The DefBlog

2007: The Year in Review

2007-12-27T22:20:00.000-08:00

Wow. This first year in my new job just flew by. I didn't keep this blog updated like I wanted to. So as this year winds down, allow me to sum up what all has happened. Mainly, I did a lot of business travel. I made trips to:
Washington D.C. (twice),
San Franciso,
San Jose (CA),
Denver (twice),
Lexington (KY),
Lynchburg (VA),
Halifax (Nova Scotia),
Kansas City (MO),
Philadelphia,
Boston,
New York,
Nashville
and Clearwater.

Whew! In January, I produced a promotional video for Human Life International. In March, I interviewed a famous Filipino movie actress. Through the spring, we shot interviews for two different documentaries. The first was about the False Gospels. The post-production on that lasted into the middle of August. This included me directing shoots of dramatic recreations, which was a lot of fun.

In the fall, I found myself in the National Shrine in D.C. shooting behind-the-scenes footage of an event there. We also picked up interviews in Boston and Florida for our second documentary: an exploration of the Biblical account of the Resurrection. As the year ends we are deep into post-production on that. We are scheduled to have it completed by the end of January.

Along the way during these trips, I saw the Colorado Rockies play the San Francisco Giants as well as the Padres host the Devil Rays. I attended my first MLS game: Colorado vs. Chicago. I saw the Rocky Mountains, the Bay Bridge (SF to Oakland) and the aircraft carriers in San Diego. I had my first looks at the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. In fact, I now have the experience of being in a car in the middle of Manhattan at exactly five o'clock. I've seen Fenway Park, Giants Stadium and the Captiol Building. Quite a year.

But none of that compares to the joys I have at home. I have continued to love my life as husband and father at home. Kim and I never ceased to be amazed by our son. Jackson's now approaching his second birthday and is becoming more of a handful every day. A funny thing happened back in the summer when he was around nineteen months old: he quit being work and became just plain ol' fun!

He's talking more and discovering the joys of things like Hot Wheels and coloring books. He insists everyone be in the room when it's time to say the blessing for a meal. He loves to watch his animated Jesus video. He loves to read his Elmo book. And he loves to wrestle daddy! There were many days this year when I would take no more than a step out of my car at the end of the day and Jackson would be at the door jumping up and down in excitement. As soon as I stepped inside, I'd drop to the floor and we'd wrestle. I'm afraid we'll have to stop that game because apparently he's wrestling all the other kids at the church nursery.

In August, Kim and I took a vacation to the Ring of Kerry on the southwest coast of Ireland. The week we spent there was wonderful as we were able to enjoy some of the most breathtaking scenery still left on this planet. We celebrated our third anniversary in November. Kim is just amazing. Three years ago, I had no idea I was marrying such a great mother. Her dedication to raising and training our son is unbelievable. We are so extremely blessed to be able to keep her at home with Jackson. We started seeing the fruitful returns on that long ago.

We also consider ourselves to be extremely blessed by our church home. Mountain View Baptist has proven to be the perfect match for us, as we are continually challenged and have experienced tremendous spiritual growth over the course of the year.

My nights at home are usually filled with freelance work. I edit HR training videos for a local construction company and I pick up editing work from a small wedding video company. But in what I laughingly call my spare time, I have undertaken as a hobby a completely new creative endeavor. I have started writing my first novel. I wrote a short story back in February and it will be published soon by a friend of mine. I guess that caused me to get the writing bug. Hopefully, by this time next year I'll have the Christian sword & sorcery book finished. We shall see.

And as the year winds down, we have just enjoyed a fantastic Christmas and are looking forward to bringing in the New Year with friends in Savannah and then watching the Georgia Bulldogs take on Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl.

Happy New Year!

--The Birmingham Wrights

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T19:43:00.000-08:00

Hello, everyone. I guess I've just about let this whole year go by without an update. Sorry about that. Between the new job and spending Dad Time with Jackson, some things got away from me.

I just wanted to take the time to list some of the things I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for my family, especially my wife and son. I'm thankful for our church home. I'm thankful for the opportunity I have now to produce Christian documentaries full time.

I'm thankful there are men out there like Roy Moore who are willing to take a stand and simply say that it's okay for the government to acknowledge God. I'm thankful there are still plenty of us out there that know our history enough to know that America was founded on Christian principles.

And I hope many, including some of the liberals and athiests that took Thanksgiving Day off of work, will take the time to reflect on the First National Thanksgiving Proclamation, words from George Washington in 1779:

"Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; Whereas, both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me

"to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness!"

Now therefore, I do recommend next, to be devoted by the people of the states to the service of that great and glorious being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country. "

Amen.

What's Yours?

2007-02-05T18:53:00.000-08:00

by Kim Wright
How many of us have noticed in the past 2 yrs. that more and more stores are asking not only for your zip code, but now also for your personal phone number when you are checking out at the register? Radio Shack is the worst as everyone knows, but it is becoming more and more mainstream now. Some stores even go a step further and ask for your address on top of that. Gone are the simple days of paying for your items and leaving. Does this strike anyone else as an invasion of privacy?

According to internet research- yes, a lot of people refuse to give out personal info, although they are in the minority. Most people just go along, probably figuring it’s required of them. Not so. We always refuse to give out any personal information while making a purchase. We don’t care what great reason the store may want it for, like marketing or otherwise. My phone number is not their business and has nothing whatsoever to do with the transaction at hand. You do not legally have to give out ANY personal information to make a purchase. If an $8.00/hr sales clerk is stumped by a “no” in the crowd, (and they will be), just ask for a manager. We have done this time and time again and it’s never a problem.

The clerks are only doing their job,(and aren’t paid enough to care anyway), so we aren’t rude to them, but we just deal with the inevitable delay. We actually feel sorry for the clerks, who are being used by corporate headquarters to collect data for the marketing departments of the stores. What an awkward position to put these people in. Corporate knows these people are going to make some people mad with these questions- they don’t care. And we know that they use the info. for marketing, research, coupons, etc. but that is all their problem. If you want coupons, then go ahead and give your number. But somehow we still manage to get a mailbox full of coupons every week without giving retailers our personal information.

Some stores say getting your phone number is also used for returns- if you don’t have a receipt. That may be true, but I keep my receipts, so that’s a moot point. To me it’s just the point of privacy. Their marketing is their problem, not yours. If you are not the kind of person who just can’t say “no”, you can always respond with “it’s unlisted” or, as someone else suggested, ask the clerk “what’s yours?”, ha ha.

My New First Day

2007-01-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

It's been over eight years since I've had a "first day on the job". It was in 1998 that I began the cable advertising phase of my career. I've certainly grown a lot as a producer in those eight years and I am very grateful for the opportunities I had.

I spent most of my time with Charter Media in Birmingham, Alabama. I managed to produce a handful of commercials that I'm proud of (which you can find on my website) and a ton of commercials that I'm not (which you can't!). But I certainly improved my skills, particularly in the area of lighting scenes and people and in directing large projects. I suppose my crowning moment was in 2004 when I was awarded a CAB award for a commercial I directed a year eariler.

But it's hard to feel like you are doing much to glorify God when you are working in cable television. And to glorify God in all phases of my life is something I want to do. Whether it be my personal life, my family life or my professional life.

Ignatius Productions has hired me to a full time staff position. I have done plenty of work for Ignatius on a freelance basis over the last several years, most notably in a trip to Sudan. I now look back over my career and see that God had me in advertising for a reason: to hone my skills over time in preparation for this very opportunity.

I'm excited about the next phase of my career. I will now be producing Christian documentaries on a full-time basis. These projects will have me traveling the globe and they will often air on national networks (or otherwise be distributed on a national basis). It's unbelievably fulfilling to know that I'll be working on projects with a Christian theme and that these projects have the potential to reach audiences far greater than I've previously experienced.

I thank God for this exciting new opportunity.

I will miss working at Charter. What I will miss most is the access to the city of Birmingham I had. I've been everywhere from the kitchen of the top gourmet chef in the city to the projection booth of the Alabama Theater, from the top of Vulcan park to a close look at the city water management system, from the offices of mayors and county commissioners to the locker room of Legion Field. I've even run live jib shots for the local NBC station's coverage of a parade (and once for a newscast).

I've also worked with a pretty good list of athtletes with varying degrees of fame: Bart Starr, Mia Hamm, Everson Walls, and Al Del Greco to name just a few. Heck! One time Christopher Martin came by the studios to work! That would be "Play" from the 1980s rap duo "Kid n Play"!

I will always remember my eight years in advertising fondly. But now my interview subjects will shift from athtletes, politicians and business owners to bishops, priests, authors and scholars. I've been working professionally in video production since 1993 and I feel that God has spent that entire time preparing me for what's about to happen next.

Wish me luck and pray with me that God will continue to bless Ignatius Productions in the years to come.

MIA in the NIV

2006-11-30T09:40:00.000-08:00

Everyone, get out your New International Version Bibles.

Turn with me to Matthew 18:11. I'll wait while you find it, go ahead: look it up.

