Prayerful Silence

I took this picture myself, of myself. Then experimented in photoshop with it. I like the results, somewhat. Figured it couldn't hurt to post it.

~ John.

 

Mt. Susitna Photographs

The following pictures are of Mount Susitna in Alaska. It was right out my window. It's known usually as 'Sleeping Lady'. Very lovely mountain. The pictures are kinda hard to see in the previews, so be sure to click them to see the full sized image.


Both of these were taken by layering multiple shots together with Photoshop. To think, this is what I saw every day and every night when I lived in Alaska. Is God amazing, or what?

Now, I see these pictures and I think, 'Wow! What a great background for a dramatic scene!'




And in other news, today is Mrs. Roger's birthday!

Happy Birthday Amber!

~ John.

 

New Addition.

A new shockmount. Our old one was just too small for David's AT-897 microphone. This new one is a bit more suitable for mounting to the top of a camera anyway. At any rate, I meant to give it to David at church on Sunday, but I forgot. :-(

I did get him his microphone back though! He has a special project in mind for which he needed it...

And in other news, God has blessed us with a downpour of rain! There's been quite a droubt here in Texas, and this rain is especially welcome.

And that's all for now. Today, we helped Sam Coleman move, along with several other families from the business and from our church. Hopefully I get the pictures from Mrs. Coleman fairly soon, and I can put them online. ;-)

~ John.

 

Title Slide for Old Movie

This is an old slide from a movie that David and I never made. It was going to be made using Machinema techniques in FarCry. It had a rather bizarre storyline, but uh... Yeah. No, we'll never make it. At least not that we release publicly. ;-)

But I really like this title slide. Made completely from scratch in Photoshop 5.5 . David and I might have to do SOMETHING like this in the future though. Just a piece of HeuMoore history.

~ John.

Updates, and an Abstract Photo.

This picture is a REAL photo taken by Rebecca Coleman. I think it's pretty cool. I only wish it were higher resolution. But I mean, hey, that's pretty cool. It was a picture of a sparkler, at night, with a really long exposure time. Came out awesome, I think.

David, is there a way to replicate those particles with a computer?


So, update is, I won't be going to Washington this week. Turns out that our client accidentally double booked, and the other appointment involves the President's wife. So, I'll be going up later on, or he'll possibly hire a local producer, for simplicity.

And secondarily, my Microtrack 24/96 has come back from the repair shop! Yeehaw! Now maybe I can start that podcast I've been thinking about....

Shall we vote? Yay or Nay on the podcast idea, folks?

God Bless!

~ John.

 

Bubble Trouble on FaithTV!

Great News Folks!


Tomorrow, August 23'rd, Bubble Trouble will be a featured short film on Captain Bret's Christian Movie show, on FaithTV. FaithTV is available through SkyAngel, the Christian Satellite TV network. The channel number is 9708, and it plays at 8:00 PM central, which is (I recently figured out) 9:00 PM Eastern, 7:00 PM Mountain Time, and 6:00 PM Western. Hope that solves things!

If you don't have SkyAngel in your area, be sure to check out our films on the Movies page, and the Bubble Trouble DVD on our DVD sales page.

God Bless folks, and enjoy the show!

~ John

 

Entrepreneurial Bootcamp: A Picture Journal.

Let me start out by saying that our trip
to San Antonio was fabulous.  Then let me continue by saying that all these
pictures are due to the work of Kelly Reins.  Kudos Kelly!  She took a
LOT of pictures, so it was nice to have a lot of options when putting the post
together.

The following pictures chronicle the
events in our trip to the San of Antonio.  It was a BLAST.

Ok, here come the pictures!

Our trip to San Antonio began with us, loading the car. Packing it until it was
stuffed and overflowing. Jack enjoyed it though!



I was staring at our new tires. They were rather low. We filled them up before
leaving.



Then we hit the road, bound for San Antonio! I rode in the Reins' red suburban. Kelly and Andrea were joining us for this trip, and I was riding with them.



Speaking of riding with them, it can be nervewracking to ride with a girl
driving. :-


Andrea and Kelly often swapped back and forth their driving duties.



Like I said, swapping. Ya know, girls just weren't designed to handle the
constant pressure of keeping up with Dad. So they would take turns. Smart.



Reagan sat contentedly playing in the backseat. Good girl!



