Inside the Brain of E.C. Henry

Toby Mac Hit's Deep Concert Review from Seattle's Key Arena, February 22, 2014

Remember waaay back when (on a post dated May 15, 2011 to be exact) where I said and elaborated on the point that I thought Toby Mac was the "coolest person on the planet"?  Well, I went and saw ol' Toby Mac on his Hits Deep Tour on Saturday night: February 22, 2014, and I left with mixed feelings about Toby and the concert I saw.

Toby Mac is no longer what I would call "the coolest person" on the planet.  In fact he's no longer even my favorite Christian music performer.  In fact part II, I'm more interested in listening to more of one of the opening acts for Toby that night then Toby himself right now.  

What caused this fall from grace?  Dude, I wouldn't go that far.  It's not like my image of Toby is completely shattered.  It's just the title of "coolest man on Earth" is lofty praise, and after that underwhelming performance I saw from Toby Mac when he was on stage, he lost that title in my book.  

One big surprise out this concert was one of his opening act, Matthew West.  Man, when that guy sings his signature song, "Hello, my name is..." my heart melts.  TOTALLY ministers to me.  I've heard a lot of Matthew West's songs on the local Christian music station that I listen to on an on-and-off again basis, and kind noted Matthew West was around--but now I'm hooked!  This guy is AWESOME!  Very well may be the next Chris Tomlin, and God knows we could use more high worshipers of Jesus Christ -- like Chris Tomlin.  Note how I didn't use the name Toby Mac there, hint-hint, more to come.

For me right now, Chris Tomlin, not Toby Mac, is where it's at.  I think at this stage of my life I'm more into high worship of Jesus, than hip hop, rap, and Christian ballads.  And I can still remember the Chris Tomlin concert, at Key Area, last April.  It moved my mom so much so that she bought a Chris Tomlin's "Burning Lights" CD for every member of our family.   And guess what?  She even bought one for me to replace my CD that I gave to listen to that she loved so much that she never gave it back!  Get my mom to love you THAT much, you're doing something right.  Nay, you're doing something very right.  Sorry Toby. 

So what about Toby's performance was so bad?  Nothing really, it just wasn't great.  It didn't feel inspired.  Yes, when Toby sang, "City on our Knees" I was standing with hand in the air praising God.  Why?  Because that song IS POWERFUL.  It's about the ability to pray to God, be joined with the saints, then corporately as group worshiping the Lord.  And I love that message.  It's where I'm at.  I'm more into high praise, than an artist's individual performance.  

Time to go off on a tangent for second.  Drop down into the rabbit trail and give you a definition for clarification purposes.  Here's the definition of high praise:

high praise: pure worship of God usually with a body of believers.  Undistracted and focused on honoring in the Lord with the music they are making.  Music by people that blesses God's heart.

When I saw Chris Tomlin last year, I saw the crowd in Key Area worshiping the Lord to music that man was making.  It was no longer just a talented musician performing for the sake of performing out of obligation.  No, it was music and focus geared to getting a mixed body of people to focus on God and sing praise to Him.  It's just beautiful.  High praise, done right, is moving. 

I don't think Toby Mac's current repertoire is geared for "high worship".  Getting people to think about God, and entertaining them, yes.  Thus, I can't ever sweep Toby's ministry under the carpet.  And by ministry I'm talking about a guy that God can use for His glory to attract people to Him.  I do believe God uses Toby Mac for His glory.  While I was at the "Hits Deep" concert, I sat next to a 26-year-old girl or so who was singing along with Toby, and yelling out, "Praise Jesus", throughout his performance.  

Hip hop is a tricky beast, and Toby handles it very well.  Secular hip hop makes me laugh.  I literally feel stupider every time I listen to it.  But I love Toby Mac's version of hip hop.  I find it entertaining, and reminds people of God in subtle ways.

When it comes to Toby Mac I feel like Jonathan back in the times of David as depicted in the bool of 1Samuel.  Toby is David, and I'm like Jonathan who loves David and knows he's a great man.  Toby has a great ministry.  Sure he's getting up there in age, and maybe it's time to change some things.  But there are people Toby can reach for the kingdom that Billy Gram cannot.  Entertain, sow good seeds, look to God for the harvest, and see souls come the saving knowledge of Christ.  

Performance-wise Toby Mac had two saving graces.  I like some of his dancing with the members of his band, and the dancing and drum solos when "Eye on It" played was great.  I really liked the video of the green water park slide going on in the background too. Nice touch.  Toby did add a lot of dancing to some of his songs, and for the most part I thought that was a nice touch.  Now, Toby's no Carman, BUT it was a nice touch none-the-less and made my heart ache over my own ministry failures, a.k.a. never being able to launch the "Diamond Mine" Christian dance outreach here back on April 28 of 2013.   

Still, not jealous of Toby Mac.  Glad he's found and incorporated more dancing in numbers in his concerts.  And he choreographs well; l like how he plays off the other dancers.  