...still waiting....

Can't find it, can you?

What about Acts 8:37?
No luck? How about 1st John 5:7?

Amazing, isn't it? Those verses just aren't in your NIV. They just blatantly skip right over them.

And listen to what they say:
Matthew 18:11 speaks of Salvation: "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost"

Acts 8:37 mentions the diety of Jesus: "...I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God"

1st John 5:7 speaks of the Trinity: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one"

Whoa! Why would you leave that stuff out? So is NIV really the inspired Word of God? Don't these Scriptures sound like Truths that God desires for us to know? Or are these minor points worth skipping?

These aren't the only verses the NIV omits. Try to find these:
Matthew 17:21
Matthew 23:14
Mark 7:16
Mark 9:44, 46
Mark 11:26
Mark 15:28
Luke 17:36
Luke 23:17
John 5:4
Acts 15:34
Acts 24:7
Acts 28:29
Romans 16:24

These versions all deal with such doctrines as the Trinity, Hell, Salvation and Prayer. No biggies, right?

Did you know that the King James Version of the Bible (first published in 1611) is the only version available that is in the public domain? Anyone can publish it, there is no copyright holder.

Paul says in II Thessalonians 3:1 that "...the word of the Lord may have free course" and in 2nd Corinthians 2:12 he hopes that "we might know the things that are freely given to us of God".

Any of the modern translations, including the NIV, have to make a minimum number of changes in order for it to be recognized as a new work so that they may own the copyright. So it seems like every year some publisher comes out with the "latest Word from God", hoping of course, that you buy it from them.

Interesting, in this light,what the NIV does with some of the verses concerning money. In the KJV, I Timothy 6:10 says "the love of money is the root of all evil". But the NIV changes this to "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil". Wow. Look at the changes there and consider the difference in meanings. Pretty major.

Not surprising then that the NIV changes Mark 4:19 from mentioning "the deceitfulness of riches" to "the delight in riches".

Do you use the NIV or some other, more modern, translation? Do you even own a King James Version? What version does your preacher or priest read from in his sermons? What version is waiting for you in the pews of your church? If it's not a King James, could you ask your preacher why that is? Do you think he even knows about the nature of these changes?

If you've learned something from this, I encourage you to point others to this page. It's all been very eye-opening for me.

Amish Paradise

2006-11-04T20:03:00.000-08:00

Hey, everybody. This is Mrs. Def Dave, Kim, writing this post. We recently took a vacation to Lancaster County, PA. This is a trip that we have wanted to take for several years and we finally did it. I have always had a fascination of the Amish, but it wasn’t till I was older and noticed so many changes in our culture that I really have come to have a tremendous amount of respect for how they live. Our first night there we stayed on an Amish farm, in the guesthouse. It was a dairy farm and they sell their milk to Land O’Lakes. The boys showed us all around the farm. The whole family was very kind. They brought us the most delicious breakfast in the morning, everything made from scratch of course.

The next day we went for a buggy ride around some of the farms with an Amish driver. We had some questions for him, as did other people in the buggy, for instance we were all curious about their education. He explained that even though the children go to school through the 8th grade, it’s actually a 12th grade education; being done in 8 years (yes they learn trigonometry and all the other difficult subjects, ha ha). All of the Amish we came into contact with seemed very well educated. Yet what strikes you is their humbleness. And the children, they are so well-disciplined!(and none of them are drugged, which is a foreign concept to them). Amazing considering how many siblings each family has. They are like miniature adults. I noticed how happy they seemed to be. We saw several parents shopping with young children in the Amish stores and the children seemed so happy and obedient, although you could tell they were unsure of “us”, sticking really close to the parent when they would see us, and looking away from us. Not one child was screaming or crying or begging for candy. They have some of the most beautiful children we’ve ever seen too.

We stayed at a Mennonite Bed and Breakfast for 2 nights, and that was nice too. One night we had dinner with an Amish family. They raised crops and also had some dairy cows. They had 5 children. This is the family that we got to talk to the most and ask the most questions. I got some great child discipline and potty training tips from the wife, and while talking to her I found out that she is familiar with the book we are using to train Jackson. She also told us that divorce, violence, suicide and depression are unheard of in their culture. Wow. The men are very masculine and authority just emanates from them, whereas the women are very feminine, but gosh do they work hard. The women definitely are quiet and submit to let their husband do most of the talking when he’s around, but you can tell it’s out of an utmost respect for the husband as the leader in the home, not because he’s some evil tyrant. But the women will talk your ear off later, ha ha.

These people were very kind, welcoming, talkative, and funny. They are very social with each other too. They get together with neighbors and friends several times per week, and they write lots of letters. Even though they don’t have tv, they read the newspapers so they know what’s going on in the world, however they don’t approve of any outside wires coming into the home that could even possibly affect the family bond in a negative way. They weigh every decision on how it will impact their families. They do have gas lights that basically are equivalent to the lights in our homes, and they are plenty bright. They use gas-powered washing machines, but they line-dry their clothes. They have phones but not in the home, usually in the barn or guesthouse.

For these people family is the most important thing besides devotion to the Lord (they are Christians). Most married couples meet at church, which takes place at a different home in the community every week and lasts for 4 hours. Children sit quietly during church also. There is no such thing as a “nursery” or anything remotely similar in their culture. Dating usually starts at about 18, and is closely monitored (hmm…. That sounds like a familiar plan!) and the boys approach the girls’fathers for permission to see their daughters (another thing we plan to do). Everyone marries, there are no “singles” in the Amish! (unless you are widowed of course), That is good for any society, it is a stabilizer as they told us. They also do not believe in having insurance of any kind. We didn’t ask why, but we just assumed that it was because it means to them that you do not trust the Lord to provide for your needs.

We did some other things nearby also such as ride a steam train through the countryside, and we took a day trip to Philadelphia. On our last day, we spent the whole day touring the Gettysburg battlefield. One day isn't nearly enough time to take it all in, but we really enjoyed walking on such historical ground. We spent a lot of time just driving around looking at the country. It was a great trip and we hope to take Jackson there someday. We highly recommend it.

--Kim

Kenny G Without The Horns

2006-08-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

Most people know who Kenny G is, right? He's this famous musician that most folks I know enjoy making fun of. He's known for his instrumental pieces where he is featured on a soprano sax. Okay, just checking.

I work as a producer in local advertising. Sometimes, as I'm sure is the case in most lines of work, the clients can just drive you crazy. Although "the customer is always right" isn't exactly true, it is true that "the customer always gets his way". But sometimes it sure is hard to keep a sense of professionalism about you as the client looks you right in the eye and with a completely straight face requests something utterly ridiculous.

Several years ago, I once edited a car spot together for an agent that had a reputation for being hard to please. I added music to the spot that I thought worked well. He then told me he had something different mind: something a little laid back, but not too laid back (???), something kind of like --you guessed it-- "Kenny G...but without the horns."

I was speechless. How the heck do you get THAT? You take Kenny G's horns away and you've got NOTHING.

This incident has now gone down in company Legend. Whenever someone asks for something crazy or impossible, we refer to these clients as wanting "Kenny G without the horns." Last year, though, was an example SO classic it almost won the title:

I had finished a spot with a political candidate's advertising consultant. After we had it done, the campaign manager walks in and watches it. We can tell he wasn't entirely happy, so we braced for his complaint. He opened his mouth and said, with complete sincerity:

"I know we want to grab people's attention, but that red text just screams 'Look at me!'"

...[sigh]...

A Rosa by Any Other Name

2006-07-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

I recently had an opportunity to meet Don Rosa. You're very impressed right now, if you're from Finland. Turns out this Kentuckian is a pretty big celebrity in Europe. It all makes sense when you realize this: He's the new Carl Barks.

Let me explain.

As it turns out, there's a long history of popularity (and quality) to Disney duck-related comic books. It started in the 1950s and, despite it essentially fizzling out in America, continues to this day throughout Europe.

Comic book collectors know well the name of Carl Barks. He began as an animator and then story editor at Disney Studios. He left the animation department and began drawing Disney-branded comics in the 1950s. Ever heard of Uncle $crooge McDuck? Thank Carl Barks. Perhaps you remember the TV series, and spinoff movie, DuckTales. Those episodes are adapted from old Carl Barks comic book stories. (Trivia: Did you know the voice of $crooge McDuck in his animated appearances is performed by the guy who played Wilbur on Mr. Ed?)

Barks created $crooge as a throwaway supporting character in the Donald Duck comic book. But he later brought him back, developed him and soon fell in love with him. Uncle $crooge quickly grew into a comic book star in the 1950s, headlining his own book and relegating Donald to support status.

Barks spent many years developing the Duck world and its citizens. He created Duckburg and many supporting characters. He often sent $crooge, Donald and the three nephews (Huey, Dewey and Louie) on grand treasure-hunting adventures. And although perhaps silly and juvenile on the surface, these stories had a nuanced quality that appealed to kids of all ages. I find it fascinating that all this popularity and development of all the Disney ducks was occuring completely seperate from anything the animation studio was producing.

