On Saturday night I went with Valerie to the movies. We couldn’t really agree on which movie to see, as she wanted to see Sex in the City, and I really wasn’t up for that at all. I went to see Wanted instead, which by the way was awesome. We decided we’d meet up afterwards to go see Get Smart, as the AMC really isn’t too good at making sure you only see one movie.

So, Wanted features similar effects to the Matrix, but it just looks awesome. The story is a little far fetched and spoils it a little, but visually it’s fantastic. Definitely worth going to see.

When I met Valerie afterwards to see the late showing of Get Smart, we couldn’t find the theatre we were looking for. We spent about 20 minutes looking around and just as we’re about to give up … blackout!

The whole cinema gets a powercut and it’s pitch black. Of course, it’s America, so there’s a lot of screaming and everyone get’s their cellphones out. Some cheeky people try asking for free popcorn as the emergency lights come on. After about 10 minutes of confusion, the staff make the decision to evacuate the building. So, free passes are issued which are good for one movie and, of course, I picked mine up without a hint of remorse.

We went back to the movies last night to see Get Smart, hoping to see Wall-e afterwards. Get Smart was funny, but nothing spectacular. It’s Steve Carell so it’s obviously going to be funny. I was too tired after the movie to sit through another 2 hours of film so we went home in the end. Maybe another time for Wall-e.

Pride 08

This past Sunday was SF Pride, celebrating LGBT San Francisco. As usual, Market Street was closed off to allow the parade to go past and 500,000 came out (no pun intended) to see it. It started off with the tradition of ‘Dykes on Bikes’, and there were a lot of people dressed up in wedding clothes, reflecting the recent change in the law that legalizes gay marriage in the state of California (one of only 2 that allow it).

The weather was fairly crap, mostly due to the wildfires that have been raging all over the state causing smoke and smog to gravitate through the city. Luckily, some strong winds have appeared and blown most of the smoke away.

I was only able to stay for about 1 hour at the parade as I had to go to work, but there was plenty to see before I left. The mayor even made and appearance as he waved to his minions from his convertible. My camera battery died, so I have no pictures as yet.

Cindy Lauper was singing at Civic Center after the parade, which I suppose was no big thing to miss. There was a religious group had gathered to make it very clear that the parade was a complete abomination, which is cool that they were representing their views but it seemed very poorly done, and turned me away more than anything. It really was like a ‘let he that is without sin cast the first stone’ scenario. It almost seemed as if this church were associating themselves with the whole ‘God Hates Fags’ campaign. The fact of the matter is that I’m guilty of many things myself, homosexuality is maybe not one of them, but it puts me in no position to judge or preach. Matthew 7:3-5 and all that.

On a lighter note, work was boring as usual.

So I was in Borders the other day, mainly to enjoy a magazine with a large hot Cocoa Trio (because I really hate Starbucks’ version, although it turns out Starbucks owns Seattle’s Best Coffee in Borders). I enjoy this past-time because the Cocoa Trio is flippin’ expensive, but at least I can read the entire magazine without paying for it. I see this as a good compromise - expensive beverage, cheap education. Anyway, on with the story.

I come across the new edition of Billboard magazine. I’m very surprised to see Third Day on the front cover, and after a few seconds notice that Brad’s not on there. Ah, he must’ve been somewhere else the day of the photoshoot, I think. But in the subsequent pages of the article he’s not featured anywhere. I didn’t really have the time to read the article, but I followed up on it later that night and found that he actually left the band way back in February.

How come I didn’t hear about that? I wouldn’t go as a far as saying Third Day are one of my favourite bands but they are certainly a band I continue to listen to and would buy their CD’s, so I’m quite surprised I didn’t hear about it sooner.

What’s even more interesting is the circumstances under which he left. The news article from the Third Day site stated:

“We appreciate Brad’s many contributions to the band’s career to date, including his work on our forthcoming album, but the time has come for us to follow our separate paths.”

ThirdDay.com

Ok, so if Brad decided to quit then the language would have been more like “Brad had decided that it is time for him to go his separate way”. The language tends to imply that this was a band decision, so I wonder if there’s any bad blood between them? Apparently he’s leaving to pursue a solo career, but the news article doesn’t mention that. I may just be over analyzing, and I’m sure it’s something that these guys prayed about a lot, but I would just love to know what happened and why an announcement wasn’t made before. And besides, his guitar solo face was the most entertaining part of their show.

I snapped this pic a few years ago at one of their gigs in Belfast:

Has anyone seen this video yet? We watched it at church last night, and it’s been really challenging me. There’s another video too if you fancy looking for it. From a design point of view as well, it’s been very well produced!

It’s a humbling thought that so much poverty exists in the world yet many of us (I include myself here) sit back and take no action. The premise of this video is to remind us that:

In 2000 world leaders, including the UK, committed to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. 2007 marks the half-way point to the fulfilment of the MDGs, and it’s time to Blow the Whistle to ensure our Government and others the world over honour their promises.

Micah Challenge

Some of you might know that my sister lives in South Africa, and is doing her bit to bring love and hope to those who suffer. She comes home soon and I’m really looking forward to catching up with her to see how her year has been.

If you’re interested in the Blow the Whistle campaign, there’s more info here.