Another performer at the "Hits Deep" concert who had an underwhelming performance was Mandisa.  I didn't realize she was such a big, heavy-set girl.  I'd heard her voice before.  Love her song, "Overcomer."  But during most of her performance she was jumping around like she was part of some Richard Simmons exercise routine.  It was weird.  I kept thinking, "Just stop girl.  Go to the microphone, and show off those glorious pipes of yours."  But alas she did not.  Mandisa kept jumping around until her forehead glistened with sweat.  Not good!  Maybe this was the Toby factor, and she though that since he had incorporated so much dancing into his set, that Mandisa thought she needed to do the same.  Mistake!  Mandisa may be working to get the weight off, but on February 22, she wasn't there yet.  Should have cut off at least 50% of jumping around she did, and focused more on wowing us with her voice.  

So in conclusion, though I love Toby Mac from the bottom of my heart, and have immense respect for his music and ministry, I was really quite unimpressed with performance last night; I just sensed Toby wasn't really into it.  I could see it in his eyes.  Going forward I will ALWAYS be interested in ANYTHING Toby Mac does creatively; he has won me over.  And unless he does something truly heinous I will always be a big, big fan of his.  But my tastes are changing and the title of coolest man on the planet has now been solidified by someone else:

Chris Tomlin is now the coolest person on the planet, and E.C. Henry now names him as his favorite Christan performing artist.

P.S. The work on the new draft of that epic fantasy story I'm working on is going great!  Sure, when I read it back to myself I still think it sucks.   But the editing is getting easier, and I'm starting to get back into the characters.  Your going to see a lot more of me, the real me, than in any other story I've penned.  Parts of it are very personal, but you'll probably never pick up on any of that.  More to come in the posts to come.  Stay tuned...

The Spectacular Now; Movies that Move Me: Volume VI

I still can't believe that those monkeys that run the Bonney Lake Multiplex NEVER ran The Spectacular Now (2013: Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller, directed by James Ponsolt).  THAT is a travesty.   Because "The Spectacular Now" is an EXCELLENT movie.  If you haven't seen it yet, do what I did and buy the DVD at Walmart and watch it tonight.  YES, it's that good.

So what is "The Spectacular Now" and why does E.C. Henry go sooo goo-goo ga-ga over it?  Well-p, lemme TRY to explain in typical E.C. Henry fashion the kind that you've come to know and love right?  Anywho...

"The Spectacular Now" is a teen, first love, coming-of-age movie.  It's main protagonist, Sutter Keely is on the verge of graduating.  Sutter has just lost the great love his love the beautiful Cassidy, but believes they belong together and that sooner or later she'll miss the great chemistry they have together and end up back with him.  But Sutter has a drinking problem.  He is known in the high school party cycles, and carries his reputation into his everyday living.  He even mixes in whiskey with this everpresent, plastic cup of pop at his job as a teller at a men's suit's store.

But a catalyst for change enters Sutter's life one day, when he passes out on someone's lawn and gets woken up at six in the morning by a girl doing a paper route as favor for her mother.  This girl is Aimee (Shailene Woodley's character).  They strike a friendship, and eventually become a couple.  But all the while Sutter has run-ins with his ex-girlfriend, Cassidy who he really wants back.

Sounds like a teen romance, right?  Well, it is.  But it is much more than that too.  This story has a moral.  This story has something important to say about the human condition.  

A Woman's Great Love Can Have Transformational Abilities

"The Spectacular Now" really resonated with me beyond the realms of your usual teen romance.  Mostly because of Sutter's strong character arc: he must learn to come out of dad's shadow and not follow his course of life, and learn to live for things other than the moment.  And his primary catalyst for change?  The geeky Aimee.  This girl's never even had a boyfriend before.  In fact even when guys at a party are talking to her, she isn't perceptive enough to know that they're really hitting on her.  Sooo... Sutter becomes her first boyfriend, and falls for him hard.  So hard in fact that she even takes up drinking with him, though she herself doesn't like to drink.  

I was very impressed by the plotting of this story and the scene selection that this movie used.  Hats off to director James Ponsoldt, screenwriters: Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Webber (the dynamic duo who also wrote (500) Days of Summer, 2009), and Tim Tharp who wrote the novel off which the story for "The Spectacular Now" is based.   An especial good piece of film making comes in the shot of Sutter's car weaving around the road in Act III, which gives the audience the fear that he's about to crash.  Good job there, James Ponsolt!

What impressed me the most with this movie was the transitional power love can have to make us better human beings.  And it's all in Sutter Keely's character arc.  Aimee is his catalyst to a bigger, more broader life.  Bigger than being the life of the party.  Bigger than being a "happy  alcoholic".  Bigger than following in the same shoes as his father, which is the great reveal in this story.  And in his brief time on camera Kyle Chandler does a GREAT job of painting a picture of a father who really doesn't want to be there for his kids.  You see at first Sutter doesn't know who his father is, so he makes up stories about him.  For unknown reasons his mother want Sutter to stay away and not know his father.  But in taking a two sided dare with Aimee Sutter is lead to take action, and reach out to a father he never knew.  And once he finds out who his father is: a guy who hangs around the bars, drinks with the guys, and picks up on women, Sutter is faced with a sobering reality -- he's on the same course to becoming just like his father!