To the generation of comic book fans that grew up reading in the days before the Marvel superhero renaissance of the 1960s, Carl Barks is a giant.

Among these enthralled readers was a kid from Kentucky named Don Rosa. The Disney duck books had faded from the American market completely by sometime in the 70s, but a small publisher named Gladstone had picked up the license from Disney and began doing new stories in the mid-80s. It was an occastion Rosa had apparently spent his whole life preparing for.

He quickly contacted the book's editor and in very short time was writing and drawing his first $crooge McDuck story. It was well received and Gladstone wanted more. And Rosa gave it to them, emulating the Carl Barks tradition of treasure-hunting. The reading audience quickly realized here, at last, was a storyteller worthy to succeed Barks. The European reading audience, that is. He remains almost entirely obscure in his home country, even among comic book collectors.

Comic books are much more popular in Europe than in America and Rosa's new Duck stories were celebrated. In 1992 and 93, Rosa crafted his most famous work. After thoroughly researching all of the little hints, clues and references Barks had made in his stories, Rosa crafted a comprehensive, and the definitive, life story of $crooge in the 12-part epic THE LIFE AND TIMES OF $CROOGE MCDUCK. This was later reprinted in a single collected volume and made available in America. For this work, Rosa received comic book industry awards.

To this day, when a new Don Rosa story appears in a Disney duck comic, his name is advertised on the cover. And as you might guess, the only other name ever to have appeared like that was Carl Barks.

When I first saw Don Rosa, he was sitting at a table sketching Huey, Dewey and Louie. I wasn't that impressed. "Oh, this guy draws Donald Duck stuff". I just didn't know the story. There's this weird history of Duck comics that is completely seperated from the mainstream Disney efforts and has its own legion of fans, mostly European. And right there in front of me, drawing kiddie ducks, was the man carrying on that tradition that started over 50 years ago.

Now that I have a baby boy, I'm a lot more interested in the works of Barks and Rosa than I otherwise might be. Maybe you'd like to order a copy of THE LIFE AND TIMES OF $CROOGE MCDUCK from Amazon (or better yet, your local comic book retailer). And as I finish up this piece, here's a link to Don Rosa's other most-famous work: The Duck Family Tree.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

2006-06-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

Final Thoughts on our World Cup team.

In 2002, the US player who saw his stock rise the most during the World Cup was probably Pablo Mastroeni. The player who saw his stock drop the furtherest was Jeff Agoos. So who was it this time?

THE GOOD: CLINT DEMPSEY.
He got to start against Italy and showed he belonged there. An attacking midfielder with a flair for the creative, Dempsey was the brightest of the very few bright spots for the US. He has secured his place with the national team for the next four years and hopefully will get some offers from Europe soon.

THE BAD: LANDON DONOVAN
No one really embarrassed themselves the way Jeff Agoos did in '02. But so many people seemed like bland non-entities. I would say Cherundolo, Pope, Bocanegra, Mastroeni, Lewis, Convey, Beasley, Donovan, Conrad and Wolff all failed to make any kind of significant impact.

Donovan, the heir apparent to Reyna's armband, is the most disappointing because so much is expected of him. He needs to continue to develop into a world class player and into a strong leader on the field. If I should give this mark to any one player it should be Donovan. I say he's on probation: Yeah, he's got a lot of good will going for him, but he needs to show improvement and maturation as a player. There's not much of either right now compared to his great 2002 showing.

THE UGLY: CLAUDIO REYNA
He has announced his retirment from international play. A prediction I made before the start of the Cup. Sadly for him, his international career ended, almost literally, in a whimper. Our final image of him in the US jersey is watching him crumple to the ground with an injured MCL as the Ghanian took the ball from him and scored. It is unfortunate that one of our greatest players must end it all like this. I look forward to at least one year of him in the MLS before he hangs up his boots for good.

THE BAFFLING: BRUCE ARENA
Where is the real coach of the US team? There was an imposter with the group in Germany. I want Bruce Arena back. The one with the genius game plans and such a brilliant mind for tactics. The one that could always find the perfect mix of players and roles for them. I didn't see that guy anywhere. The only question is will he return to the MLS or will he look for a national team coaching job in another country somewhere. Because I'll bet dollars to doughnuts he's done with our squad.

SPECIAL TRUE GRIT AWARD: Who else? BRIAN MCBRIDE. See his game against Italy. 'Nuff Said.

Arena Football

2006-06-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

The US Men’s National Soccer Team has followed up their quarterfinal appearance in the 2002 World Cup with a miserable showing in 2006. They went 0-2-1 in the first round and quietly returned home. The first game against the Czech Republic was disappointing, not so much because they lost but because they looked so horrible. They seemed so… disinterested. It was as if they couldn’t get motivated to play. Then in the second game against Italy, they looked much better and held their own short-handed against a great team. But even though the team looked good and fought hard, we only managed a 1-1 draw thanks to Italy scoring an own goal. So we enter the Ghana game needing a win. Which team would show up? As it turns out, sadly, it was the team from the Czech Republic game. The disinterested one that didn’t look very good.

There are several ways a team can lose in an upset. One can simply be being victimized by bad officiating. Another is the team can fail to show up motivated to play, with big time players showing poorly. And a third possibility is bad coaching. I would say that all three of these happened. I think the US team is good enough to overcome one of those on a given night. They might even overcome two of those occasionally. But when all three converge, it’s just too much.

Ghana scored their game-winning goal on a penalty kick that should never have been called. Oguchi Onyewu did absolutely nothing wrong. His defense on the play in question was perfectly legal. Both players were going for the ball, and his arms were away from his opponent. There’s simply no foul there. But a PK is awarded nonetheless and the whole complexion of the game is changed.

But we can’t just gripe about that call, no matter how huge it is. We have to look at the players and the coach. Seconds before Onyewu was called for the foul in the box, Carlos Bocanegra had misplayed the ball. He had kicked it straight up (it landed in the box), when the proper play would have been to knock it out of bounds. But more than that one play, our entire team showed a lack of intensity that is both mystifying and dismaying. Two stars in particular failed to deliver performances we have come to expect from them: Landon Donovan and DeMarcus Beasley. There’s no denying their talent, but we must now question their development. Donovan, in particular, quit his club team in Europe, where the going was tougher, for a return to the MLS. Maybe Donovan needs to stay in the kitchen a bit more and learn to handle the heat. I think every US player that was on the field against Ghana needs to take a long hard look at himself and ask if he really did everything he could have done. This is the WORLD CUP! There’s nothing else to play for. If you can’t get motivated to play during the Cup, when will you get motivated?

Despite all this, the person I’m most surprised by, and most disappointed in, is Bruce Arena. I have long been a very loud and proud supporter of his. I think he’s a brilliant soccer coach, I think in the past his gameplans have been nothing short of genius. He has always known exactly how to use the players at his disposal to maximize success from them. America could not have asked for, or produced, a better man for the job these last eight years.

But…

I think we have to place the lion’s share of the blame for our World Cup showing squarely on his shoulders. I think he made a series of mistakes that hurt the team. Against the Czech Republic he had Beasley playing on the right side, a spot where the left-footed midfielder had never played before. He also had Eddie Lewis playing defense. This cost us. Against Italy, he took this best player, Clint Dempsey, off the field in favor of Beasley…again, on the right side. By the time the Ghana game came around, I was already baffled by some of Bruce Arena’s decisions. And the bad moves kept coming.

Here was a game that WE HAD TO WIN. We knew we needed GOALS. What did Arena do? He put us in a 4-5-1 formation. 4-5-1?! ONE FORWARD? This was way too defensive of a scheme. I’m sure he was thinking in terms of controlling possession through the midfield instead of defense, but we needed GOALS. Put your best goal-scorers out there! We need at least a 4-4-2, maybe even a formation that gave us three forwards. He tried to use a 4-5-1 against Italy, but 1) we don’t know how well it worked since we got players ejected; 2) this WASN’T ITALY AND WE NEEDED A WIN.

He finally decided to put Eddie Johnson in the match at the 60th minute. Well, guess when the US finally started showing some energy in going forward? That’s right, the 60th minute. Johnson should have been starting, plain and simple. Also on the bench were Josh Wolff, who only saw second half action against the Czechs, and Brian Ching, who never saw a minute of playing time in any of the three matches. I say you come out in a 4-4-2 and if you don’t have the lead at halftime you bring in a third forward to start the second half.

Both the formation and decision to not bring in Johnson until the hour mark are two decisions that possibly cost us the game.

But beyond that, when the team doesn’t show up mentally prepared to play the game, you have to look to the coaching. What was it? A lack of playing time together? Players in new positions not knowing their role on the field? Intimidation? A lack of big game experience? A lack of motivation or enthusiasm or confidence? With any of these, you can point the finger at Bruce Arena.

