The Just War Theory and Ron Paul

I have to tell you that I am not sure who to vote for in the upcoming election. Today, I wanted to look on youtube and see if there were any videos on the Just War Theory... this came up, and I have to tell you that this guy has something to say that we need to listen to...

Why are the Beatles the greatest rock band ever? #3: Feedback

Feedback has become one of the most commonly used techniques in music in many genres, but it was not always that way. Feedback nowadays is so common that it doesn't even sound strange, but it used to be a very grating sound to listen to.

Where did it start? You know it... The Beatles. They had played around with it, but had never been able to make it work... then one day at a break in rehearsal, one of the Beatles set his guitar next to an amplifier that was still turned on... as they walked away, there was a tremendous vibration off of one of the strings, and using feedback in music was born.

Even though it is simple compared to the complex uses it has today, you can see John Lennon in this video purposely causing feedback on his guitar to start the song, "I Feel Fine."

Dith Pran discusses his illness two weeks before he dies

This video was taken two weeks ago. Dith Pran died today.

`Killing Fields' survivor Dith Pran dies

Dith Pran, the Cambodian reporter that was a translator for journalists in Cambodia during the volatile 1970's has died at the age of 65. Pran was the true life subject of the movie The Killing Fields, which brought attention to the holocaust of the Cambodian people under the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979). I did not know this, but apparently it was Dith Pran that coined the term 'killing fields' that became the name of the mass graves outside of Phnom Penh, as well as throughout the country. Read an article here... , and you can view a trailer for the movie here...

Haing S. Ngor, another Cambodian refugee who fled the executions of the Khmer Rouge, played Dith Pran in the movie. Ngor won the Academy Award for best supporting actor in a movie in 1984. Unfortunately, he was killed in Los Angeles in 1996 by three Asian gang members.

Neil Aspinall dies at age 66

Neil Aspinall, the original road manager for the Beatles, died of cancer yesterday. He became the business brains behind the Apple Corps, Ltd, the Beatles business for the last 30 plus years since the break up of the band. He was the one that originally conceived of the very successful and popular Anthology discs that were issued in 1995. Here is an article about his death.

My trip to the US March/April 08

Here are some pics from my first week back in the US... I'll be here another two weeks before going back to Cambodia. Here are some pics with friends, a snow storm and Easter dinner at my brother's new house.

Just let me know if you hear any wrong notes...

Art Tatum is one of the geniuses of jazz piano... completely blind in one eye and only being able to see a tiny amount (mostly dark and light) in the other eye, he set the standard for jazz piano that may have only been challenged by the late Oscar Peterson... just let me know if you hear any wrong notes...

The Gospel in 6 Minutes

Whether you have been a Christian for 20 years, or you have no interest in Jesus, I encourage you to watch this.

Take the "A" Train by Duke Ellington

In 1941, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn wrote one of the most popular jazz standards, 'Take the "A" Train'. In this video, an older Ellington leads the band from the piano. A great trumpet solo is performed by Ray Nance...

Why are the Beatles the greatest rock band ever? #2: Stadium Concerts

On August 15, 1965 the Beatles put on the first-ever concert in a stadium. The venue was Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets. And the rest is history... SO many groups have followed in their footsteps by putting on concerts in stadiums... In the first concert 55,600 fans came. The concert took in $304,000 (which in 1965 was not a small fortune) and the Beatles themselves took in a then-record profit of $160,000. More groundbreaking things to come...

Phnom Penh Street Scenes

I took most of these pictures in about twn minutes, just to give you an idea of how common it is to see these things.... enjoy, and maybe even have a good chuckle...

Hard to know...

Hard to know if anyone would even care, but I did update the PaulMcCartney.com link and the put a new David Suchet link that is better than the previous one in the sidebar...

Back in Black

I have searched forever for a webskin that I like for my blog, and I really wish that I had the know-how to create my own, and so, after tiring of the previous green one, I have decided to go back to the one that I started with...

Why are the Beatles the greatest rock band ever? #1: Music Videos

For a long time, I have considered making a series of blog postings about why the Beatles have a claim to being the best rock band ever. Some of my friends scoff at this statement, but I think that there are numerous reasons to agree. This will be the first posting in a series... the reasons will not be in any particular sequence of importance... with that being said, here is the first reason...

The Beatles were the first band to make music videos... they invented the genre. Because they were not able to go to the US for a follow up appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, they created these videos and sent them off to be shown on the TV show... and so was born the genre of the music video... These are the first two... the songs "Rain" and "Paperback Writer"

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

Here is one of my favorite songs by the Beatles... You've Got To Hide Your Love Away... from the movie, "Help!"

