned assasination … well, it pretty much makes him an asshole in my book. You can read the rest of the story here.

Update 08/28/05

A recent visitor to my blog sent me an e-mail complaining that I had no right to “curse Robertson’s name”, that I should “encourage people to pray for him”, that we are “all sinners”, etc. Now, maybe I’m putting too much faith in people. But in the words of Henry Rollins “you like look smart people to me.” I’m going to go ahead and give the rest of you the benefit of the doubt that you know that when I call Pat Robertson a bad name it’s only because I am frustrated that someone who holds such a wide audience ( millions of people ) would say something so crazy and damaging while broadcasting under the banner of Christ. And evidently I’m not the only one who thinks so. I called Pat in my response to this reader “a blight on Christianity.” Jim Wallis ( from Sojourner’s ) in this article calls him “an embarrassment to the Church.”

This same person also stated that my link to Punk Voter’s website condones and supports abortion because there is a link to NARAL’s website at Punk Voter. I probably don’t need to clarify this. But just in case, and for future reference – I have a lot of links on here to newspapers, other blogs, band websites, etc. Just because I link to something does not necessarily mean that I support everything that one of those sites may link to. Some of my links are just websites who simply link to me and I’m linking back out of courtesy. I thought that was an obvious netiquette thing. But evidently not for some. Thanks for reading. – Bill