And then came the comments after the game. Arena said he told his players at halftime to play for a make-up call. His attitude seemed to be that 1) the ref had made a mistake in calling the penalty kick, 2) the ref knew it and 3) the ref was willing to award a make-up call if we could just make enough plays in the box. I’m sorry, that just strikes me as completely wrong. What about playing for the win, coach? Instead of playing for a make-up call. Arena also kind of lashed out at MLS. He’s always been a vocal supporter of the league in which he used to coach (and may very well again), emphasizing the importance of its role in developing American talent. But now he’s saying it’s not enough that we need to get more of our top players in European leagues, that the MLS isn’t good enough.

Well, don’t look now coach but your best player in the tournament was Clint Dempsey. Last time I checked, he was playing for the New England Revolution. In our equally embarrassing showing in the 1998 World Cup, the only players that looked good were Brian McBride and Frankie Hejduk…both of which were MLS players. And Donovan and Beasley were both plying their trade at home when they were lifting our team in the 02 Cup. So I’m not buying it. I agree that Donovan might need to join Beasley in Europe now. He’s someone we all need to see step up to the next level. But the MLS is doing just fine, Bruce. How about pointing the finger at yourself?

In short, I think it’s time for Bruce Arena to step aside. His contributions to our soccer program have taken us gigantic quantum leaps forward, it could never be overstated. We’ve grown exponentially under his guidance. No question about it. His place in the National Soccer Hall of Fame is a no-brainer. But now that he’s gotten us here, let’s get some fresh blood in to try and take us a little further. We need to do a little better than this in 2010.

World Cup: USA vs Italy

2006-06-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

GO GHANA! Woo-HOO! With our draw, the group is wide open. Who knows how it will go?

I thought our match against Italy was about as packed with drama as you can possibly ask for. When you get right down to it, we werejust lucky. What are the chances of a player good enough to be starting for ITALY in the WORLD CUP whiffing on a ball so bad that it hits his plant leg and rolls into his own net? That's crazy.

But there is a WHOLE LOT to feel good about if you were pulling forthe US. This draw constitutes our first ever WC point on European soil andwe looked great, like we belong there. We just went up against aperennial power and held our own while playing short-handed. Thescope of that can't be overstated. That's amazing.

The US played so much better as compared to their first match.There really weren't as many changes in the lineup as I expected tosee, but everyone showed up with the energy and game speed that wasso lacking against the Czechs.

I guess that was a 4-5-1 we came out in, although Balboa (the coloranalyst) called it a 4-1-4-1. This scheme really paid off for us.Well, at least for as long as we had our full complement of players,that is. We outmanned Italy in the middle of field and this went along way to allowing us to control much of the flow of play.

Also, McBride is the right choice in a scheme like this because heneeds good service from the midfield, his specialty being to win theaerial battles and get his head to the ball by any meansnecessary. So you make him the target player and flood themidfield. Good choice. Chalk another one up to Bruce Arena's credit.

I was not surprised to see Bocanegra at left back. Nor was I surprised to see Dempsey on the right wing. But those were the only changes to the starting eleven from the first game. I would like to have seen Lewis out on the left, although Convey played well.

Bocanegra IS our left back for this tournament. He belongs in the starting line-up and I should think that's where we'll find him foras long as the US stays in this thing.

Dempsey, to me, had his most impressive showing yet for his country. He immediately got involved in the attack and continued that throughout. More than anyone else, IMO, he set our pace. He's emerged in the last year as a clear mainstay in the future of our midfield.

The ejection of de Rossi was very obviously justified. It was aneasy call for the ref once he saw McBride's impression of Ric Flair on a bad night.

I loved the shot of McBride getting taped up on the sidelines, helooked like a boxer ready to push his cut man away and run back intothe ring. I think that moment completely captures what BrianMcBride is all about.

Moments before being sent off, Pablo Mastroeni had that wicked shotthat was dipping dangerously above the goal. He had the keeper beaten but it just didn't dip quite far enough. Fantastic shot.And OH COULD YOU IMAGINE if that had connected....

I know I'm biased but I really don't think Mastroeni deserved thered card. It's a hard tackle and deserving of a yellow, but we've seen that play so many times in other matches and it's never resulted in a straight red.

Pope's ejection is a little more understandable, as it was his second yellow. His foul was yellow card-worthy. True, as Balboa pointed out, in most cases a ref would warn the player before resorting to the second yellow.

Regardless, I thought the US continued to dominate most of thesecond half despite playing 9-on-10. Italy mounted some threats late, but Keller came through for us. That diving, one-handed save of his was incredible, yet typical of him. Could be the best save yet in the WC.

Again, I was surprised at Arena for the substitution he made in the second half. He put Beasley in for Dempsey. One, Dempsey was hisbest player out there. And two, he's on the RIGHT SIDE. I don't know why he keeps putting Beasley in on the right. Unless Dempsey was just completely out of gas (which I didn't see), you keep him in the game. Bring Beasley in on the left wing. I don't get it.

Also, I agree with Balboa on the idea that Arena should have brought Eddie Johnson in for McBride. Once we were short handed we didn't need a target player up top, we needed someone with more speed who could drop back more into the midfield and help out.

Too bad we didn't score a goal. But I thought we played well enough to deserve a draw. Very exciting stuff. A hard fought battle thatcaptures in a nutshell everything about the high stakes of a WC match.

The absence of Mastroeni and Pope in the next match will hurt us alot. Mastroeni may even be the bigger loss. I say that just because Arena bases so much of his tactics and gameplans around agood defensive midfielder. For his first four years, Arena usedChris Armas in this role. Since WC '02, it's been Mastroeni. Now he's stuck with really no one on the roster that can completely take Mastroeni's place.

My prediction is he'll still use a defensive midfielder, and that the player will be John O'Brien. O'Brien is usually more of an attacking player, but I think he's versatile enough Arena will turn to him for the next match. All of that depending, of course, on O'Brien's fitness, which is a huge question mark.

I suppose with Pope gone we might see Bocanegra slide to a central position, with Eddie Lewis back again on the left side. I don't like Lewis in the back, but it's like to be either him or Gregg Berhalter. Either one is a better choice than Chris Albright, which I believe is our only other option.

We just gotta win. But then, if you can't beat Ghana maybe you aren't going to go far in the tourney anyway. (Tell that to theCzechs.) We take care of that business then pull for Italy. And from what I'm reading, it's very realistic that Italy should win.The aging Czechs don't even have an eligible forward at this point, according to one article I read.

Thursday should be verrrry interesting.

How I Got the Name "Def Dave"

2006-05-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

I have now had the nickname Def Dave for more than half my life. I've had several people ask me recently how I got the name. So I figured that might make a good blog entry.

According to legend...
I would often arrive at my high school before the bell rang for homeroom. I would spend this time at the beginning of the day freestlyin' with the bruthas.

We'd form a huge circle with everyone providing the beat with stomps and claps, then we'd take turns stepping into the middle and just freestyle rap. One morning I busted a rhyme so fresh that DJ Zeus of the Holly Hills Crew declared me a b-boy and announced that henceforth I shall be known as "Def Dave".

This is, as I said, according to legend.

The truth?

Well, one day I was out bowling with a couple of white friends. We were all coming up with funny names to enter into the scorekeeping computer. I put in Def Dave and the name has followed me around ever since. That was the summer of 1987, just prior to my junior year of high school. By the time I graduated I found myself answering to the name at school, with some people never calling me by my real name. Half the signings in my senior yearbook are addressed to Def Dave.

Rap names seem to catch on with my class. So let me give a shout out to the HHS Posse, Class of 1989. If they see this, they'll know who they are:

Cool Kid Chris
Clayboy E (or A.O. Clay)
Chef
Rut
Badge
Gold D Rocks
and The Boyd Wonder.

Be sure to visit http://www.defdave.com and remember: Keep It Real.

P.T. = Petey's Tragedy

2006-04-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

There is a woman who works in my department with me, her name is Karen. Karen shared with us a few months ago that her beloved Petey had been shot.

Petey is the name of her PT Cruiser (PT="Petey", get it?) She had let her roommate drive Petey into town. Not a bad part of town, mind you. A normally safe, prosperous part of town. And at about 4 in the afternoon on a Saturday found herself caught in some crossfire. Yes, someone in one car was shooting at someone else. Poor Petey was caught in the middle and ended up with about four or five bulletholes in him.

Karen came to work and shared this story. Most people in the office expressed shock and sympathy. But not the Production Department. Instead, we took the opportunity to try to shed some light on just exactly what the "PT" in PT Cruiser stood for. Here's what we came up with:

Pull the Trigger
Pass the Tools
Prefer a Tank
Patch with Tape
Passing Target
Push or Tow?
Probably Totaled
Partially Torn
Perforated Trolly
Precarious Travel
Potential Trade-in
Peripherally Targetted
Punctured Transportation

Karen mostly agreed with the list. I believe her exact comment was "Pretty True".

Can you think of more? Please post your suggestions.

A Weird-Looking Candle

2006-03-18T15:31:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been burning my candle on all three ends. How a candle has three ends, I’m not sure. But while holding down my full time job as an advertising producer (end #1) and doing my best to handle my share of baby duties for our 8-week old son (end #2), I also recently lit up end #3.

