Epic @ Wilshire Avenue (1st Service)

Our first Sunday at Wilshire Avenue Church started well. The air was crisp, the sky sunny and the excitment was infectious. A great beginning to hopefully a long and fruitful partnership with Wilshire Avenue!

-DB-

Epic @ Wilshire Avenue (Setup/Training)

Well, we finally made it over to Wilshire Avenue Church to start our training and setting up for Sunday. Praise God for HIS provision and for the hospitality of Wilshire Avenue Church for opening up their multipurpose room for us!

-DB-

Mega Jenga vs Regular Jenga

Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the MEGA Jenga last night at the Mahan's. The photo on the right is a regular sized Jenga with expert stacker Dr. David!

-DB-

Fullerton House Church - March 3rd

Tonight we had about >25 folks at the Hunt's, not bad considering it was rainy most of the day and getting cold. Our potluck theme tonight was Japanese. I brought steamed white rice (about 10 cups) plus some sliced and toasted Spam and Nori. We had curry and lots of Tofu dishes tonight!

Pastor Erin shared alittle about the upcoming church retreat and other church related announcements. Fiona is now working in the church office helping Pastor Erin and Kevin. One of the projects that I heard that they were starting is updating the Church's contact list especially the email listing.

Erin lead us in discussion on what we thought defined a "friend" vs how Jesus describes a friend in John 15:12-17. We broke up in smaller discussion group and came up with our own list of what make a "friend". In verse 13, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." We ponder on what "laying down one's life" meant in our church community and in the rest of our lives. Is friendship conditional? In verse 14, "You are my friends if you do what I command you."It seems that the next verse clarify verse 14. In rest of the verses , "15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing ; but I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Farther give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another."

That certainly stretches my defination of a "friend".

-DB-

P.S. Pray for the Hunts, they about to start their wonderful journey to Kazakhstan to adopt their new baby girl!! Brice mentioned last night (March 4th) that they will be leaving in one week!

Employee Appreciation - Free Ice Cream

A nice break from work on a rainy Friday!!

March 6th issue TV Guide articles

check out these scans about "24", "Lost" and "BSG" ... Spoiler Warning!!!

Chicago Tribune: BSG Finale Review / spoiler

Originally posted: March 1, 2006 (from Chicago Tribune Online)

'Battlestar' ends its second season in stellar style

When it comes to what to watch this weekend, one program stands out:
“Battlestar Galactica,” 9 p.m. Friday, Sci Fi: When he spoke to the Tribune in January, “Battlestar Galactica” executive producer Ron Moore promised that the show’s two-part second-season finale would have “some pretty major changes in how we do business. It’s really going to catch people off guard.” He wasn’t kidding.
There are some mind-bending plot twists in “Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 1 and Part 2” (the second installment airs March 10), but what’s most impressive about both episodes is how they gracefully manage to convey a sense of elegiac foreboding. The direction, the cinematography, the empathic and original music, the acting and the stories all combine to create a kind of suspenseful poetry, and make the case that, right now, “Battlestar Galactica” is the best show on television.
To top all that off, the revelations that unfold at the end of the 90-minute March 10 episode are truly out of this world. (highlight with Cursor to reveal Spoiler Text -DB)
Much of the action in the first episode centers on the presidential election; the interplay between a desperate, determined Laura Roslin and the cynical, supercilious Gaius Baltar is a barbed, bare-knuckled treat. Baltar ends up grabbing onto the mother of all wedge issues (and don’t read the next bit if you don’t want to know a mild spoiler about Friday’s episode): A planet is found that can sustain — barely — the surviving remnants of humanity.
Should the Galactica fleet keep running, or put down roots on this new planet, which may be able to shield them from the Cylons for a good long time? That’s the question, and the debate between Roslin and Baltar on the topic gets quite pointed.
There are many other juicy stories in these two episodes; Starbuck’s quest to find her lover and his band of fighters on Caprica, Tom Zarek (Richard Hatch) acting as Baltar’s Machiavellian political adviser, and Dean Stockwell guesting as a man of the cloth who attempts to counsel Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol, an endlessly likable character who does something extremely unlikable in this surprising pair of episodes.
Nothing, however, in the first two hours of the “Battlestar Galactica” finale can really prepare you for what happens in Season 2’s final half hour. Many revelations are packed into the final few minutes, and to reveal a single one of them would be a base act of treachery.
Still, it’s astonishing how confident Moore and the “Battlestar” writers are. They clearly know they have many more stories to tell, so dropping dozens of revelations into the last few minutes of the season — and doing it skillfully, without flash or smoke and mirrors — is no problem. They make it look easy, and a show with this many moving parts is clearly not easy to make. In any case, by the last spoken line of the season finale, you’ll be on the edge of your seat — and once again wondering just how the Galactica fleet is going to survive.

TV Guide - ASK Ausiello (BSG Spoiler)

Here's a Battlestar Galactica Spoiler about the Season Finale (Pt. 1 this Friday and Pt.2 next Friday). The Spoiler portion is written in "Invis-text" so you have to highlight with your cursor to reveal the SPOILER. -DB-

ASK AUSIELLO TV Guide Online
PhotoCredits"Katee Sackhoff and Jamie Bamber by Justin Stephens/NBC, "
Katee Sackhoff and Jamie Bamber, Battlestar Galactica

Question: Last week's Battlestar Galactica, "Downloaded," was the most perfect hour of television I have seen all year. If Tricia Helfer, Grace Park and Jim Callis don't get Emmy nods for that piece of perfection, then the whole race is a sham. — Brian
Ausiello: You'll get no argument here, Brian. And after watching an advance screener of the two-part season finale — airing March 3 and 10 — I'm going to add the incomparable Mary McDonnell to the Emmys' must-list. Oh, speaking of the big climax, it'll probably come as no surprise that it's fan-frakking-tastic. Before it's over, two major characters will get hitched, two closeknit characters will become estranged and another Cylon model will be revealed. But the big twist comes in the final 30 minutes of the second episode. All I'll say is it's a Galactica first and it's something you'll have to read to believe. (BTW, for those who missed "Downloaded," TV Guide is giving away free downloads of the episode to everyone who buys a newsstand copy of the March 6 issue, on sale Thursday. Talk about an offer you shouldn't refuse.)

Breakfast choices

Earlier this week, I was starving for breakfast food ... and GOD provides (in interesting ways). I was about got grab a cup of coffee and some of my Trader Joe "Dunker" cookies when Roxy comes over with a fruit danish! Then while I was trying to decide go with either the danish or the cookies, then Vannary plopped down an Asian Tamale (sort of like a Chinese Joong) ... now I really had CHOICES. I went for the Asian Tamale! I heard that Thavy's mom spent all night making and wrapping them! It was great! Reminded me of the ones that my grandmother used to make. It was a good choice!

-DB-

Office Bday decoration & luncheon

Man! It's been a while since I got to update my blog. It's been that kind of week. I'll try to put in some fresh content. One of the supervisors' birthday was this week and his crew decided to make it memorable. Check out the pixs. The celebration went on for a couple days the actual birthday was on Tuesday and the department luncheon was today (Thursday). We went back to BJ's Restaurant and Brewery for some more yummy food. I had the beef dipped sandwich with fries!

-DB-