And in the meantime, I was navigating. Actually, Dad was in the lead rig, so I
wasn't navigating, but I was calculating times.



After a five hour drive, we arrived in San Antonio!



As I understand it, San Antonio is the home of several mega churches and
Christian organizations. John Hagee, and Vision Forum, for instance. Granted,
there is a large difference between John Hagee and Vision Forum Ministries.



We arrived at our hotel and promptly unpacked.



Then we traveled to the Henry B. Gonzalez convention center and registered for
the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp. We were greeted by a host of cheery faces, and
each one of us was given a lecture workbook. We also met up with Tait Zimmerman at this time, and said hello. Unfortunately, we have no pictures of Tait! Neither I nor Kelly took a picture of this newest addition to the Vision Forum intern team. I wish we had, but alas, we did not.



I like the Henry B. Gonzalez convention center.



After registration, we all journeyed along with Pastor Bacon down to the riverwalk. We went to the restaurant known as the 'Casa Rio'. Nice restaurant, even if they sometimes forget to wash their dishes.



Pastor Bacon discussing the Bible, and waiting for food. So much fun!



David was staring at the pidgeons that continually fly around down on the river walk.



And so was Reagan.



Meanwhile, I was taking a picture of myself with Kelly's camera. This picture is
a miracle in itself. The framing was accidentally perfect. Hmm. Do YOU believe in the providence of God?



Meanwhile Gator was content with his soda. Later at the same place, he spilled the soda all over himself. He has a unique way of weilding the straw!



And Kelly, who took the vast majority of these pictures. The only ones she didn't take, are the ones OF her. Because really, it's difficult to take a photo of yourself. I mean, I did it once, but only once.



That night, we sat through a wonderful opening session with Doug Phillips, and many of the other speakers also gave a short summary of their topic titles.



The next day, we were up bright and early, and speedily went forth to attend the morning session.



By this time, we had met up with the Powers family, and Reagan was having a great time with the girls. Andrea Reins, of course, was supervising.



Of course, the first thing we did after the morning session, was to go to lunch at the Casa Rio. The Powers, Schammels, Moore's, and Dr. Bacon all traveled together. I had gone ahead to make sure a table was available and to hold it, but I'd only reserved a place for just a few of us, so the waiter had to extend our table to fit everything.


 
For the record, Jack and David think that Mexican food is good stuff. I happen to heartily agree. :-D


 
Pretty restaraunt, with lots of windows to the outdoors, and tastefully decorated indoors. The first day, we had to eat outside because there was no room indoors, but the smoldering temperatures made the air conditioning inside very desirable for the next day. That was the main reason that Dad sent me ahead to hold a table.


 
Thinking. About what, I haven't a clue. However, Pastor Bacon seems to be
thinking about what was on the menu. A wise idea, I suppose.



The riverwalk is covered with such lovely decor as this artificial stone bridge.
You can tell by the people in the lower right hand corner that it's actually a
lot larger than it first appears!



My Parents and Pastor Bacon had a nice meeting with some folks up by the coffee
shop during one of the breaks.



Mamma Mia at the same coffee shop.



Mike Powers and his little brother, Jack, David, Reagan, and the Powers girls.
All having a grand ol' time within the halls of the Henry B. Gonzalez. I wish
that all of you had been there. We all had a blast.



Three cheery faces!




Is this an example of family resemblance?



Hmm. We COULD be related...



Definite connection.



Well, imitation is the highest form of flattery. Who's flattering who, though,
is the question. ;-)



While we were at the Bootcamp, we had a great time to fellowship with Elder
Seekamp and his family!



Same led us to a pretty nice burger joint, where we had lunch on the third day.
From left to right is Reagan (bottom) David (top), Me, Mr. Seekamp, Sam, Jack,
Josh, Mrs Seekamp (top) Jacob Seekamp (bottom, also seen in 'Jacob's Audition'),
and Gator.



It appears here that David and Jacob have discovered something of interest along
the riverwalk.



Josh, Sam, and then David. Three amigos! Well, we were eating burgers, not
Mexican food, so I'm not sure that they were three amigos, but whatever the
English word for amigos is, there was three of 'em!



Gator deliberates carefully before ordering. Jacob, chatechism champion, who's
face is partially covered by the menu, is sitting to his right, but it appears
that his careful deliberation has already been done.



