READ MY MIND

Good Friday

2011-04-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

A spot I directed to promote an event our church does called Secret Church.

It has to be said that the lightening/thunder in this thing are completely real. That's exactly how it happened that day on set.

Credits include:
Written/Preformed by: Chris Brooks
Directed: Taylor Robinson
Steady Cam Operator: Seth Newell
On set audio/Mastering: Eric Chapman
Styling by: Sarah Beth Rosser
PA - The behind the scenes video: Alan Harned

Here's the behind the scenes video Alan Harned made:

2011-01-20T20:59:00.000-08:00

We've been working alot. We're lucky.

Speaking of luck - here's 3 spots "we" worked on with BIG Communications for the Birmingham News. I had really nothing to do with these spots. My partner, Jason Wallis, shot these puppies. I'm just lucky to get to be attached by association.

Enjoy!

The 60 second long version

A 30 second version titled "Reporting"

A 30 second version called "This Is Our Story"

More to come...If we're lucky.

Vanderbilt - Behind the Scenes

2010-11-19T22:31:00.000-08:00

Neverthirst

2010-11-14T17:10:00.000-08:00

Jackson helped us with the back half of this puppy.

Children's Hospital @ Vandy

2010-11-12T08:43:00.000-08:00

Here's a commercial we did for the children's hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.

A script:

2010-10-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a script from what happened to me today.
--------------------
(I drive into the BBVA Compass Bank parking lot at exactly 4:52 p.m. I wait in a line of cars for my turn until 5:04 p.m. At precicely 5:04 p.m. I pull up to the farthest left spot, so I'm right at the window. There were/are two other cars behind me. The guy behind the window, is sweating, so much that I notice.)

Him-
Hello. How are you?

Me-
I'm good, need to cash this.

(I show him the already prepared check, and my ID)

Him-
I'm sorry sir. It's after 5 and we close at 5.

(I look at the clock in my car.)

Him-
It's 5:04. Four minutes after the hour.

Me-
But I've been waiting in the line for ten minutes.

Him-
I'm sorry sir, I have two other customers in front of you.

Me-
That's fine, but I was here before 5.

Him-
Sir, there's nothing I can do.

Me-
(silence)
Sure there is, you can cash my check.

Him-
I can't. We close at 5.

Me-
I understand, but I've been in the line since before 5.

Him-
I can't help you.

Me-
Yes you can.

Him-
We close at 5.

Me-
You guys should put some kind of cone back there where the line begins so that people don't wait in it forever just to have you say that you're closed.

Him-
(he points at the red/green lights that are right above the individual lanes)
I turned the lights to red at 5 when we closed.

Me-
From the back of the line I can't see those lights.

Him-
(getting smart)
I'm sorry, sir.

Me-
So you're not going to cash my check?

Him-
I'm sorry sir, there's nothing I can do. We...

(I stop him)

Me-
You close at five?

Him-
Yes.

Me-
Well, thanks.

(I drive off)
----------------------
I'm calling their office tomorrow.

STUDIO PARTY

2010-09-21T14:32:00.001-07:00

Jason Wallis Photography and Six Foot Five had a party last Thursday to celebrate 1) 2nd Row Studio's second birthday, and 2) we were officially introducing 6F5 to the community.

Jason set up a photo booth in one of the corners and people took pictures of them selves all night long. Some more than others....

Anyways. Here's all of those pictures. Enjoy!

If you don't see yourself in this montage - I wish you would have been there.

Taylor

Recent Work

2010-07-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

So we've been busy doing things like this.

I was director of photography on this one:

I wrote and directed this one:

AAANNDDD I directed and edited this one:

youthministry360.com

2010-06-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a video I got to write and direct for youthministry360, a new youth ministry resource company that is launching in August.

If you're a youth minster, or know some one who is, check out their site. They've got a lot of cool stuff, and a pretty great blog. The guys who are starting this company are my good friends, and I can vouch for them by saying that they care about youth ministers alot.

To Understand or Not To Understand the internet

2010-06-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

I recently (kind of) had a conversation with one of my great friends about the internet, why it's bad and why it's good. And It became clear to me very quick that we both look at it with completely different eyes.

He had some very great points about why the internet is bad for our society. Stuff like, no accountability, no real community. The jist of what I think he was trying to say was, and I agree, that the internet allows for people to not ever engage with real people in a real community, and that is a bad thing that can lead to horrible things. The internet is setting up new social norms that are bad for us as humans, in his eyes.

So here's my take on the subject:

The internet is not to blame for these things.

The internet is awesome. The internet is the great equalizer.

The sum of all human knowledge is at our fingertips because of the internet. There's nothing you can't find out, there's nothing that you can't learn how to do. You, me, and ALSO everyone else in the world. Up until a decade ago most of the citizens of earth were limited to only ever knowing and finding things that were known and taught by the few people around them. Now, you can get a college degree from an world renowned university and never leave your house, village, shack, or slum.

Sure there's bad things that happen on the internet, but it ain't the internet's fault. It's people's fault, and more specifically sin's fault.

It's the Holy Spirit's responsibility to convict. It's a parent's responsibility to teach what is good and what is bad about the internet. It's the church's responsibility to help heal the wounds that sin has created. It's a community's responsibility to hold each other accountable for their actions. And it's MY RESPONSIBILITY to have the wisdom to make good choices on line; from not looking at things that I shouldn't to not expecting to get something from the internet that it just cannot provide like community, or accountability.

Gun's don't kill people, people kill people.

--- is to ---

The internet isn't bad, it's what people do on the internet that's bad.

It's like when people say that Hollywood is evil because of the movies that they make. That ain't Hollywood's fault. It's our (the audience's) fault. Hollywood is in the business of making money, not morally bad movies. They make movies that people want to pay money to watch. I guarantee, if we as a society stop going to see these "bad movies" Hollywood will stop making them. I'd bet my life on it. If you think that's wrong, I might suggest that you are a little more out of touch with our society than you think you are. But enough chasing that rabbit.

Back to the internet:

Yes, bad things are happening on the internet. Some more obvious than others. And YES we should do our darndest to protect ourselves (especially children) from these things, but the internet is awesome. The internet is a tool that, if harnessed correctly, can continue to change things in this world for the better.

All of that, and the internet is a well spring for things like productivity, creativity, efficiency, and empowerment. Business that don't allow for their people to harness the power of the internet will soon, if they haven't already, become irrelevant, out of touch, and left in the dust. If you're the IT guy at your job, and it's your job to keep internet stuff out, I feel sorry for your company. And if you're a boss type who want's to figure out a way to keep people from playing games all day while they're working, or from watching stupid youtube videos all day - you my friend have hired the wrong people, either that or you've have done a bad job motivating the right people.

That's my two cents.

However, don't think that Wikipedia is a valid source for your next book report.

Tell me what you think. Am I wrong here? I am happy to be wrong.

I can't believe that I actually wrote a post this long abou this subject.

Excellent Short

2010-05-27T15:41:00.001-07:00

MOMENTOS from Nuno Rocha on Vimeo.

Love it.

Radical - by David Platt

2010-05-03T19:38:00.001-07:00

I am really proud of this one, and you need to read the book.

Radical by David Platt from Taylor Robinson on Vimeo.

This is a promo video I directed for the release of David Platt's book Radical. You should read the book.

Credits:

Voice - Dr. David Platt

Directed/Animated - Taylor Robinson

Audio Mastering - Eric Chapman

A Secret Church Promo

2010-04-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

I got to create this one for Brookhills.

Speaking: Dr. David Platt

Blowing Up The Grill

2010-04-07T19:26:00.000-07:00

So today we wrapped a 7 day shoot for the US Army, and it was a great day of shooting.

One of the videos we shot today was to encourage viewers to be safe while grilling out because grilling can be dangerous. Yadda. Yadda. Yadda. So, part of the video was an actual grill exploding.

I won't go into the details of the shoot, but here's the jist:

We hired a professional special effects professional, Lisa, to come and "make stuff blow up."

Here's the direction we gave Lisa:

-We want a boom.

-We want the lid to fly off.

-We'd like some flames.

-We wanna stay safe.

Here's what Lisa said to us:

-There'd be plenty of boom.

-She wasn't too sure how much "punch" was needed to make the lid fly off, but she'd do her best.

-There'd be plenty of flames, but they'd be quick.

-We'd for sure be safe.

So, there were a dozen or so people on the crew, and like anybody who's about to watch a grill blow up alot of people recorded it on their phones. I'd like to show you some of them.

I gave Rashel my phone and she shot for me. Here's that video:

So yeah. The video doesn't even do the explosion justice. And if any of us had know how big it was going to be we'd all have been much much much further away from the grill when it went off. Everyone knew to be on the look out for the lid cause no one actually knew where it was going. The lid went straight up, and most people thought it disappeared. I thought the same thing for a second then I looked up, and it was still rising. The lid got to at least 60 feet up, then came crashing right back down.

Seth, the first AC, got hands down the best video. Please note how long the lid is in the air. 4 solid seconds.

Duke, was our props master. After the explosion happened there were little bits of burning stuff all over the back yard, and Duke put almost all of them out in a matter of 2 or 3 seconds. That's why it looks like he's running a marathon right after the boom. This is his video:

So yeah. Awesome. We spent the rest of the day blowing up other stuff.

Mr. Potato Head

A potted plant:

Pineapple:

A Birthday Cake:

All of this was in a Ross Bridge backyard, right in the heart of Hoover. The neighbor's didn't say anything all day.

Radical

2010-03-22T15:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a video we created of David Platt talking about his new book, Radical. This book is awesome, you should get it and read it.

It's not for the faint of heart, it's for those who are not interested in "a Christian spin on the American dream." Rock!

India - and other misc. things.

2010-03-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

I wrote all of this yesterday morning. I hate long blog posts, but hey whatca gonna do?

So I woke up at 4 am wide awake. I tried to fool my self into thinking I could go back to sleep, but I knew. So lying there in the bed I got the bright idea that I could just get up, get ready, and go to the airport early and try to get on an earlier flight to Atlanta stand-by. I even check online to find out if there was an earlier flight. YES, DL 1991 - EWR - ATL 6:10 AM.

Unfortunately, in the recent years all the airlines have gone to extreme measures to make extra cash. There's no longer "stand-by." Delta said they'd be happy to change my itinerary to the earlier flight for the low-reasonable price of $50. But, I already knew that since I had to spend the night on an international itinerary they were going to make me pay $25 just to check my bag (jerks). So I said no, and here I am sitting in the Newark airport with nothing to do but sit and process my thoughts about this recent trip, and the past 2 months of my life.

It's 5:30 AM and my flight doesn't leave till 8:30. I am actually sitting in the terminal watching all the people on that earlier 6:10 flight board. I'm actually glad I'm getting this time.

So, I'll try to keep it brief.

First, some context, on the trip I read, from cover to cover, Donald Miller's "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years." It is great! I won't explain the book here, I'll just say the book had a profound impact on the way I'm looking at every facet of my life. You should read it. It's never too late to start writing a great story with your life.

------------------

Now, the trip:

So this trip made my 11th trip with Compassion. I realized on this trip how lucky I really am to get to go on these trips. I am so absolutely honored to be a small apart of what Compassion is doing around the world. I've said it before, but Compassion is the most transforming ministry I have ever heard of.

Compassion projects are like McDonald's fries. No matter where you go, no matter the culture, continent, or country, they're all the same. I was chatting with my buddy Kinsley, and he said it best, "It's really amazing how they are able to duplicate them selves all over the world throughout so many cultures." I think the secret to their success is the fact that they always partner with local churches, and local churches all have the hope found in Jesus in common.