The third end of my candle was agreeing to edit an hour-long interview-based documentary that had to be turned around in one skinny little week. It seemed impossible, but with the help of Sam McDavid of Ignatius Productions, we have done it.

The piece is called “The Da Vinci Hoax” and will be a companion DVD to the non-fiction book of the same name. Co-authors Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel have written the book to debunk claims made in the popular novel “The Da Vinci Code” that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children.

We had to complete the video quickly because the publishers of the book want to hurry and get it distributed before the release date of the feature film adaptation of “The Da Vinci Code”. Our DVD, as I understand, will be in Wal-Mart stores all across the country.

My favorite part of this documentary is the opening that I created in Adobe AFTER EFFECTS. In conversation with Sam, I said: “It would be nice if they could give us a layered Photoshop file of the artwork for the book cover. Then maybe we could use that.” I didn’t really think it was realistic, but Sam said: “I bet they’d do that. Our client is the book’s publishing company.”

The next day I had the file. I then took the layers I wanted, rearranged them, added some music and a couple of simple graphics: Voila! A 20-second opening to our show. You can view it by clicking here.

Look for "The Da Vinci Hoax" coming soon on DVD to a Wal-Mart near you.

THE DARK TOWER: A Stephen King Story For Non-Stephen King Fans

2006-02-24T09:35:00.000-08:00

So you don’t read much Stephen King because horror is not a genre that interests you. That’s fine. I haven’t read much of that stuff, either. Well, guess what? THE DARK TOWER is not horror, but it is one fantastic series. If you’ve never read King before but you do like fantasy, then I would recommend this seven-volume series.

It’s hard to describe. It’s part Spaghetti Western, part Lord of the Rings and part meta-fiction, blurring the lines between fictional worlds and our real world. What if I told you this series had Cowboys living in castles in a world where “Hey Jude” may be heard on the piano. In this world is a murderous passenger train that loves riddle contests. The heroes are drawn from the timestream from different points in our own history and in their quest to do nothing less than save all Existence, they encounter creatures or situations that recall everything from The Wizard of Oz to Marvel Comics. And what if I said the entire saga weaves in and around all of King’s previous work, revealing that all of his stories are actually connected, but without requiring you to be familiar with his previous work?

And then I told you that despite how disparate and surreal all that sounds, that it actually works. Would you be interested? You should be. I’m only about three-quarters of the way through the fifth book of the series, but I can already recommend this because of the extremely unique nature of the story.

King plays with the very nature of reality and often sends the reader on a head-trip as he examines a universe that contains our world and many others. These worlds connect in many ways and show that nothing is ever a coincidence. It’s a world where something as simple as a flower growing in a vacant lot could be a sure sign the Universe is about to die.

I’m not finished with the series yet, but everyone I know who has read it says that the ending is awesome. They payoff at the end of the last book is completely worth it. From what I’m able to decipher from the first five books is that King is giving us an examination of the importance of Storytelling. By that, I mean the shared knowledge all members of a culture have due to Stories told and passed down.

Stephen King has a word in the Dark Tower series to describe this abstract idea of common, unspoken, shared knowledge amongst a group of people. The word is khef. You’ll need to read the books to fully understand khef, but it seems clear to me that it is a concept King really believes. This theme of the Power of Storytelling allows him to bring in elements from stories we already know (such as The Wizard of Oz), and the connection to his previous novels expands this theme both internally (within the story told) and externally (providing a Real World example for his readers by the very nature of having this series published).

It’s really just amazing and unlike anything else I’ve ever read. If you don’t like horror, but you do like fantasy then you are missing out if you skip this series. The first book in the series is The Gunslinger. Get yourself a copy and enjoy the ride.

Birmingham kisses US Soccer Good-Bye

2006-02-23T07:17:00.000-08:00

I don't understand what they are thinking. I live in Birmingham, Alabama and for the last few years I've been extremely excited as a fan of US Soccer. After firmly establishing itself as the first-choice Southern venue for National Team home games, Birmingham is now purposely making a move that will keep US Soccer away.

I was in living in Columbus, GA when Birmingham hosted Olympic soccer games in 1996. I had no idea at that point that I would one day soon be living in Birmingham, but I was excited at a chance to see some well known US players in action. My dad and I made the trip that summer to see the United States defeat Tunisia. The experience was awesome.

Fast forward to March of 2000. I'm now living in Birmingham and the city is now hosting its first ever National Team home game. It's a friendly against, again, Tunisia. Two years later, the team returns to Birmingham for a World Cup warm-up match against Ecuador. The attendance, and the vocal support for the home team earned Birmingham a favored spot on the National Team's list of preferred home venues.

If there was a game to played in the south, Birmingham would now get that game. Being centrally located in the South, we could draw from several states. Here I am, a HUGE fan of international soccer and of the US team in particular. And I live in a city they love to come play games. You can imagine my excitement.

This new-found status with US Soccer culminated in March of 2005 with Birmingham hosting a World Cup Qualifier against Guatemala. Again, a huge crowd. This time even on a Wednesday night. US Soccer was pleased with the turnout and Bruce Arena, the coach, even went out of his way to praise the high quality of the playing field.

...and that's where the trouble lies. All these games have been played at Legion Field, a dinosaur of a football stadium. It was falling apart so bad that the upper deck had been condemned for a couple of years and after the Guatemala match it actually came down. The University of Alabama no longer plays their games there, so the place is hardly used.

Well, now the city, in all its wisdom has decided it would be a good idea to spend a whole bunch of money replacing the grass with artificial turf! The decision has been made to do this before April 11th: a date that we had our next US Soccer game scheduled.

But now US Soccer won't play on artificial turf, it is against FIFA standards. So by putting in turf, we can't host any more games. The county commissioner here said "Let's wait and host the April 11th game and then put in the turf." But apparently that's not going to happen. Contracts have already been signed and all that.

So: Good-Bye US Soccer. It was fun while it lasted. I'm glad that you liked Birmingham. There is a huge community of soccer fans that would have loved to have you back every couple of years. I'm sorry the leadership in the city didn't see fit to keep the grass in place, considering a game is estimated to bring in about $5 Million to the local economy.

I guess I'll just catch the rest of the games on TV.

It's a Boy!

2006-02-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

January 15th-22nd, 2006

Our son, Charles Jackson Wright, finally arrived on January 15th under pretty dramatic circumstances. Jackson weighed 8lbs 12oz at birth and was 21" long. Getting him into this world was one of the most intense experiences I've ever had.

Kim and I had decided we wanted an all-natural, at-home delivery using a midwife. Since midwifery is not allowed in Alabama, we had to go to a place in Tennessee for the delivery. Kim's water broke and she began her labor at about 9:15am on Friday the 13th!

After a quick stop to the OB in Birmingham for an ultrasound (that revealed the baby was in a posterior position), we hit the road for Tennessee.

Kim endured an all-natural labor for a total of about 18 hours. By 3am, she had been through hours of agony with very little dilation to show for it.

At 3am on Saturday the 14th, we take her to Athens-Limestone Hospital in Athens, Alabama. She's admitted right away to the maternity ward where's she's quickly given painkillers.

By 6am she had an epidural and was on pitossin to help push her progression along. She progressed right on schedule at 1cm per hour for the next six hours. But then she stalled out at around 8cm. It took her from about noon to well into the night, but she finally did dilate all the way. But then... they still couldn't get the baby through because she had a cervical lip that wouldn't budge.

At 1am on Sunday, the doctor let her rest for one hour. Then at two o'clock, they started their last hour of hard pushing. But no success. At around 3, the decision was made to take the baby via C-section.

I was with Kim in the OR for the surgery. They had to work hard to get the baby out because he was so far down into the birth canal. Jackson finally arrived at 3:48. We didn't know if we were having a boy or girl until the surgeon announced it and when she said "It's a Boy!" Kim and I hooped and hollared. We were both wanting a boy so bad. The first time we saw him was moments later after they had taken him across the room to wash him.

I immediately went to him and was soon holding my son for the first time. After a brief family hug with his mother, I had to take Jackson out while the closed Kim up. Jackson wasn't out of the woods yet.

Since he had been in the womb for 44 hours, all with the water broken, he was classified as High Risk at birth. They put him under observation in the Special Care unit and, sure enough, his oxygen levels soon began dropping.

He was placed under an oxyhood to help him breath and a precautionary antibiotic IV was attached to his temple. They took blood samples to run a bunch of tests, looking to rule out any and all infections.

Finally, at about 6am on Sunday, with my son on oxygen and under close observation, I finally went to sleep, after being up for 48 straight hours. When I woke up a few hours later in the room with Kim, she still hadn't seen him and he was still on oxygen.

By about 3pm, though, he had breathed well enough on his own for a whole hour so he was finally taken to see his mother. We all got to hold him at last. We stayed at the hospital until Tuesday the 17th. Jackson checked out completely healthy, the long labor had not resulted in any infections! The IV was removed Tuesday and by that evening we were all headed back home to Birmingham.