I'll be there in a week...

Well friends, first, I just want to ask for your prayers as I come home from Cambodia next week. I will be home for about three weeks. I am not sure how the jet lag will hit me, but I am more worried about the culture shock... many things here have become 'normal', so I know that some things are going to really 'shock' me when I get back to the States...

Second, if you are in the Mansfield area, I will be having a short get together on April 1 (no April Fools Jokes please) at Mansfield Christian School in the choir room at 7:00. If you want to go to Mapquest you can enter the address of 500 Logan Road, Mansfield, OH 44907, if you do not know where it is. I hope that any and all of you that are free can come to hear a bit about the last (almost) nine months.

Lastly, I would appreciate your prayers for the last week here before I come home. There are so many things to do... including giving about 120 tests and grading them all in less than 36 hours...

Have a great week, and may God bless you in every way. G

Last weekend in Battambang...

Here are some pictures from this past Sunday in Battambang. Savorn, Seda and I went up there to have a church service at the Orphans Home there... Savorn had made arrangements to have some Samaritan's Purse "Boxes of Hope" for the children also...

a short email

It has been a little less than a month since I wrote to all of you... I just wanted to give you a few thoughts and then let you move on to the rest of your email...

First, my apologies go out to all of the people at Mansfield Christian School who somehow did not get my last email... I am not sure what happened, but if you want to read it, you can still visit my blog and look for a posting called 'Shiny Veneers, CT Scans and some big news...'

The BIG news, if you missed that email is that Seda and I have gotten engaged, and per the culture, had a party to make that official... there are some great pictures on my blog (use the web link is at the bottom of this email).

Also, I will be coming back to the States for about three weeks in mid March, which will be great. If you are interested, I am hoping to have a get together with anyone who wants to hear about the last (almost) 9 months... more details will come on that.

We had a number of people from Asia's Hope come through Cambodia and Thailand this past month, and it was great to see new faces as well as some good friends. During that time I did agree to help the Asia's Hope student center in a more formal position along with a friend who is a Cambodian pastor.

Other than that, life just keeps trucking along teaching English, learning Khmer, and volunteering a number of hours a week by teaching English to English teachers and by teaching the Bible Study with the college students. Also, please keep me in your prayers as I continue to look into different employment possibilities in Cambodia.

I look forward to seeing any of you that I can when I am back!

Graham

Graham and Seda's Engagement Party!

Here are a few (and I do mean a few, even though there are 84) pictures of our engagement party in Kompong Thom this past weekend... we had a great time... it honestly looks more like a wedding, especially since we had it at a church, but things went really well, and we are excited about how God will lead us in the next steps! Enjoy... the last picture is just for fun...

Doug's Safety Quotes

Every year, the business that my friend Doug works for has a Safety Slogan competition... he won last year... these are some of my favs from this year... made me laugh...
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One giant step for man, but then taking giant steps aren't all that safe.

Safety is like underwear, you want to make sure you have it, especially if you end up going to the hospital.

What is safety? If you don't know then you are not safe. Plus you're an idiot.

Safe-T. No matter how you spell it- it spells safety.

Kids who ran with scissors never got far in life.

What's keeping you safe? It better be you cause the other guy may not have read these slogans.

Just add safety.

Most accidents happen at home- best just go to work.

Anyone who isn't safe needs whupped.

Safety- don't count on having a net.

Run for safety!

Safety is our future, going forward.

Safety rules, losers drool.

Safety: 6 letters that can lower your blood pressure.

Let's all get safe. Then, let's all get safer.

The safer you are, the smarter you feel.

I never saw a safety slogan that was better than this one.

When handling dynamite keep the flaming wick pointed away from you.

Safety- you either have it or you have a concussion.

Safety- it's cheaper than a trip to the ER.

Safety- together we can help the blind lead the blind.

It's not about you, it's about Safety.

The only Safe way to act is to act Safe.

Safety is not like a box of chocolates- you always know what you get.

Why not be Safe?

The answer is Safety!

If you aren't safe then what the heck are you?

To be safe or not to be safe- why is it even a question?

There is no danger in safety.

Last one out of the building- don't forget the safety!

Safety; not just a button on your firearms- but that's a good one.

Safety wins everytime- and with fewer people on the DL.

In a word- Safety.

Lose your fear of Safety.

Smell the Safety! Smell it I say!

Don't just stand there- be Safe!

I hate accidents; and Safety is no accident.

I once met a man with no arms, and no Safety either.

Pretty fly for a Safe Guy!