I remember hearing the president of Compassion say, "You'll never out give the poor," and this couldn't be more true. We were in places where the community is having a hard time feeding everybody, and they cooked royal meals for us.

There was a pastor from Wisconsin, Brian, who went to church somewhere in the remote jungle of northern India. His church in Wisconsin is partnering with this church. Anyways, he and his wife were at the service, and they passed the plate around the congregation for the offering. Now these are 50-75 of the poorest of the poor people in the world. There were even some women who gave little sacks of rice, cause they didn't have money to give. You get the picture... So after they offering was over, the pastor of this church invited Brian up front. THEN HE PRESENTED BRIAN WITH THE OFFERING THAT THEY HAD JUST COLLECTED. Brian tried to refuse, then finally the Compassion staff member from India explained that he had to except the gift, because they would insulted if he didn't.

There are hundreds of stories just like that one from this trip, hundreds. Needless to say, everyone who went on the trip came home yesterday with a new understanding of poverty, and a profound love for the work of Compassion.

You could not support a better organization. In case you wanna sponsor.

---------------------

The last 2 months of my life:

If you didn't know, I no longer work at Student Life. I've been saying for years that if I ever leave SL it would be for one of two reasons: 1) to go to work for Compassion, or 2) to start my own production company.

I got lucky enough to do #2, and by lucky, I mean super-dooper lucky. I've partnered with Jason Wallis, a man I've respected professionally, creatively, and personally since the day I met him.

Now, I'm not one of those people who thinks God will make every decision easy and clear if you'll just trust him completely, but in this case He did just that. In fact, I'd say God made it easy and clear even before I trusted.

I loved my time at SL, and had a blast. It was just time. And when it's time, it's time.

We're called Six Foot Five Productions. We make videos.

Here's the last script I wrote for SL:

Fade in:

A black stage, dimly lit. From the dark corner of the stage Taylor Robinson walks out to a single microphone standing center stage. Taylor is dimly lit only from the back, his face remains in the shadows. Taylor reaches into his pocket and pulls out a worn out piece of paper that's been folded a million times. He take a deep breath then begins reading the page.

Taylor:
"Dear Student Life,

I apologize that this letter has taken me so long to write. I guess, in a way, I've put it off writing this cause I love this place so much. But, as many of you already know, I'm out. Off into the great unknown. It's "that time" for me. More specifically, I'm partnering with Jason Wallis to start a video production company. Feb. 10 is my last official day on the clock, but Monday Feb. 1 is my last day in the office.

Student Life, you've had a big impact on my life. And by big, I mean gia-normous. I've been a part of Student Life camp every summer since I was a sophomore in high school (1995). I like to think of my self, my family, and my spiritual journey as proof that this ministry works. Thanks for all that you've done, thanks a ton.

Personally, the hardest part will be not getting to see the people of Student Life everyday. I've literally had the opportunity to work with my best friends for the past (almost) 10 years full time. That is an incredible blessing (period).

Even as I write this, I can't believe this chapter in my life is over. I said to Tiff just the other day, "I may be quitting the coolest job I'll ever have." But I know that this is the right decision for us, and I also know that it's the right time. All the other questions/worries/doubts that we might have we leave to faith.

So, thanks Student Life, thanks alot.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band said it best, 'May the circle be unbroken, by and by Lord, by and by.'

It was my pleasure. I'll be around, you can be sure I'll be around.
Taylor Robinson"

Taylor begins folding the paper back up as he walks off the stage. He gets almost halfway off the stage, then suddenly from somewhere off camera Travis Hawkins yells out.

Travis:
"You didn't cry!?"

Taylor turns around. Then alot of people in the audience chime in.

Drew:
"Yeah, you said you were going to cry."

Taylor:
"I don't know what to tell you."

Travis:
"Do it again! But this time with the cry."

Taylor:
"I'm not doing it again."

Kinsley:
"BORING!"

The whole audience laughs. Taylor laughs then walks off the stage.

Fade to black:

--------------------

Other Important Stuff:

Please keep my mother in your prayers as she is still in the process of getting cancer free. Nonette is her name, and she's the kind, wonderful co-author of my existence. Jerry, is my dad. He smells a bit but has a heart of gold. Love'em.

-------------------

Well that's all I got for now, it's 7am. What am I going to do with the next hour and a half?

India

2010-03-02T22:16:00.000-08:00

So we've arrived safe in Delhi. It was 2am when we left the air port. We had a 30 minute drive to the hotel. The hotel is very nice, especially considering where it it is. Here's a shot from our hotel room:

Also, while flying from ATL to JFK, I reigned victorious at the in flight trivia game. Here's the proof:

I've been thinking alot about India lately. And here are some of the thoughts that just keep popping up in my head.

-40% of the worlds poor live in India.

-India is one of the most "un-reached" countries with the gospel.

-There's a common stat you hear sometimes about poverty, it's that around 26,000 children die every day due to preventable causes. These causes they are unable to "prevent" simply because of a lack of resources. If you do the simple math using my first thought and this one, that means that just over 10,000 children will day TODAY in India due to preventable causes. CHILDREN!!

I'm so proud to get to be a part of what Compassion is doing all over the world, specifically for this trip, in India. Literally, Compassion is everyday, connecting people like you and I who have more than we could ever need, with people who are considered the poorest of the poor. If you don't sponsor with Compassion, I urge you to do so by clicking here. If not with Compassion, it is your absolute duty as a believer in Christ to love the poor. "....whatever you've done unto the least of these, you have also done unto me...." So get to it. Compassion just makes it easy, super easy.

Last year I got to go to Kenya with Compassion, while there I attempted to define the 4 types of poverty on my blog. Here's a link if you're interested.

Have a good day. I'll be back.

Compassion International - Great Kenyan Sack Race

2010-02-06T21:02:00.000-08:00

Well, Compassion is the greatest.

So we were at a project yesterday playing games with the children. Graham and Brad got greedy during the sack race and paid the price in front of an entire project. Just after I turned the camera off, I looked at the fence where 20+ grown men from the slum were watching on, they were rolling. Obviously, Ben and Jared came out victorious in the Great Kenyan Sack Race. Here's the video:

I wish I had more time to put some of Eric's pics up, but it's breakfast, and you know that's the most important meal of the day.

Sponsor a kid with Compassion if you don't already.

Haiti.

2010-01-13T17:09:00.000-08:00

A little over a year ago I got to go to Haiti with Compassion International

This earthquake is bad, very bad.

From the lobby of the hotel we stayed in, if you looked out over the valley, you could see people's homes stack one on top of the other all half way up the side of a mountain. These aren't the kind of homes you live in. There's no carpet. No running water. There's no foundation. There's no proper roof. If the walls were made from something solid, it was just cement block stacked on top of each other. No building codes. They don't take earthquakes into account when they build these homes. The don't worry about stuff like that, simply cause they have to worry about where the next meals coming from. Click here for a shot Eric took from our room.

I can't imagine what it looks like now.

My heart is broken for the people of Haiti. What can I do? What can we do? We as Christians have a responsibility to these people. I'm racking my brain trying to come up with a plan for Tiff and I to somehow get involved.

In the meantime, we will contribute to the Compassion Haiti Disaster fund. If you want to get involved, that's a great place to start. Compassion works with hundreds of churches in Haiti. Hopefully, this horrific earthquake will allow for the church in Haiti to reach out to these people. Click here to donate to the fund.

FYI - Since the earthquake yesterday, not one person from the Compassion Haiti staff has been in contact with anybody from the Compassion headquarters in Colorado Springs. They're trying desperately to get ahold of anyone. We're talking about a 3 story Compassion Haiti office building where dozens of men and women work to help children every day. Pray for these people.

Here's the Haiti video we made on our trip last year:

Haiti - Compassion International from Student Life on Vimeo.

OHHHH. Counting to four.

2010-01-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

Maybe one day I'll do something that Sesame Street want's to turn in to a teaching tool. Maybe.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2009-12-23T09:41:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to Jesus.

AWESOME.

2009-12-16T14:02:00.000-08:00

This Just In!

2009-12-16T06:44:00.000-08:00

Jackson has been hand picked by the Etsy staff, and is now featured on the Etsy.com home page.

This is monumental news.

Check it out.

Etsy.com <------ the link to his etsy stuff

thepaintingexperiment.com <------- the link to his painting website

Chill.

Taylor

The Painting Experiment

2009-11-30T12:30:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone.

I'm surrounded by world class artists.

My brother is for sure on the list.

If you're at all interested in painting or art, check out Jackson's painting journal.

Here's the link: The Painting Experiment

Holla.

Dear FBC Dallas, (Version 2)

2009-11-10T05:58:00.001-08:00

Ok, I've been doing a lot of thinking about this post. I've been thinking about my criticism of this church's plan to spend 120M on a building. My buddy KJ and I had a long talk this afternoon about this post, and the question he asked me to ask my self was this: "What good, if any, does criticizing this church's plan do?"

It's a good question. A sucky question for me to saddle up to, but a good one.

The thing is, I lean both ways on the subject. Here's my pro and con list about this post:

Pros:
-It's important to keep some prespective. Sometimes we lose site of how rich we are.
-Jesus' and Scripture are clear in our obligation to be selfless servants - always helping those in need. I was having a hard time seeing how this campaign was doing that.
-Scripture should not be used out of context.

Cons:
-I'm making some big assumptions - litterally or subconsciencisly
-I make no mention, or even attempt to find out what good will come from such a structure.
-I have no idea what kind of other moneys this church is spending to help those in need.

Both lists are valid.

Now, mom said, "If you don't have anything good to say, then don't say anything at all." But, she also said, "You should always take a stand for the things that you believe in." So where's the line? I believe the line is drawn in tact.

Let's face it, criticisim will get us no where if it's not shared in love. So, for you're veiwing pleasure, I have re-wrote this blog post the way it should have been, had I'd been as wise as my friend KJ.

A color coded key so you can see the differences:
(white) what i wrote origianlly wrote
(yellow) what I have added
(red) ***original items that should have never been in there.***
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear FBC Dallas,

***Don't.***
Really?

Here are the facts that keep me awake at night:
-----------------------------------------

• Children under age 18 make up 49 percent of the population of the world's least developed countries, compared with 21 percent of the population of the world's industrialized nations.

• More than 2 billion people lack access to electricity and modern forms of energy.

• More than 1 billion (one in five) people live on less than U.S.$1 a day.

• Every day, 1,600 women and more than 10,000 newborns globally die due to complications that could have been prevented.

• The annual world economy breaks down like this:

Low Income, $825 or less: 37%
Lower Middle Income, $826 to $3,255: 38%
Upper Middle Income, $3,256 to $10,065: 9%
High Income, $10,066 or more: 16%

• Approximately 143 million children in the developing world (one in 13) are orphans.

• More than 10 million children under age 5 die each year. Two-thirds of these deaths — more than 6 million deaths every year — are preventable.

Sources: www.unicef.org, www.unep.org, www.one.org, www.who.int, www.freeworldacademy.com, www.nationmaster.com

-------------------------------------
FBC Dallas, I'm having a really hard time understanding how you can decide that this building campaign is a good idea. ***FBC Dallas, please, please, please reconsider,*** and stop using scripture out of context. Does your congregation need this building more than children need food and clean water?

I'm asking my self these questions about the things I have in my life.