There I am, sitting in the sunshine. Mom sits in the shade, and Dad sits in the
sunshine. Was this planned by some mastermind? One thing that was interesting
about the Lone Star, is that they had fans outside that were constantly misting
the area with cool water. As if Texas weren't humid enough already!



I love this shot. Bravo to Kelly Reins, and her photo skills!



Jack was enjoying himself the whole time. The fact that a teenage boy would
rather go to a Christian business conference than to Disney World speaks
multitudes about him and his Parents. Take that how you will. ;-)


 
At the bootcamp, I met up with Philip Leclerc. I'm sure many of you are familiar
with his work on the film 'Finally Home'. Finally Home was one of the very first
films we saw at the film festival in 2005. In fact, I believe it was THE very
first film. David and I had a great time at the film festival talking and
learning from Philip and his friends!


 
Left to right, is Mr. Leclerc, Myself, David, Philip Leclerc, Mom, Dad, and
Jack. Then a guy in a blue shirt, but I can't see who that is.


 
The Moore's weren't the only ones to find friends at the Bootcamp, however. The
Reins girls also met up with a lot of nice folks that had either read their blog,
or knew somebody who read their blog. I know they got to spend some time with
the Botkin girls, among others. Or maybe it was the other way around... ;-)



Is explanation really necessary for a picture with this much dramatic depth?
Hehe, actually, I have no idea what's going on in this picture.



David found friends,



And so did Jack.



Reagan found Mrs. Schamels Baby. What a treasure!



Sweet spirits attract each other!

Dad and Dale Schamel had a wonderful time
talking and visiting at the Bootcamp.

 

But, at last we had to go, and pull Kelly
and Andrea away from their friends.  'Twas a sad thing.

 

I'm not sure whether Gator was happy or
sad that we were going.

Either way, we're home now, but we had a
wonderful time at the Bootcamp!  I wish you all could have been there to
join us.  We're definitely going to make the trip next year, and I'm very
excited about the film festival this coming October!

Sorry for the long delay in this post,
but I've been incredibly busy as of late.  Thank you all for your patience
and consistent commenting reminders that I needed to post again.  ;-)

God Bless!



~ John.

A picture.

I took this picture months ago. I really like it.

Anyway, the San Antonio pictures Should be online soon. There's no garantee of that though. These pictures have been causing me nothing but ceaseless misery for quite a while.

~ John.

 

Day Two Continued: Isaac Botkin

Entrepreneurialism and the History of Technology

After Arnold Pent's excellent teaching, we took a short break, and reconvened in room 006c, for a lesson that Isaac gave at the World History Conference, slightly retouched to be appropriate for the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp.

Isaac Botkin started off by making the brilliant observation that a culture's religious values will ultimately define which technologies it pursues, and how it first uses them. He listed for an example, the printing press. It was creatively developed to spread the word of God around the world.

Several providential facts made the invention of the printing press perfect for this time frame, namely the fact that Europe had just discovered a new mechanical method of mass producing paper. Also, it was a time of higher literacy rates than any other previous time in Europe, and Catholic church was at the moment being particularly tyrannical. Interestingly enough, my Pastor Dr. Richard Bacon gave a lecture at our church about how the bible came to be, and spoke about some of the same exact provisions that God had made for the spread of his Word.

Of course, at a time like this and with an inventor like Johann Gutenberg, the printing press was predominantly Christian in use. It was used to reprint theological papers and the bible, and it spread like wildfire.

In two other main cultures, Islam and the Orient, the printing press was also a known invention. However, in China, the government owned the press and used it only to print and spread it's propoganda. The printing press didn't have much development or use, and as such, the people remained in fear and illiteracy for a good length of time. Islam also had the printing press, but in the same attempt to continue keeping the people illiterate as the Chinese had shown, the printing press was illegal in Islam until the mid 1800's.

Isaac went on to explain that unlike what the mainstream history textbooks teach, Europe of the middle ages was actually one of the most inventive and wealthy societies in history. They designed the heavy plow, as opposed to the simple plow. They developed a strong concept of private property, and maintained it. A Christian culture would naturally do so. Many farming techniques like crop rotation were developed during this period for the first time in history. Of course, it wasn't done by some major development industry, but rather by individual families who would maintain farms for multiple generations. This again showed their christian view of culture and dominion, in that they were being fruitful, multiplying, and recording the wisdom of their fathers and grandfathers. It was family entrepreneurship at it's best. Other inventions such as waterwheels and windmills showed their ways of using technology instead of slavery to take dominion of the world, as opposed to Islam or China, which were slave-holding cultures.

