Jesus Christ is in every book of the Bible…

In Genesis, Jesus is the Seed of the Woman
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He is the Priest, the Altar, and the Lamb of Sacrifice
In Numbers, He is the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by Night
In Deuteronomy, Jesus is the Prophet, like Moses
Come and kneel before Him now

In Joshua, Jesus is the Captain of Our Salvation
In Judges, He is our Judge and Lawgiver
In Ruth, He is our kinsman Redeemer
In 1 and 2 Samuel, He is our Trusted Prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He is our Reigning King
In Ezra, He is the rebuilder of the broken down walls of human life
Come and kneel before Him now

In Nehemiah, Jesus is our Restorer
In Tobit, He is the Messenger of New Life
In Judith, He is Weakness Turned into Victory
In Esther, He is our Advocate
In 1 and 2 Maccabees, He is the Leader who dies for God’s law
Come and kneel before Him now

In Job, Jesus is our Everliving Redeemer
In Psalms, He is our Shepherd
In Proverbs, He is our Wisdom
In Ecclesiastes, He is our Hope of Resurrection
In the Song of Songs, He is our Loving Bridegroom
In Wisdom, He is the emanation of God’s thought
In Ecclesiasticus, Jesus is our security
Come and kneel before Him now

In Isaiah, Jesus is the Suffering Servant
In Jeremiah, He is the Righteous Branch
In Lamentations, He is our Weeping Prophet
In Baruch, He is the Mercy from the Eternal One
In Ezekiel, He is the One with the Right to Rule
In Daniel, Jesus is the Fourth Man in the fiery furnace
Come and kneel before Him now

In Hosea, Jesus is the Faithful Husband forever married to the sinner
In Joel, He is the One who Baptizes with the Holy Spirit of Fire
In Amos, He is the Restorer of Justice
In Obadiah, He is Mighty to Save
In Jonah, He is our great foreign missionary
In Micah, He is the feet of one who brings Good News
Come and kneel before Him now

In Nahum, Jesus is our stronghold in the day of trouble
In Habakkuk, He is God my Savior
In Zephaniah, He is the King of Israel
In Haggai, He is the signet ring
In Zechariah, He is our Humble King riding on a colt
In Malachi, Jesus is the Son of Righteousness
Come and kneel before Him now

In Matthew, Jesus is God with us
In Mark, He is the Son of God
In Luke, He is the Son of Mary, feeling what you feel
In John, He is the Bread of Life
In Acts, Jesus is the Savior of the World
Come and kneel before Him now

In Romans, Jesus is the Righteousness of God
In 1 Corinthians, He is the Resurrection
In 2 Corinthians, He is the God of all comfort
In Galatians, He is your liberty. He sets you free
In Ephesians, Jesus is the Head of the Church
Come and kneel before Him now

In Philippians, Jesus is your Joy
In Colossians, He is your Completeness
In 1 and 2 Thessalonians, He is your Hope
In 1 Timothy, He is your Faith
In 2 Timothy, Jesus is your Stability
Come and kneel before Him now

In Titus, Jesus is Truth
In Philemon, He is your Benefactor
In Hebrews, He is your Perfection
In James, He is the Power behind your Faith.
In 1 Peter, He is your Example
In 2 Peter, Jesus is your Purity
Come and kneel before Him now

In 1 John, Jesus is your Life
In 2 John, He is your Pattern
In 3 John, He is your Motivation
In Jude, He is the Foundation of your Faith

In Revelation, Jesus is your Coming King

He is the First and the Last.The Beginning and the End. He is the Keeper of Creation and the Creator of All. He is the Architect of the Universe and the Manager of All Time. He Always Was, He Always Is, and He Always Will Be. Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated, and Never Undone.

He was bruised and brought healing. He was pierced and eased pain. He was persecuted and brought freedom. He was dead and brought life. He is risen and brings power. He reigns and brings peace.

The world can’t understand Him. The armys can’t defeat Him. Schools can’t explain Him and the leaders can’t ignore Him. Herod couldn’t kill Him. The Pharisees couldn’t confuse Him. The people couldn't hold him. Nero couldn’t crush Him. Hitler couldn’t silence Him. The New Age can’t replace Him. And Oprah can’t explain Him away.

He is Life, Love, Longevity, and Lord.  He is Goodness, Kindness, Gentleness and God. He is Holy, Righteous, Mighty, Powerful, and Pure.

His Ways are Right, His Words Eternal, His Rules Unchanging, and His Mind is on me.

He is My Redeemer, He is My Savior, He is My God, He is My Priest, He is My Joy, He is My Comfort, He is My Lord, and He rules my life.

Farmers cares about the protection of children and the communities in which we live.