The Sutter character, and his destructive self-tendencies really resonated me.  I too have some very destructive self tendencies that I have to watch out for.  So understanding Sutter's plight wasn't hard for me.

Acting wise, Shaliene Woodley did GREAT as Aimee: the nerdy, responsible girl who is so happy to finally have a boyfriend.  I, like many people, fell in love with Shailene Woodley when she co-stared in "The Descendants" (2011) playing George Cloony's daughter.  But in the "The Spectacular Now" Shailene is tasked with making us believe that her character is deeply in love with Sutter and committed to him.  And she does just that.  Shailene Woodley is a phenomenal actress with off-the-charts potential   She's young, and if she plays her cards right there is no reason not to believe that's she's going to be a force to reckoned with for years.  Finally, Jennifer Lawrence has come competition!

But really like the graduation scene where Aimee, now with a broken arm is up in the bleachers with Sutter -- and trying to be a good girlfriend and give him some whiskey off her flask.  You start to fear that Sutter is corrupting Aimee, and you find yourself as an audience member rooting against that.  THAT is a good plot point.  Good job,  Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Webber.  Good instincts to throw that red herring out there, I bought it hook, line and sinker.  

But make no bones about it, "The Spectacular Now" is a male-weighted teen romance.  The story really focus on Sutter's character arc, and his painful journey to became a more rounded person.  

True, Sutter's antics did almost cost Aimee her life, as at one point in the story Sutter orders her out of his car, and she gets hit by oncoming traffic.  But Aimee's love for Sutter is real, and she's willing to help him through his baggage.  She believes in the guy she' fallen in love with.  Aimee is Sutter catalyst for change.  And one of the cool points about this is, that this is EXACTLY what Sutter's former girlfriend, Cassidy (played by Brie Larson) wanted and found missing in Sutter; a mature boyfriend who had his sights on carving out a livelihood, not just living in the now.

And interesting area to think about about AFTER you watch "The Spectacular Now" is a compare and contrast of Cassidy's influence on Sutter vs. Aimee's influence on Sutter, and how a totally different girl, with a totally different perspective of who Sutter is and who Sutter can one day be is what a person really needs.  Sutter doesn't need to continue to be the life of the party with Cassidy, he needs someone committed to him who can help become a functioning member of society after his high school life wraps up.  And despite the fact that Cassidy loved Sutter, she wasn't strong enough to give Sutter what he really needed; someone to walk through the skeleton closet of his and be a rock beside him to help steady him as he matured.

You see, THIS is the deep kind of stuff a GREAT movie will spark debate within you.  THIS is why I love this movie so much.  It is deep.  This is not a superficial movie.  "The Spectacular Now" will get you to think.  More so, it will sows the seeds in your heart of what a great love can do, and it will get you to challenge past relationships evaluating whether or not the dynamic of that relationship had the magical spark of transformational abilities.

A Woman's Great Love Has Transformational Abilities

So if you get the chance see "The Spectacular Now", see it.  "The Spectacular Now" is an AWESOME movie.  I can't say enough nice things about this teen, romantic drama.    Hats off to all involved in making this classic.  I'd give the "Spectacular Now" 10 stars out of 10 stars, the highest rating you can give a movie.  So go see it for yourself, and see if E.C. Henry was right or not.

Are Romantic Comedy Storylines Better on the Small Screen? Exploring Issues in Rom-com Movies: Volume 38

The inspiration for this post came to me about a month ago when I was watching TV and ran across the new Rebel Wilson, 1/2 hour sit-com, Super Fun Night.  And on the episode I happened to catch, the heavy-set Rebel Wilson was leading her two other geeky girlfriends through an on-line dating site that them all to get blind dates for the night.  Rebel Wilson's character had to spice-up/lied about their profiles, but she got them all dates.  But as it turned out they got dates with three guys who lived in the same apartment complex as them.  Classic misunderstanding shit that's been done and copycatted since the heyday of "Three's Company" (1977-1984: John Ritter, Suzane Sommers, Joyce DeWitt, Don Knots, Norman Fell).
Three available young women meet three  available, young men at their apartment complex.  Pretty good romantic comedy set-up, right?  Well, I thought so anyway.  Hence, the spark of this post.  And for a TV series this is quite a nice set-up with a lot of independent variables the creators of this series can play with over time.   Unfortunately, I'm not really into Rebel Wilson.  I don't think she's funny at all.  But I did recognize that one of the three guys who were potential romantic suitors was the high school lead in "I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009, Hayden Panettiere)", actor Paul Rust, who has a very distinctive snoz.   