Isaac covered the invention of the clock by Christian civilization, and how they were using it in an attempt to create order and 'redeem the time'. He also compared Europe in the middle ages with China and Islam again, and how they utilized, or did not utilize, technologies and sciences. China outlawed entrepreneurship, and in 1436, they even made world exploration illegal. Shortly afterwards Columbus sailed from Europe to discover and explore America as a part of a dominion mandate worldview. In China meanwhile, building multimasted ships meant the death penalty. This was basically the chinese mindset toward all inventions. Don't let the people have them. Sure, the government can have these things, and maybe eventually we'll pass the technology on to the people, but in the meantime let's illegalize it.
Islam was very similar to China, in that there were no private property rights and modern inventions were virtually unknown. Even though there were some very good observations in Islam about things like glass and it's properties, never did they put these scientific observations to any use whatsoever. Isaac pointed out the similarities between the Islamic view of science and invention, and Charles Darwin. This was an interesting comparison, I thought.

While Islam and China were busy maintaining a totalitarian control over the people, Christians in Europe were developing and utilizing the inventions of gunpowder, clocks, and any natural resources available. Really, Islam and China were marxist nations in their construct, and of course marxism is opposed to Christendom and entrepreneurial industry on every level.

Isaac wrapped up the lecture by stating that we need to exploit all technologies and inventions in our vision for dominion. He explained the definition 'exploit' as being 'to employ the greatest possible advantage of an object or talent'.

He then wrapped up the lecture with a brief Q & A session. After he stepped down from the podium, I told him how much I appreciated the lesson, and commented on his opening remarks in regards to technologies being utilized primarily for the religion of any given culture, and talked about the use our culture has applied to the internet. He then told me that video technology has also been first adopted by pornographers. Disappointing, but not at all surprising. Due to this lecture, I am still looking at how new computer technology is being developed and trying to apply this principle in discovering the goals and purposes of modern inventions. It's been very interesting. If you get a chance to hear this lecture from either the History of the World Mega Conference CD set, or the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp CD set, I recommend it highly.

~ John.

 

Day Two.

Today was the first day of simultaneous lectures in multiple areas, but the day started off with two keynote speeches in the main ballroom. First was Geoff Btokin presenting the a lecture on Family Business and the two hundred year plan. Second was Arnold Pent and his lecture ‘The Seven Nuts and Bolts of the Pent Family Entrepreneurial Vision’. Then we took a short break, and everybody split off into different rooms.

My Father stayed in the main ballroom and listened to Wade Myers present ‘Building a Business from Start to Finish’. Pastor Bacon and the Seekamp family attended Don Hart’s lecture, ‘Top Ten Legal Issues Every Entrepreneur Needs to Understand’, while I attended Isaac Botkin’s lesson, ‘The History of Technology.

We then took a break for lunch between noon and one thirty, resuming the training again with Doug Phillips lecture ‘Building Your Team: Biblical Principles for Leading Your Staff’. Other lectures were taking place at the same time, but unfortunately nobody from our group attended those lectures, and I didn’t speak with any of the other attendees about them.

At three o’clock, we all came together in the main ballroom to hear the ‘Top Business Plan’ presentations’. Some of the ideas I heard were very well thought out, and others were written out. There is a difference, but either way I enjoyed the presentations immensely, and loved to hear the ideas that were put on display. At five-thirty, the plan presentation ended, with promises that the winners would be revealed tomorrow.

At seven-thirty, we all gathered for what would have been Jim Sammons lecture ‘Biblical Principles for Business Success’, but Mr. Sammons is by the side of his dying brother right now, and as God would have it, Jim was not able to be hear tonight. We pray for Mr. Sammons that God would bless him during this time of grief, and yet happiness, that Jim’s brother is about to pass into eternity, and meet his Lord. Instead of the scheduled lecture, Doug arranged a panel discussion where the different speakers all had input, and took questions from the audience, as well as presenting various little business ideas.

That pretty much concluded the day, but I’m not just going to leave you there. I’m going to transcribe a great portion of my notes and what I heard from the speakers, for those of you willing to read the information. I will also transcribe what I was able to take down from the business plan presentations.