I got those facts from Compassion. You should click the link and sponsor some of these children.

***It sure is pretty though, however*** God isn't glorified by buildings. Now I'm certain that you have every good intention in place for these new facilities. And I have no idea what you're church is currently don't to help those in need. I'm just wondering if this is the best way for your congregation to spend such a large chunk of change. I'm praying that you are petitioning the Lord at every single turn about this decision.

A Concerned SBC Church Member,

Taylor Robinson,
Click Here to watch some videos about their new building campaign.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That's better, right?

I was wrong.

2009-11-08T18:59:00.000-08:00

Wordpress is better than Blogger.

I'm probably going to move.

I've only made 3 cents in the last 9 months with my Google Adsense account (thanks for not clicking on my links, btw).

Google doesn't even want to compete with WP, they've made that clear.

What's a label? The correct term is tag, Google.

Metatags, get real.

Why can't I change my theme?

What I don't understand is this: WP is set up to work well in the Google internet. Google is king. WP knows it, so they plan accordingly. Why in the Blue Heck doesn't Google make it super easy to play the game they invented? Weird. Who cares?

I was wrong.

Google rules in all other realms, not in the blargosphere.

Any reasons why I shouldn't make the move?

Holla.

Dear First Baptist Dallas,

2009-11-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

The Men Who Stare at Goats - Movie Review

2009-11-06T19:37:00.000-08:00

T5, Josh, and I went to see this tonight. Here's my review:

This movie was ok, almost good, defiantly not great. Mark this one up on the list of comedies that if you see the trailer, you've seen 90% of the funniest parts. The other 10% are the funny parts with cuss words in them. You see.

The performances were good, but what would you expect from this cast. These guys are basically playing beefed up versions of characters they mastered previously. Spacy, the pensive joke waiting in the wings (Superman). Bridges, the hippy drugie (The Big Lebowski). Clooney, the hero with weird ticks (Oh Brother Where Art Thou), and Ewan McGregor, the innocent, bugg eyed co-hero wishing he life was more interesting than it is (Big Fish). All of these actors are better in the films that inspired the casting director to put their names on the poster. More over, all of the previously mentioned films are better than this movie.

There are plenty of "in between the lines" Jedi jokes around Ewan McGregor. I get it, not funny.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are some funny parts to this movie. Really funny, but most of them are centered around drug jokes. I like drug jokes, and most of the time these jokes are always funny, but I feel like the film maker wanted this movie to be a "thinker," and I just caught my self waiting for Cheech and Chong to come out and make their cameos.

The ending is ho-hum and spoon fed to the audience.

Predictable. Entertaining. Less than I expected.

3.5 stars out of 5.

Ok.

I'll probably never watch it again.

What did you think of the movie? of my review?

Steve Martin, Earl Scruggs, Jypsie, and Scott H. Biram

2009-10-15T16:59:00.001-07:00

So this past Saturday Tiff and I went to Nashville to see the Steve Martin playing banjo at the Ryman. It was a super sweet awesome time. Here's the Cliff's Notes version of the night.

We got to the Ryman at 7:30 on the nose, just in time to see the opening act start. The opener was some guy who played banjo for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for 40+ years. He was good, but talked way too much. His jokes were not funny, plus he basically spoke with the mic in his mouth so we couldn't understand half the things he was saying.

Then Steve and his band came out. They were great! Steve Martin is an excellent banjo player, and a better song writer. I know you've heard King Tut, but he's got some non-funny songs that will blow you away. Go right now and download his song - "Daddy Played Banjo" and you'll see what I'm saying.

Here's them playing part of "The Orange Blossom Special," the most famous of all blue grass songs:

They were shooting the show for television so you'll get a chance to see it if you keep you're eyes open and you're DVR on. For the encore, they played a song with EARL friggin SCRUGGS! Who's basically the father of modern blue grass. If you lay in bed at night listening to Nicklecreek, you owe Earl Scruggs.

After that, we hit Broadway looking for a nice place to sit and listen to some more music. One of Tiff's favorite bands right now is Jypsi. It's a four person band made up of one brother and his three sisters. They're great, if you're into hippy blue grass country. That's just Tiff's speed. Here's Jypsi playing on some TV show.

So we're sitting there listening to Jypsi, and one of my favorite singer/song writers, Scott H. Biram, comes walking in. You've never heard of him, and he's prob not your style. But I think he's awesome. Tiff gasses me up to go and talk to him, and it didn't take much convincing, so I rolled on over to where he was sitting, and just stuck my hand out and said, "Scott?" He nodded, and I said "My wife Tiffany and I have seen you three times in Birmingham, and we think you're music is great."

That was followed by an hour long talk between the three of us. We talked about where he learned to yodel, the guy he used to tour with named "Joe Buck Yourself." (Which incidentally happened to be the reason he stopped at this place in the first place. Joe Buck was the owner's ex-husband.)

Here's Scott playing one of my favorites:

All in all it was a GREAT music night that neither of us will forget in a long time.

YES!

2009-10-13T10:49:00.001-07:00

For years I have waited for this moment.
Soak it up.
Click on the image for a larger view.

The Important #3.

2009-10-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

Ok here's the condensed version:

Tiff and I are going to get STEVE a "stimulation" collar. By stimulation I mean "shock."

These are perfectly safe, and do not harm the dog at all.

It's like a 400 yard leash, and this is important for two of reasons: a) STEVE is faster than me and b) STEVE is very curious.

If STEVE's not on the leash, and smells/finds something that interest him, both a) and b) combine to render me helpless. So we're getting the "stimulation" leash to serve as a reminder how important it is to do what you're told right when you're told. Parents everywhere get jealous.

Anyway...Blah, blah, blah, blah....

In my preparation for this purchase I found the users manual for the collar we're going to get. I made it all the way to page 4 before I started laughing at this:

Now, what's funny is the fact that they thought they needed to put this part in the book. Which leads me to believe that there are people out there that might put one of these collars on their dog, push the button, and watch their dog flip out screaming and panicking. Then they'd say, "seems to be working just fine."

People.

-----

On a side note: Does anybody actually read my blog? Affirm me, please.

Alan and the Doghouse

2009-10-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

So apparently online advertisements are much better than broadcast.

Here's two of my favorites:

Alan

Beware of the doghouse

Dudes at the bookstore.

2009-10-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

So today I went to the bookstore to waste some time before seeing Zombieland with Kinsley. I was in the magazine section just looking, and I overheard a conversation that was taking place behind me on one of the benches. I took out my phone, turned on the camera and stuck it behind me and recorded the the conversation. I was going to upload the video and share it with all of you but then I realized that's probably an invasion of privacy, so I decided to not. But the conversation was funny.

Two 17(ish) year old dudes, David, and Afro-Dude. I know David's name cause Afro-Dude said it. Obviously I didn't catch Afro-Man's name, so I gave him the name Afro-Dude because of his doo. These guys were scene-sters with tight girl pants, bad hair doos, and poor posture. Afro-man was wearing a Beastie Boys shirt that he no doubt got at Target. They were looking at some magazine about rock music, and providing commentary. Here's the dialog.

Afro-Dude (AD):

Whoa! Thrice, they have a new album? I used to really like them in...you know...tha day.

David:

I thought they were Twice, I guess they got a new member.

They both chuckle. AD turns the page.

David:

(Sarcastically) Who's Aerosmith?

AD:

Some group of guys, apparently.

David:

Some group. Yeah.

AD:

Some...Some...Some, apparently musical group. I've never heard of 'em.

David:

Yeah me either.

AD turns the page and spots a new ad.

AD:

The Blood Brothers? I miss the Blood Brothers.

AD's phone rings on the bench beside him. He answers.

AD:

Hello....Yo....

David gets up and walks off. They were obviously waiting on the call.

AD:

(on the phone) Me and David are sitting at the bookstore being bored as poopie.

AD gets up.

-------------------

From the looks of it, these guys have decent taste in music. They made fun of Aerosmith, so that's something. And AD's use of the word poopie leads me to believe they might be "good" kids, seeing as most high school kids never miss an opp to drop a cuss word when they think no adults are listening.

Pandora and Football

2009-09-27T20:45:00.001-07:00

Dogs are for sure man's best friend, and Pandora is a solid second.

Right now I'm on the computer trying to write, and I've been introduced to songs I've never heard by bands I would have never given a chance to, and songs I love by bands I adore. They are as follows:

- Ode to LRC - by Band of Horses

- Freedom Hangs Like Heaven - by Iron and Wine

- Into the Woods - My Morning Jacket

- The World at Large - Modest Mouse

- The Way That He Sings - My Morning Jacket

- Hang Me Up To Dry - Cold War Kids

- Island on the Coast - Band of Horses

- Gagging Order - Radio Head

- Just Couldn't Tie Me Down - The Black Keys

- Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground - White Stripes

- Spread Your Love - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

I have created a list of the greatest Pandora stations in the world. These songs came from either my My Morning Jacket station or my Eagles of Death Metal station.

Here is a list of bands who's albums I will buy because of this experience:

- Band of Horses

- Cold War Kids

-------------------------------------------------------

On a second note:

How can football be so important to some people. It's as if it's the only thing some people think about this time of year.........If what I just wrote in anyway made you mad, or think I'm stupid for asking......You're probably one of the people I'm talking about.

Jerry Jones spent 1.2 BILLION dollars on the new Cowboy's Stadium. ONE POINT TWO BILLION DOLLARS....I cannot support that...AND if you're tuning in to the games every week, or buying those stupid flags to hang out your car window, you ARE supporting it.

What? "You didn't spend 1.2 billion." Stop fooling yourself.

This country has a SICK obsession with games. This country has a sick obsession with alot of things.

Go ahead, I dare you to compare the top of this post about my loving music with other's love of football...I'm not saying you can't enjoying something that's pointless, I am saying you/we can take pointless things way too far....and right now football is numero uno for alot of people I know.

What are we worshiping?

Yuk.

........

Oh yeah, and don't fool yourself into thinking that college football is any better because the kids aren't getting paid. I doubt that really, but even if their not paid, that's even worse. The schools are pimping out those kids and their abilities and making a bagillion dollars off of them. Sure they get a college education out of it for free, but so do the calculus wizards in the math department who show lots of promise...Those football players deserve something for the buckets of money they make the schools. I guess they are getting something, but compared to the calculus wizards the football players are getting screwed.

My Hypocracy Only Goes So Far

2009-09-19T10:47:00.001-07:00

I hate when people text while they're driving.
Do I do it? Yes.

I hate it when people stop to talk in the middle of a busy esile or
doorway.
Do I? Yes.

I hate seeing people be (what I consider) irresponsible with their
money.
Me? Yep.

I dislike people who talk too loud on there phone.
Me? Nope.

Taylor

I thought this was good.

2009-09-17T22:18:00.001-07:00

So I read this on my friend Garret D.'s facebook. I thought I'd repost it.

---------------------

I am a conservative.
This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy.

I then took a shower in the clean water provided by a municipal water utility.

After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like, using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I watched this while eating my breakfast of U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time, as regulated by the U.S. Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal Departments of Transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level
determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank.

On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the U.S. Postal Service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and Fire Marshal's inspection, and which has not been plundered of all its
valuables thanks to the local police department.

And then I log on to the internet -- which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration -- and post on Freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can't do anything right.

---------------------

I'm not sure I totally agree with the underlying meaning between the lines, but it is good food for thought.

High five!

Gilmore Girls

2009-09-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

My wife loves Gilmore Girls. I, on the other hand, do not. For those of you who are lucky enough to not know what GG is, it's a TV show.