So "Super Fun Night" wasn't for me, but it did have a nice rom-com mix in it that I could see fueling a lot of episodes for a long time.  And I've seen nice rom-com mixes on the small screen before.  

• Niles Crane pursuit of his brother Frasier's maid, Daphne in Fraiser (1993 - 2004: Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves)
  
• The Ross and Rachel on-and-off again drama in Friends (1994 - 2004: Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Mat LeBlanc) 
  
• The Robin Scherbatsky romantic drama with Ted and Barney in "How I Met Your Mother" (2005 - 2014: Cobie Smulders, Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel)
  
• Or how about the Bruce Willis/Cybill Shepherd sparks that flew in the TV series,  "Moonlighting" (1985 - 1989)                                                                                    

My point is that there have been some memorable romances played out on the small screen as part of a TV series.

So is a romantic comedy better as portrayed as part of a TV series, or in a feature film?

Well on this count I am VERY BIASED.  I like romantic comedies in the movies -- not on TV.  I DO NOT LIKE romantic stuff STRUNG ALONG for YEARS, and that what the TV world tends to do; drag out the drama as long as they can.  This was clearly the case with Ross/Rachel in "Friends", as their on-and-off again romantic relationship became the center of the show.  Nile FINALLY gets Daphne by the end of "Frasier's" run.  "Moonlighting" was at its best when Bruce Willis and Cybill Sheppard where hot-n-heavy.  The only series that I can honest laud that managed to keep the romance angle fresh is "How I Met Your Mother" and I think that's just a product of the rock solid cast they had.  My favorite character on "How I Met Your Mother" is Alyson Harrigan's "Lilly".  Sure Cobie Smulders is smoking hot, but Lilly is funny, engaging and just very like-able.  And Barney always gets me to laugh.  It's just a good mix.  I'll actually miss that series when it ends in March of 2014.  

"Friends"?  Totally different story.  I tuned out that over-played show LA-ONG before it finally went of air.  I didn't find that show funny at all.  Sure, it had a great cast, but it's week in, week out episodes were just that, weak!  Yes, I did watch some episodes of "Friends" from time-time, but this series NEVER hooked me in like "How I Met Your Mother" did, yet if you look at them side by side their designed to have the same appeal...  

I love the fact that movies don't have the luxury of stringing you along like a sit-com or TV drama can.  You have 1 1/2 to 2 hours to see the romantic story play out and reach its ending.  Hence, the main reason I prefer movies to TV series: the string-you-along affect.  If a sit-com is funny and has the right mix of characters to sustain it can overcome the string-you-along affect.  "How I Met Your Mother" had the best cast off all-time.  Sure "Friends" was close, I could see it was staffed with GREAT actors, but it lacked laughs...

So I prefer romantic stories on the big screen.  I'm not a big follower of TV shows.  If I like a TV show, its probably because of its brand of comedy.  Like NBC's "The Office", CBS's "How I Met Your Mother", NBC's "Parks and Recreation", ABC's "According to Jim", or CBS's "Mike and Molly".   The played-up romance almost never ropes me in; it's something I have a bias against actually.  I feel that over time the longer a TV series relies on a romance between two of its characters the greater the chance that the over-all series is going down hill and getting worse.

I have no such concerns with romance in feature films.  Now, today's feature films aren't very good in the rom-com department.  I'm seeing a lot more miss-fires out there then ever before, but the reason the movies are failing are different than the reason they fail in TV series.  Most rom-com movies of today are failing because of their premise/core, like I alluded too a couple posts back where I brought up such rom-com stinkers as "Don Juan", "Warm Bodies" and "Her".  But TV's rom-coms fail to resonate because their comedic mix isn't strong enough, like Jenna Elfman's failed series, "Accidentally on Purpose" (2009 - 2010).  If you look at the set-up of this series, it looks VERY STRONG on the romantic side, Jenna Elfman's character has a younger love interest and an older love interest, and feels a pull for both sides.  But what torpedoed "Accidentally on Purpose", in my option, is how UNFUNNY this sit-com was.  I watched it a couple times and never laughed.  Kiss of death there, Holmes.  And I'm a HUGE fan of Jenna Elfman.  She's a total hottie, but some of the male actors in this series failed on page; namely Jon Foster's "Zack" and Nicholas Wright's "Davis".  Davis was SUPPOSED to be comedic relief, but he never was; one of the worst slacker characters I can ever remember watching.  But as for Jenna Elfman, she could just read the phone book to me, and after she was done, I'd say do it again...  Just like Meg Ryan, I have a HUGE CRUSH on Jenna Elfman.