In Geoffrey Botkin’s lecture, family business and the two hundred year plan, Mr. Botkin managed to condense great portions of about three different lectures into one lesson, but wasn’t able to thoroughly cover all of the material. In fact, he was going so fast, that I wasn’t able to properly note all of his points and quotes, nor was I efficient in writing down the information in such a way that I could remember what context it was spoken in. This makes me feel somewhat foolish, but I’ll do my best to reconstruct main points of his lecture.

Geoffrey Botkin wisely noted that by God’s grace, Entrepreneurialism would be one of the driving forces that will bring reformation to the twenty-first century. He said that a business model will by God’s grace help to reform all areas of life. He continued to point out that businessmen are a respected commodity in the world, and that while Christians are treated like dirt, businessmen are treated as God’s. When a Christian businessman is seen, they are greatly confused. He also noted that we should be careful which books we read with regard to business, because harmful advice could defile a family for generations. As this conference focuses so much on multi-generational visions, the damage that could be done would be devastating to such a vision.

Lastly, one of the points I most remember and appreciated from his lecture, was that Christian men have no business idealizing pop culture in any facet, especially but not limited to, business practices. Men who have a problem with avarice can not be shepherds of God’s people. Thank you, Mr. Botkin, for an excellent lecture.

Next, Arnold Pent III came up and presented his seven nuts and bolts of the Pent family entrepreneurial vision. His seven points were:

1. Read the word of God, and allow him to shape you through it.

God’s word is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. Ultimately, we should let God’s holy scriptures guide us and keep us on the right path in business ventures.

2. Live in a state of constant prayer.

We must communicate with God frequently, and he will provide us with solutions to complicated and many times impossible obstacles in our path.

3. Failure is often your friend.

He told a bit about how he was fired and had no job, and yet in that failure he learned about opportunities in business, and started up. Without that failure, he would never have had the opportunity to have started a very financially and spiritually successful business venture.

4. Pursue a lifetime of learning.

Be knowledgeable in a broad range of subjects, and very deep in a few of those. Never stop learning.

5. Work, work, work.

We live in a culture of distractions which must be put aside. We have to keep our focus on our duties, and especially in the context of entrepreneurialism, rediscover a puritan work ethic. However, even as hard as we are commanded to work, we must not work on Sunday. That day is the Lord’s, and we reserve it wholly for him.

6. Learn the power of buildup and breakthrough.

Understand momentum, and how it applies especially within the context of a multigenerational vision. While we may not be able to get things in a business rolling big time until late in our lives, our children can carry it onward and further it in their lives, until eventually the business will nearly run itself.

7. Set up stones of remembrance to remind the future generations of what God had done.

Establish a way of remembering all that God did, so that when you pass on, your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will remember, ‘this is the company that God helped my great-grandfather to build! This is the business that God helped my grandfather preserve from wickedness, and to further the cause of Christ!’

I loved Mr. Pent’s lesson, and will remember it for a long time.

Unfortunately, I don’t have time to properly finish this post today, but I will post all of my notes later. In the meantime, I look forward to yet another day of excellent teaching on entrepreneurial matters.

God Bless!

~ John.

 

Day One.

First off, this has been one of the most fantastic conferences I’ve ever attended, and we’ve only just begun.

So far, the turnout has been excellent. Lots of families have attended, and I spoke with one gentleman who was earnestly looking for a way to integrate his somewhat uninterested family into a family business venture, and after the introductory lecture, I think his eyes were opened even further to the opportunities and responsibilities God has provided in regards to Entrepreneurship.

Tonight, all of the speakers who have arrived in San Antonio gave a short synopsis of their lectures. The lectures will go as follows:

Scott Brown said he will be teaching about half on theology behind biblical family integration into business, and half on application of that theology. He mentioned how he and his son have a close relationship in their Entrepreneurial efforts, and he will be speaking about that in his lecture, ‘Father’s and Son’s working together’. A likely title, for what looks to be an excellent lecture.

Don Hart, an attorney, will be covering some of the legal issues of family businesses, such as tax advantages, labor laws and management, etc. He has over twenty major points that are critical to family businesses in terms of legal understanding an legality, and he aims to speak on more than just small scale business efforts; he specifically mentioned that he will be speaking on bigger business ventures and their legal issues as well.