Now, I'm not going to pretend that I don't know the names of all the main characters, or the basic plot line through the 7 season series. Actually, it's my knowledge of GG that insures me that they just aren't my cup of tea.

The dialog is comprised of one run on sentence right after another as if they're speed talking. This technique is supposed to make the characters seem more whitty, and it's also supposed to make us believe the writers are really smart. There not fooling me.

The characters are idiots, but this argument is bogus simply because ALL characters on ALL TV shows are idiots. But Loreli and Rorie (or however you spell their unbelievably, predictably, ironic names) remind me more of robots programed to be idiots than cute innocent women struggling to find their "place in this world."

I understand completely why Tiff loves GG. It's simple, really. She escapes to Starshollow (the town the show's based in). It's a very simple town. Nice (looking) people, nice businesses, simple problems, strong women, predicable men, and a mother daughter duo that would make any body wish they were a teenage girl in high school with a super cool mom who owns a bed and breakfast.

But, Tiffany doesn't admire Rorie. In fact, I'd bet a hundred dollars that if Rorie died and got replaced by a llama named Tina, she'd still love the show. Tiffany adores, Loreli, the mother. She owns a quaint bed and breakfast. She strives for excellence in the simplest of endeavors. She is always, ALWAYS, is a great friend/mom to her friends/daughter. She is Tiffany.

I don't like watching the show, but I actually love the fact that Tiffany obsesses over it. If I could provide a life for Tiffany where she got to live in such a world, I would do it at all cost.

Dear Charter Communications,

2009-08-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say, when you send me emails to remind me how much money I owe you, there's no need for you to write it in letter form. Letters are written by people, not some mega-database computer, which I know is what you are. The worst part of the letter is the greeting: "Dear Valued Customer,". How about my actual name? Did you consider that? I doubt it, you're a computer and not a real person. I laugh a little bit every time I read your greetings, because I know for SURE you do not value me at all. If I was also a computer like you, and some how magically I could send you money every month, my value to you would not be different. People value people. Companies value money. I'm sure there are some great people who work there, but as a whole you seem heartless, you are heartless.

This isn't a Pinocchio story where if you act real nice you'll turn into a being capable of valuing a person. Charter you will forever be a Company, not a person, so stop sending me letters. You can send me reminders, you can send me invoices, you can even send me a virus (not really), just stop sending me letters.

Our relationship is about to scale back quite a bit, Charter. The only reason I don't breakup with you all in all, is because I have to get my internet from you, which sucks but is necessary. But I'm searching, and as soon as I can get away I will.

I want to write something....

2009-08-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

but can't think of anything good.

Therefore, I will revert to a tactic that all great bloggers fall back on when there's not a great "subject" to discuss.

The List

1. In the last 40 days our dog (STEVE) cost us over $1200 dollars in medical expenses. He's all better now.

-we had him "fixed" - $300 (we chose this one)

-6 Days later - nasty gash on the bottom of his paw - got stitches in the ER - $400

-3 Days later - tore the stitches out with his teeth - got re-stiched at the ER - $360

-Was having some weird "head shake" vet said it might be a seizure went to vet - $130

-Foot cut infection - see doctor and get meds - $70

2. I think about my mother all the time. I have kept these thoughts off-line on purpose and will probably continue to do so. Please continue to pray for healing. She was diagnosed with breast cancer back in May.

3. We just finished a massive deadline at work. It should be noted, no one thought we could complete this one, not even us, but like fools we went ahead and achieved.

4. This past year at work has been a booger. We're all rode hard and put up wet (to use a cowboy illustration (it refers to a horse)). But I have tons of vaca days left and I'm going to spend them up before they disappear into the nothingness.

5. Been reading - The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It's great! Makes me want to buy bullets and canned goods.

6. Tiff has/had 6 weddings in the month of August. 6.

7. Still haven't met Claire. Jackson's daughter. We have official plans to visit her in the near future.

8. For some reason, children between the age of one and two (especially girls) are terrified of me most of the time. You can say that it's typical, but not like this. It's as if I have a ware-wolf face.

9. Got an iPhone. It's great.

10. Tiff and I went to ATL to hang out with our good friends Ben and Venessa and their daughter Juliet. We got back today. Super awesome.

11. I have 3 great website ideas, and 2 great book ideas, but I'm no programmer, nor am I a publisher.

12. I thought of this sweet "Christian T-Shirt" slogan today. "When In Rome, Do As Jesus Would Do." I see this text by some lame "tribal" swirls atop the Colosseum, on a rich-red shirt. Possibly with "FBC Roosterbeak" somewhere near the left collar bone slightly tilted to ride up one of the swirls. Soak it up.

13. Heard the funniest soft ball team name today: "The Step Dads." When asked, "Why is your team named The Step Dads? None of your are actually step fathers." One would answer, "Because we always beat you, and you hate us."

That's all I got right now.

Blogging mobile

2009-08-02T08:38:00.001-07:00

This whole iPhone thing is awesome. Usually, when you add a new
sophisticated gadget to your life it's a big headache to get it
rolling. Not the iPhone, but that's apple for you: top dollar and top
quality. And now I will try to attach a photo.

Taylor

Hollywood "Booger" Robinson

2009-07-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

We are very sad to say that our bunny rabbit, Hollywood "Booger" Robinson, passed away this evening. She was a special part of Tiffany's life, and helped her through a number of hard times. Tiffany is upset about this loss, but also very grateful for the time she was able to share with the bunny.

Booger lived an astonishing 8 years, 3 years past the life expectancy of a rabbit of 5. Booger was excellent at chewing through cables, carpet, and her own bedding. As a young bunny, Booger was capable of running from one end of the living room to the other in lighting speed. She was often time seen bolting and bouncing from one end of the living room rug to the other. She was a very smart rabbit, seeing as she was potty trained to her cage. Booger managed to completely avoid her arch nemesis, STEVE, an 80 pound labrador, for the entire duration of the dogs life.

Booger is survived by the above mentioned dog, her appreciative father Taylor, and her loving, caring mother Tiffany.

Thanks,

Tiffany, Taylor, and STEVE

Compassion Kenya

2009-07-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

In the past 9 months I've been to Kenya twice with Compassion. This is one of many videos we produced from the first trip.

The second trip's video is on it's way. She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes.

Hope you like it. I'm pretty proud of it.
T

Former Gov. Palin

2009-07-17T23:27:00.000-07:00

If that woman quit her post as governor of Alaska so she can concentrate on running for president in the future, I've got one thing to ask her:

"Why in the blue (H-E-double hockey sticks) would anybody vote for someone who straight up quit her last leadership job?"

Oh yeah, and another thing:

"You'd be a terrible president, not because you're a woman, because you're a quitter."

The only acceptable excuse for resigning as governor would be for family reasons. Something like, "I realized that politics was taking me away from my family too much, and I had to do what I had to do."

Governor, you have proven what so many have wondered since McCain blessed you with such a great shout out, that you are in fact a joke.

I love you Alaska. This does not reflect my opinion of you. Alaska rules.

Am I wrong?

Ibrahim Olaiseh

2009-07-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Doing all of these videos for Compassion has been a great privilege for everyone involved. Over the past few years I've gotten to be pretty good friends with some Compassion graduates. These are people who at one time were sponsored by someone like you or me, and as a result were literally released from poverty.

This summer we've got 5 Kenyan Compassion graduates traveling with Student Life speaking on behalf of Compassion.

You and I cannot begin to understand the kind of life/world these people come from. Abject poverty. Hunger. HIV-AIDS. Malaria. All that.

Now, being one of the dudes who's involved with the "messaging for American teenagers" behind these guys stories, I often times have to think "what's the best way to bridge these two worlds for teenagers?" It ain't easy.

So Eric and I talked to Ibe about all this using my phone.

This video is more or less for all my friends and family back home in Texas who I don't get to spend a lot of time with, cause if there's one thing I love talking about, it's Compassion.

For everyone: If you're a Christ follower and you're not sponsoring a kid or fifty with Compassion you are missing out. Click here to do so.

And lastly, I'm aware of how big of an idiot I am in this video. I interrupt, I don't listen, and I'm an all around bad interviewer, I apologize and will try to do better next time.

BTW: I started a new YouTube account for videos I make with my phone. Check it out if you want: http://www.youtube.com/trobmobile

Mustang Sunset

2009-07-05T15:23:00.001-07:00

Part of my drive home from Amarillo the other night.

Michael Jackson

2009-06-25T21:56:00.001-07:00

So probably everyone who has a blog is going to do a post on MJ in the next couple of days, so I just figured I'd get mine over with.

MJ was awesome. You liked him, at least you better have.

Liking MJ was like liking snack food. If, for some un-known reason, you were to say to me "You know, I really never liked MJ. His music wasn't that good in my opinion." I probably wouldn't even try to argue with you about it. What's the point? You just proved your opinion is invalid.

Now, that being said, I'm not a big fan of pop music. I was, in junior high, but you see, junior high kids (bad music taste) are who pop music is aimed at.

Maybe you can already see where I'm going with this.

So, it may seem as if I've already contradicted my self. Saying, "MJ was awesome." and "I'm not a fan of pop music." Nope.

Every thing that happened in pop world before Mike, and every thing that's happened since has been one big attempt at becoming MJ. It's like a playground full of children playing tag, and one of them can fly.

Pop music is defined (or should be for that matter) by MJ. He is the standard by which all other pop artists should be measured. And to be quite honest, no one has ever come close to the bar he's set. And I try to never say never, but with the state of pop music and the only possible outcome it can have from this point forward, I think it's safe to say that no one ever will.

I guess you could say, MJ is the reason I don't like pop music.

Don't think I'm comparing him to The Beatles, U2, GnR (well maybe a little), Springsteen, or The Stones, because I am not. Although, his library could stand up to any of those listed. MJ is the king of pop, and that's what we're talking about. You'd never say that any of those others give him a run for that throne.

There are two kinds of people in this world:
1. People who used to dance like crazy to MJ's songs alone.
2. People who lie about not dancing like crazy to MJ's songs alone.

I am proud to admit it. You should have seen my moves. On the kitchen tile, with socks but no shoes, my moon-walk was virtually spot on.

I dare you, right now, don't think about the opening bass line of Billy Jean.....See?

People died at his concerts.

Fast forward in to about a minute then he comes out.

Church Discipline Videos

2009-06-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

Brook Hills did a series on church discipline. And since CD seems to be a pretty heavy subject they wanted a funny video series to intro the sermons. T5 and I did some creative and voice for the series. Hope you enjoy.

Cast includes: Travis, Mandy Mapes, David Platt, and I

Top Five Lists

2009-05-31T20:47:00.000-07:00

Haven't make these lists in a while, bringin' it back! I used to be so afraid to make list like this for fear of leaving out choices I would regret later. It's a new day. Here's my list - right now. In no particular order, of corse.

5 songs:

Readin', Rightin', Rt. 23 - Dwight Yoakam

It Was Just My Imagination - Temptations

God Only Knows - Beach Boys

La Cienega Just Smiled - Ryan Adams

In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel (I know, I know, get off, it's a great song)

5 albums:

Heartbreaker - Ryan Adams

Radiohead - The Bends

At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash

Moondance - Van Morrison

The Stranger - Billy Joel

5 movies:

High Fidelity

Dr. Strangelove

Jaws

The Big Lebowski

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

They say you can tell alot about a person's taste by the things that they don't like. Here's 5 bands/artist/movies/directors I don't like.