Still despite how many romantic oriented sit-coms don't work, the one's that do work, can really sing and shine.  And if you look at them carefully I think you'll come to same conclusion I have: their success is more of a product of their comedy working, than their romantic storylines played out over many episodes and many times over multiple seasons.  I used to LA-OVE the physical humor in ABC'S "According to Jim" (2001 - 2009).  The way Jim (James Belushi) and Andy (Larry Joe Cambell) used to get into scrapes then hafta dig there way out of them worked more times then not.  And as for the romance, well Cheryl and Jim were always working some of their issues out...

So as I draw this post to a close, I pose the question, TV or feature films, who is doing romantic comedy better these days?

TV.  Gets my vove, hands down.  No competition, really.  TV: the small screen, is doing a WAY BETTER job with rom-com fodder, and meeting the needs of a mass audience who will watch romantic comedy material than are the the feature films of today.  

Scoreboard: big screen you lose!  And sad fact of the matter is that you're not even close to matching what TV is putting out there, rom-com wise, and you have WAAAY bigger budgets at your disposal.  Too bad's that's what you're doing with those big budgets --disposing of them on piece-of-shit projects that should NEVER see the light of day.  Yeah, I'm a little pissed right now.  Feature films are failing me.  They're failing all of us.  It's sad.  The current landscape of the Hollywood making romantic comedy movies is very sad and depressing.      

Feature films have fallen prey to losing themselves trying to push envelope in directions outside the bounds of good taste, whereas TV still realizes the sweet spot is with a good cast that plays well of each other, THEN romance sparks off that.

TV gets romance.  Feature films have sadly lost sight of what makes a good rom-com.  It's a sad truth.  Thankfully TV gets romance and gives us unexpected couplings that work, make us smile, and renew hope in a mass audience's hearts.

Case.  And.  Point.  Barney and Robin from "How I Met Your Mother", which gets my vote for the best, funny and romantic couple currently going in either TV or feature films going right now.

A Glorious Mid-Winter's Diversion: the 2014 Seattle Seahawks Run to the Super Bowl and a Look Beyond

I HATE January's. January is by far my least favorite month of the year. It's usually coldest month of the year. The holiday season is over, and the bitter grind of winter is in full affect. Thank God for the 2014 Seattle Seahawks. Their run to the Super Bowl really made this dreadful month pass with ease. Why just this past Wednesday the city of Seattle celebrated the Seahawks' first Super Bowl winning season in this franchise's history -- and I was there for it!!.

Now there's even talk of the Seahawks being the NFL's next dynasty!  For years were locked in mediocrity, but now the center subject of a potential dynasty, a la the Pittsburgh Steeler of the 70s, the San Fransisco 49ers of the 1980s, or the New England Patriots of the 2000's.  Funny how things can change so quickly. As for the Super Bowl celebration in Seattle on Wednesday, it was cold: ball cold.  Thankfully I took a flask of 40 proof "Fireball" liquor which help take the edge off.  Really felt for the all grade schoolers who were out in the 20 degree weather.  But the Seahawk players aren't the only ones who are tough, even their underaged fans are tough -- tougher than me that's for sure.  

They estimate 700,000 turned out to celebrate the 'Hawks first Super Bowl winning team. I made it to Century Link field, and was there when the floats carrying players arrived back at their home stadium. Going there it felt like we were all going to see a Seahawk game, as EVERYONE was wearing a Seahawk jersey or some other Seahawk commemorative shirt. But surprisingly there were few vendors working the street. I think I waited 2 + hours in line in the freezing cold for about fifteen minutes worth of action to cheer on the passing floats with our heros. The weird thing was it was half and half military vehicles vs. ducks wich where busses that could travel in water. Sure I waved my 12th man towel and cheered like crazy when they passed, but I'll never do this again. If the Seahawks win the Super Bowl again I won't go to the parade. Too much hassle for too little a payoff.

So what comes next for ol' E.C. Henry? Well-p, time to knuckle down and crank up the inner writer. Going to jump back into my epic fantasy novel and its screenplay adaptation with renewed, distractionless fervor. Maybe I'll write a few query letters too, to people in the industry I wanna work with. But mostly it's writing I have an eye on. My novel is so poorly written -- and I recognize that, that I'm a la-onnng way from being ready to show it off. Luckily I believe in progressive perfection: getting the story a little bit better and little bit easier to read with each time I sit down at the keyboard and make improvement. But it's got such a long way to go, I recognize that. Rome wasn't built in day, neither will my opus be. Lets see opus or oops? It's gunna be the former not the later, you'll see... The crazy thing about this is, I KNOW I'll have the screenplay ready to show long before I have the novel ready to show. 10 years working on my screenwriting skills, all the while letting my novel writing skills atrophy will do that to an endeavor like this. Still, I remain vigilant. The show must go on!

I'm also going to keep this blog going.  I'm getting a lot more traffic on this site.  No comments mind you, but people are checking it out.  Not that that means all that much to me.  I'm not a numbers guy.  Rather, I use this blog as my portal to the world to do EXACTLY what the title of this blog stipulates: go inside the brain of E.C. Henry.

