Summer Olympics

In honor of the summer Olympics, here's a cool video by Paul Hunt. It's not often you see a gymnastic comedy routine.

See The Dark Knight

Tonight, I saw "The Dark Knight" for the second time in 72 hours. I was in Texas on Friday preaching at an Elders' retreat and saw it for the first time at 10:00 am. Our entire family saw it tonight. It is far and away the best Batman film to date. I'm not generally a fan of Heath Ledger, but I must say...he absolutely owns this movie. His performance is disturbingly fantastic! He will go down as one of the great screen villains of all time.

I loved "Batman Begins" but this movie is better.

A word of warning, though. It is rated PG-13, but I would not recommend it for young children. It has some graphic violence and is intense at times. Christopher Nolan and his brother have written a great screenplay. It's a complex story, well-directed. It is quite a roller coaster ride that throws in a few surprises along the way. Overall, a great popcorn movie. Can't wait for the next one.

I was excited to hear that this film has already set the box office record for an opening weekend gross, surpassing Spiderman-3.

Here's a fun side note: Last summer, I sent some photos to Christian Bale on the set of "DK" and asked for some autographs for our family. A couple of months later, I received everything back signed by Mr. Bale -- while he was filming the Dark Knight!

Sorry it's been a while since I've blogged. It's been busy at the Harris house. We've been painting the interior of our house and Emily and Amanda have resumed cheerleading.

I'd appreciate your prayers. I leave Monday morning to lead worship for two back-to-back weeks of camp.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Dad. Miss you...

What I Wish I Was Doing

I wish I could have spent time on Thursday in the greeting card aisle at Walgreen's picking out just the right birthday card for my dad. I would have written a nice note and mailed it on Friday along with a gift.

I wish I was making a phone call today to wish my dad a happy birthday and see if he got my package. Even better, I wish I was driving to his house to hug his neck and wish him a happy birthday in person. Above all, I wish I had just one more chance to kiss his cheek, tell him I love him and explain again how grateful I am to be his son.

As you probably know, my dad has been in Heaven since 1995. He was born on this date 78 years ago. Instead of calling him, I'll call my sister and my mom to tell them I love them and that I'm thinking about them today.

I believe I developed my love of country music from my dad. I have fond memories of riding around in his truck with him when I was a boy listening to 8-track tapes of Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Don Williams and Tom T. Hall.

My dad taught me my very first guitar chord when I was 12. It was a "G". A small gesture that would literally change the course of my life.

To celebrate his birthday, I'm going to participate in "open mic night" tonight at the world-famous Bluebird cafe, where I'll sing an original country song. He would absolutely love the fact that I now live in Nashville.

Yes, I still miss him. But the Bible says that 'we don't grieve as those who have no hope' (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Because of dad's faith in Jesus, I know that one day I will see my dad again. I will hug his neck again. I will give him another kiss on the cheek and tell him I love him. And I'll have the chance to say one more thing...

"It sure is good to see you again"!

Happy Birthday, Dad. Love you. Miss you. I'll be thinking about you tonight when I play a "G".

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad

Worst Album Covers...Ever!

I saw these this morning and laughed out loud. The Chicago Tribune ranked the 50 worst album covers of all time. Here are some of my favorites along with my comments...

I wish my brother, George, was here...

(You mean there was a 'volume 1'?)

sadly, what came next was foster edwards' funeral

after the guitar player mistook him for a mouse and

beat him to death with the les paul.

the drummer was a real ass...

after being excommunicated from the amish order for the use of electric instruments, the 'electric amish' replaced their drummer and released their first protestant album...

wayne was gunned down by the east coast rap mafia.

although this was his one and only release,

this brave pioneer paved the way for Willie Tyler & Lester.

danger, will robinson! danger!

shortly after this underground release, wayne newton

landed a record-setting sansabelt endorsement!

roger saved money by using old mug shots for his album cover

i'd rather not...

looks like someone's trying a little too hard to

convince the world that he truly is heterosexual

the macabre musical of 'freddie the friendly serial killer'

these gals truly can read music...

unfortunately, 'ole slim went bankrupt after unsuccessfully defending
lawsuits from both leo sayer and neal schon of 'journey'

tina turner hair - check; mr. t cross - check; mork from ork suspenders - check; rick james glasses - check; steal name from famous alien - check; grow prince-like mustache - check;

have aunt celia make me some rockin' seashell pants - check!

ah, the good 'ole days. nothing scars quite like

watching the old man play with his organ.

this bought each of these kids an extra five years

on the therapists' couch

the cast of 'a mighty wind'?

and my personal favorite...
(i really had to mullet over)

If you'd like to see all 50, click here.