Jimmy Buffet

The Eagles

M. Knight Shamalamadingdong

Moolawn Rooj - or however you spell it

Phish/Widespread Panic/and all those other interchangeable jam bands

Please let me know what you think of my tastes. Be honest and unmerciful. I can take it. Feel free to leave your own lists.

I HATE spam.

2009-05-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

I know you do to. Here's a recent facebook note I wrote.

----------------------

I am also beginning to hate facebook spam. This note is about spam in general.

I hate it.
I do.
I'm sorry.
I know some of you love it.
Not me, I hate it.

"What's your definition of spam?" You might ask.

Thanks for asking.

Spam = anything that is used in anyway to advertise/promote anything (including it's self) = this can include, but is not limited to, patriotism, faith, feel-good moosh, hair growth products, or chain letters.
or on facebook, anything that could be described as "nick-knacky stuff" (ie: stickers, flair, hugs, kisses, crap like that, iq tests, relative requests)

I would say anything that is sent in bulk, however there are rare occasions when bulk is better. Not to go off on a tangent or anything, but here are my 2 rules for sending any digital message in bulk.
1. It has to be ABOUT you or someone you know personally.
2. It has to be for me. It can also be for others, but it CANNOT be for everyone you have an address for.

Back to the subject at hand: Spam.
I will not read it. I will not accept it. I will not pass it on.

Now you might be thinking, "Wait, all that nick-knacky stuff is what facebook is all about."

Not for me. I'm in it to keep in touch with my friends and family. See their pictures and videos, and show them mine. Not that other crap. I tried a few of them right at first, but they we're a big waste of my time.

Sorry.
Taylor

PS. Now, pass this note on to 20 of your friends or the devil will git ya.

-------------

Can I get a witness?

Like everyone else in the world, I've been busy.

2009-05-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

Like you care, or even read this blog...

None the less, I'm back, and what better subject to get back into "it" with than Tiffany?

Tiffany has gotten in to this thing called the Grocery Game. I don' t know much about it, cause I'm trying to stay far, far away. I do know however, it's some kind of subscription to online coupons and advice for buying groceries. Lots of people here in Bham do it. Some "expert" lady somewhere has developed the greatest money saving formula and schedule....blah, blah, blah. We'll just say, you subscribe to the services of this website, and the said website helps you save tons on groceries.

Now, if you know my wife, you know this kind of thing isn't really "her bag baby." Well you would have thought that before, and if you would have thought that (as I did) you would have been wrong. Super wrong. Since starting this thing she's saved more money than she's spent. I think. Last week she spent $12 and saved $36. That's $48 worth of groceries for $12. And as you can see from the following picture, today she spent $35 and saved $43. My mother will be so jealous.

Congratulations to my wife, who is smarter than I am.

Become a fan of Tiff's Studio Flower facebook.

Here's a video Tiff, STEVE, and I made last weekend.

Wake up...

2009-04-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

God, please wake up ________. He/she/it has been sleeping long enough.

You fill in the blank.

Here's mine:

-my creativity

-my determination

-the church

What are your's?

Good Friday

2009-04-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

We're doing some creative brainstorming for next years camp theme. One idea I keep trying to shove down everyone else's throat it, "GOOD." So this morning I read MK's blarg. On Fridays he does this one question thing. He asks a question and want's people to answer the question in their comments. Michael's smart, he gets it. I suggest you RSS his blarg.

ANYWAYS, today's question was "What makes today 'Good Friday' for you?"

This got me thinking again about the word Good again, and since this is my blarg, I thought I'd copy/paste my answer here:

The word good gets a bum wrap.

It's like people think it means "better than ok" or "above average." But when God looked at his creation his comment was, "It is good."

It's like a cool, calm way to say really incredible.

I love that we call it Good Friday, instead of Amazing Friday or Incredible Friday. What happened was amazing and incredible but those words are just a little silly to use when describing it.

It's almost like the word good is used when what's being described is expected to be awesome. And we use those dramatic words like amazing when we're surprised about something's greatness.

Genesis just wouldn't read the same if when God looked at His creation he had said, "It is incredible." No kidding it's incredible, it's creation. So since he wasn't surprised at how awesome His creation was he was just stating the facts, "It's good."

Good Friday is just that. It's good. It's real good.

Did I miss it?

The Muppets Passion Show

2009-04-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

The other day we were in a creative meeting, and I suggested that if Jim Henson had decided to do a Muppets movie around the life of Christ which characters would play who. Here's how I would cast it: (You'll have to forgive me for not remembering all of their names.)

Kermit - Jesus

Piggy - Mary Magdalene

Gonzo - Peter

Rizzo - James

the Shrimp - Matthew

Fozzy - John the beloved disciple

Beaker - Philip

Bartholomew

Andrew

Judas Iscariot

James

Simon the Zelot

Doubting Thomas

Thaddeus

Animal - John the Baptist

"REPENT! REPENT! REPENT!"

Herrod

Who did I forget? Or, who did I get wrong?

Come together, Right now, Over STEVE

2009-03-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my Photoshop lately.

Ukrainian Translation

2009-03-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

So, Erin and I voice these cartoon videos for Student Life. Here's an example of what one is like.

PANT from Taylor Robinson on Vimeo.

I really like doing them, and from what I gather other people think they're pretty funny. Unfortunately, Erin decided to drive a wooden stake into these videos heart, by saying we can't do anymore for camp this summer. But I'll save that rant for a different blog.

Anyways, we made one of these videos for our spring conference. It's about "love." Student Life partners with a ministry in Ukraine called Radooga. Radooga hosts a similar event in Ukraine. One of the things we provide for Radooga is creative content. This just means we give them scripts for stage performances, they use our videos, and we give them set design stuff. They have to translate all of our content from English to Ukrainian. So all of our videos that they play at their event are over-dubbed.

Here's the Ukrainian version of the "love" cartoon:

HOPE, CHANGE, STEVE

2009-03-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

Today

2009-03-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

Here's a list of things that happened to me today:

1. Worked a lot on different things.

2. Shot a short video about all the lost and found Bibles Student Life has compiled over the last few years. While going through the boxes and boxes of Bibles I found a GameStop gift card. I just checked the balance - $36! Don't be jealous!

3. Discussed the definition of the word "irony," and whether or not any of the things listed in Allanis Morsett's song Isn't It Ironic were actually ironic.

Here's the definition:

i⋅ro⋅ny

- an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected and is often amusing as a result.

Here's my take on the song:

I actually really like this song when I was a senior in high-school (when the song was popular).

The lyrics and whether or not said coincidence is actually ironic.

An old man turned ninety-eight

He won the lottery and died the next day (for this to be ironic, he would have had to be a poor old man who played the lottery often - all those things assumed - yes ironic)

It's a black fly in your Chardonnay (coincidence)

It's a death row pardon two minutes too late (bad luck)

And isn't it ironic... don't you think

CHORUS

It's like rain on your wedding day (bad luck - one could argue that the symbolism is ironic, but no)

It's a free ride when you've already paid (ironic)

It's the good advice that you just didn't take (bad decision)

Who would've thought... it figures

Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly

He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye

He waited his whole damn life to take that flight

And as the plane crashed down he thought

"Well isn't this nice..." (this is absolutely ironic)

And isn't it ironic... don't you think

CHORUS

TAG

Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you

When you think everything's okay and everything's going right

And life has a funny way of helping you out when

You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up

In your face (while these lyrics may be true there is no irony, or mention of irony)

A traffic jam when you're already late (bad luck)

A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break (barley ironic, more of a coincidence)

It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife (irony)

It's meeting the man of my dreams

And then meeting his beautiful wife (only ironic because of a fantasy you've created in your head, so no)

And isn't it ironic...don't you think

A little too ironic...and, yeah, I really do think...

CHORUS

TAG

-----------------------------------

So, of the 12 scenarios presented 4.5 of them are actually ironic. So, no, I don't think.

Do you think I've gotten any of these wrong?

-----------------------------------

Jackson (In All His Splendor)

2009-03-19T18:21:00.001-07:00

Ha. Look at this guy.

I have a new header.

2009-03-15T20:50:00.001-07:00

It's awes. Me and mom circa 1986 (as you can see by the date.) Worked hard on this one, trying to get better at Photoshop. Whatca think?

Snowing, Alabama, March 1, 2009

2009-03-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

So last Sunday we woke up to snow. No big deal for alot of you, but it is a big deal for us. We've lived here for 7+ years and it's snowed once 6 years ago, and even that time it didn't stick.

We come from west Texas, so snow is no big deal. I know. But it was awesome, and here's the pictures we took.

Here's our house. From the right angle, and with all the snow, our home looks like a sweet awesome cabin in the woods.

Needless to say. Snow's not that big of a deal, but to us, that morning, it was awesome. STEVE loved it.

Rhino Charge

2009-03-06T17:10:00.000-08:00

Alright let me set the stage for this video you're about to watch.

On most Compassion trips that we go on, there's usually a day or two that you take time to have a cultural experience. In the Philippines we went scuba diving in the ocean. In Uganda we went to the Nile river.

So in Kenya we went on a safari on the Masai Marra National Game Reserve. If you've ever seen the Discovery Channel's Planet Earth, it's the place they shot the great migration of wildebeest. Needless to say, it's amazing.

When you go on these safaris you ride around in these big 4-wheel drive jeeps. They're actually like big pickups with stadium seating in the bed. We had a sweet guide who had been leading safaris for 11+ years. His name was Joseph. He knew everything about everything. He had tons of stories. It was really sweet cause all of the guides in all of the different trucks have CB radios so they're in constant contact with each other about what's happening where. So when one guide finds the lions, he tells the other guides and everyone knows where everything is.

We saw lions, water buck (my fav), baboons, elephants, giraffes, zebras, African buffaloes, antelopes, hyenas, and abunch of other stuff I don't remember the name of.

You have to keep in mind, these are open air jeeps. If a lion wanted to eat you, there's nothing stopping him from dragging you out of the jeep. Nothing. However, the animals see these vehicles so much, they've gotten used to them, so they're not afraid and more or less uninterested with them. This is what allows you to get so unbelievably close to wild animals. The guides don't sweat it. But you can be sure it's a little unnerving when you're 12 feet from a lion, the engine's off, and he looks pretty hungry. Because in the back of your mind you can't forget that lions are killing machines.

So now that you get the picture, here's one of the two best stories from that day:

We had just got the word that a female rhino and her 11 month old baby were moving across one of the fields. While we were on the way to see these rhinos, Joseph told us a story about one time when a rhino attacked on of the vehicles. The story was terrifying. Basically, the rhino put it's horn through the drivers door, into his femur (shattering it), and lifted him out of his seat while ripping the door off. He explained that after this incident the driver lost his job because he didn't follow the Game Reserve's distancing rules. Then the story oddly ended there because we had arrived where the rhinos were.

The rhinos were awesome - huge, tough, strong, awesome - all that. The mother had this huge scar on her shoulder, and Joseph said he was there when she got the scar. It was from when she had been in a fight with a lion, and killed it.......The rhinos are walking in a straight line across this field that has alot of shrubs and bushes everywhere. Joseph is slowy keeping up with them for a few minutes. Then he pulls ahead of where they are walking, and cuts off the engine. They're walking towards us, right towards us. Then finally the mom notices us she stops and kind of give us a second take. Lucky for you, I started rolling the camera at that moment. Here's the video:

Roger pee'd his pants. Ben cried him self to sleep for the next two nights, Bo called his mother on the satellite phone immediately, and I had to change my diaper.