There's so many things I need to do.  Exercise more.  Put more of an emphasis on writing at least an hour a day.  Market myself more.  One thing I'm doing right is reading my daily scripture.  I'm keeping track of that too.  For the 40 days of the year so far, I've read my daily scripture on the day I was supposed to 38 of the 40 days.  That's at 95% clip, 5% higher than my 90% goal.  

Writing wise things could really improve for me too as the distraction of the Seahawks playoff run is over, and this year I'm resolved NOT to get into March Madness: the NCAA Men's basketball tournament.  Only foreseeable distraction on the horizon is the Oscars ceremony on Mach 2nd.  Can't miss that. 

With all the being said I hope y'all's 2014 is progressing nicely and that you're all in good heath.  Up here in Washington we just got 3" of snow which kinda torpedoed my weekend.  That and a reprise of nasty cough.  O well, soldier on.  Everything doesn't always go according to plan.  Thank you Jesus I'm still alive and in the game.  I hope my "big break" comes soon.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

Disrespected No More: the Seattle Seahawks Win the 2014 Super Bowl

This moment has been a long time coming.  Now I, E.C. Henry, have been a Seahawk fan ever since I was in junior high and the Seahawks made their first playoff run with Dave Kreig, Steve Largent, and Curt Warner (the running back from Penn State, NOT the ex-quarterback of the St. Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals).  We didn't make the Super Bowl in '83.  In fact that collection of characters never even made it back to the championship game again.  And not even any of Mike Holmgren's teams of 2000s were able to win the Super Bowl.  In fact, Mike Holmgren was only able to get the Seahawks to ONE championship game, and ONE Super Bowl...

But now, under Pete Carroll, John Schneider, and Paul Allen we have won a world championship.  Not since 1979 with the Seattle Super Sonics has the city of Seattle had a word championship in a major sport.  Disrespect no more!

Trent Dilfer.   I loved listening to him gush over the Seahawks win over the Bronkos during ESPN's post-game coverage.  Yes, Trent did have a stint with the Seahawks in the early 2000s after he won a Super Bowl as the starting quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens.  I love Trent's mind.  He really can breakdown football and help the fan understand plays.  His smile is genuine.  And he's a real guy.  HUGE fan of Trent Dilfer as an NFL analyst.

Chris Carter.  La-oved watching him eat crow for disrespecting the Seahawks' receiving core.  Pedestrian?  Appetisers?  Come on, man.  Going into the year Percy Harvin and Sydney Rice were supposed to be the starters making the plays.  But guess what?  It didn't play out that way.  What about "angry" Doug Baldwin, Golden Tate, Jermaine Kearse, and Riccardo Lockette upping their game and making plays when plays needed to be made.  What about THAT, Chris?  Stepping up when others aren't there.  Not pedestrian.  Not appetisers.  But vital contributors to a championship team.  Scoreboard, Chris; the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl.  Disrespected no more.

Dion Sanders.  I have new respect for this man as a member of the press covering the NFL -- as a result of watching how he interviewed Marshawn Lynch during media day in the week preceding the Super Bowl.  I loved watching Dion with all of his clout, wrap his arm around Marshawn Lynch and try to infuse that mercurial player that he was loved and accepted by his peers.  THAT is a cool thing; the ability to make other people feel like they belong.  Dion could play his fame in many different ways.  But I now see him in a different light.  And LOVED hearing him on the NFL Network talk about how bad Payton Manning played.  Dion was honest and not candy coating things.  Respect.

Payton Manning.  I thought this guy was the best quarterback in the NFL?  But Mr. Preparation couldn't even handle the opening snap after having two weeks to prepare himself?  And his poor performance in the opening half was astounding.  Did you know the Denver Bronkos didn't even have a first down in the first quarter?  And this is the from the number one offense in the NFL.  So much for stats.  They DON'T always tell the whole story.  Kinda felt sorry for Payton in his post-game interview where he was STILL kinda shell shocked and stumbling for words.  

John Fox.  Thought his decision to "go for it" on 4th down near the end of the 1st half, when they were in field goal range was his only real bad decision of the game.  Getting a field goal going into half time would have been big.  The Bronkos needed SOMETHING at this point in the game.  Sure they were already down 22 to 0, BUT they still had another half to go.  

Percy Harvin.  The big money, big gamble acquisition in the off season -- who barely played for the Seahawks in the 2013 regular season and 2014 playoff run.  But to Percy's GREAT CREDIT, he kept his head in the game, and eyes always on getting back on the field as soon as possible.  And the Seahawks managed his limitations as good as you could under the circumstances, and their reward: in the biggest game of the year Percy Harvin DELIVERED the knock-out blow to the Bronkos' chances when he returned the 2nd half kick-off for a touchdown.  Can't wait for the 2014 NFL season, I really wanna see Percy Harvin play more.  He's so electric and exciting to watch.

