confirmation sunday.

just a little video i put together to welcome our congregation to today's confirmation sunday. props to jay and mark for ruling the world.

and props to ALL the confirmands. i'm proud of you all.

-ap.

a 12-year old speaks: what adults can learn from kids.

don't you ever tell a middle schooler what they can't do.*

for now, let's ignore the fact that this 12-year old is beyond rad and focus on the substance here:

"age has absolutely nothing to do with it."
what have we accomplished? we always ask students what they want to be when they grow up. usually their responses are outlandish - astronaut, baseball player, stuntman, etc. not many of them jump at the idea of being a [fill in boring job description here]. our ability to think outside the box and function outside our comfort zone drastically decreases as we get older. we're suffocated. held back. we start to learn the limitations in life and don't allow ourselves to dream the absurd dreams anymore.

"certain types of irrational decision making is exactly what this world needs."
how many of us still dream? how many of us still aim for Utopian perfection? youth's ability to imagine is able to push the boundaries past the limitations that adults have been conditioned into. kids are capable of things that we are NOT. what if we gave them the chance to prove it?

"the students should teach their teachers...the relationship should be reciprocal."
oh man. how many times did we all think this when we were going through middle school and high school? i for sure thought it in 3/7 of my classes each day. why do we have thoughts like that? because teachers aren't allowing their students to expand. the teacher has all the answers and you better not question their teachings. this shuts down students' ability to grow and develop. what if the students were given the chance to run the show? rather than feeling like the lower one on the totem pole, what if they had ownership of their classes?

at hillcrest we have a high school leadership group that meets on thursday nights - it's a group of students that are committed to transforming our youth ministry from the inside out. after many weeks of encouraging and teaching and vision casting, a new philosophy was set for the thursday meetings: student led discussions. these high schoolers are leading the conversations! all it takes is an opportunity to rise to the occasion and students will give it what they've got. and if the foundation has been laid properly - they'll blow you away every time.

"it is imperative to create opportunites for children so that we can grow up and blow you away." one of my 6th grade students is traveling to Haiti next week. yes, Haiti, that place of major devastation due to that major earthquake from a couple months ago. not sure if you remember it - a lot of us seem to have already moved on...shocker. this student is going to Haiti. originally, when we asked the orphanage if it was okay that we were bringing a 12-year old along, the group was hesitant to give the OK. thank the Lord that they did. this is exactly the type of opportunity that students don't get nearly enough. there is a 100% chance that this student will come home from Haiti with a greater perspective on himself, God, others and the world of which he is apart.

"adults often underestimate kids abilities...and when expectations are low, we will sink to them." fortunately, the opposite is also true - if we allow kids to achieve their potential - they can meet those expectations.

again, it comes back to opportunities - the parents of this 12-year old allowed her to pursue her dream as a young child, and now she's a TED speaker?! this girl learned to READ less than 8 years ago and now she's forming those learned words into sentences that are altering minds and influencing others and spurning late-night blog posts from yours truly! and where does it begin? with an ADULT looking at a child, at a student, at the next generation and encouraging them to dream big and providing a CHANCE for them to succeed.

so for anyone working with young people of any kind - trust them to succeed. if you show them that you believe they can do anything, and you allow them the outlet to grow and meet their potential - they'll do just that.

-apc.

* - LOST: john locke reference.

lin yu chun.

if you haven't checked out this dude yet, you need to. out of nowhere he's totally ruling everything. he was on some Taiwanese Idol type of show. he sings whitney houston. hooooooly sixes:

and then william shatner joins him on "lopez tonight". as much as i love old bill, but the newcomer totally steals the show:

-apc.

galactic empire state of mind.

chalk that title up for the next "before and after" category on wheel of fortune.

this is genius and hilarious. i just watched this 3 times in a row. i really wish they'd called jay-z and alicia keys to see if they'd do it themselves. talk about epic.

-apc.

empire state of mind II - alicia keys (sans jay-z).

woah.

okayplayer just posted this on their blog and i am speechless. just watch the above video.

all i can say is that alicia's new album is out on december 15 and i am buying it. or getting it for christmas. but if you're getting it for me for christmas, you might want to give it to me 10 days early otherwise i'll have 2 copies cause i'll already have bought it myself.

i'm listening to that again.