Here's what you're seeing and hearing: She stops, Joseph tries to start the Jeep, the sound of the engine pisses her off, and she comes running towards us huffing and puffing on the way. Joseph quits, she stops, Bo stars crying.

It was awesome. Here's some of Eric's photos from the safari.

I don't know what to title this...

2009-03-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

I'll start this blog off with the lyrics to a very simple song by Brad Paisley.

These days there's dudes getting facials
Manicured, waxed, and botoxed
With deep spray-on tans and creamy lotion-y hands
You can't grip a tackle box

With all of these men line'n up to get neutered
It's hip now to be feminized
My eye-brows ain't plucked, there's a gun in my truck
Hey honey, I'm still a guy.
-------------------------------
I understand how silly those lyrics are, but I think they go well here, and you'll see why soon.

I got an email from my good friend Jonathan (not Johnny) H.

I was amazed. I was intrigued. I loved it, so I thought you might like it too.

Look at these dudes:

The guy on left looks like he just climbed out of Willy Wonka's river of chocolate, and the guy on the right is absolutely jealous of how sweet his buddy's tan looks. You can see his jealousy manifested in the next photo.

His tan will not be outdone.

I am unable to believe that this photo was not in some way altered digitally.

What is this a line for?

Obviously, the dude in the middle is the eye catcher in this picture, but if you look at this one long enough you'll come to realize that the gentleman on the right is the big winner.

Meet Joey. I named him Joey, cause he reminds me of Joey from New Kids on the Block when I was a kid. The rest of these photos are of Joey.

Joey forgot the "head back and to the right" part of his signature pose on this one.

My favorite: Joey - posing super tough, shirt - open to show his muscles and chain, hair - perfect, tan - dark, face - posed, shopping.

------------------
edit: I wrote this blog, and was pretty proud of it. I thought it was really funny, then I posted it. I went to preview it, and then realized at the top of my blog is a photo of me doing Joey's pose. It was embarrassing, and I almost changed the photo at the top of my blog - but I thought the irony was too perfect. And who cares anyways?

Compassion Kenya - 4

2009-02-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this post up about the trip. The last few days of the trip were a whirlwind, and I never had the time (or the internet) to get this up.

The last day we spent with the LDPs we...
-Went to church
-the preacher had tons of scripture memorized, tons
-there were evidential only two settings on the sound board in the church: "off" and "very loud"
-Visited the home of one of the LDP students
-Went to the University of Nairobi

4th type of Poverty: Spiritual Poverty
Spiritual poverty is the lack of hope, the hope that is found in Jesus. The moment you realized that you are beautifully and wonderfully made by an eternal creator who loves you is the moment your world changes. Spiritual poverty convinces people that they are worthless, and if there is a creator, He could care less about you. At the core of Compassion is the key stat that every single child WILL hear the gospel of Jesus. And the gospel of Jesus is the foundation of all transformation. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.

Here's the LDPs. These guys are the real deal Holyfield. Their lives are incredible stories of transformation.

Iberahim

Compassion Kenya - 3

2009-02-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

Today:
-Went to the Methare Valley (the second largest slum in Africa > 500K people)
----Was floored
----Put all my goals, dreams, and desires back on the table
----Reconsidered everything
-Ate dinner with some Compassion graduates
----Discussed the secrets of the universe
----Wished my wife was sitting there to experience it with me
-Wrote this blog

3rd Type of Poverty: Economic Poverty
There might be a little more to economic poverty than most people think. Obviously economic poverty has to do with the fact that monetarily people are challenged. People don’t have or make very much money. But it’s not just that, economic poverty is like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Impoverished people aren’t educated, because they can’t afford to go to school. With out an education they have no skills; which means they have no job, which brings us back to having no money. Economic poverty feeds it’s self with more economic poverty. Compassion combats economic poverty by paying for school and teaching the children skills.

And now Eric's favs. OBTW, Eric met the child he sponsors today. It was awesome. Here's a link where you can see those pics.
--
Our fearless leader, Benjamen.

This is an over head view of the slum. It's as far as you can see in both directions in the middle of the valley.

Compassion Kenya 2

2009-02-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Another bullet point list of today's goin's ons.
-Drove out to Middle of Nowhere, Kenya to witness a rural rural Compassion project
-Got to see the Masai tribe - probably the most famous of all the African tribes
-The wind blew dirt and dust all over everything. I'll be surprised if the camera works tomorrow
-Interviewed 3 of our 6 LDP graduates
----Was reminded of how Compassion works, really
----Thought about me and Tiff sponsoring an LDP student
--------Realized we can't afford it just yet
-Ate roasted goat that was cooked whole (minus the head) over an open flame
----While watching the dude carve the animal up was reminded of STEVE (same body type more or less)
-Drove home and passed The Cabrera Slum, the largest slum in Africa (1million + people < 2 sq miles)
-Wrote this blog

And now for the 2nd installment of the 4 types of poverty: SOCIAL POVERTY Social poverty says that because you have nothing and come from nothing you’re worth nothing to our society. One of the keys to defeating poverty around the world is to teach and show impoverished people they are not worthless. A lot of people who live in poverty don’t believe in themselves, and this is where Compassion comes in. Sponsored children are taught every day that they are precious to their sponsor and ultimately to God, and that their lives are very important. The Bible is clear that every single life is precious to God, therefore social poverty must be stopped.

Here's Eric's best shots (according to him) from today. He's getting really good. Please click on either of those two links in the previous sentence.

Compassion Kenya - 1

2009-02-12T12:30:00.000-08:00

We spent our first full day in Kenya today. Here's a bullet point list of what we did:

- Toured the Compassion Kenya country office
- Met the country director and alot of other people who are changing the world
- Ate at an Italian food restaurant - I had red snapper
- Visited a Compassion project in a rural area
- Visited the home of Compassion child (11 years old) and her mother, both of which are infected with HIV/AIDS
- Gained some real perspective about HIV/AIDS
   - Was convicted about how apathetic I've been thus far in my life towards HIV/AIDS
   - Committed to at least begin praying for those infected with HIV/AIDS on a regular basis
- Ate dinner with 6 graduates from Compassion's Leadership Development Program.
   - Was reminded how transforming the work of Compassion is for the ump-teenth time
- Wrote this blog

Now, part two of these Kenya posts:
I'm going to attempt to explain each of the 4 types of poverty that Compassion is attacking in 100 words or less. For tonight I'll start with the easiest one, PHYSICAL POVERTY.

Physical poverty is the image you see in your mind when you think of poverty. It’s malnourished, bloated tummies, drinking unclean water, no shoes, no clothes, no shelter, and no modern medicine. It is the result of having no money. Physical poverty brings with it hunger, sickness, and pain. It is the easiest form of poverty to prevent, obviously by giving food, water, shelter, and medicine. Compassion International gives those exact things to over one million children who are in their program all over the world.

Here's Eric's best 8 from today.

I am wholeheartedly convinced that the only reason individual Christians, and entire church congregations aren't involved with Compassion International is because they are un-aware or mislead about exactly what they do. Compassion is the most transforming ministry/organization I have ever heard of.

Nairobi, Kenya

2009-02-11T21:43:00.000-08:00

Today, begins another Compassion journey.

Lucky me, I get the amazing opportunity to experience the work of Compassion International once again. Yesterday we arrived in Nairobi, Kenya.

I'm going to do my best to keep a good record of my experience on this blog. Eric, once again, has agreed to let me use some of his pictures.

It's midnight where you are, and it's 9am where we are. The weather feels great, like Southern California

That's all I've got for now.

2009-02-04T16:54:00.000-08:00

IQ Test.

2009-01-31T21:28:00.000-08:00

I had to stay up late tonight to transfer footage. I took a "mock" IQ test while I was waiting for the transfer. I don't know why, cause I don't understand how the scoring works. Which is why I'm hesitant to post my score here, but who cares.

I looked around on the internet for comparison charts, and I was surprised to find that this is not a "genius" level score. Oh well, I've got Jesus and Tiff, I bet those schmucks at the IQ Testing place don't have that.

Also, if you look around enough you'll see that different places have different scoring charts. I don't know I bet you could find some "official" info, but I gave up quick.

You should take it.

***edit***
I told Drew about this post earlier today, and when I told him the score I got, he laughed out loud in my face, then asked "Did they try to sell you something right after they gave you your score?" No they didn't. I guess he doesn't thinks my score might be a little exaggerated. So, being insecure about myself I went and found another version of the test.
AND BOOOYA!

Not quite as good, but close enough to validate the other. Stick it Drew.

***edit***
Here's the two places I took it.
http://www.intelligencetest.com
http://www.iqtest.com

2009-01-31T07:29:00.001-08:00

Compassion Video for Confrence

2009-01-23T11:04:00.001-08:00

This video was produced for our LIVE LOVE tour. The tour focuses on the fact that we should be known for/by our love.

LIVE LOVE with COMPASSION from Student Life on Vimeo.

For more information on Compassion or to sponsor a child click here.

Sponsoring with Compassion is the best thing Tiff and I do with our money every month, hands down.

Interesting...

2009-01-19T18:57:00.000-08:00

An Appology and 5 Things

2009-01-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

First I'd like to apologize for not really being available (blog-wise) in the recent past. Deal with it. We're busy.

I'm back now...What do you care anyways?

I'd like to first describe some of my recent accomplishments/projects. They are as follows:
-----------------------------
1.
Before

After

Beautiful, I know.
This project included, scraping my knuckles on the pipes under my sink, laying on my back for over 20 minutes under the sink, getting rust in my eyes, and over a 30 gallons of old water falling into my eyes, mouth, and nose. Looks good though.
-----------------------
2.
Earlier, before the sink thing, STEVE got his butt run off.

For those of you people who think your dog is a sissy, and should never spend too much time out side while it's cold, I feel sorry for you, and your dog. Dogs love being out side, getting dirty, racing the wind, and (STEVE in particular) fetching sticks. It was 36 degrees today and STEVE never skipped a beat while we were playing. We were at the park for over an hour, and he was at a dead-sprint for at least 20 minutes of that time. He found a small stream, and ran through it till it dumped him in a small pond. He was soaking wet. There's no telling how cold that water was, but he wasn't sweatin' it.

Here he is posing as James Dean, wet and dirty.

---------------------------
3.
Tiff's going to do the "Valentine's Arrangement Extravaganza" again. I have been working on making it possible for people to make their orders directly on her website, so, lucky you. Be on the look out for a flier/email regarding this great opportunity for you.
--------------------------
4.
This is my last "free" weekend until March. We're doing alot of traveling in the next 6 weeks. Our destinations include: Washington DC, Cali, New York, Nairobi, Orlando, Denver, and maybe New Orleans. That list is give or take one location.
-------------------------
5.
For the Conference this year we had an "online film festival." The turnout was not so good, but we're learning how to do something like this. The submissions were what you might expect, but there are a few gems in there. Check it out here if you like: http://www.studentlife.com/screeningroom
--------------------------
That's all I got. Sun's still out, gonna go run the dog again.

Texas, Happy Birthday DAD, STEVE, and Xbox 360

2008-12-29T08:37:00.001-08:00

Tiff and I have been in Texas for the last few days celebrating the birth of our savior with family. We'll have some pictures of or trip to post soon. It's been absolutly wonderful to get to spend some great time with family and friends.

Today is my father's birthday. Happy birthday to him. He's a great father. I'm proud to be his son. Here he is in proper form.