Earl Thomas: the general of the Seahawk defense.  Kam Chancellor: the "big hitter" over the middle, the real heartbeat of the "legion of boom".  Richard Sherman: our brash talker who backs his bravado up on the field by being the best cover corner in the NFL.  Marshawn Lynch the toughness, grit and determination on offence.  Russell Wilson: our overcoming quarterback who's won over the city and hearts of the fans.  And you know what, I'm bringing him up last, yet he probably belongs first.  But...

Football is a TEAM sport.  This is NOT a Payton Manning legacy show with everyone else playing second fiddle.  WE won the Super Bowl.  That's right, wrap your head around that world.  12 seconds into the game we scored a safety against, Mr. Preparation, when he was unprepared for the opening snap.  12 second into the 2nd half we had a score on the kick-off return for a touchdown.  The 12th man factor?  Hmmm... I like it.

So much for the clamor the Seattle Seahawks can't win on the East Coast.  Two teams from the west just met in the east, in the Big Apple -- and the Seahawks ran away with this one.  It was never close.  Sure, Manning got SOME passing numbers in the 2nd half, but this game was over after Percy's return, and Manning's passing yardage numbers were really mostly in garbage time.  Seattle is NOT Southeast Alaska.  

Disrespected no more.  The Seattle Seahawks DOMINATED the Denver Bronkos and convincingly won the 2014 Super Bowl.

Beyonce Knowles / Sasha Fierce: An Occultic and Unfit Role Model

I'm not the kind of person who likes it when people levy unflattering charges against other people.  So last weekend when we got into a discussion about people in Hollywood and my mom started insisting that Beyonce Knowles was a "bad person", and by bad I mean being using by the devil, my first inclination was to defend Beyonce's character.

Now I don't follow the secular rap scene.  Nor do I follow the R & B scene.  Prior to a week ago, in my naive state, I thought Beyonce Knowles was this beautiful, African-American who was gifted singer, but lent her talent to overly sexual performances -- probably just to solicit interest from men.

But with my mom saying bad things about Beyonce I decided I needed to educate myself a little bit with who she really was, and find out for myself if she was "bad" like my mom was asserting, or if such charges were unmerited.

What I found out by doing some on-line sleuthing, was that the real Beyonce is FAR WORSE than I ever expected to find.  Her perforance at last years Superbowl is laced with occultic refferences, over-sexual dramification and gives evidence to suggest that Beyonce is being used by the devil and occult.  Don't believe me?  See for yourself:

  

Did you see the part where Beyonce is sitting in a circle of red light?  Do you think at the part of her performance she just might have been occultically channeling the spirit of Sasha Fierce whom she allows to take over and do her onstage performances for her?  What about the flames in front of Beyonce and the performers?  Coincidence, or is this a show of hells fire which blazes in front of those three vixens?  Alright what about the occultic Hindu, multi-armed image of Beyonce during the performance?  And finally what is it with Beyonce asking the crowd to reach out so she can, "feel their energy" just before she sings a cut off her song "Halo", which may indeed be a veiled love song to Lucifer?  And what of the occultic, triangle, all-seeing eye, hand gesture Beyonce makes?  

Y'know I don't like bashing other people.  But in watching Beyonce's performance in last year's Super Bowl halftime show, I was shocked at how demonic and occultic it was.  I don't think I watched Beyonce's halftime performance last year.  But watching it now, there is no doubt in my mind that Beyonce is allowing herself to be used by demonic forces.  

So is the song "Halo" REALLY a song lauding Lucifer, OR is it a love song to actual person?  I hope it's the later, but some to lyrics make me think it's the former.

And what's with the baphomet ring on your finger in this shot Beyonce?  Hmmm... Riddle me that?  A GOAT'S HEAD as the centerpiece of a ring on your finger!?! WHAT THE FUCK!!  Sorry for the expletive, but seeing that Satanic piece of jewelry on your finger makes me think you're totally given over to the devil. 

 And what of your husband, Jay Z?  What's with this picture of him wearing a sweater with the Satanist Alister Crowley saying, "Do What Thou Wilt."  Once you make it big and worth millions why bother associating yourself with Satanic sayings.  Doesn't make sence to me, UNLESS Jay Z is affiliated with the occult too.

I read some very disturbing stuff on-line about Beyonce letting a spirit take control of her of her during her performances.  This persona has a name, "Sasha Fierce", and allows Beyonce to be more fearless about her sexuality when she performs.  And even one of Beyonce's albums is entitled, "I am... Sasha Fierce."  

The subject of the desire to become something greater than you think you are, is a subject near and dear to my heart.  As I too have toyed with the idea of becoming something greater than I am, through the use of what I call an "expanded persona."  Writers tend to be shy, introverted people.  And I knew that in engaging others in a creative medium I needed to pump my game up and becoming greater than I am on my own.  So I get you Beyonce when you say you need something like Sasha Fierce to help you on stage, I too face a similar choice.

