Anticipations for 2010

These are some things I’m looking forward to this year. I broke them down into categories: Music, Movies, Books, Video Games, and Miscellaneous.

Music
The Forecast, The Forecast – Their last full-length album came out in 2006. It’s been too long. The Forecast are just good old rock n’ roll with some of the greatest harmonies ever heard between Dustin Addis (guitarist and lead vocalist) and Shannon Burns (bassist). This comes out on February 16th.

The Wedding – The Weddings last full length album, Polarity, came out in 2007, and their latest EP, The Sound The Steel, with new lead singer, Matt Shelton was (amazingly) an improvement on Polarity. These guys have come to The Channel in Greenville several times and say their new album should be released this year. Hopefully, this will happen. Their last couple tours they have been robbed and lost thousands of dollars in equipment, and this last time the thieves stole their computers with new song demos on them. NOOOOO!!!

Johnny Cash, American VI: Ain’t No Grave – Featuring the final recordings the Man in Black ever made before his death in September 2003. Artists on the set include The Avett Brothers, “Ain’t No Grave”,  Sheryl Crow’s “Redemption Day,” Kris Kristofferson’s “For the Good Times,” Ed McCurdy’s “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream” and Bob Nolan’s “Cool Water.” American VI will also feature the never-before-heard Cash original “I Corinthians: 15:55,” which he wrote during the last three years of his life. This album will be released on Cash’s birthday, February 26th.

She and Him - Volume 2 – Most of you probably know Zooey Deschanel from movies like Elf and Yes Man and 500 Days of Summer. She can act, but she can also sing like crazy. “She & Him make music for an eternal springtime, when the temperature is warm enough to go riding with the top (or at least the windows) rolled down and the radio turned up. They occupy an alternate universe where the saddest of songs feel as warm as sun showers; the rain may be coming down, but somewhere nearby, everything looks bright. What began as a fascinating, no-strings attached collaboration on 2008’s Volume One has evolved into a bona fide, touring band, and She & Him are here to stay. Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward are as comfortable and complementary a musical pair as Les Paul and Mary Ford; hearing them again on Volume Two feels like getting together with two old friends. This time, the harmonies have grown more angelically layered, the string arrangements more dramatic, the songwriting even sharper and more confident. But, as with Volume One, the prevailing mood is bittersweet, dreamy, and romantic.” Look for this March 23rd.

Weezer – Odds and Ends – Supposedly, this is going to be a collection of all the Weezer songs that never made the records for one reason or another.
Pinkerton Deluxe Edition - Rivers Cuomo says, “Also, we’re going to be putting out a deluxe edition of Pinkerton, with some rarities added on. And probably a greatest hits CD, with even more bonus tracks. Lots of cool stuff to look forward to.” Most hardcore Weezer fans say Pinkerton is their favorite of all the Weezer albums. I’d say it’s a tie for me between The Blue Album and Pinkerton. Anyway, there is a strong argument that Pinkerton is the father of emo and screamo as we know it today. All I know is that with Weezer there is always something to look forward to.

Mates of State, Tilly and The Wall, Matt and Kim – I don’t know for sure of any new albums coming out this year from these bands, but it wouldn’t be too soon for me. These 3 quirky guy/girl bands are on the top of my list to see on tour this year if nothing else. There is something about these bands that oozes fun and happiness.

Bleach – If you know me well, you know Bleach is pretty much my favorite band of all time. It’s been 6 years since they retired. Well, I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but there have been rumors from the band members themselves of Bleach doing a small reunion tour. Needless to say, this would be freaking awesome. You can do it, guys. Bring back the good times!!!

Movies
The A-Team – One of my favorite childhood TV shows brought to life on the big screen. I saw the trailer. The van is in it. That’s all I need to know.
The Last Airbender - M. Night Shyamalan. This movie based on the Nickelodeon cartoon should be excellent.
Tron Legacy – A sci-fi 3-D Tron sequel. I’m interested – especially after seeing Avatar.
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time – One of my favorite video games ever. I doubt this movie will be as fun, but we’ll see.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – I still haven’t read all of these books. Hopefully, I will before this comes out, and hopefully the movie will do the book justice. I love this series.
Iron Man 2 – The first Iron Man was way better than I thought it would be. I’m really looking forward to the sequel.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – This could be the end of the Narnia movies or the beginning of many more to come. Let’s hope for the latter.
Inception - It’s a Christopher Nolan movie, so… I want to see it.