STEVE's been kenneled. And as silly as this may seem for some people, we miss him. Here's some pics we took of him the day before we left.

I also got this via email today:

So it's back on, when we get home tomorrow night.

Cheers!

Our Digital Christmas Card

2008-12-20T11:28:00.001-08:00

We did it digital this year because of the "Stamp" link to the right.

Me and KJ's Album - White Christmas

2008-12-16T19:00:00.000-08:00

Me and Kevin are going to be releasing a hit Christmas album. I know it's late in the season, but I really feel it will be a smash hit for years to come. Your mom has already ordered 4 copies, so you're probably getting one in your stocking. We'll be signing autographs in the Lowes parking lot Friday evening at 11pm. We hope to see you there.

Here's a list of the tracks:
1. Silent Knight
2. Happy Birthday Baby Jesus
3. Mary, Joseph, the Camels, and a Messiah
4. We Three King and A Pair of Aces A Full House Be
5. Gold, Frankincense, and Murder
6. Stupid Santa, Jesus Is Mad At You
7. You Can Give Birth In My Barn
8. Diapers for my Savior
9. 4 UN2 US
10. Little Plumber Boy - Plunge They Told Me
11. Christmas Makes Me Thirsty
12. Be A Man, Ride A Reindeer
13. Hanukkah Won't Cut It

Help me choose...

2008-12-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

A

______________________________________________

B

______________________________________________

C

____________________________________________

D

____________________________________________

E

Please leave a comment with your vote.

I saw this today.

2008-12-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

SUCK!

I Wish Top 5 (continued)

2008-12-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

Books to discuss with their authors.
1. Mockingbird - Harper Lee (I hear she lives within an hour's drive from my home.)
2. Cash - Johnny Cash
3. One the Road - Jack Kerouac
4. Old Man and the Sea - Earnest Hemingway
5. Sound and the Fury - Bill Faulkner

Childhood Experiences to Re-Live (before 6th grade)
1. Getting a grip on the gospel
2. Jackson's Birth - 3.5 yrs old (don't remember this one)
3. Road Trip to baseball game with dad - 4th or 5th grade
4. Ruidoso NM - "working" for the horse stables for 3 days straight - 4th grade
5. Christmas Lights with mom - 3rd grade

Top 5 Historical Figures You Could Spend an Hour With, (excepting God or any manifestation thereof)
1. Abe
2. Peter
3. MLK Jr.
4. Michelangelo
5. Moses

Oh yeah - Tiff and I finally put up the tree. STEVE wanted to help, but wasn't helpful at all. It's the biggest tree we've ever had. Heavy and sappy - smells good though.

THE I WISH TOP 5

2008-12-09T16:49:00.000-08:00

This is a compilation of top 5 list of things I wish I could go back in time to see/do. In other words, if I had a time machine and could go back to see something first hand, and only got to choose 5 for each category, this would be my list (tonight). Tomorrow they all might change, but this is the list for tonight.

Musical Performances:
1. Beatles - Ed Sullivan Show
2. Michael Jackson - Thriller Tour - Moscow
3. Hank Williams - First night he played the Opry
4. Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison
5. GNR - Appetite Tour

Movie Releases (In Theater)
1. Jaws
2. Godfather
3. Dr. Strangelove
4. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
5. Harvey

Biblical Events
1. David and Goliath
2. Jesus' Last Seder (Last Supper)
3. Feeding 5000
4. Splitting of The Red Sea
5. When Elijah did the wood burning competition with King Ahab

Cities at their peak
1. Rome - post reformation 1500s
2. Monchupichu (spelling)
3. Jerusalem - King David era
4. Tokyo - 1850s
5. Rome - 300 years after Jesus' death

That's all I got. Please do some lists on your blog. What other lists should we do?

HOW TO GRILL A TURKEY.

2008-11-29T11:03:00.000-08:00

I know what you're thinking, "that's impossible." That's what I thought too. Then the Dreger boys taught me otherwise. This is how you grill a turkey.

My stupid phone didn't record all of the photos, so you'll have to use your imagination on a couple.

Get a grill. Start the charcoal. When the charcoal is ready, divide the pile into two piles on the edge of the grill. Align the piles of charcoal directly underneath the handles of the above grill, cause you're going to have to add charcoal through the holes of the handles. The pan is to catch the drippings.

Soak hickory chips in water 30 minutes prior to cooking.

Stuff the turkey (pic not avalible).

Tie up the turkey so that the stuffing doesn't fall out.

Put the turkey on the grill directly above the pan.

Place a few soaked hickory chips on top of the hot charcoal. These chips will smoke, alot.

Do not eat hickory chips. They are not Cheks-Mex.

Close the lid of the grill and let the turkey sit for 20 - 30 minutes. There will be tons of smoke for the first 15 minutes.

After 20 minutes open the grill. Add charcoal as needed. Just before you close the lid again add more hickory chips.

Continue doing the same routine every 20 - 30 minutes to make sure the charcoals stay hot and the hickory is smoking. The total cook time should be between 2.5 and 3 hours. Check the doneness of the bird with a thermometer.

When the turkey is done take it off the grill (pic not available.) The turkey will be very dark, almost black.

Spoon the stuffing out of the bird. Stuffing is evil, and needs to be put into the oven for another 20 minutes @ 350 degrees.

Let the turkey rest on a counter top for at least 20 minutes before you carve. This helps the bird stay moist. (pic not available)

Carve the bird and serve.

Enjoy. (pic not available)

This turkey was by far the best turkey I've ever eaten (this includes fried). It was juicy and flavorful. The hickory chips added a smoked flavor that took it to the next level. I owe alot to Dreger brothers.

JUMP

2008-11-26T10:16:00.000-08:00

Last week we shot some stuff on the trampoline for the Live Love conference. I compiled this montage of some of my favorites. Check it out.

Compassion International Video Teaser

2008-11-18T16:42:00.000-08:00

I've been logging footage from the trip on and off for the last two days. I'm about 1/2 way through it all. Here's a short teaser I cut together of some of the footage. These kids are saying "I want to do something big" in Creole. Obviously this is a rough, just wanted to give the style we're going for a test drive. What do you think?

Compassion Haiti Teaser from Taylor Robinson on Vimeo.

Haiti.

2008-11-16T16:43:00.000-08:00

We got back from our trip yesterday, and I've since been to church, unpacked my bags, started the laundry, blown the fall leaves off the drive way and back deck, changed the header of my blog, responded to some emails, messed around on Facebook/Twitter, and paid some bills.

I've been thinking about this post the whole time. Not really this post, but the trip. This post is just where I'm going to unload what I think you need to hear about the trip.

So hear it goes:

I don't know what to write.

We saw unbelievable things. We saw amazing things. We saw horrible things. We saw God in the face of the children. We saw hope. We saw despair. We saw alot of trash.

I rode in the back of a truck an entire day as we traveled, and we drove through an endless sea of people on the street who live with nothing, who's lives we're trashed and ripped apart by 4 consecutive hurricanes, who's children were dying, who's next meal isn't certain.

I ate goat, fish, shrimp, rice, rice, rice, soup, goat, rice, chicken, rice. Also, I got introduced to Fruit Champagne, a drink that taste exactly like cream-soda mixed with generic cherry cough syrup.

The trash was everywhere; mountains of it, rivers of it.

The children were beautiful.

I could go on and on and on about Compassion International. I am passionate about a few things, and Compassion is one of them. You know that. I've blogged about that before. Here's a link to a past post about Compassion. (That's my old blog).

I will, however reuse one thing:
Compassion is the real deal. If you don’t sponsor, you missing, losing, and failing all at the same time.

This post doesn't do justice to the things I learned. And I'm not too sure the English language can.

Holla. Here's a link to sponsor, if your interested.

Haiti Day 3

2008-11-14T20:21:00.000-08:00

Haiti Day 2

2008-11-13T19:41:00.000-08:00

Here's the pics from day 2. Today was a great day.

Haiti Day 1

2008-11-12T19:06:00.000-08:00

We're in Haiti shooting for Compassion. Here's some of Eric's photos. It took forever for him to get me the pics and now I'm tired. So...to sleep...I'll say this: "The most important thing Tiff and I do with our money every month is sponsoring with Compassion. It's the real deal.

This kid is standing on top of the slab where his home was the day before Ike ripped through their neighborhood. Not only did the hurricane take his home, his one year old sister drowned in the river. Her name was Christian, add them to your prayer list.

Election 08

2008-11-06T17:17:00.000-08:00

There are so many things that I want to say about this past election, and it has nothing to do with the outcome. But I have allowed my self to stay calm, not point fingers, and not attack people.

Just now, while collecting my thoughts about what to write, I realized that I probably shouldn't just go off. So instead I've decided to speak to everyone the way I want them to speak to me. So read carefully.
****
You are all very smart. I'm so glad you decided to get involved in this years historic election. If you voted for McCain - good for you - I'm sure your convictions and beliefs lead you to vote that way. If you voted for Obama - good for you - I'm sure your convictions and beliefs lead you to vote the way you did. I'm not going to assume why you voted the way you did, it's your right. There are alot of things out there in this world that are important to alot of people - I cannot expect for what's important to me to be as important to you. I congradulate Mr. Obama and his campaign team for a job well done - cause quite honestly they took it too McCain.
****
There I'm done....

But so help me - if I hear another McCain supporter say to vote for Obama is to betray the faith - or if I hear another Obama supporter say McCain supporters are bumbling-hill billy-idiots I'm gonna.......Calm...

People voted for who they thought would be best. Some of you cling to the abortion subject, some of you are intersted in the war, some of you gun control, some the economy, some foriegn policy, some race (I don't know). None the less, you've got your "thing."

My father used to always say, and I repeat "Don't ever assume." Please don't assume. McCain supporters are not necessarily money hungry racist who hate black people, AND Obama supporters aren't necessarily abortion supporting baby killers. Just be happy you got to vote. Be happy everybody got to vote.

It's over. Good-golly-watta-moskin.

2008-11-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

Today we voted. You better have. If not, keep your lame opinion to yourself for the next 4 years.

I love how bent out of shape people get because of elections. "Obama's a terrorist." or "McCain wants to kill innocent Iraqis." Tomorrow all the fuss will be over, and normal life will set back in. I know that's easy for me to say, being a white, middle-class, married with no children male who's actually able to keep paying my mortgage, but nevertheless the cows will be out to pasture, and the waiting game will be over.

Even if either of these dudes getting elected brings down armegeddon, so be it. At least then will be now. Let's live in the now, now. We don't have to worry about then, because then is now, and we can begin dealing with the problems we have now. You might be asking yourself, "When will we get to worry about then again?" Soon. But for now, lets deal with now. Thanks Mel.

Any funny stories about voting? My experience was pretty un-eventful. I walked in, handed them my card, signed my name, sat down, tried to remember half the things I studied for, got up, and fed the sheet to the lame R2D2 looking robot, and left. I did go with my lady, and we got to eat lunch afterwards, which was wonderful.

Anyways. Reck'em Raiders.

THAT GUY.

2008-10-28T20:32:00.001-07:00

I've always (wanted to be/been) highly amused by that guy in the back ground of otherwise boring pictures. I googled "guy in the background" and here are some of the gems I found.

STEVE - 7 MONTHS OLD

2008-10-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

When Tiff and I decided to get a dog, I did a lot of research on breeds, gender, temperament, genetics, so on and so on, blah, blah. We ended up choosing a Lab for a lot of reason, one of them being The Water. Tiff and I love the water and we wanted a dog who would feel the same. We couldn't have chosen better.

