My summer reading The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John C.Maxwell

My summer reading has begun: First book, The 21 Indispensable
Qualities of a Leader by John C.Maxwell. Hear is something that jumps
out at me.

1. "Commitment is the enemy of resistance, for it is the serious
promise on, to get up no matter how many times you are knocked down"
If you want to get anywhere worth while, you must be committed.

2. Are you achieving all that you believe you can? Do you have people
that believe in you? If you don't find them, If you don't let them out
of your life.
'' The only real measure of commitment is true action."

3. Spend time looking for cracks in your life that define your
character in (work, relationship, family, service, etc.), then examine
your heart and face the music. This is the hard part (Apologize). PRIDE
can KILL, remember that. Change your focus from yourself. Now it's time to
rebuild. It's one thing to face up to your past actions, it's another to
build a new future. Last but not least, know what's worth DYING for.
What's in your life that you would not be able to stop doing no matter the
Consequences?

What's the big deal about a rubber band. I read the on yahoo .com and thought this was to fun.

By BONNIE ROCHMAN
The Bandz are now contraband. Schools in several states, including New York, Texas, Florida and Massachusetts, have blacklisted Silly Bandz, those stretchy, colorful bracelets that are creeping up the forearms of school kids across the U.S. And starting this week, all 800-some kids at my son's elementary school in Raleigh, N.C., were commanded to leave at home their collections of rubber band–like bracelets, which retail for about $5 per pack of 24. What could possibly be so insidious about a cheap silicone bracelet?

"It's a distraction," says Jill Wolborsky, a fourth-grade teacher at my son's school, who banned them from her classroom before the principal implemented a schoolwide ban. One student stole some confiscated Bandz from her desk, choosing them over the cash in her drawer. (See pictures of teens in America.)

Students fiddle with them during class and arrange swaps - trading, say, a bracelet with a mermaid for one with a dragon - when they should be concentrating on schoolwork, teachers say. Sometimes a trade goes bad - kids get buyer's remorse too - and hard feelings, maybe even scuffles, ensue.

That's what prompted Karen White, principal of Snow Rogers Elementary School in Gardendale, Ala., in October to become one of the first administrators to forbid students their Bandz. "We try not to limit their freedom of expression and what they wear, but when this became a problem, I knew we had to nip it in the bud pretty quickly," says White, who has since extended an olive branch in the form of monthly Silly Bandz days. (See pictures of a public boarding school in Washington, D.C.)

Silly Bandz are the latest in a long list of kid-centric fads - in the tradition of Cabbage Patch Kids, Beanie Babies, PokÉmon cards and Crocs. BCP Imports LLC, the small business in Toledo, Ohio, that's behind the bracelets, was not prepared for the frenzy. It's increased its workforce from 20 employees to 200 in the past year and just this week added 22 phone lines to keep up with inquiries. The company sells millions of packs a month, and Robert Croak, the president, can still hardly believe it. (He took my call after hanging up with Macy's, which is interested in creating a Silly Bandz float for its storied Thanksgiving Day parade.) (Comment on this story.)

Croak got inspired about three years ago at a product show in China, where a Japanese artist had devised a rubber band cute enough to escape the trash bin. Though Silly Bandz have been out for two years, they began catching on a year ago - Alabama was an early adopter, as were New Jersey and Tennessee. They're just now gaining traction in California and Texas. (See where jewelry is fitting into green designs for 2010.)

"They're getting banned because kids play with them so much," says Croak, who maintains they're the right product at the right time, a cost-conscious trinket in tough economic times that can even be a learning tool for little ones, kind of like flexible flash cards.

His company receives about 500 fan letters a week. One, signed by a 10-year-old named Logan Librett and a few of his friends in New Rochelle, N.Y., suggested a way to circumvent all the bothersome Silly Bandz restrictions: "Some schools in New York have banned them, but we have ideas that might change that ... clear silly bands that teachers can't see and only glow in the dark."

Just in case the company bites, Librett offered his address. He's still waiting.

20th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. 3

I saw this on pastemagazine.com. I can't believe I forgot about the BEST game in the world... Super Mario Brothers 3! I remember logging hundreds of hours with my brother playing this game. Once we got to the last level.... the game would always freeze! But you still have to give it up for the best game in the world on its 20th anniversary!