Arnold Pent III, the author of the beloved book ‘Ten P’s in a Pod’, available from Vision Forum, is going to be covering an essential point; the importance of seeking Christ first, and being faithful to our families. He will also be speaking on the importance of promoting an entrepreneurial spirit in your children. Excellent topic, I’m split as to what topics to attend, but this is one that really draws my attention. He also wants to explain residual income, and why it’s such a blessing to a family with a multi-generational vision.

Nick Logan topic is ‘A Christian entrepreneurial Vision for Marketing and Retail’, and will reveal the ‘four p’s of retail marketing’. An interesting topic, and one that I’m really interested in attending, but as of yet, I have not decided.

Wade Myers, whom I had the pleasure of meeting tonight, has put together a presentation on building businesses strategically from start to finish. He also mentioned legal tips, though he says that Don Hart’s will be the authoritative lecture on legal matters, and some business management skills. A very interesting topic to be sure!

Isaac Botkin will be representing a lecture he did at the History of the World Mega Conference in July, called ‘The History of Technology’. He covers some of the great technology of Europe, China, and Islam in history, and how they’re affecting us and our different business today. I’m definitely going to be attending this lecture, God willing.

Geoffrey Botkin will be presenting his two hundred year family plan, which sounds excellent. This is probably the lecture I look forward to most of all, and it’s being presented tomorrow. Geoff Botkin will also be discussing leadership in the twenty-first century and it’s applications to business. I’m very much looking forward to this lecture as well. Also interspersed throughout his lectures will be American history in regards to long term business establishments.

Other speakers will be present that were not here to introduce their lectures include Jim Sammons, Ted Pittenger, Joel Salatin, and Jim Leininger. Their lectures cover a broad range of subjects, and I hope to be able to attend some of them.

After the introductions to the conference and it’s speakers, Doug Phillips presented the keynote lecture of the day; Getting the Big Picture for Entrepreneurship and the Christian Family. He spoke quickly, concisely and accurately, and doing so presented perhaps the best single lecture I’ve heard on independent family business ownership and a biblical vision of entrepreneurship. As the lecture notes state, he offered some ‘theological, practical, and historical considerations for the entrepreneurial Christian family.’

I didn’t write nearly fast enough to catch all the material, but I’ll present some highlights for you to read through. He said that he wanted to spear several sacred cows in the Christian world with regards to finances, and he slayed them quickly. They were,

1.) Poverty is a virtue. He stated quite simply that no, poverty is not a virtue. Adam, Abraham, Job, David, Solomon, were all rich, and yet very virtuous men, and foundations for the faith. God commands us to take dominion, and we can’t do that in spiritual or physical poverty. God said that ‘seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you’. We shall not be lacking, if we are Christians.

2.) Disenfrachisement as desireable, which is a false view of the gospel. We are not to take up ‘world flight’ or become non-operative in the affairs of the world. We must take dominion. There was more here, but he covered it so quickly, and my pen was so slow that I was not able to record all the material properly.

3.) The “get me outta here!” gospel. The idea that all we are to do is witness to people and then wait for the ‘rapture’. That is false. While we are to witness to others as a part of the dominion mandate, we should not be desirous of leaving the world until we have fulfilled God’s role for us as dominion takers spiritually, and financially. To think otherwise is a false gospel.

4.) The prosperity gospel. The idea that we can ‘blab it and grab it’ without actually obeying God’s word, and that any sign of a lack of health or wealth in others is simply a lack of faith. It’s simply a presumptious arrogance regarding God’s promises, and a despiteful looking down upon others. We must be careful to avoid this view.

5. Material success as a prime objective. As Arnold Pent pointed out, we are to ‘seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness,’ not the material wealth itself. The wealth is a blessing from God, whom we are to seek first. We can find material wealth apart from God, but it is not a success to do so. He told a story of a man who came to him and said, ‘I have been home educating and running a home business for ten years, and I’m not any better off than when I started!’, to which Doug replied, ‘But have you won the hearts of your Sons?’ ‘Yes.’ The man replied. ‘Well, I call that success! Praise the Lord for his work in your life!’ I loved the story.

6. The sociology of the postmodern work ethic. What is the postmodern work ethic? The idea that there is no distinction between sexes. That children are a burden. That debt is the way everybody goes about getting things. The idea that a good job opportunity is one which provides the most security. That mothers working outside the home is a good opportunity financially. He listed many other such false concepts, and shattered them. We must revert to a totally biblical viewpoint of everything, and completely separate ourselves from the false views of postmodernism.