Books
A More Excellent Way, Thomas Dwight Clark – My Dad was working on a book most of his life. After he retired, he focused on it even more. And when he got cancer, it was the last big thing he wanted to accomplish. I can’t wait for the chance to read this one because I know how much it meant to him, and I know it’s the last thing he wanted to say to me and anyone else willing to listen. Mom is working on putting this together. I don’t know how long it will take her, but this book will be a treasure for sure.

Doctrine, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears – Here’s what John Frame has to say about this, “I like Doctrine very much. It is a relatively short, clear, and accurate topical summary of biblical teachings, focused on the practical application of doctrine. There is much here to aid readers who have thought in the past that theology was too complicated, uninteresting, or irrelevant. This book is none of those things. It takes off on wings of eagles. It is so important today that believers understand and become committed to all that God’s Word says. This book is a wonderful tool to help them do that.”
—John M. Frame, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando
And here’s what Dustin Kensrue says about it, “I listened to the sermon series that preceded this book and was very excited to hear they were putting it all into print. Doctrine should not be a dirty word in the church. Right now the need for Christians to hold fast to biblical truth is greater than ever, and this book is a solid, sleek, no-nonsense resource that is perfect for equipping every believer with the knowledge of essential biblical doctrines.”
—Dustin Kensrue, singer and guitarist, Thrice

The Christian Faith: A Systematice Theology for Pilgrims on the Way, Michael Horton – People are saying this is Horton’s magnum opus. Others say that’s just because its the latest book he’s written. This guy knows the good news of Jesus Christ and is passionate about it. I’ve read his last three books and listened to his radio show podcast, The White Horse Inn, the past couple years, and all he talks about is the gospel. And it never gets boring.

Tim Keller’s New One – I read somewhere that Tim Keller plans to write a book every year for the remainder of his life. Long live Tim Keller!!! I can safely say that if I were able to hang out with one living person for just one day, Tim Keller would be that guy. Maybe I should try to arrange that.

Video Games

PS3
God of War 3 – I’m still playing through the first two. These are the most amazing action adventure games I have ever played.
Final Fantasy XIII – I have not played any Final Fantasy games. I’m not a big RPG fan, but this one looks really cool.
Spiderman – There hasn’t been a good Spiderman game or movie since Spiderman 2. Could this be the one?

Wii-
Mario Galaxy 2 – Mario Galaxy is just pure Mario Brothers fun. Yoshi is going to be in this new one late this year. Yessssss.

Xbox 360 –
Rock Band 3, Green Day Rock Band – Come on over. I’m always ready to form a band and jam.
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – If this is like Sands of Time, it will be good.
Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 – My wife and kids love all the Lego games. I think we will all love this one too. Genius choice, Lego game people.
Burnout Next (untitled) – I love arcade-style racing games. The Burnout games are my favorite.

Miscellaneous
Levi starting school this fall – We are nervous but excited for Levi. We saw a new side to Noa when he started school, and it was really good. I’m curious what Levi’s new side will be like. They are so different.

Being Debt free – There was a time when I was almost suicidal over our financial situation. I did not see any light at the end of the tunnel. But…based on our estimated income tax refund, we might be debt free by the end of this year!!! This is incredible considering how little we have earned the past couple years. Melanie and I are super excited about this. Debt free party for us later this year. BYOE – Bring your own everything.

Noa getting baptized – Our church allows Dads to baptize their kids. Of course, I would love to baptize Noa this year. We have talked about it. He still isn’t ready – mainly because he is afraid of going under water. I can’t blame him. So, we are going to practice this summer. We’ll see how that goes. If it happens for real, we’ll catch it on video so everyone can witness.

Summer vacation - We have plans to hit the Atlanta Aquarium, Chimney Rock, Cedar Point, Skydive???, Great Wolf Lodge, and see family in Ohio and Michigan. This will be a family vacation/10th wedding anniversary celebration.

Start writing a book – I haven’t really told anyone except Melanie about this because I’m still not exactly sure what it’s going to be. All I know is that the Holy Spirit is leading me to do it. I expect it to take a few years to finish, and it will mostly be for my kids. I want to pass something on to them, and they are the main audience for my writing anyway. But I am hoping that this book will connect with everyone in some kind of meaningful way.

So it’s going to be a big year. And whether you believe God is good or not, one thing is for sure – God isn’t running out of any shocking bolts of grace. Grace is who He is and what He does, and He has no lack of great surprises. Let Him blow you away with grace this year. Are you looking for it? It’s everywhere…undeserved kindness in every crook and nanny.