October « 2005 « charlieDEAN’S Blog

A clip from this movie was shown in church a couple weeks ago that really ruined the key plot point to this movie, but I watched it anyway. It was really quite good. The older I get, the more I’m drawn to dramas that are rooted more in interesting characters than in extraordinary events. It’s a little slow in the middle, and you may wonder where it’s taking you, but I think there’s a pretty decent payout at the end. The narration at the end alone is worth the price of the rental.

Also, I have to say that after watching some of the special features, I’m a fan of Mike Binder, the director/director/producer/actor.

Well, the Deans went to the doctor on Friday for Jennifer’s sonogram and found out that we are having another boy. Many of you have asked. She’s due around the 1st week of March. The baby looks healthy and good.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say we’re not a little disappointed. We were really hoping for a girl. The hardest part was trying to answer Caleb’s disappointment. He’s been utterly convinced that he was going to have a little sister.

So in the next half hour or so, I’ll be ordering my new guitar. About a month ago mine got broken. Well, after haggling with three different insurance companies, and completely striking out, the church has offered to replace my guitar.

So, now, instead of simply replacing, I’m making a slight upgrade (at my expense) and getting a Taylor 310ce. I was very skeptical of getting a Taylor, mostly because it seems like that’s what everyone is getting these days, and also because some people are just so snobbish about it.

Anyway, after looking seriously at a Larrivee, I settled on the Taylor ultimately due to the superior electronics that Taylor offers, even on their low end guitars. (You get the same electronics on the 300’s as you do on the 900’s.)

I picked the 310ce because (1) it’s in my price range, (2) it’s a dreadnought and I wanted as big a body as I could afford and (3) with the Sitka Spruce top, it seems ideal for blokes like me who strum pretty hard.

So anyhow, I’m sure there are very few people even reading this post still, but here’s a pic (if you click on the picture, you can go to the Taylor homepage):

One last thought…if you’re in the market and you know EXACTLY what you want, let me suggest THIS PLACE to you. They gave me a great deal, plus no sales tax! (I got the lead from Steve Wilmert, our music director, who bought his Taylor at this place in L.A., when he was there this summer.)

One last, last thought…if you want to see a truly ostentacious, over-the-top guitar that you can spend $100,000 on, check out this guitar from Martin.

So in the next half hour or so, I’ll be ordering my new guitar. About a month ago mine got broken. Well, after haggling with three different insurance companies, and completely striking out, the church has offered to replace my guitar.

So, now, instead of simply replacing, I’m making a slight upgrade (at my expense) and getting a Taylor 310ce. I was very skeptical of getting a Taylor, mostly because it seems like that’s what everyone is getting these days, and also because some people are just so snobbish about it.

Anyway, after looking seriously at a Larrivee, I settled on the Taylor ultimately due to the superior electronics that Taylor offers, even on their low end guitars. (You get the same electronics on the 300’s as you do on the 900’s.)

I picked the 310ce because (1) it’s in my price range, (2) it’s a dreadnought and I wanted as big a body as I could afford and (3) with the Sitka Spruce top, it seems ideal for blokes like me who strum pretty hard.

So anyhow, I’m sure there are very few people even reading this post still, but here’s a pic (if you click on the picture, you can go to the Taylor homepage):

One last thought…if you’re in the market and you know EXACTLY what you want, let me suggest THIS PLACE to you. They gave me a great deal, plus no sales tax! (I got the lead from Steve Wilmert, our music director, who bought his Taylor at this place in L.A., when he was there this summer.)

One last, last thought…if you want to see a truly ostentacious, over-the-top guitar that you can spend $100,000 on, check out this guitar from Martin.

I was going through a pile of stuff in my office and came across and old Leadership issue from Fall 2003…anyway, this got my attention. It really flies in the face of what I’ve heard some people teach/say/etc.

“[Leith] Anderson: I’m feeling the need to be more concrete in this whole area of serving and leading. I’ve tried to identify some rules to decide how to serve in particular situations. Here are three guidelines, there could be a lot more.

1. Serve the greater number rather than the greatest need. If you serve the 100 people or one person who seems to have a greater need, as a rule, you serve the greater number.” (From Leadership, Fall 2003, p. 29)

(the other two weren’t worth the time and effort to type out — this one could probably lead to some interesting discussion)

Tom Peters is a motivational speaker/entrepreneur/author, etc. I got this link to a PDF file from Tony Morgan’s blog and it was a stimulating 10 minute read for me this morning. Here are some highlights:

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” — General Eric Shinseki

“In classical times, when Cicero had finished speaking, the people said, ‘How well he spoke,’ but when Demosthenes had finished speaking, they said, ‘Let us March.’” — Adlai Stevenson. “In my own small way, I want to be Demosthenes.”

“The first step in a ‘dramatic’ ‘organizational change program’ is obvious — dramatic personal change!”