The drama was not quite over for Kim. Her bladder had been distressed during labor and it ended up swollen. After being home for about five days, she started showing signs of infection. On Sunday the 22nd, she was taken by ambulance to the ER in Birmingham where she was shortly admitted.

She ended up staying there until the following Friday as they fought multiple infections. At long last, all of us were healthy and at home. We certainly have our hands full being new parents. Everything's a learning experience. But we have a beautiful, healthy boy and could not be more thrilled. Be sure to visit www.defdave.com for plenty of pictures of him.

Six Months!

2006-02-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

September 12, 2005

Another entry from Kim:
6 months this week! The 2nd trimester continues to be great, despite pulling my back, leg cramps, heartburn, nausea and other problems I won't mention. I sound like a drug commercial, listing possible side effects, ha ha. I am taking coral calcium for the leg cramps (miracle mineral!), and papaya for the heartburn (also amazing). I am also taking Nettle and Red Rasberry to help make my uterus "stronger", supposedly, for labor. Fun, fun! Pregnancy massages are helping alot too. Add to all that the stress of selling our home, shopping for another one, work stress, etc. Shall we say it's been a slightly stressful month or what? I'm ready for a break.

Next month we are getting a small one, as we are visiting Ray and Tanya for a long weekend in Mexico. It will be great to see them again. I can't wait to see Tanya and have one of our marathon conversations about everything under the sun! She is always so much fun to be around, and Ray is so precious. The baby continues to be pretty active, and David can feel it move now. We have gotten a lot more newborn clothes (thanks Grams and Pop!), and also are getting a co-sleeper for the baby (thanks again Grams and Pop)

Too bad we are moving now and I have to re-do the nursery, but we'll get it done in time. Or David will, while I sleep, ha ha. Just kiddin'. Happy B'day to Grams and Tanya this month!

Four and a Half Months!

2006-02-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

July 28, 2005

Another entry from Kim:
Well, here we are at 4.5 months, and I literally just popped out today…finally! It’s amazing how it can happen in one day, or seem to anyway. It’s wonderful. The baby is very active late at night and last night I felt hiccups for the first time. It’s also wonderful being a newlywed and being pregnant! David has been a lot of help around the house lately since I have been sick and in bed a lot the last few months. I have been pretty much useless around the house until recently. I went from cooking dinner most nights to not cooking for 3 months straight. David would come home from work and I would be in bed asleep! Things are normalizing now, finally. We are off to the beach this weekend to visit Dawn & Jerry, so look for new pics next week!

We're Having a Baby!

2006-02-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

July 10, 2005

A guest DefBlog entry from Kim: In late April, David and I were thrilled to learn we were expecting. We weren't really expecting a positive so soon after only 1 month of trying, but God blessed us immediately! We are now in the 15th week, and other than still feeling nauseous, things are great. Last week we starting feeling the little baby butterflies, and as of my last ultrasound on June 26th, the baby measured 12cm. Our due date is December 29th.
We have decided not to find out the sex of the baby, for several reasons. We want to be surprised at the delivery of course, and as far as "stuff" and "planning" goes, neutral is great because you can definitely re-use it. Once the baby is here we will get more gender-specific clothes, etc. We may get the doctor to write down the sex and put it in an envelope, and then maybe on our anniversary or on Christmas, if he can't stand it, David may open it. But if he does, he won't tell. I'm going to try to get him to be surprised with me though! That's a moment I would like to share, but we'll see what happens.

Thanks for the support and constant prayers of my best friend Dawn, who I am constantly on the phone with. My sister Wendy, who gives great advise and has given me TONS of toys, clothes, blankets, and you name it. A very special thanks to my great friend Tracy Brown, who rented the doppler for us, (the best gift ever for a worried mom) and has also given me tons of advise and clothes. And of course, thanks to Mom and Lynn for all the baby gear they have given us from their professional yard-sale skills!

We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful support system. Look for new, updated pictures on the home page later this week!

My Trip to Canada

2006-02-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

December 2nd-7th, 2004

Once again, Ignatius Productions, the company that sent me to Africa, hired me to help with another documentary. This time, the job took me to Winnipeg, Manitoba to help put together a biographical piece on a martyr of the Catholic Church by the name of The Blessed Vasyl Velychkovski.

Tim and I got on a plane in Atlanta early on Thursday morning and after a stop in Minneapolis arrived in Winnipeg around 1pm. We were initially denied entry into Canada. The first guy we dealt with in the Immigration office wasn’t going to let us in because he couldn’t understand why a Canadian crew wasn’t hired. After sitting for two hours in that office, a senior officer was convinced by our clients that we were uniquely qualified for that specific job so we were finally given special permission to enter.

There was snow on the ground, the temperature was around 3 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind child of about –10. Our client, Father John, took us to the monastery at St. Joseph’s Ukrainian Catholic Church where we would stay for the next few days. While we were in Winnipeg, we shot several interviews, poured over hundreds of photographs and old recordings, and shot a prayer service as we learned all we could about The Blessed Vasyl.

His story is a very dramatic one. He lived from 1903 to 1973 and spent much of that time either hiding from the Communist regime in Ukraine or suffering extreme conditions in Soviet prison camps. In a time when the Catholic Church was banned by the Communist government, Vasyl Velychkovski dared to profess his faith and minister to others. For such crimes as preaching the Word of God or observing communion, he was sentenced to prison. He was released from his second imprisonment in 1972 when they thought he was about to die. At this point, only Canada would take him and so he ended up joining the Ukrainian community in Winnipeg for the final year of his life.

In 2002, Velychkovski was beatified by the Catholic Church. In honor of this, Father John of St. Joseph’s had Blessed Vasyl’s body moved to a shrine at the church. There are currently efforts underway to bestow Blessed Vasyl with sainthood.

It appears likely that I may also end up editing this documentary together. The intention is for the piece to be finished by June and hopefully nationally on EWTN sometime in the summer of 2005. We’ll see how it goes.

Our Honeymoon!

2006-02-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

November 7th-11th, 2004

The day after the wedding, Kim and I went to the Birmingham airport and got on a plane to Cozumel, Mexico. After switching planes in Houston, we arrived at our destination around 2 in the afternoon. Cozumel is an island in the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. We were there for a four-night all-inclusive stay at the Reef Club resort on the channel side of the island. Our room was on the bottom level sitting directly on the beach.
On Monday, we spent some time in the pool and did a little snorkeling. The highlight of the day, though, happened when we went to the nearby national park. There, we swam with dolphins. We got into the water with them and they would do different stunts with us.'

On Tuesday, I went scuba diving for the first time. It was amazing. I had never been diving before, but we went down to a depth of about 40 feet and stayed there for just under an hour. While I was diving, I saw starfish scatted about the ocean floor. I also saw angelfish and the beautiful bluestriped grunt. The coolest thing I saw was a stringray moving across the floor, as well as a spiney lobster trying to hide under a piece of coral. I can easily see how people can fall in love with diving, I hope to do it again someday soon.

Wednesday, the big thing was parasailing. Unlike Kim, I had never been before. So at her suggestion, we went parasailing. We went up as a tandem and I guess we went up higher than she was prepared for. She got a little scared. I guess it was a good thing she wasn’t up there alone, but I don’t think I was successful in calming her down any. We were certainly up higher than the Dumbo Ride at Disney World. Also, on this day Kim and I went snorkeling. We saw a camouflaged scorpion fish hiding on a piece of coral and a few barracuda sneaking around the water.

Thursday it was time to come back home, but our flight wasn’t until the afternoon. So Kim took advantage of the time that morning for an hour-long massage under a cabana on the beach. Soon, we were on our way back to the airport for the long trip back home. After another stop in Houston, we got to Birmingham that night around 9.

Our Wedding!

2006-02-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

November 6th, 2004

Today, the past four months of preparation culminated at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Kim and I were married at our church, Christian Life, by our close friend, Ray McDaniel. Although there was some drama before the appointed hour, all went well once things got started and everyone said it was just beautiful.

The bridesmaids were Dawn Emerick (Matron of Honor), Wendy Johnson (Kim’s sister), Melanie Smith (Kim’s childhood friend) and my good friend, Tanya McDaniel. The groomsmen were my father, Charlie Wright (Best Man), Nathan Wright (brother), Stephen Hickman (my oldest friend) and my college roommates, Tom Brantley and Aaron Crawford.

There was drama before the ceremony when a traffic jam kept Kim, two bridesmaids and the photographer away from the church. Added to this was the fact that Kim left her engagement ring back at the house and one of my groomsmen had the wrong color tie!

Thanks to Bill and Bryan Hickman for making an 11th hour dash to the house, Kim got her ring just as the ceremony was starting. Aaron played the flute for us as people began to be seated. The ceremony itself seem to go by extremely quickly for both Kim and me, we wished we could have slowed down time just a little bit to savor the moment.