10 Things

2008-10-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

1. I'm thinking about getting into photography. Maybe. I'm surrounded by great photographers, and that's part of the reason I've never committed personally to the art-form. But the more I think about it - the more I think I would really dig it. All of that on top of the the fact that Canon is releasing the new 5D MII - which is the first SLR camera capable of shooting 1080p HD footage. Mark my words, soon the worlds of cinematography and photography will morph together as one. Soon. Anyway, all that to say I'm considering it.

2. Reading a book: The Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. This is my kind of book, so far. I have a sneaking hunch that it's going to end tragically, but so far so good.

3. I am no longer in the DVD market. I will never buy another DVD - ever. No matter the price. I bought my last DVD this week, at a good price I might add.

4. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is the best show on TV. Watch it. Which brings me to my next point.

5. TV's for losers - HULU.com all the way baby.

6. STEVE is in full effect now. He's just over 6 month's old weighing in at a little under 50 pounds. He has more energy than a class full of 3rd graders hyped up on pixie sticks. He can sit, lay-down, heal, stay, and roll-over on command. We're still working on fetch, and speak. Next on the list of things to learn: get me a drink, and bang (play dead).

7. I hope Thanksgiving doesn't get snubbed by Christmas this year. Greedy commercialism is trying to bump Thanksgiving off of the "important holiday" list.

8. The election is over. We just haven't voted yet. I am however looking forward to voting - feels good. Which brings me to my next point.

9. I might be buying some guns in the near future. Not cause I'm one of those guys who loves being surrounded by deadly weapons, but because there are a few guns I've wanted for some time now, and I want to make sure I have the right to buy them when I do go to buy them.

10. My own conceived democratic dilemma that is weighing on my vote.

Big government is bad. I believe this. I do. The bigger the government gets the less like a true democracy we become. Plus taxes suck.

but

The general public is stupid and/or greedy therefore they need a government to either help them or regulate them. The bigger the government - the more help and regulations stupid/greedy people get. This way we the innocent/smart people don't get screwed.

Politics and Christendom

2008-10-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

A while back CNN did a 3 part series on 3 religions of the word; Christianity, Islam, Judaism. The whole thing was based on more or less the history of these three religions from the past century. Yadda Yadda Yadda, basically painting a good picture of where we are now - and what's happened the last few years to get us here. I recommend the whole thing - it's awesome - search your TV guide for a show called "God Warriors." You'll love it.

The episode on Christianity didn't really teach me anything I didn't already know. But it did enlighten me to the way the media, our non-believing American neighbors, and the rest of the world views us as Christians. Seems to me that we American Christians are only concerned with 2 things: abortion and homosexuality.

This is a travesty.

Now I'm not saying Christians should not have their own convictions about abortion and homosexuality, but these subjects are hardly what we should be known for.

I present a new list of subjects we as Christians should get fired up about - and be know for.

1. Injustice - There are still slaves on this planet. Some of these slaves are sex-slaves. http://www.ijm.org

2. Poverty - Over a billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day. There are over 2000 references of widows and orphans in the Bible. http://www.compassion.com

3. The environment - This is not a global warming thing. This is not an Al Gore thing. This is not a political thing. This is about being good stewards of what God has given us. Go read Genesis. http://www.asa3.org/

4. Abortion - This one's is actually a big deal. It's murder of the innocent.

5. The Gospel - If you truly believe what the Bible says, then you truly believe that the only thing that's going to fix anything, ANYTHING, is Jesus.

I'll leave you with two of my favorite quotes about this upcoming election.

1. Vote your conscience, not your wallet.

2. Politics suck. No body will say anything about anything, cause they are all afraid of everything.

Your kids are not perfect. Nor do they deserve special treatment.

2008-09-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

I was talking with a friend today. His wife is a teacher. He was talking about all the different things she likes and doesn't like about her job. It seems to me that all the teachers I know have more things to gripe about than they do to be happy about with their jobs. In fact, it seems that most teachers do a great job IN SPITE of the hand their dealt. And they all have one similar complaint - parents are impossible.

My folks are both teachers - Mom teaches home-ec and Dad taught biology. I can't tell you the # of horror stories they can tell about crap headed kids that are horrible students who's parents expect the teachers to bend over backwards for.

So.

In an attempt to keep this post short, I'll cut to the chase. Here's a letter from me to all parents everywhere.
---------------------------------
Dear parent,

First, I'd like to let you know how important your role as a parent is. Family (parenting) is the glue that holds our society together. The job you do raising your children will define our county in the future. Please do not take this responsibility lightly. I know you're thinking, "I do a great job raising my kids." Maybe you do, but let's not kid ourselves. There is always room for improvement.

Secondly, stop baby-ing your kids. Both you and your children need to start taking responsibly for your child's mistakes, shortcomings, attitude problems, bad grades, apathy, selfishness, carelessness, and inconsiderateness. I say both, because if your kid is a turd, 999,999 times out of a million it's your fault.

If your son is failing biology because he didn't do the homework, didn't study, and didn't come to class then he DOES NOT deserve another chance to make the grade up. Or, if your daughter got kicked off the volleyball team because she got caught drinking alcohol, the coach IS NOT being too hard on her (I don't give a rip if she's the greatest volleyball player in the world). She made that choice.

When (not if) your kid does something stupid - if you fight for your child to get a second chance or you don't force them to lie in the bed they made. You are teaching your child there are no consequences, and no matter what you do someone will bail them out. This formula breeds criminals, freeloaders, and narcissist who believe the world revolves around them.

Which brings me to my third point - the world does not revolve around you or your kid. In fact, in the real world (after he/she graduates from high school) unless you do a good job teaching your child perspective - this world is going to swallow him/her up and spit them out unhappy, cold, and alone.

There is meaning in life, and unless you teach your child to search for that meaning, you are betraying that which is most dear to you.

I believe in this generation of teenagers. Now more than ever they have the world at their fingertips. Teach them to cherish that world, and all the opportunities it will afford them. Contrary to popular belief, we don't deserve this life we've been given. Teach your kids to earn their happiness.

In conclusion, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being a terrible citizen and 10 being a wonderful contribution to society) we all automatically start at 1. Most people think we all start out at 10. NOPE. It is your job as a parent to help your child climb from a 1 to a 10. You can do it. Now go do it.

Sincerely,
Taylor Robinson

PS. I know for a fact that there are wonderful parents all over this country, because I've met some wonderful kids. Lucky for us, they are out there.

PSS. If you are among the great many people who probably think this letter is bull-crap. Please stop reproducing. You're making it harder for the rest of us.

--------------------------------------

Teachers are diamonds in the rough of our society. We should start treating them as such.

Peace.

Us.

2008-08-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

Eric took our picture. He's good. Click here for more of Eric's pictures.

BULL!

2008-08-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

The olympics rules are you have to be 16 to compete. The Chinese women's gymnastics team is made up of babies. Those girls aren't 16. They're not even 13.

Needle in a Haystack

2008-08-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

Today Tiffany and I worked in the yard for 2.5 hours. We cleared off what seemed to be 1000 pounds of forest debris: vines, leaves, pine needles, dirt, rocks, small trees and even trash that was decades old. Our pile of rubbish stood 4 feet tall, 8 feet wide, and 15 feet long. We then got ready to float the river in our canoe. After we had loaded the canoe on top of the car, and were about to pull out of the drive way headed for the river, we realized that Tiff's keys were missing.

We searched the whole house 3 times, and finally determined that the keys had to be some where in the yard. I walked the perimeter of the yard twice, and was ready to call it a lost cause. But Tiffany was determined to find them. I looked through the house a couple more times, cause I was certain there was no way they could have fallen out of her pocket. She decided to move through the pile one rake load at a time. She moved the location of our pile over the length of the pile. I came out a couple of times and begged her to give up, cause it was an impossible task. Finally, cause I was getting lonely inside - I came out to help. She was about 9/10ths of the way through the pile and this is what we saw.

Here's a picture, after the fact, of Tiffany standing by the pile.

Please remember this pile - when we finished our work - was 15 feet to the left of where you see it here.

I salute my wife. She is a trooper. I CANNOT believe that she found her keys. UNBELIEVABLE. I would have NEVER searched for them in that pile. Never.

On the other side of three-zero.

2008-08-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

Well I've been thirty for a little over 24 hours now, and I must say that it's not that bad. Infact, the past few days have helped me realize how many are in my life that I cherish.

So Sunday night, my last full day as a twenty-something, Tiff threw me quite possibly the best birthday party I've ever had. Here's some of the elements:
Friends (including some from out of town)
Roller-Skating
Dairy Queen Heath Bar Ice Cream Birthday Cake (my fav)
Tiffany

The only thing that could have made it better was if my immediate family members could have been there. But that's alot to ask, seeing as they all live at least 800 miles away.

Such a wonderful party.
Here's some pics.

There's not a luckier man than me.

TOMORROW

2008-08-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

I'll probably get up around 7 - feed STEVE - make some coffee - get the day going by reading some news, checking some blogs, and eating some breakfast - I'll head up stairs with some coffee and breakfast cause Tiff loves to drink coffee in bed - shower - shave - talk with Tiff about her day - after that I'll head to work - we'll have some meetings - I have a script I have to write so I'll probably get started on that - I promised Ben Rough (from Compassion) that I'd make him a new shorter version of the "Because of Compassion" video that we produced, I'll probably get started on that too - after work I'll head home and meet Tiffany and we'll take STEVE to the park and run his little but off - then we'll probably have some friends over for some food and fun, maybe - maybe not.

Also tomorrow I'll turn 30. No big deal - at least not yet. I've got a great wife, great friends, a great job I enjoy most of the time, my family is wonderful. --- I'm just starting to "get it."

To my family on this not so big deal day.

Tiffany - Love you baby. You're more than enough reason to get up every morning. You're the only woman in the world that can make me laugh out loud. I love my life, and mostly because you're in it. I am so proud to be your husband. I won't ever stop talking about you.

Mom - I don't get enough time with you. I could have never asked for a better mother. I love you so much. Thanks for all of the wonderful stuff I have inside of me because of you. Also, thanks for what you did 30 years ago tomorrow.

Dad - I love you dad. You're a great dad. I am so proud to say that you are my father. I talk about you all the time. Thanks for teaching me so many great things about life.

Jackson - Remember when we fought all the time? I'm glad those days are behind us. I am so proud to be your brother. I love you very much. I've learned alot from you over the past few years. I hope that we continue to get closer and closer as our lives go on.

Bignon - So much of my childhood is wrapped up in wonderful memories of you. I love you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

STEVE - be a good boy, or else. --- I'm gonna run your butt off buddy.

Obviously, I couldn't go into detail, and I wouldn't dare to begin thanking my friends - cause it would take forever and I'd leave tons of people out. But my life is great. I'm so happy that God has given me 30 years (tomorrow). Here's to another 30.

Going roller skating tonight in celebration.

Music

2008-07-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

Albums that you should go buy that I am currently enjoying the heck out of:
1. Bill Callahan - Woke on a Whaleheart
2. Amos Lee - Last Days at the Lodge
3. Arrested Development - Since the Last Time
4. Wild Sweet Orange - We Have Cause to be Uneasy

Albums that I am going to get cause they sound AWESOME.
1. My Morning Jacket - At Dawn
2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
3. Wall-e - the Soundtrack
4. Scott H. Biram - Graveyard Shift

Can any of you speak to any of these?