More Useless Facts

Here are a few more totally useless factoids...

• A ' jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

• February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

• There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: 'abstemious' and 'facetious.'

• If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights.

• Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

• Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about 10.

• Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

• A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.

• The sentence: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' uses every letter of the alphabet.

• In Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in the late 50's thru early 70's, there was a dentist named 'Dunat Yelle'.

• There are 293 different ways to make change for a dollar.

• With your hands on your keyboard's home row, the longest word you can type using only your left hand is: "stewardesses". The longest word you can type using only your right hand is "lollipop".

• Your thumb is the same length as your nose.
  

• According to Beatles producer George Martin, Neal Hefti's catchy composition of the 1960's "Batman" Emmy-winning theme song inspired George Harrison to write the hit song, "Taxman."

• George Washington died the last hour of the last day of the last week of the last month of the last year of the 18th century.

• A full moon always rises at sunset.

• Bill Gates' first business was Traff-O-Data, a company that created machines which recorded the number of cars passing a given point on a road.

• acetwothreefourfivesixseveneightninetenjackqueenking. Excluding the joker, if you add up the letters in all the names of the cards in the deck (Ace, two, three, four,...king), the total number of letters is 52, the same as the number of cards in the deck. Spooky, huh?
  

• At a jet plane's speed of 1,000 km (620mi) per hour, the length of the plane becomes one atom shorter than its original length.

• Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

• The World's Record for the longest Monopoly game ever played was 1,680 hours long. That's 70 straight days!

• The longest Monopoly game played in a bathtub was 99 hours long.

• Q: What was the occupation of Charlie Brown's father? A: He was a barber.
  

• According to Scientific American magazine: if you live in the northern hemisphere, odds are that every time you fill your lungs with air at least one molecule of that air once passed thru Socrates lungs.
  

• The numbers on opposite sides of a die always add up to 7.

• The book of Esther in the Bible is the only book which does not mention the name of God.

• During his or her lifetime, the average human will grow 590 miles of hair.

• 75% of the people who read this will hold their thumb up to their nose to compare the two.
  

2008 ACM's

As I watched the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night, I have to admit that I was very disappointed. And I'm a BIG fan of country music. The night had its share of glitches.

For starters...the audio mix was HORRIBLE! I don't know who was mixing it for on-air, but they should have held a production meeting after the broadcast and fired them! During the live songs, you could barely hear the band. And poor 'ole Rodney Atkins sounded terrible. Can't lay that one on the bad mix....he just sounded flat throughout his entire medley. Maybe he was having trouble with his in-ear's.

Garth Brooks had a false start with his song. Reba's decision to join Brooks and Dunn for their song "Put a Girl In It" seemed impromptu. It came off that way, too. Even King George didn't sound that great.

A good friend of mine who works in the country music industry (and by the "industry", I mean "the business") once told me that the ACM's are extremely political. I believe it. Some of the awards were laughable and disappointing.

"Stay" got song of the year? Gimme a break. I mean...on one hand, I admire a song that breaks the traditional rules and becomes a radio hit with absolutely no drums on the track. Props to Sugarland for having a big hit with just an acoustic/vocal performance. That rarely happens. But does the Academy really expect us to believe that "Stay" was a better song than "Don't Blink" (Kenny Chesney) or "Moments" (Emerson Drive)? C'mon!! As a songwriter, I was extremely disappointed. It all seemed very political.

And Miranda Lambert put out the "Album of the Year"? Really? Seriously? Better than Brad Paisley's '5th Gear' and Rodney Atkins', "If You're Going Through Hell"? I'm not even a huge RA fan, but let's face it...his debut record has spawned 4 stinkin' # 1's!

The highlight of the evening for me was when Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood performed the Eddie Arnold classic, "Make the World Go Away". My only complaint was that it was too short. Here it is, in case you missed it.



I'm glad Carrie Underwood got Female Vocalist of the Year. Well-deserved. In the near future, I hope to see Mr. Paisley holding the trophy for Entertainer of the Year.

Fun, Useless Information

I stumbled upon this stuff today and thought I'd pass it along. Here is some fun, useless knowledge to impress your friends, neighbors and coworkers around the water cooler.

Fun Facts:

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only... Ladies Forbidden". Thus, the word 'GOLF' entered into the English language.

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S.Treasury.

Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work? Alaska.

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness? 28%. (now get this...) The percentage of North America that is wilderness? 38%.

The cost of raising a medium size dog to the age of eleven is $6,400.00.

The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour is 61,000. (I thought this would be higher)

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. (I wonder what stupid people have?)

The first novel ever written on a typewriter? Tom Sawyer.

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.

Each King in a deck of playing cards represents a great King from history:
Spades = King David
Hearts = King Charlemagne
Clubs = Alexander the Great
Diamonds = Julius Caesar

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

It is virtually impossible to lick your own elbow.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th -- John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace.

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat
name requested?
A. Obsession.

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and
laser printers all have in common?
A. All were invented by women.

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey.

Q. Which day are there more collect phone calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father's Day.

In Shakespeare's time; mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase...
"goodnight, sleep tight."

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "Mind your P's and Q's."

~~~and finally~~~

At least 75% of the people who read this will try to lick their elbow!

Dark Knight Posters from Germany

Here are a few new posters that have surfaced in Germany.






71 days and counting...

imdb reports that the Heath Ledger Joker action figure sold out within minutes yesterday at the Toys R Us in downtown NYC. They sell for $9.99 and are already going for $55 on eBay.

Playing Saturday, May 10

I'll be playing in a Writer's Round on Saturday, May 10 @ the Listening Room Cafe in downtown Franklin, TN, with my good friend, Tonja Rose. The show starts at 9:00 pm. Come on out and join us. Reservations are recommended.

New Dark Knight Trailer

Here's the new trailer for "The Dark Knight". I went to see 'Iron Man' and saw this during the previews. After it was over, I think I peed a little...

The Longest 88 Minutes of My Life

So I went to see the new Al Pacino movie, "88 Minutes", recently.

In addition to Pacino, it featured Amy Brenneman ("Judging Amy"), William Forsythe, Alicia Whitt, Leelee Sobieski and Neal McDonough. None of them are slouches, but this proves that even great actors can't salvage a 'sucky' script.

Pacino plays a Seattle pyschiatrist who receives a phone call telling him he has only 88 minutes to live. It could have been very effective if they had used a real-time, "24" kind of feel, counting down from "88" from the moment he received the call. For a man with apparently limited time on his hands, Pacino lives with no real sense of urgency after receiving the phone call. The whole thing was poorly written, overacted and slowly paced. Some things just don't add up.

And for the love of Mike, it seemed like half of the film's plot was delivered via cell phone conversations! What the heck did writers do for exposition before cell phones? Oh, I dunno...maybe they wrote credible dialogue for the actors to use while they actually INTERACTED WITH EACH OTHER?

This film was easily 88 minutes too long and it was, by far, one of the worst Pacino movies I've ever seen. And I normally love Pacino. But this one stunk! Sorry, Al. It should have gone straight to DVD.

My advice? Stay away. You'll spend 108 minutes of your life and have nothing to show for it.

Injured.....Injured Bad

This kid makes me laugh. Check out this insurance commercial...

Can You Duet?

Two of my very good friends, Joey Martin and Rory Lee Feek, will be contestants (if that's the right word) on the new CMT reality show, "Can You Duet"? The show debuts this Monday, April 14, immediately following the 2008 CMT Music Awards. It will then air on Fridays at 8/7c.

They were one of 25 duets who made the show out of the more than 2,500 duets who auditioned.

The show, by the producers of 'American Idol', is designed to find country music's next great duo. Rory is one of the best songwriter's in Nashville (some of his hits include "Some Beach", "The Truth About Men", "Someone You Used to Know", "How Do You Get That Lonely" and "The Chain of Love") and Joey is one of the best country singers you'll ever hear!

I've had the privilege of playing guitar in Joey's band in the past. They have a great marriage, a compelling story and they are flat out some of the finest folks I've ever met. Please watch and cheer them on!

Clink here to watch their audition video.

13 Years in Heaven

This date always makes me a bit melancholy. Thirteen years ago today, my life changed dramatically when, at the age of 64, my dad traded this temporary 'tent' for his eternal home in heaven. I still miss him every day.