The wedding ceremony was conducted by the newly ordained Reverend Ray McDaniel. Ray is a very dear friend of ours and it was an honor to have him preside. Christian Life Church Senior Pastor Danny DuVall contributed to the ceremony by giving the prayer.

After pictures, it was off to the Vestavia Civic Center for the reception where we had a chance to see everybody. Then walking out under plastic lightsabers and a shower of rose petals, we were gone on our way to the honeymoon.

We’d like to thank everyone that helped contribute to our wedding: My parents, Pam Gilstrap, Saunders Richey, Mary Braswell Hickman, Mary Margaret Hickman, David Hunsinger, Lee Lampkin, Ricky Harmon, Paul Podraza, and Russ Gann.

Be sure to check the Pictures section of defdave.com for plenty of images from the Big Day.

Brian Wilson Concert

2006-02-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

October 16th, 2004

Brian Wilson ConcertToday a friend of mine, Lee Lampkin, and I met in Atlanta to catch Brian Wilson in concert at Chastain Park Ampitheatre. Wilson, of course, is the creative force behind The Beach Boys, having written and produced all of their hits. In 1966, The Beach Boys earned critical acclaim with their album PET SOUNDS. This was Brian Wilson's masterpiece and is still highly regarded today. However, this left Wilson at the time with tremendous pressure to top himself. 1967 was supposed to see the release of SMILE, an album that had aspirations no less than being a "teenage symphony to God". Sadly, due to mounting pressure, strained relationships with his bandmates, and his ongoing mental instability, Wilson had a breakdown and walked away from the project entirely. Thus began The Beach Boys decline from the top of the music scene and the SMILE album grew into a legend as The Greatest Rock Album Never Finished.

This all changed in 2003. Brian Wilson, with the encouragement and help of his current band, re-united with his original SMILE collaborator, Van Dyke Parks, and finished the album. Nearly 40 years late, SMILE was finally released in 2004, marking a remarkable triumph for Brian Wilson. As my luck would have it, his tour came through Atlanta and Lee and I did not miss it.
The show opened up with an acoustic set where you could really hear all the voices harmonize. Then they got to the heart of the show and played full versions of a nice mixture of Beach Boys hits and obscurities as well as some more recent Wilson solo songs. Then they after an intermission, they came back on stage and performed SMILE in its entirety, complete with a string and horn section. It was magical night to be a Brian Wilson fan, to hear him perform this music that was lost for so long. It was special for me to witness this remarkable new chapter in the Brian Wilson story, since I am too young to have been around for the height of The Beach Boys creative output and success.

After SMILE, the band left the stage again just to be introduced individually as the came back on. Then the show closed out with the sure-fire Beach Boys crowdpleasers that everyone wanted to hear: I Get Around, Barbara Ann, Help Me Rhonda, Surfin' USA. The show was fantastic, the band sounded incredible and maybe, just maybe, I turned Lee into a Wilson fan.

My CAB Award

2006-02-21T09:14:00.000-08:00

June 8, 2004

From March to May of 2003, Cherri Ellis and I headed up the commercial production for a Johnny Rockets TV spot. The entire production was racked with drama and frustrations as you can read about in the DefVideo section of this site. By virtue of having the honor of winning Charter Media's award for top :30 spot in the Gulf Coast Region, the spot was automatically submitted to the Cable Television Advertising Bureau (CAB) for consideration in their national awards.

The highly coveted CAB award is the top award in this country in the cable advertising industry. Awards are given in market size categories. I received word in mid-May that the Johnny Rockets spot was a national finalist in the category of markets with 200,000 to 500,000 subscribers. This alone was already a huge victory not only for Cherri and me, but also for my department and the entire company. The other finalists in my category hailed from Saginaw, MI; Albuquerque, NM; St. Paul, MN; and Wichita, KS. The awards banquet was to be held in Chicago on June 8th and the company was flying me up for the evening.

Well, Cherri had flown up a couple of days earlier and I arrived on the morning of the 8th. They put me up in the Chicago Hilton (overlooking Michigan Avenue near Lake Michigan and Soldier Field) for the night, with a morning flight back to Birmingham. All the major cable networks and various vendors catering to the advertising industry were represented in the expo. I picked up a few knick-knacks with network logos on it. Patrick Duffy was there at the ESPN booth promoting SoapNet and I saw a Discovery Channel-themed motorcycle made by the crew from AMERICAN CHOPPER. That evening I joined Cherri, our regional chief Farrel Ryder, and our regional marketing executive Steve Burbank for the awards ceremony.

And guess what? We WON!!! It was a great moment. The ballroom was filled with all the industry leaders. Every President, VP, CEO, etc. of every cable company was there as well as the chief Sales and Marketing executives from every cable network. Ed Helms from The Daily Show on Comedy Central was the MC. When he called my name it took me a couple of moments for it to hit me. My spot was then screened on the big projector for everyone to see and only when it started and Cherri started running for the stage did it hit me that I needed to go up there.

The spots were judged by a committee of Marketing executives from a handful of cable nets (MTV, Court TV, Food Network and some others). Mine was selected from a pool of a little over 800. All of the highest level suits from my company were there and they are thrilled for the win just in terms of image for the company. The statue is kind of small, but very heavy. It's golden-colored and is in the shape of a TV set (with a cable box) sitting on top of this, like, classical Roman pillar. "Cable Advertising Awards" is engraved into the TV screen. It's all on a pedestal with our info on it. You can take a look at it here.

I come back to work today and I find out that management here is going to put a huge marketing push behind the whole thing. They are writing up a press release and sending it out to all the ad agencies in the state, as well as business journals and trade magazines. And, also, the newspaper here in Birmingham. I don't know if the paper will pick it up but some of the trades might and I've been told that I may get a few interview requests within the next week. Today, the office is holding a little celebration at 4:00 so that everyone in all the departments here know how big a deal it is. I'm excited and a little embarrassed. It's a nice spot and all but it doesn't cure cancer or anything. But more important than the spot (and much more important than me) is the fact that the company can blow its horn, strut around a little bit and maybe attract a couple of big clients that it hasn't been able to get before. (If that happens, I'm asking for a bonus!) Woo-HOO!

The award is a victory for everyone in the department and in no way do I see this as an individual award. I did the storyboards, directed the shoot and edited the piece together. But Cherri handled all the (very frustrating) client meetings, hired all the talent, arranged for the cars, did all the scheduling, costumes, and props. The other people in my department all helped with the location shoot and James Carr did a lot of the color effects and rotoscoping for us.
It is a team victory all the way and it is something that Charter Media is very proud of. I'm just happy to be a part of it.

My Trip to Africa

2006-02-21T09:06:00.000-08:00

April 3rd – 13th, 2004

EWTN, the Eternal Word Television Network, is the global Catholic cable network that happens to be based out of Birmingham. One of the priests employed by the network is Father Mitch Pacwa. Father Mitch has his own production company, Ignatius Productions. Ignatius hired me to help shoot a documentary in Africa that will eventually air on EWTN.

The documentary will be about the story of Bishop Markham Max Gassis and the plight of the people in his diocese. Gasssis is one of the bishops in the African country of Sudan. Sudan has been in a state of civil war since 1983. In 1990, Gassis testified before the US Congress about the human rights atrocities perpetrated by the Sudanese government upon its people. Gassis was never allowed back into his home country since then. He found himself exiled by the Sudanese government.

Since then Gassis has risked his freedom and his life by continuing to make trips to his diocese in central Sudan, while basing his work out of Nairobi, Kenya. But he only dares visit those areas of his diocese that are under rebel control. He maintains a mission in the Nuba Mountains of central Sudan with the blessing and protection of the People’s Liberation Army.

For ten days, I lived at the mission in the Nuba Mountains with Bishop Gassis and others while I helped document the lives and existence of the natives and the impact the mission has had on their lives. I was accompanied by my fellow cameraman, Sam McDavid; as well as three medical doctors from America that are funding the documentary.

Sam and I left Birmingham on Saturday the 3rd and it took us two days to fly to Atlanta, Amsterdam and finally Nairobi where we were met by the bishop’s people. We spent all of Monday in Nairobi resting and game-planning our shoot. That night we went to a very nice restaurant where I ate gazelle, ostrich, crocodile, and zebra meat.

Tuesday, we five Americans, the bishop and a nun drove out to the Nairobi airport where we boarded a cargo plane and strapped into jump seats. It was an Antonov, a Russian-made model capable of carrying up to seven tons. We flew for two hours before touching down in Lokichoggio, Kenya very close to the Sudan border. Here we refueled and paid exit fees. This was also the site of a United Nations World Food Program distribution center. I do not trust the UN and I felt uncomfortable surrounded by lots of UN planes and rows of large UN tents. I was keeping my feelings to myself until the others in my party shared their distrust of the UN. (I would later find out that the bishop and all the nuns at the mission did not like UN at all for an entire litany of reasons). I was not allowed to take any video of the airstrip. I was not told why.
Soon we were back in the air for another two hours in the cargo plane, until we finally touched down in a dirt airstrip in the middle of the Nuba Mountains. (The first thing we saw was a wrecked model of the same plane we were flying!) This would be my home for the rest of the week. It was an arid wasteland. Very hot and very dusty. I’m tempted to call it a desert, but that wouldn’t be accurate. The rainy season in this area lasts six months. But this was the dry season and the heat and dust were almost unbearable.