-ap.

npr: raphael saadiq desk concert.

please watch this video/listen to it. everyone needs this album.

-apc.

jay cutler versus the referee.

this happened yesterday afternoon: chicago vs pittsburgh. i wish he was still a bronco though so i could hate him more. ha.

-ap.

the exploding whale.

-ap.

zacchaeus meets jesus.

why does jesus appear to be a doctor?
why does zach's face look like an ogre?
and why do friends take other friends for a ride in their wheelbarrow?

and did you know that you can now alter the color of the bottom bar when you embed videos from youtube? i picked red/pink. woooowwwww.

props to weesh for sharing.

=ap.

television personalities: how did they get so lucky?

how do people like pat sajak and alex trebek do it? i mean, they're celebrities now, but where do they come from? the only reason they're celebrities is because they started hosting a television game show that just happened to take off. trebek has been hosting since 1984 and sajak since 1983, but before that? not much. sajak was a radio dj in college and in vietnam, and trebek hosted a handful of failure game shows before jeopardy, but then they just happened to land a jackpot hosting gig...i could totally do their jobs. where's my big break?

those are just the oldies. here are a few of the current guys who are rising to stardom out of nowhere:

ben bailey - cash cab - prior to the show, bailey was a comedian doing after-hours story telling while he was in college. then suddenly some big shot lady thinks he's funny, gives him a job doing stand up in los angeles, and then a few years later he's hosting the american version of cash cab. also he is a licensed cabbie.

billy mays - infomercial allstar - okay, he's not a game show host, but he's definitely a rising television star. the guy skipped out on college and just started as a salesman on the streets of atlantic city. then he started doing sales at home shows and state fairs. one day the founder of Orange Glo International happens to see his sales style, likes it, puts him in a commercial. suddenly in 2009 he's in something like 819 informercials and lives in a $1.8M home in florida.

i could do those jobs. things like going pro in basketball - i don't have those skills - but i have game show hosting skills. now all i have to do is meet some big timer who will catapult me to stardom in a moment.

maybe i'll just spend my sunday afternoon watching basketball and brainstorming terrific game show ideas. like this one where people dress up as toy story characters, run up a ramp, get repeatedly pummeled by rolling soda cylinders and end up in a rectangular pool of icy water.


absolute genius. excessive yen and major stardom for woody overnight.

-ap.

props to marko for the vid.

the call.

the story goes like this:

we're at old chicago and "stronger" by britney spears comes on and i start lip syncing accompanied by subtle dance motions. and my friend matty says, "you've always reminded me of this guy i saw in a youtube video once, and that lip syncing just sealed the deal.*"

so then he posts this on my facebook wall. so then i post it on here because it's eerily similar to me. watch and enjoy.

also to the fellas that did this...high five. i'm actually impressed and love your work. we could be great friends. and maybe twins too...except i'll be honest...i think i'm a better lip syncer than my counterpart.

* - this was paraphrased - not verbatum.

are we kidding?

-ap.

warren wallace is made of lightning.

-ap.

going on - gnarls barkley.

Gnarls Barkley - Going On
Uploaded by zegonzag

-ap.

obama win causes obsessive supporters to realize how empty their lives are

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

i was in tears after this one. the onion is sheer genius.

-ap.

dark knight/toy story trailer.

this is one of the greatest trailer mash-ups i've ever seen. whoever did this is a genius.



-ap.

copped from marko.

if jesus ran for president...

this is pretty clever, and i feel like one could pull a lot of really terrific criticisms about today's political ideologies from it. especially those pertaining to 'turning the other cheek' and giving out 'free love'. (1:30)

i also love when they refer to him as "mr. of nazareth". super funny.

also, i voted today.

-ap.

copped from revolution in jesusland.

james earl jones recites the alphabet.

copping props to cdoubledizz.

-ap.

rainbow blob dude.

i straight up don't understand how this is possible. but it's amazing.

-ap.

sticky note experiment.

these are the same guys that did the diet coke + mentos experiment. couple of geniuses.

-ap.