I've met a lot of people in my life who did not enjoy a good relationship with their earthly father. Thankfully, I've never been able to relate to that emotion because I had a very strong relationship with my dad (and my mom). That's not to say that we always saw eye to eye on everything or that I never gave him reason to worry. He was full of love for his family, common sense, country wisdom, laughter, a great provider, a wonderful example, gentle when appropriate, firm when necessary and always quick with a word of encouragement and support. I learned my greatest lessons about unconditional love from my dad. He wasn't perfect by any means, but he was a great man.

It's not overstating it to say he was one of the finest men I've ever known. In addition to being my parent, he was also a close friend. I was proud to have him stand with me as my best man at our wedding. I miss having him to consult when I have a big decision to make. I miss hearing him say, "I love you, son", at the close of every phone call. But I am most sorry that my girls are growing up with no memory of their "Pa Paw". I've assured them they will meet him one day in heaven and they'll have lots to talk about. My, how he loved his grandchildren.

I got my appreciation of country music from my dad. I remember riding around in his truck when I was a boy and listening to 8-track tapes of Don Williams, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. He would absolutely love the fact that we now live in Nashville.

Our twin girls were born roughly one month after dad went to heaven. The joy of their birth was tempered by the reality that he was missing from the celebration. At least I did get to tell him that we were having two more girls before he died. Although confined to a hospital bed and weak following a heart attack, he smiled when I told him.

They say time heals all wounds. I'm not sure about that one. At best, I think time helps you deal with that kind of loss, but I don't think you ever fully get over it....until heaven, that is.

I sure am looking forward to heaven.

Iron Man Trailer

of course, i can't wait to see 'the dark knight' this summer.....but i'm also excited about seeing this one. 'iron man' opens may 2.

It's Alive!

My good friend, Matt Sawyer, once told me the key to attracting repeat visits to your blog was to maintain frequent updates. True. Not many people have dropped by lately. Then again, I haven't posted in a while. Maybe that would explain this note I received recently from MY BLOG:

"Rob,
Hey, dude. Just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that I've missed you. I've noticed you've been spending a LOT more time with your MySpace page than with me. Was it something I did? Something I said? Something I didn't say? Aren't my pictures bright enough? Does my layout not thrill you anymore? Do my fonts bore you? I realize MySpace plays music and I am, afterall, only words on a page, but I can change...literally. I can become anything you want me to me. Just tell me what to do. Please come back".
~roblog

Ouch. Nice to be missed but it all seems a bit schizophrenic. You're right, roblog. I have been away, but I'm back. And I promise to spend more time with you in the weeks ahead...

Bunny Cake

We obviously know that Easter is all about celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, we also have a tradition of making a "bunny cake"...just because it's fun! Here is a photo of this years' cake, made by Lara and all three girls.

MySpace

i finally got my MySpace music page set up. drop by sometime. you can hear some demo's of some of my songs. here's the link: http://www.myspace.com/robharrisnashville

i've been slowly building a network of "friends". most of them are folks i know or would like to know. except for this one guy named "tom". he keeps sending me a friend request and i don't even know him. apparently, he does that to a lot of folks because i see him on the friend list of other myspacers. :)

Ladies of Idol

On an up note, I enjoyed hearing two songs by Heart tonight. Overall, I think the men of American Idol are much stronger than the ladies this year. My favorite tonight was the very first one -- Carly Smithson. Based solely on tonight's performance, I wouldn't be surprised if Amanda (the rock and roll nurse) is on her way back to Indiana this time tomorrow night. No one realled "wowed" me tonight.

Here is my opinion of the rest of the Season 7 cast:

• Alaina Whitaker - won't make it
  
• Aleandrea Lushington - Top 10
  
• Amanda Overmyer - won't make it
  
• Carly Smithson - right now, my favorite female. Will be in the Top 10.
  
• Brooke White - Top 10
  
• Chikezie - not long for this world
  
• Asia'h Epperson - i hope she makes it to the Top 10
  
• Danny Noriega - please go home
• David Archuleta - Definitely Top 10 and may win everything
  
• David Cook - I don't think he's nearly as good as he thinks he is
• Jason Yeager - won't make it
  
• Jason Castro - Top 10
  
• David Hernandez - don't care
  
• Joanne Borgella - Top 10
  
• Kady Malloy - Top 10
  
• Ramiele Malubay - Top 10
  
• Kristy Lee Cook - needs to go more country
• Luke Menard - a non-entity
• Robbie Carrico - I'm not a fan
• Syesha Mercado - Top 10
  
• Michael Johns - Top 10. Maybe Top 5. Looks like a cross between Michael Hutchins of INXS and Tim Daly.

Here are my picks for who goes home on Thursday: Amanda Overmyer, Alaina Whitaker, Luke Menard and, if there is any justice in the universe...Danny Noriega.