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Les Misérables Revisioned Review

After seeing Les Misérables 7 times, including London, I was really disappointed with the 8th. In "celebration" of the 25th anniversary of Les Misérables, Cameron Mackintosh decided to ruin the greatest musical in Broadway history. I do not plan to see it again, and I have always wanted to see the show in New York. Oh well, I have the soundtrack and can watch it in my head forever.

SPOILER ALERT

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Neutral Changes 

1.       In the beginning scene, rather than working a chain gang breaking rocks in a quarry, Jean ValJean is enslaved as an oarsman on a ship. As I recall this is accurate to novel. HOWEVER, in the song, when Jean ValJean is receiving his pardon he says, "19 years a slave of the law" to which Javert responds, "5 years for what you did, the rest because you tried to run." So enlighten me as to how a man shackled below deck on a ship is going to have opportunities for escape. 

EPIC FAILS 

1.     Removal of Chairs and Tables.

a.     When Jean ValJean is the guest of the bishop, in the original, he and the bishop sat at a table and as the song progressed, there was actual acting that went along with it. The housekeeper set on the table a silver platter with food on it and Jean ValJean grabbed it, as a starving convict would, lyrics "He let me eat my fill, I had the lion's share" Then the bishop blew out the candles in the silver candlesticks on the table and heads to bed. This scene felt like we were inside Jean Valjean's head hearing his thoughts. In the revisioned, there is simply a single chair that Jean ValJean sits upon, the candlesticks are on a cabinet containing the silver Jean ValJean will steal. The servant and bishop standing behind Jean ValJean as he sings to the audience. This is almost in the way Ferris Bueller talks to the audience.

b.     For the song “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” after the barricade has fallen, in the original, Maruis is sitting at a table in the Café and there are several other tables all surrounded by empty chairs. As Marius sings, behind him was a screen, providing a wall of the café, with darkness beyond, as he sings, “Phantom faces at the window. Phantom shadows on the floor. Empty chairs at empty tables. Where my friends will meet no more.” Those who died on the barricade, currently in the dark beyond the screen move forward towards the screen into the light, so there was a ghostly appearance through the screen and appeared as though they were phantom faces at the window. In the revisioned, Maruis is standing (wtf? He’s injured and can barely walk) in the alley or something, projected onto the wall is a faded sign with the name of the café so it looks like he is outside, and as he sings, the fallen meander out from the side of the stage and surround him, he walks up to them, singing in their faces.

2.     Removal of the Turntable

a.     Originally used throughout the show Les Misérables utilized a revolving stage, this element has been removed altogether and for some sequenced replaced by a digital projection (another fail topic). So the stage created motion, like in the beginning, after Jean ValJean is pardoned, he is walking against the rotating stage, which brings him through farmers working the land, then the rotation stops with him among the workers and he begins working. Then when the refuse his help the stage rotates and they move away as he continues walking. This is a minor illustration…

                                                              i.      In the Thénardier’s Tavern for “Master of the House” there is a partitioned area 90º off the main part of the show set up as the kitchen, so during the song the Thénardiers go into the kitchen for the lyrics, “Mix it in a mincer, and pretend it's beef; Kidney of a horse; Liver of a cat; Filling up the sausages with this and that…” and so for that scene, the stage rotated so that the kitchen was center stage, then when they return to the dining room the stage rotated back.

                                                            ii.      The most epic fail is with the Barricade. During the battle, Gavroche climbs over the barricade, which the stage rotates to show him robbing the corpses of dead French soldiers for ammunition, as he is singing he is shot, several times from the back of the theater, but manages to throw a satchel of ammo to the revolutionaries, and when he is shot the last time, the white light of his soul comes on. Then the battle ensues, the revolutionaries facing the audience are shooting and shots and flashes are going off from around the theater. The audience is actually placed in the middle of the battle. Then when the battle is over, the stage rotates, and the lights are on the fallen, as Jean ValJean prys up a sewer cover and pulls an unconscious Marius into the sewers, closing the cover just as Javert makes his way over the barricade looking for him, checking the bodies of the fallen. In the revisioned, there is no rotating stage, when Gavroche crosses the barricade, nobody sees him or really knows what he is doing. He is singing about “the pup grows up” and getting shot at. I must say the stupidest part is that his death light comes on while he is singing the last line, so before he is dead. Also, for most all of the barricade scenes the actors are all facing away from the audience. In fact there is a lot more of the actors facing away in the revisioned than there was in the original.

