Lincoln vs. Linkin

Earlier today, I noticed a copy of Lincoln Brewster's new CD on our music director's desk, picked up, and proceeded to say to my sister without thinking, "Hey, it's the new Linkin Park!"

Um, what?

I then asked myself how the heck I could get those two confused, except for maybe that they share the same first name. (sort of) But see, I wasn't too far off... not at all. What does a faux hawked worship leader have to do with an angry rock band?

Cover art. That's what. Consider these:

#1) Lincoln's new album, Today is the Day














#2) Linkin's single What I've Done












Now, I'm not suggesting plagiarism or ripoff, and I'm not going to lament the lack of creativity in the CCM world. After all, that's been done before, so what's the fun in that? Similarity in art happens, I guess. But in this case, the resemblance was just too weird and funny not to share.

Besides, almost sharing a name seriously one-ups the Third Day/Radiohead drama any day. Bravo, Lincoln. (or Linkin. whatever.)

Night of Joy: The Aftermath

(nice title, huh? Doesn't it sound all disaster movie-ish? I thought so. :D)

So, here it is, exactly one week after the epic event that is Night of Joy. To be honest, after two nights of waking up early (couldn't help it) and staying out late (bedtime at 3 am, what?) and three delightful days at the most magical place on earth, well... last week is a blur. I'm pretty sure I went to work every day, and am wondering why I have random Veggietales songs stuck in my head. (oh, right... I built a Veggietales event radio spot this week. Mystery solved!)

But all in all, Night of Joy is totally fun and worth it and one of my favorite events. I mean, who doesn't enjoy getting paid to go to Disney for a weekend, right? :) And now I think I have my mental faculties back well enough to share about it.

However... in an effort to not get too incredibly long-winded, I thought perhaps we will do this a little differently and hit the highlights awards show style. Presenting the first ever (drum roll please)... Dizzy Awards!

Y'know. Dizzy. Rhymes with Disney + How I Feel After the It's Over. Harhar, I win at wordplay. *crickets* Oh, whatever. On with the show...

Best Food: Roasted veggie and feta frittata with garlic potatoes at Spoodles. Yum yum.

Best Part of New Park: Having the YHot Dance Party at the Playhouse Disney stage. It was so amazing... the lighting, the air conditioning, the sound system, the air conditioning, the fog machine, Mickey's sweet dance moves... (did I mention it was air conditioned?) I spent the bulk of my weekend in this building, and I was totally okay with it.

Disney Cast Member Awesomeness Award: Goes to Katherine, my "handler," or better known as my Disney friend. Katherine was awesome. As I faked Great DJ skills at the YHot Party, she was always there to keep me company, seek out water, and help me not get lost. That, and she was super sweet and fun to talk to. Katherine, you rock. Thanks for making me feel way cooler than I really am.

Favorite Disney Secret: The hidden bathroom at the Playhouse Disney/YHot Party stage, one of the many delightful things Katherine showed me. There's even a couch on the way! It was wonderful. (I would tell you where it is, but that's a Disney Secret and I must guard the magic.)

Best YHot Party Moment: When a huge circle gathered on Saturday and two guys commenced a dance-off. After multiple requests for a faster tune, I finally found something "crunk" enough and they just... went. (Meanwhile, DJ chick stands back in awe, realizing that she secretly "wants to roll with the gangstas but is just too white and nerdy.")

Favorite Partygoer Question: "Well, don't you have Limewire or something?" ~ a kid requesting a song I did not have.

Favorite Show: Um... I only saw one. But! It was RED and Red is superawesome. The only thing that could have made them even more superawesome would have been a live string section but THAT'S OKAY! They rocked it, and I'm glad I made time to catch their show.

Favorite Band Comment at Favorite Show: "This is really different from last year. This year you're way out there, but last year you were, like, right here. *motions to indicate front of stage* I think I chipped a tooth 'cause one of you shoved the mic in my face." ~ Michael Barnes, lead singer of Red (paraphrased a bit)

Favorite "Crap, I'm getting old" Moment: Realizing after 30 minutes on the front row with Red, my ears were feeling rather stuffy and my hearing would be shot for the rest of the evening.

Best Lame-Yet-Weirdly-Fun Ride: Star Tours. So much cheesy fun, we hopped right back on and rode it again. (Well, that and there was totally no line and it beats standing in the heat...)

Best Ride Overall: Toy Story Mania. Worth every minute of the wait.

Jen's Best Score at Toy Story Mania: 94,100. Booyah.

Best Score at Toy Story Mania... Period: 149,000+ for Wolfman. My family teamed up with his family and he pwnd us all. I will have my revenge someday.

***

So, there you have it... the big Night of Joy recap! (It got long-winded anyway. Oh well.) It was great and fun and tiring, and I learn something new every year. (Like, stay at the hotel and sleep on Saturday so you don't get so tired and cranky by the end.) One day, I'll be a pro at this... :)

Long time, no blog.

Hello world.

I keep getting these little random flashes of bloggy inspiration, but never seem to sit down and work them out. (Okay, said random flashes of bloggy inspiration usually occur while I'm driving, working, or otherwise to preoccupied to sit down and actually write about them. That's what Twitter's for, I guess.)

So yeah, excuses aside, I figure I'll instead give you a little stream-of-consciousness mix of various things, because I am tired but I want post something. Maybe some of these things will get their own real post someday.


1) I'm sick of the election. Seriously. Let's get that statement out of the way. Part of me would really just like to sit back and watch the spectacle. Part of me wants and needs to care, knowing that informing myself and voting intelligently is my privilege and civic duty.

And then there's the other part that wants to hibernate until November...

(Don't worry. This is as political as it gets around here.)


2) Night of Joy. Packing a bag for a fun-filled weekend at the ever-magical Disney World. I'm kind of excited this year.. not so much about the lineup as I am working the YHot Dance Party stage.

Yes, it's the one time of year I get to rock the mic and play DJ. It has it's moments, sure, but I had a blast last year and am hoping for even better this time around. I understand that we've got a really big, nice venue this year (what with moving to the new park and all) and, get this... I've got a handler! That's right, someone to personally escort me to where I need to be when I need to be there. I've never had a handler before, so this is kind of a big deal to me.

I feel so... important. Like a rock star. (I wonder if I can get an entourage next year.)


3) That said, I hope to take lots of pictures, and maybe even twitter a bit if anything exciting happens (finally learned how to update with my phone! So l337!)


4) Some articles in the new issue of Relevant seriously got me thinking. About what I give to the world. About serving. About how hypocritical I can be, talking about the things that we as Christians should do to change the world, yet really not doing a whole lot of anything myself. I'd love to do what I can to help, to create change... but I have no clue where to start. What do you give when you don't have much? (and I'm not just talking about money either.)

That's definitely a whole other story in itself though...


5) Back on a mad reading kick again. I'm re-reading Mere Christianity. I forgot how great and how deep this little book is... and every time I read C.S. Lewis, I remember why I got to love his stuff so much.

***

That's more than enough nonsensical rambling for one night. (It's midnight! Who knew?) Busy weekend ahead, so perhaps more postage after Night of Joy is in order. I'm sure there will be stories...