Scott Brown concluded the evening with prayer to God, and we went our separate ways. On the way out though, I met some fellow upcoming filmmakers and entrepreneurs, and some other acquaintances from the film festival. I talked briefly with Wesley Strackbein, Phillip Leclerc, Isaac Botkin, Spencer Weaver, and a few others as well. I was pleased to meet Mr. Wade Myers, who told me that his children had enjoyed Bubble Trouble. I quickly relayed the message to Gator, who then went on to meet Mr. Myers.

Importantly, I managed to spend a little time with Tait, though he was very busy working with the other staff, we did have some good time discussing a few things, and he introduced me to one of the other interns. I had an excellent time fellowshipping with other likeminded young men at the convention, as well as listening to the older men speak with each other. I haven’t heard anything from Pastor Bacon yet, but his grin was enough to give me a hint what his feelings were in regards to the conference.

In all, it’s been a very fruitful, though somewhat tiring day. I look forward to the rest of the conference with a great deal of anticipation, and I do sincerely wish that you all could have been able to attend, particularly you filmmakers. Mike Thorn would still be walking on the crowds in regards to a few of the statements made here tonight, which I’ll be sure to relay.

Well, I hope to have Day Two’s report posted a little bit earlier, but that’s not a promise. Merely a goal. Stay tuned!

In Christ, John.

 

Pride; A lesson for today.

Before we begin today's lesson, I must say something to make myself more proud. Just yesterday, we recieved the History of the World Mega Conference recorded lectures. 62 of them, on Mp3 CD's. So far, I've only listened to two of the recordings thoroughly, but they're fantastic!

I'm sure that they'll occupy a great deal of our listening time on the five hour drive to San Antonio for the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp. By the way, if you're going to the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp, shoot me an email. John@EveryFrameCaptive.com . Like to meet up with you and say hello!

Also, along with our conference CD's, we got a fancy letter that says, 'A Message for Our Friends'. I'd post it here, but I've decided not to in the off chance that an enemy might read it. After all, it's a message specifically for their 'friends'. ;-)

In preparation for the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp, I have been burning Bubble Trouble DVD's, in an effort to display an Entrepreneurial spirit while in attendance. I figure I can sell a few.

Anyway, as I stacked the mass of DVD's upon my desk, I discovered that it looks cool to have a big collection of movies that are all the same; that you produce personally. It's a great feeling. David knows what I refer to, don't you Dave? There's nothing like holding a stack of 20 professional lookin' DVD's in cases! Makes a feeling of POWER go to your head.

Unfortunately, Pride cometh before a fall, and in my attempts to hug the pile of discs, I knocked it over. Literally proud, literally fallen. Too bad.

However, I wasn't too worried, since I had a bunch more burned over to the right. Hopefully I'll have them all done by tomorrow night. I think it's going to be good fun. I recently ordered a thousand copies of our new film, A Lifetime of Childlike Faith. 500 of them were shipped to Washington, but the other 500 will be coming here to Kaufman, and I'll be sure to get a picture of them for ya. And maybe one of those fancy 'opening stuff' videos that Katanna from TheBRB has so inspired me to produce.

Oh, and be expecting more short Randomosity style videos regarding our production of A Lifetime of Childlike Faith. I think you'll enjoy them. If I ever make them. I won't have time before tomorrow night though... I still have DVD's to burn.

I also have to pack. No big deal though, I'll just throw an extra T-Shirt in there. That's all I really need for a three day trip, right? ;-)

But seriously, I'm very excited about the trip to San Antonio. It's been a while since I've had a vacation, or a three day business class. And to think, both of them in one package! And Doug Phillips will be there, Geoff Botkin will be there, Arnold Pent III will be there, and Jim Sammons will be there! Who could possibly go wrong with a combo like that?

I'm really, really excited. Almost as excited as I am about FED.

Expect lots of pictures.

~ John.

 

Happy Birthday Duke!

Duke Rogers is a boy,
Who's pistol though a toy,
he weilds with precision,
and masters his bold mission,
of defending home and family; he sees it as a joy.

He's learned from John Wayne,
both the blessing and the pain,
of being the good guy on the train,
whenever there's a robbery,
that he must not refrain
from doing what is right in God's most holy sight.

He's a fine little mister,
who practices the two fister,
'til his knuckles blister,
always ready to protect,
his own pretty little sister.