This month is the 20th anniversary of the U.S. release of Super Mario Bros. 3. Yes, a mere two decades ago we were tearing apart that iconic yellow packaging with the grinning, raccoon-tailed Italian plumber on the cover. SMB3 was one of the most revolutionary games of its time, but more than that, it’s just damn fun to play. Here’s five reasons why this charming little game has aged so well.

1. Flying!
That’s kinda what the whole raccoon tail thing on the cover art is all about. According to a Japanese legend, some types of raccoons can actually fly short distances. So it makes perfect sense that whenever Mario touches a leaf, he grows a raccoon tail and can fly. Yeah. Still, the ability to make Mario fly changed the way we play games; players now could journey along the Y axis, a feat that had never really been attempted in game design.

2. Costumes and power-ups
Besides flying, there was the classic fire flower, the mostly-useless frog suit, the somewhat baffling raccoon suit, and the incredibly badass kuribo shoe. You were never really required to use any of them, but there was a palpable sense of satisfaction to seeing Mario dodge enemies by turning to stone. And you could save powerups in your inventory and ration them for later stages, which added a layer of strategy.

3. (Semi) open world
Another revolutionary first, your path through the game wasn’t completely side-scrolling and linear. You now moved Mario around a world map from stage to stage. But it was more than just a graphical upgrade for the sake of distracting the player: you could unlock secret areas, play minigames, hunt for the airship and dodge the Hammer Bros. And don’t front like you don’t start bobbing your head a little bit when you hear the world 1 theme music:

4. The Hammer Bros.
The perennial Mario villains return, this time as mobile obstacles on the world map. You need the patience and tactical planning of Sun Tzu to beat them in the later stages, so it’s a good thing there’s some rocking 8-bit blues to soundtrack the battles:

5. Secrets, everywhere
This might be the most rewarding part of the game. Nearly every stage has at least one hidden cache of coins and 1up mushrooms tucked away somewhere. You don’t really need them, but the thrill of the hunt for these little minutia was what kept players coming back long after they found the damn “another castle” that the princess was in.

Fall Festival Promo (MissionSpace)

Fall Festival October 21 Promo

I am very thankful to work with a staff that is so multi-talented.
We come together as one for every different event. One person in
particular I have to give credit to is Burns Barr Jr. Who is one of
the best videographer, graphic designer, and editors I have ever met.
You can literally walk in his door, tell him your idea, and he can make
it come to life. Here is our promo for the fall festival at Beech
Street. We're calling it Mission Space. Emily has done such a great job
planning such a huge event for our community. I can't wait to see all
the fun and crazy things she has planned for the kiddos. I know its
going to be an experience that is "Outta" this World!!

Soulja Boy...in jail?

I read this on myspace news, check this out!!
Late Thursday afternoon, reports began flying that teen rapping sensation Soulja Boy Tell 'Em had been arrested just outside of Atlanta. While details were scarce, it has been confirmed that the 19-year-old legally known as DeAndre Way was put behind bars for one count of obstruction and a misdemeanor for running from the police.

The reason for his arrest? Late Wednesday, a group of 40 people were found in an abandoned house in the McDonough area of Atlanta, where it appeared that they were shooting a video. When the authorities arrived, much of the crowd scattered including Way who later returned for his car that evening. When he arrived, he was detained and subsequently was put in jail.

Which thus lead to one of the weirdest arrests this year. It's not that often that a rapper is arrested for illegally filming a music video. But hey, the guy has got street cred to maintain.

Speaking to Texas Middle School football team!

I got a really cool opportunity to speak to Texas Middle School football team after one of their practices. I shared with them what h2o student ministry was all about. I challenged them to think about why we act like a team on the field but when we are off the field it’s every man for him self. I told them we need to hold each other accountable and we are as strong as our weakest link. Here are a few pictures.

Some People are Just Dying To Be Heard

Sean and I went to see a sneak preview of the movie To Save a Life last Thursday night in Little Rock. It's an eerily real depiction of teenage life. It is an eye-opening film... it will shock and move people. The main theme of the movie is some people are just dying to be heard. To Save a Life will touch not only teenagers and their families but youth pastors as well. This movie hit me hard because I'm in the schools on a daily basis and it made me think what student could I be missing to either motivate/ encourage, be a friend, or to just sit and listen. Today's teenagers live in a social network, they are constantly connected. Which means it leaves the door open for more challenges, choices, pressures and temptations that could consume their life.