                                                          iii.      When Eponine leads Marius to Cosette, Cosette was behind the gate downstage, and Maruis and Eponine were upstage on the outside of the gate, then as Marius climbs the wall the stage rotated so Marius and Cosette were upstage and Eponine downstage. Then the stage rotated again when Thénardier and the gang arrive and find Eponine at the gate. When Eponine screams they are all outside the gate. In the revisioned the Thénardier gang come through the gate and find Eponine on the inside of the courtyard and Cosette and Maruis have gone into the house after kissing in front of Eponine.

                                                          iv.      Other uses of the rotating stage included the runaway cart, but that was minor and worked well without the rotation. The most noticeable is the changing of sets. With the rotating stage in the dark beyond the lights items could be placed on the stage and then the actors walked to them as the stage rotated. Now items are slid onto the stage from the sides of the curtain. 

3.     Projection Screen Use and Abuse.

There are very few instances where the screen is good and more that it is not. 

a.     I will start with the good, In the sewers, the first scene is really good, Jean ValJean is carrying Marius and walks toward the back of the stage, again with their backs to the audience, and as he is walking the projection is like a video moving through a sewer, so it looks 3d almost as if we are following with them in the sewer.

b.     A second, not as good, use is in scenes like “What have I done?” in which the dark outline of the town with stars is projected onto the screen, giving a feeling of depth.

c.      Most of the screen is not really used for anything significant, like displaying the aforementioned wall of the café. It has a feeling of “ooh look what we can do…”

4.     Unnecessary Violence 

a.     So when Jean ValJean is trying to find work or a place to stay the night, the “law abiding folk” assault him, beat him down and kick him while he is on the ground. Really?!?

b.     When Fantine, as a prostitute assaults the “rat” she bites him and her face is covered in blood as is his, and he is holding a blood soaked handkerchief. 

c.      When Eponine is at the ValJean gate and the Thénardier’s gang arrives, one of the thugs violently attacks her with a knife which brought about the scream that warns Cosette and Marius and bring Jean ValJean out to check on Cosette.

d.     At the wedding, Marius punches Thénardier in the face. 
In Master of the House, Mme Thénardier sings, “Thinks he's quite a lover, but there's not much there.” She holds up a baguette, and then with a cleaver maniacally chops it into little pieces. 

Minor Annoyances that are different (in no particular order): 

1.     When Javert joins the revolution, in the original they are all tying red, white and blue sashes around themselves, now they are not, but in the next scene all have the sashes.

2.     When Javert joins the revolution, Gavroche is present, why didn’t Gavroche blow Javerts cover then.

3.     At the end of Master in the House, I rather liked when Mme. Thénardier sings the lyric, “Raise it up the master's arse.” She is holding a wine bottle and rams it into M. Thénardier’s backside.

4.     At the end, the entire ensemble appears in the closing when Jean ValJean dies, as I recall from previous viewings it was only the fallen from the barricade. Also, they are singing in a low voice, in the dark downstage and move forward into the light, getting louder as they become more visible. 

5.     The MICROPHONES. OMG!!! Everyone has a black microphone taped to their forehead. No that is not distracting in the least. What are we Les Misérables INDIA? In my 7 previous viewings I have never seen microphones on the actors. In seeing any other Broadway Musical I have never seen microphones on the actors, except the Aladdin show at Disneyland, and those are at least flesh colored. What gives??? 

OK, well there are a couple things that I did like, it is not all bad.

1.     Throughout the show, people were almost constantly making “the Sign of the Cross” upon themselves. Even Mme. Thénardier incorrectly attempts to make the Sign of the Cross upon herself when she sings “It's no more than we Christians must do!” in the Waltz of Treachery.

2.     The runaway cart, I never really understood in the original, why nobody would help Jean ValJean lift the cart off of the man trapped under it. In the revisioned the broken cart contains cannons and teetering kegs of explosives. So this really dramatizes: 

a.     How heavy the cart must have been.

b.     Why nobody would approach a cart with unstable kegs of black powder precariously teetering upon it. 

3.     At the closing, after Jean ValJean has passed, the bishop is among those presumed to be in Heaven, and bows to him as if to say well done.

This is nowhere near complete, I will likely add to it as I think of more grievances. 

7 Reasons to be Catholic

Dr. Peter Kreeft is a convert to the Catholic faith from Dutch Calvinism. He teaches philosophy at Boston College and has authored a number of books on matters of faith and reason. Many of his writings and talks are available at peterkreeft.com. His lecture "7 Reasons to be Catholic" focuses on a number of philosophical approaches but primarily centers on reasons why a Protestant Christian might consider fuller communion with the Catholic Church.