He's an honest little lad,
and will stop all men bad,
being all the while glad,
That he's learned from his greatest hero; his Dad.

Happy Birthday Duke!

 

Never Give Up.

I posted a similar picture to this one earlier. I just love it.

Thing is, all of our hens are gone. We have no idea where they went.

Or do we....

~ John.

 

Why David Heustis is Awesome.

What happened to boys like this? No, this has not been altered digitally other than for color correction. That is the picture as it was taken. Now, his Dad later decided it was a little bit on the dangerous side and took the swing down. None-the-less, it's awesome. And incredible.

Click the picture to see the full thing.

Just incredible.

That's all I have to say. How come I never did anything cool like this??

~ John.

 

Pretty Things by Jeff Heustis

Jeff made these objects in Blender (a freeware 3d modeling/rendering program) in just a few days, based off of sometimes grainy poorly lit photographs, and he did an excellent job recreating them. Bravo, Jeff! I should also mention he hadn't had a lot of experience in Blender at this point. Just stick figures.

This first one is Leonard Knight's Childhood home. Nice, Jeff. Nice.

Even after all of Jeff's work on this tank, it only ends up in the film for one brief shot. And none of the other models made it into the film at all. But that doesn't matter, he did a great job! I love the tank. David later added some spiffy animated treads. Beautiful, guys. Beautiful.

This was going to be used for a scene with Leonard working with his Father. The scene got cut.

This was also a fun model that Jeff made. He later improved it drastically. I still like how shiny it is.

I love this stuff. I'll post more later.

Great work Jeff, David.

~ John.

 

Solder. Soldering Iron. Headphone plug.

Nothing beats 3:34 AM fixing headphones with a soldering iron.

Something about headphones being nearly as old as I am makes them want to fall apart. I think it's called decay.

These headphones have been good though. Reeaaally good. It's time for a replacement pair though. I'm going to try to get a pair of Ultrasone 400's when I have the budget. They'll be worth it for all kinds of things; monitoring, listening to music, mixing audio, and of course, listening to all kinds of audio recordings from FPCR, Vision Forum, or ILD. Why not?

~ John.

 

A Lifetime of Childlike Faith: DVD cover.

I can't tell if this is the cover, or the 4 foot poster I'll hang in my bedroom. ;-) Maybe I should do both.

~ John.

Memorial Day 2006. Shotguns.

Last Memorial Day, we had a get together with Captain Gerry Morgan, the Reins Family, and the Bacon's. In strong patriotic spirit, we marched out to our pond, loaded up our trap machine, and started throwing birds, which we readily blasted from the sky. Well, we attempted to.

Turns out that Captain Morgan ended up taking more clays than the rest of us. We were held at a tie for about three rounds, when finally Gerry whipped the lot of us. So, Jeff Reins, Dad, and I have all voted NOT to let him come back next time we go trapshooting...

Jes' kiddin' Gerry! :-D We'd never be rude to a man who can shoot with such prestine accuracy!

David Moore did his share of bird bagging as well, leaving some of us amazed at his abilities. Of course, the real reason for saying all this is to have a caption for this somewhat artistic photo that I accidentally created.

Gerry Morgan, Jeff Reins. Shooting it offf. It was a tie, again.

Left to Right, Pastor Bacon, Gerry Morgan, Jeff Moore, and Jeff Rein's elbow was peeking in the corner there. Pastor Bacon didn't join us in the shooting. Probably didn't want to embarrass the rest of us with his accuracy and marksmanship.

But who says that you have to be unhappy just because you're not shooting? Not me! Not Pastor Bacon either! You can watch OTHER people shoot, and be almost as happy.

In the meantime, Jeffrey Gator Moore, armed only with his cunning, and a worn out machette....

Devised a new way to get birds, without the noise or recoil of a 12 gauge shotgun!

Tonight I listened to a CD recording by Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America. Excellent piece, on the Witherspoon school of Law and Public Policy set from Vision Forum. Definitely worth the listen.

Well, I must run off to bed. 'Tis late. Or, at least, I must head that way. Until I get distracted.

~ John.

Itinerary.

Just a quick run down of what's going on around here and when I'll be doing what. In August.

I know a bit more about August than the other months, so I'll start there. Lord's days are highlighted in Red.

August Highlight: Entrepreneurial Bootcamp.

August 1: Nothing. Dale Heustis's birthday.