 But at what cost are you allowing yourself to let Sasha take over?  Being possessed by a demonic spirit is no small matter. Furthermore I think as a result of the fruit of seeing what Sasha does when you allow that spirit to take over is cause for alarm.  What I'm getting at, Beyonce, is you don't need a demonic spirit to manifest itself for people to like you.  I think you're a very talented singer WITHOUT demonic interference.  And I honestly hope that you clean your act up, and repent so God can use you for his glory.  

I have never sought the demonic realm to propel my career, and by God's grace I never will.  And YES have asked the Lord REPEATEDLY to open a door for me sell some of my intellectual property.  I don't wanna remain undiscovered my whole life.

I think there is able evidence out there that Beyonce and Jay Z have succumbed to some level and let occultic forces in.  To what extent?  I can't tell you, only they and God know.  But what I can tell whatever ground they've given to demonic doesn't hafta remain that way forever.

The devil has been making deals with people since the days of the garden of Eden.  Genesis 3:1-7.  Remember the real villain in the story has always been the fallen arc angel, Lucifer, who comes in various forms to deceive people and make them offers which eventually prove quite costly to the person who took the devil's offer.  The serpent offered Eve knowledge, that her eyes would be open.  But what he didn't tell her was that by eating the forbidden fruit she would invoke God's wrath and end up getting kicked out of the garden and cursed for all women to follow to have pains in childbirth.  

Whatever apple the devil has offered Beyonce and Jay Z doesn't have to signal their doom.  God prepared the lake of fire for the devil and his angels -- not for us!  It's just up to us to resist the devil's charms, and chose the paths of life over the easy road which leads to death.  A key point to remember with the Lord is that He's full of mercy.  He by no means leaves the guilty unpunished but He was a way of taking a bad situation and turning it around for the good.  

Thank God for Jesus!  I love how He overcame the devil's temptations.  At one point the devil showed Jesus all these kindgoms and said to Jesus that give Him all of the them, as they were his to give, IF Jesus would fall down and worship him.  Matthew 4: 8-10, Luke 4: 5-8, The amazing thing is Jesus didn't contest the devil's authority over kingdoms, but Jesus did contest the devil's desire for praise in place of God.  

And how does the devil get dominion to offer other people?  I think the devil gets this by getting people to ally with him, at which point that which was there's is now the devil's to give.  My point is by act of will we can surrender our gift to the devil at which point they are his to use as he sees fit.

But why give the devil anything?  Does his character deserve anything?  Read the book of Job, when God boasted to the devil about how good Job was, the devil countered by trying to smear Job's character.  THAT'S the nature of Lucifer and devil, that vile creature what to destroy the things that God loves!  That's sad.  Very sad.  Why would ANYONE want to ally with someone who's ambition is to destroy and deface the things that God loves?  

My point is that when you compare and contrast God's character vs. the devil's, God's character should easily win.  We need to keep our proper abode and not let selfish ambition get the best of us to the point we sell ourselves out to a mean-spirited creatures like the devil and his minions.  

Alister Crowley was a monster.  He is NOT worthy of being talked about, or emulated in any way.  And I sincely hope that somehow God breaks through to Jay Z and gets him to point of wanting to distance himself from that Satanist.  

I think Beyonce is drop-dead gorgeous.  And I think she has a wonderful voice and giftings from on high.  I wish someone like the Christian artist Mandesa could mentor Beyonce.  Mandesa is African-American artist with a diva-like, powerhouse voice.  How cool would it be if God used Mandesa to help Beyonce find salvation?  It's not out of the realm of possibility.  If Mandesa and Beyonce were to ever to get together they'd have a lot off common ground to share.  My God can do great things.  

Don't let the devil have your gifts, Beyonce.  I pray that God does a work in your heart, and that somehow, by His grace, you see the error of your ways.  You have been so blessed in this life: a great career, a great guy, and a baby.  You deserve better than to be front person for the occult, be guiding the masses who look to your example in sexual lasciviousness, and end up being an object of God's wrath.  Right now I do not see Beyonce or Jay Z as being beacons of light that are suitable role models for today's youth.  Yes, by their success and notoriety both Beyonce and Jay Z have a platform to influence millions of people.  But to what end?  To make occultic hand gestures fashionable with today's youth?  To show an example of how to be possessed by otherworldly spirits?   To inflame young men and women's passions so they become sexually perverse? To widen the gulf between man and God and further, and invoke His wrath? 

Consider your ways, Beyonce and Jay Z.  You are better people than what I see you doing.  I pray that God opens your eyes, and you renounce your ways of darkness that you will not share in the fate of devil and his angels.  You were not made for wrath.  You have it within you to humble yourself, and choose life.  And I think somewhere in Beyonce's roots their is a form of godliness not sure that's the case with Jay Z.  

It all boils down to one choice; the narrow gate or the wide road that leads to destruction.  But I'm believing God for better things for Beyonce and Jay Z.  I pray they chose the narrow gate, and make their peace with Christ Jesus, the Lord.