Normal Rockstar

Video Game Addiction

This is one reason why I don't want to get into video games. In fact, the American Medical Association was supposed to vote on adding "video game addiction" to a widely used mental illness manual created and published by the American Psychiatric Association. I heard that they voted in favor of it, but I haven't been able to find anything to back that up online. Can anyone help?

In the meantime, if you've got gamers in your family, make sure you do some reading... And check out As Real As Your Life, the documentary from which this movie trailer originated [HT: Ethos].

John Piper on the Twin Cities Bridge Collapse

John Piper is one of my favorite teachers/speakers. He is the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN and is also the main teacher on the nationally syndicated radio show, "Desiring God".

John wrote down his thoughts regarding the tragic collapse of the bridge and his conversation with his 11 year-old daughter as he tucked her in to bed two after the collapse of the bridge.

Read it here (it's a little lengthy, but well worth the read).

Our prayers are with the family and friends of those who lost loved ones yesterday and a city rocked by sudden tragedy. Pray also that the body of Christ may be a source of strength and comfort in this difficult time.

Harry Potter Sets Sales Records

All I can say is... wow. Have you seen the sales numbers for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? In the U.S. alone it sold 8.3 million copies in the first day. In the first hour, Barnes & Noble sold 156 copies a second [read the rest of the stats here].

I am probably one of the few that have not joined the Harry Potter craze for no reason other than this: fantasy isn't really my genre.

However, I was quite intrigued and somewhat disturbed by this short article in last week's issue of Time Magazine. How's this for a quote?

"If you want to know who dies in Harry Potter, the answer is easy: God... What does Harry have instead of God? Rowling's answer, at once glib and profound, is that Harry's power comes from love."

What do you think? Honestly, this somewhat concerns me. It seems that we have a generation that is growing up on Harry Potter (prior to the release of the 7th book, Rowling had sold 325 million books in 66 languages), a world where dragons are real and religion is the fantasy.

I'm having a hard time getting my mind around what the implications of this will be for Christendom in 5-10 years. Is this something to be concerned about, or is this just the conservative in me making a big deal over some harmless children's stories?

Child Obesity & Shaq's Family Challenge

I heard quite a sobering fact last night on TV: more American children die every year from obesity-related illnesses than guns. In other words, it's not guns in schools that's killing our kids; it's the vending machines, corndogs in the cafeteria, fast food, and lack of parenting that's killing them.

Shaquille O'Neal, the 7 foot-tall star basketball player for the Miami Heat, is trying to do something about this. Along with his personal trainer and high-school basketball coach and mentor, Shaq designed a program for six overweight middle-schoolers in Florida and then invited the cameras in to follow their progress, resulting in the ABC summer series "Shaq's Big Challenge". I've only watched one episode, but it seems to me like Shaq actually cares about the health and well-being of these kids - he even visits their homes and families to get in the parents' faces, challenging them to take responsibility for their children's health.

The show is cut/edited really well; I even found myself getting choked up once or twice. Tune your TiVo or DVR to record it next Tuesday night on ABC at 9/8c - it might open your eyes to some of the challenges your children are facing in the fight for their lives.

Bottled Water: Healthy or Simply Irresponsible?

The bottled water industry seems to have come under some serious fire recently, and - after finally pulling my head out of the sand and educating myself on some of the issues - for good reason. My bandmate Glenn was way ahead of me on this issue - he posted this back in May after having read this article in a Maclean's magazine.

Well, last night I read this article in the current issue of Fast Company and really had my bell rung. I was amazed to discover that in America last year we spent $15 billion on bottled water - more than iPods and movies combined. Senior writer Charles Fishman examines how complex the mix of social, environmental, and economic issues surrounding the water business can be. He points out the obvious - we don't really need bottled water! - but doesn't just go ahead and brand it as evil.

This was one of my favorite quotes:

"In San Francisco, the municipal water comes from inside Yosemite National Park. It’s so good the EPA doesn’t require San Francisco to filter it. If you bought and drank a bottle of Evian [for $1.35], you could refill that bottle once a day for 10 years, 5 months, and 21 days with San Francisco tap water before that water would cost $1.35."

Yes, I want to be a good steward of my environment - throwing away all those empty plastic bottles seems rather silly (not to mention the millions of dollars we spend importing water from other countries when we have more than enough here in America). But the thing that really gets me is how much we're spending - I'm spending! - on a product that, where I live, is both free and safe.

So - next time you see me with a bottle of water in hand, ask me if it's been refilled. It's such a small thing but can have such a great impact. Will you join me?

New Seven Wonders of the World

A new Seven Wonders of the World were announced this past weekend based on 100 million votes cast from every country in the world. Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer, Peru's Machu Picchu, and Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid were chosen alongside the Great Wall of China, Jordan's Petra, the Colosseum in Rome and India's Taj Mahal.

Read the full story here.

Click here to see pictures of each new Wonder of the World.

Spanish Managers Trash Madrid Hotel

"Until now it has been the preserve of bad-boy rock stars, but on Tuesday 40 stressed-out bankers, teachers and other workers threw televisions, ripped down walls and laid waste to an up-market Madrid hotel."

Read the rest of the story here.

See some video footage from the event here.

A Close Call with Tornadoes in Winnipeg, MB

I was in Winnipeg, MB last Friday eating dinner before going to play an outdoor concert when a number of tornadoes touched down in rural areas just outside the city. Click here to read the story at CBC.ca. You can also watch a number of YouTube videos of the storms here. Below is one of my favorite... (The show ended up only being postponed for 20 minutes, and everyone stayed dry the rest of the night.)

Paris Hilton's Controversial Jail Conversion

If you haven't heard already, Paris Hilton told Barbara Walters in a phone conversation that after only 3 days in jail she had "become more spiritual" and that God had given her a second chance. (Click here to read a great article on her alleged conversion from Newsweek.)

This is hard to believe - Paris Hilton, the 26 year-old socialite, co-star of "The Simple Life", crazy party girl. As a Christian, I cringe when I hear stories like this - celebrities known for their godless ways suddenly claiming to have found God and turned their lives around. But I'm convicted of my skepticism... where is my Christ-like grace? Who am I to judge Paris? Many other high-profile people have had genuine conversion experiences through their time in prison, including serial killer David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) and Chuck Colson (jailed for his involvement in Watergate).

Well, she gets out of jail today. And then we'll just have to wait and see. Tom Levinson, who wrote this great article for the Chicago Tribune, had this to say:

"Has Paris really seen the light? Will she truly and deeply change? Hard to say. But at least for now, one thing is clear: Jail time has done nothing to impair Hilton's marketing genius, because starting [today] paparazzi and pastors alike will stay tuned for the latest from Paris."

The 40 Day Fast

Today marks the start of The 40 Day Fast, an initiative for bloggers started by Kat. You'll notice the list of dates and names in the right-hand sidebar - those are all the bloggers who have signed on to fast on their assigned day to highlight a cause they are passionate about and wanting to draw some attention to. I will be posting on July 3rd... if your name is not on that list, don't worry about it! Pick a day that works with your schedule and let us know you're a part of it so that we can highlight your cause as well.

Click here to read the first post of the fast from Kat.