Blogs of the Week - Photo Blogs

There are three photo blogs that I frequent at least once a day because of the humorous daily additions.

Awkward Family Photos - This is a great site because it usually involves pictures of families that are just plain weird. Be careful about viewing the Saturday Night Specials. Some of those entries are a bit risque. As a side note, my church's youth minister and his family's photo will be included in a book to be published by the website next year. His son threw a temper tantrum while the photograph was trying to take a picture for the church directory, and the results were amusing to everyone but the family! (Unfortunately the picture was not published in the directory but I am glad to see that it will reach a much broader audience.

Sexy People - This site leaves you to provide any commentary. I like how it allows the pictures to speak for themselves. It is nostalgic too because if you are like me, you remember many of the same backgrounds and clothing styles that these normal people were wearing at the time of the photographs. The expressions on the faces of the kid photos are often priceless.

People of Wal-mart - I often laugh, cringe, and feel a wave of nausea when viewing the photos on this site, but it is definitely entertaining. I do have three gripes about this site. (1) The commentary provided by the administrators of the website and those submitting the photos can be PG-13 or R rated at times including language, and even downright cruel. (2) The photos often contain offensive material, but, then again, these people are shopping at a neighborhood Wal-mart dressed that way or parking in the parking lot, so it isn't worse than what you might see on a trip to Wal-mart. (3) The administrators update too many times in a day on some days. Seriously guys, give me one or two pictures a day or it becomes overkill. It also keeps the suspense as a low whereas one or two posts a day would make me anticipate the next day's photo that much more (and probably make it more enjoyable).

I do realize that some people will find these sites repulsive because the sole purpose really is to laugh at the way people look. I think that even those people should frequent the sites though. Why? Because you need to make sure that none of your enemies submits a photo of you! Trust me, I have many photos that those who wanted to ruin my day could submit to any of the three sites. Well, maybe not the People of Walmart site unless someone is holding onto some blackmail photos I do not know about. I do remember several trips during the college years in my pajama pants, but at least they were G rated!

Glamour Shots

I have a confession to make. During my teenage years, I secretly wanted to have a glamour shot photo shoot. If you are over the age of 25, you probably know what I am talking about. Big hair, professional make-up, all blinged out, fancy clothes, and model poses. Many of my friends had those shoots and I thought that their pictures looked so cool. However, I do not think that I ever got up the nerve to ask my parents, and they probably would have said no anyway because the shoots were a whole lot more expensive than my yearly yearbook pictures that chronicled that awkward phase nicely enough.

Now, I really wish that I had endured one of the glamor shot photo shoots. Have you seen the pictures now that the fad is over? Laughable is an understatement! I am sure that a glamour shot would now provide me with hours of amusement as I laughed at my own picture. I also think that it would show how false that reality would be. I was a plain teenager, dorky really, because I was not allowed to get contacts until I was a junior in high school. It would be a reminder that although I could get all dressed up and dolled up, I was just the same, normal, plain, non-glamourous teenager despite what the picture portrayed. It would be a humbling reminder that a glamorized exterior does not tell the story of who a person is on the inside.

I have noticed on the Fox News website the past few days that they have been showing off pictures of celebrities without their make-up. It is a reminder that what we see portrayed on TV is just glamor shots, but that these people are really just plain, average looking people. Sure, when you completely coat the exterior in professional make-up, professional hair, provide the right lighting, etc., these stars are gorgeous. But the reality is that all of those things are really just covering up normal, plain, non-glamorous people.

Don't get me wrong - I am thankful for make-up and the ability to hide some of the imperfections. I am just pondering how our outward appearance is comparable to our inward lives as well. We present as a pretty a front as we can to the public, but whatever we are able to act like on the outside does not change who we really are on the inside. The only way that any of us can be truly glamourous is through Jesus Christ. I am thankful that God will see Jesus covering all of my imperfections and ugliness on the day of judgment and that I will then inside and glamourous outside will match!

*You can find the pictures shown above and more at the Sexy People website - I almost posted the before/after pics of the Glamour Shot models, but you can find them for yourself on the Sexy People website here and here.

Fall TV

I am not a big fan of new TV because most of the new shows in the past few years have been too raunchy for me to enjoy them. Also, "reality TV" isn't real at all, so what is the point in watching normal people who fit a particular stereotype put into an unreal situation and experience ups and downs for several weeks while all claiming to have achieved some big personal revelation that will forever change their lives (the celebrity that comes from the show alone probably changes the life more than anything else, but I am digressing). For these reasons, I have sworn off of watching fall TV the past few years and have instead waited until the shows come on syndication (House) or DVD (The Office) to watch them.

