U2 Ramblings

First things first, some pretty big news. This is from Willie, the set designer for all of the U2 shows:

"Spent the afternoon in another meeting discussing the forthcoming TV and film shoots, before finally escaping from the hotel and managing a stroll to the local park."

I'm sorry, did he just say FILM shoot!?!?!?!?!?! Holy crap! That's awesome. It could be as simple as another Vertigo DVD, which I assumed we would get, but it could be more. Who knows?!? They put out two concert films with the Elevation Tour (live in Boston and U2-Go-Home at Slane Castle), So an international sibling to go along with the Chicago DVD would be awesome.

Second - Why they heck can't we get the best set lists of the tour in the US!?!?!?!? Over the first five or so dates on the tour, rarities have snuck into the set such as The First Time, Mothers of the Disappeared ( a Joshua Tree gem), All I want is You and Love Rescue Me. I'll be really bummed if they randomly play The Sweetest Thing or Staring at the Sun and I'm not there for it...

Third - I'm starting a petition to get the stadium shows back into the US. They have to do it. They just have to. They'd only have to hit major markets. Just do shows in L.A. (probably the Rose Bowl, but Anaheim would be cool), NY (at the Meadowlands), Chicago, Boston, Houston and, of course, Autzen Stadium in Eugene!!!!

So what have YOU been up to lately?

Me....I got a new job. After months of prayer and thought and consideration, I have been offered and have accepted a job at Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon. We will be leaving the friendly confines of Rivertucky in the last week of April and I begin my new job on May 1st.

It's amazing the way that the Lord works. He is so faithful to our family. When our financial situation took a turn for the worse a little while back, and we realized that we just can't afford to raise our family the way we want to in Southern California, every little piece of the puzzle just kinda fit together.

You know how you pray when you REALLY need the Lord to provide, and you pray to God, telling him that your life is in his hands, that you sacrifice all of your needs and wants up to him to provide for you? Well we were doing that for the longest time. Only I had a small problem. I absolutely didn't want our family to have to move. I wanted God to provide for us, so long it meant a way for us to keep our house. After some big, earth-shattering things came to light, and we realized that our financial situation wasn't going to be getting better by the means we had anticipated, I started to pray the same pray, laying everything in the hands of God, only this time I meant it. I truly trusted God to take care of us, no matter what and no matter WHERE that meant.

In a matter of three days after we had the "wake-up call", I found out about this opening for a Sports Information Director, sent in my resume, had a 45-minute phone interview and was asked to come to Oregon for a day of interviews as one of the finalists.

I went to Oregon one week ago today and was called on Wednesday to let me know that I was being offered the job. It's pretty insane to see how quickly the process has moved along. And despite all of the heartache that we have ahead of us with leaving our families behind and trying to sell our house and buy a house, we are COMPLETELY at peace about our decision. God has truly provided this life-altering opportunity for us.

Now it's time for us to find a house and we're heading up there this weekend to start to look. Are we stressed about all of this? Of course. But I am completely confident that the Lord has the perfect home for us up there. His grace has been shown so abundantly to me lately, that although I may have many short comings as a father, husband and man of God, the Lord still cares enough to help us provide for our family.

It'll be a new adventure. We're very excited to be able to raise our kids outside of Southern California!

Friday.Random.Ten

1. Crown of Love - The Arcade Fire from Funeral
2. The Way You Move -Outcast from Speakerboxxx
3. Trying to Get to Heavan - Bob Dylan from Time Out of Mind
4. I'm Looking Through You - The Wallflowers from the I Am Sam Soundtrack
5. Jesus Christ - U2 from the Rattle & Hum Sun Studio Sessions
6. Gerry is Strong - The Bruce Lee Band from Hey Brotha Can You Spare Some Ska
7. Acoustic #3 - The Goo Goo Dolls from Dizzy Up the Girl
8. Satellite - Anna Nalick from Wreck of the Day
9. Crossroads - Bone Thugs-n-Harmony from The Collection, Vol. 1
10. Joybirds - Doris Henson from Give Me All Your Money

For the Kiddies - The Best of Disney Ten

1. Belle (Beauty & The Beast, 1991)
2. Song of the South (Song of the South, 1946)
3. A Spoonful of Sugar (Mary Poppins)
4. Love is a Song
5. A Whole New World (Aladdin)
6. Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
7. When You Wish Upon a Star
8. Main Street Electrical Parade
9. Can You Feel the Love Tonight? (Lion King, 1994)
10. Oogie Boogie's Song (Nightmare Before Christmas)

The Return of the Friday Random Ten

1. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue - Bob Dylan from Bob Dylan Live, 1966: The Royal Albert Hall Concert.
2. Me and Paul - Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash from Storytellers
3. Little Budda - Toad the Wet Sprocket from Coil
4. The Heat is On - Glenn Fry from Billboard Top Hits 1985
5. Glass and the Ghost Children - Smashing Pumpkins from Storytellers 8/24/00
6. Night Prowler - AC/DC from Highway to Hell
7. Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones from Forty Licks
8. Fight for Your Right - The Beastie Boys from Licensed to Ill
9. Get Gone - Fiona Apple from When the Pawn...
10. Monkey - Counting Crows from Recovering the Satellites

And this weeks special: John, Paul, George and Ringo

1. Maxwell's Silver Hammer - Abbey Road
2. Day Tripper - 1
3. Come Together - Abbey Road
4. The End - Anthology 3
5. Rip it Up/Shake, Rattle and Roll/Blue Suede Shoes - Anthology 3
6. Lady Madonna - 1
7. The Ballad of John and Yoko - 1
8. Hey Jude - 1
9. And I Love Her - Anthology 1
10. Honey Pie - Anthology 3

Noooooooooooooooo!!!!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2331737

Brutal. I now have competition for Garret Anderson in the Angel-I-Hate-The-Most race.

U2-INTL

Vertigo//2006 started tonight in Mexico. No word yet as to whether he started the show with "One, Two, Three....FOURTEEN!" or not. My biggest question mark is the fact that they aren't regularly playing All Because of You anymore. What the heck? It's one of the biggest songs off of the album! At least Original of the Species is back in, even if it's at the cost of Miracle Drug, which I fully thought would be back for the international shows. View the Set List Here.

Oh, by the way...

I got my I-pod back. They caught the guy who stole it because he was caught stealing a laptop from someone else's office on Tuesday. Woohoo!!!!

Six-For-Six

Hey Roland - Stick that in your giant vortex....

After a night of explosively emotional performances of "Vertigo" and "One" with Mary J. Blige, U2 picked up awards in each category it was nominated in. To recap, the wins for "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" are as follows:
*Album of the Year
*Best Rock Album
*Song of the Year for "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"
*Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"
*Best Rock Song for "City Of Blinding Lights"

*And of course, our other man, Steve Lillywhite, was victorious in the Production, Non-Classical category for his work with U2 and pop singer Jason Mraz.