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W27w4ROc4CE

Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjrcGKejaPQ

Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp44qk24f3k

Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRpTpj_77tY

Part 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld3sHUUikm0

Why Android is better than iPhone

Battery Life:
Achieving more than 3 days on a single charge is pretty nice. I do not have to worry about having to charge my device every night, or like many of my iPhone possessing freinds carry a charge cord everywhere I go and plug in constantly. I find it amusing when I see iPhone users tethered around outlets at Disneyland, ComicCon, Starbucks, etc trying to get a little charge into their power hungry device. Besides the fact that I have 2 extra batteries for my Motorola Droid X which can be swapped out with just a quick reboot. Should I ever need to, but don't even carry them with me anymore since I have never had to use them.

Multitasking:
Anyone that knows me, knows that I always have 100 things open on my computer. Usually, Chrome and Internet Explorer, each with many tabs open. Photoshop, Word, Excel, Music, and several other applications. Well, my droid is the same way. I usually have Google Maps/Navigation open to monitor traffic or navigate me, Pandora or Google Music playing, web browser, Facebook, GMail, Weatherbug, Yelp, FourSquare, and depending on what I am doing a couple more maybe. Look at the screenshot icons at the top, GMail, MySpace, Yahoo, Facebook...

Removable Memory:
As a photographer I usually have my Nikon with me. Sometimes I feel the need to upload pictures immediately, but as a photographer I am not going to rely on my DroidX's 8 megapixel phone camera. I use my Nikon with an SD>MicroSD adapter and all my cards are MicroSD. For example, I was at a friend's graduation a couple weeks before writing this, and I took a few great shots with my Nikon using a 200mm zoom and flash. Shots that could never be made with any cameraphone. Even before the ceremony was completed and all the graduates has left the building those pictures were posted on Facebook. Simply by switching out the MicroSD card. There have been days I have taken over 5000 pictures with my Nikon and having an extra card with me, in my phone, is quite useful as I never anticipate having 16 GB of anything on my phone's SD card when I already have 8 GB in the phone itself. Especially since I am using Google Cloud to host my files and music independent of any device.

Google Music
Speaking of which, Apple needs to keep up so they just announced that they are going to introduce the iCloud or whatever to store and stream iTunes music to Apple internet enabled devices. I have no idea what Apple will do with their forthcoming cloud, but Google allows for 20,000 songs to be stored in the cloud for free and streamed to any computer or Flash enabled mobile device, like Android phones and tablets and Windows Phones.

Adobe Flash:
Pass the salt. I will rub it into the STILL open wounds of Apple fanatics. As much as I loathe the abuse of Adobe Flash on websites for no reason. There are still practical uses for Flash and I appreciate that my DroidX can run the most current version of Flash.

Screen Size:
My DroidX has a 4.3" screen compared with Apple's iPhone 4 still running the same old 3.5" screen from 5 years ago. That is 51% more screen area than the iPhone 4. My previous phone had a 3.5" display I can say the difference is night and day. It felt like when I went from a 60" TV to a 73". It is absolutely stunning.

Mobile HotSpot/Tethering:
I have on many occasions utilised the Mobile HotSpot feature of my DroidX to share my internet connection. Recently I was on a film shoot, I was playing with my netbook so I had the HotSpot open. And actually was providing internet service to at one point 8 other users, most of which were using iPhones. If the AT&T is so great then why were half a dozen iPhone's jumping onto Verizon's internet through my DroidX?

HDMI Output:
Not something I am using at this point, but having the ability to stream the screen out of the phone and into an HDTV seems pretty awesome, all for the need of an $8 cable. Could be useful I guess, if I had the cable, I could go to someone else's house and stream my Netflix or Uverse video from my phone to their TV in HD.

Google Integration:
I have for the most part giving up on Microsoft altogether. I have dual boot WinXP and FroYo I don't even have Office installed on my netbook, I am using GMail, Google Calendar, Tasks which replace Outlook. I am using Google Docs which replaces Word and Excel, as well as cloud storage for the docs. I am using Chrome instead of MSIE except sites that require MSIE. Then all the other Google integrated applications, Maps, Earth, Navigation, Places, Goggles, Books, Reader (rss), Health, Voice (voip calling), SkyMap (astronomy), Listen (podcasts), Buzz (check-in), Translate, Finance (stocks), Scoreboard (sports), Panaramio and Pandora (pictures), Blogger, and a plethora of other Google solutions.

Voice Application:
Not to be confused with Google Voice, VOIP service, I am referring to the concept of controling the phone by voice. I can speak and it will respond. Like "Send Text to Sydney I'm on my way" or "Call mom at home" or "Navigate to Disneyland" or "Listen to Beethoven" or "Go to Wikipedia" and countless other features. My Droid can also talk back, I can have it read me text messages while I am driving, or annouce reminders.

There are still more benefits...