This year I am taking a different approach however. I got so caught up in the season of House last year when I realized that the episodes I was watching on USA on Friday nights were the same ones that were played on the Monday of the same week that I started watching on Mondays. I even watched an episode or two of The Office on TV last year. Therefore, this fall when the season premieres came on, I could not resist the temptation to watch the season premiere of House and The Office. Part of my reason for not wanting to get addicted to watching on a particular date and time is that I do not want my activities during a week to be governed by what is on TV that night. Should TV really trump relationship opportunities that may present themselves? Probably not. Of course my previous post mentions certain football games that usually do trump relationships but most of the people I am friends with know and understand!

I love to watch House. House even trumped the first hour of Peyton Manning on Monday Night Football, which is pretty huge for me. There is something about House that intrigues me despite his atheist talk and his attempts to be God. He is fascinating, and I cannot help but be fascinated by the show. House may have some of the best writers in TV, even if (I have been told) this week's episode seemed to mirror The Soloist.

The Office is starting out pretty funny this year. Last year started kind of funny, but at least the last half of the season was not funny, and things were looking grim. I am pleased to see that the humor has returned and it is looking more like seasons 2 and 3 than 4 and 5. I also discovered this week that I can watch full episodes on my iPhone at the NBC site (for FREE!), so I do not have to craft my schedule around watching this show. AWESOME! I knew I could from the computer, but since I don't have Internet at home other than on my iPhone, it was inconvenient to try to watch the episodes last year.

Upon the recommendation of a friend, I actually decided to give Community a chance. So far I have found it funny. It is funny in a clever way. It is funny in a way that is reminiscent of classic Saturday Night Live skits (and I am not saying that just because Chevy Chase is a cast member - SNL Thursday update and Parks and Recreations are missing the characteristics of classic SNL that make this show funny). It has the humor of The Office without being the mockumentary format. Plus, full episodes of it can be watched on my iPhone for free meaning I do not feel bad for missing an episode and can catch up pretty quickly.

It looks like these three shows are going to be the only shows to survive into spring. I have watched bits of other shows, and I have not been impressed. I do like the opening skit on the SNL Thursday Update, but the rest of the show was downhill. Parks and Recreations was too - well, I am having a hard time finding a word - offensive seems to capture it well enough. I do not need to add any medical shows since House is so perfect. I do not need mystery/crime shows because House has that covered too. Three shows that I am addicted to is not too bad. Now I have a fall line-up that is manageable - House, The Office, Community, and football.

My Favorite Season

We are now in the midst of my favorite season - Football Season! Last year I was not as impressed with the start of football season. I was not entertained. It took a while for the big games to come, and my teams were not doing all that great (except for a defeat of OU), and even the NFL had lost some of its charm for me. Towards January I was no longer watching my favorite sport of all time, and I had very little interest in the Super Bowl and the NCAA Championship game. It was like I had taken a year off from my favorite sport since the season was riddled by disappointments. It was depressing.

This year has started out very different from last season. I am once again excited about my favorite sport. I am once again entertained by the skill of the players on the field. I think that time off from the sport created a greater sense of expectation for this year's season. I still skipped watching most of the preseason games because I do not find those entertaining, but I sat mesmerized the first weekend of the college football season. Then came the Michigan-Notre Dame game. Then came the Texas-Texas Tech game. Then the Mannings showed why every team wants a Manning as a quarterback in the 4th quarter and clutch kickers just in case the Manning cannot find the end-zone but can get within reach. I am once again addicted to football. Teams I hate are losing, teams I love are winning (at least sometimes - Baylor and Houston still have some issues to work out!). The TV schedule for games has been great even if we had to watch Oklahoma State instead of Baylor because apparently the national programers think that people in our area would prefer to watch OSU lose than to watch Baylor win (but my iPhone let me keep up with the Baylor game ok enough). I am once again excited about football. After last season I was beginning to wonder if I would ever be a fan again. I am glad that I once again have football to use as a stress relief! I still refuse, however, to allow football to dictate my schedule - except the Texas-OU and the Texas-Texas A & M game of course!

Myth Shattered?

Sometimes those of us who work with the children at the Center in New Orleans think that the children who are fortunate enough to get away from New Orleans will be alright, will make it somehow. Today that belief, maybe even a myth, was shattered. Desiree Davis, one of the girls who came to the Center before Katrina, was shot and killed in Oakland this week. The details of the crime read much like the murders in New Orleans read. I had not seen her since a few months before Katrina, but none of us have really forgotten those who never came back to New Orleans. The last we had heard she was doing good in California, finishing school, staying out of trouble. Life is short and our cities are violent. The gospel needs to be spread in our cities and to the youth in our cities.