After a half hour bumpy ride in the back of a land rover, we were at the mission. Sam and I were given very nice accommodations: a round hut made of rock-and-mud walls with a thatch roof and dirt floor. We would share this 15-foot diameter space with a host of lizards, scorpions and termites for the week.

Wednesday, the 7th, we all loaded up on land rovers and drove 44km over very rough terrain (including driving through a former landmine field) to the village of Lumon. Bishop Gassis hadn’t been to Lumon in about eight years and they were very honored by his presence. Gassis had started a school there, as he had in other villages, and all the kids were in their uniforms lining the street when we arrived. The school uniforms of khaki shorts and plaid oxford shirts seemed out of place in a land populated by people that were either naked or dressed in traditional African garb.

Understand we were in one of the poorest areas of Africa. This place looks like the typical image from TV commercials of the poor and starving. The mission has done a lot to help these people by providing clean water (thanks to over 80 wells that have been dug in the last four years), health care, schools, and Catholic teachings.

Going to back to our arrival at Lumon: not only were the people lining the streets singing, but the village sacrificed a goat in our honor. Two men drug the goat out into the street in front of the bishop and slit its throat. For the people of Lumon, this is a huge gesture of respect and gratitude. Protocol required that we accept this gift by running up to the dying goat and jumping over its body. To do otherwise would be an extreme insult. Not to worry, the goat was eaten that night.

After the unique experience of having a goat sacrificed in my honor as a village sung my praises, we entered the village proper where the school children presented the bishop with handmade gifts.

Thursday brought a similar experience (without the animal sacrifice). We stayed around the mission and visited the school that is there. The students again presented gifts, including performing a couple of traditional tribal dances. We also got footage of the facilities nearby that are used to make grain, meal, sesame oil and adobe bricks.

Now would be a good time to note that we were working in 120-degree weather everyday with only warm well water to drink. Also, the People's Liberation Army deployed a soldier to the mission every day, so were always in the company of least one rebel soldier with an AK-47 hanging from his shoulder. We were very much in extreme conditions and I ended up losing about nine pounds on the trip. Also, every night a mass was conducted. The best part of these for me was the traditional African singing that was worked into each service.

Friday we traveled to the village of Kauda. Kauda was the site of a tragic and horrible bombing that took place in February of 2000. It was a school day. The teachers were conducting classes outdoors under the shades of large trees as always, when suddenly government forces came flying in low over the mountains. The planes began dropping bombs, sending terrified teachers and children running for their lives. In one instance, a teacher gathered her class around the other side of tree when they found themselves at nearly ground zero. An anti-personnel bomb landed within 30 feet of them, killing the teacher and 19 children. Further away, 20 more were injured. I was able to shoot some footage of some of the children that survived with amputations.

The American doctors that traveled with us were at Kauda a couple of weeks after the bombing and it is why they are paying to have this documentary made. They want to raise awareness about the people of Nuba living through this war and about the heroic efforts of Bishop Gassis.
Saturday the market was open and I got footage of that. It was much like flea markets here in America. Sunday was Easter. It was quite an experience being at my first Easter mass in the middle of the Nuba Mountains surrounded by Africans as the entire service is conducted in Arabic. People from Lumon, Kauda and other villages all arrived at the mission on Easter Sunday. It was very cool. The people of Lumon had begun walking on Friday in order to be there for Easter.

Our last night there, Sunday, Sam and I stayed up late playing cards with a couple of new friends, Kenyans who work for the mission. We had a lot of fun. One of these Kenyans was named Jimmy and when he saw my "Jimmy Jib" T-shirt he wanted it. I wanted a soccer jersey, so we traded.

Monday and Tuesday were spent flying back home. This included the cargo plane back to Lokichoggio, an East African airline flight to Nairobi, 8 hours to Amsterdam, a five-hour layover there and 9 hours to Atlanta… all to discover that my flight to Birmingham was canceled and I’d have to wait a little while.

Finally, I was back at home. Very grateful the trip was over but already missing it. The trip was a brutal one: every day was a physical challenge. But it was very rewarding to meet that challenge and witness what life is like for some people in this world. The bishop is going to be a studio guest on EWTN sometime this July, the documentary should be done in time to air during his visit. I won’t have anything more to do with the production, I simply hand over the seven hours of footage Sam and I shot over to the network. It is my sincere hope that some real, measurable good will come from this documentary.

Five Days in Costa Rica

2006-02-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

January 27th, 2004 Pura Vida!

Kim and I just got back from a five day trip to Costa Rica to visit my friends, Ray and Tanya. They are the missionaries in Mexico that are spending six months in CR for language school. We had quite an adventure, saw lots of wildlife and were treated to the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen.

We got up at four a.m. on Thursday (my birthday) with the temperature at 22 degrees and drove to Atlanta for a 10:30 ET flight. We got into San Jose, Costa Rica around 1:30 CT. It was in the mid-80s and very humid. Bright and sunny, this part of the tropical country is currently in its dry season. The dry season only last about two months, the other 10 it rains about 14 hours out of every single day.

Ray met us at the airport in a rickety old Land Rover that hardly had any breaks, and flat out didn't have any air conditioner, suspension or seat belts. Tanya was waiting for us at the house and after we napped, we all visited and headed into town for dinner at an Oriental place (Ray says the Costa Rican food is so bad that there's no point in trying it, the "foreign food" is much better). After bumping around in the Land Rover and a couple of near-misses downtown thanks to the lack of reliable breaks, I insisted that we would be renting a quality vehicle for our weekend excursion.

Friday morning, we rented a small SUV and headed to the pacific coast resort town Manuel Antonio for a two night stay at the luxurious four-star La Mariposa hotel. On our way we drove through mountains (and were treated to breathtaking views of the lush landscape), rain forests, banana farms and palm tree farms. We get to the Mariposa and it is amazing, it sits on the crest of a hill in the rainforest and the area around the pool overlooks a huge bay. I've never seen the ocean and mountains in the same view before. It was amazing, by far the nicest place I've ever stayed in. One of the mornings there, we found an iguana warming itself on the balcony.
I should mention that because of it's proximity to the equator, Costa Rica has twelve hours of daylight almost every single day of the year, with a maximum variation of about 15 minutes. The sun rises at 5:30am and sets at 5:30pm, all year long. It's weird to wake up with the sun high in the sky and think you have overslept, only to discover that it's just 7 o'clock in the morning!

We had a steak and seafood dinner Friday night there at the hotel following our viewing of the sunset over the pacific from our perch at the swimming pool.

Saturday morning, we decided we would take a tour of the nearby national park that is located on the tip of a crescent-shaped peninsula. On our way there, we knew we were passing through an area inhabited by howler monkeys and we saw some people stopped on the side of the road staring into the trees with cameras. We decided to stop because we thought we'd see some howlers. Well, they weren't howlers, but they were monkeys! Wild monkeys! These were White-faced Capuchins (think RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK). There were at least eight of them and we watched them climb all over the place and jump from tree to tree. It was so cool! Next thing we know a coconut falls to the ground from behind us. Most of the monkeys were putting on a show to distract us while another snuck around behind us to a coconut tree, where he launched his surprise attack! The monkeys had tricked us!! Then came another coconut! We were under attack by wild monkeys!! How cool is that?!? After snapping several pictures, we were finally on our way... but not before I picked up some actual monkey fur from off the ground.

We finally made it to the park where we hired a local guide who had a telescope with him. We would walk along the trail and we'd be talking with him and suddenly he'd stop and set up the scope and we'd see this huge lizard 20 feet off the trail that was perfectly camouflaged and perfectly still. The guide pulled tricks like this the whole time. We saw a couple of tyranno lizards, a Jesus Christ lizard (named for it's ability to run across water on its two hind legs), an iguana, a yellow-crowned heron, a pack of squirrel monkeys, a sloth and lots of other birds, spiders, etc. Again, it's very cool to see a pack of monkeys hanging around in trees, totally wild. And I loved the sloth, he was very cool. He didn't do a whole bunch, though.

We made it back to the hotel in what we thought was just in time to take the shuttle down to the bay, but the shuttle had come and gone early. So Kim and I took a taxi and left Ray and Tanya behind. We got to the bay in time to get on the yacht for the sunset cruise we had signed up for. It was about a 120-foot yacht full of American tourists. The captain was a Cuban from Florida and there was a local singing Spanish songs on his guitar. We began sailing around 1:30 in the afternoon and traveled along the coast. Soon we had dolphins racing our boat and playing along side us. That was a treat. Finally, after sailing around the point of the bay, we anchored and broke out the snorkeling gear. I had never been snorkeling before but I can't wait to do it again. I put on the mask, snorkel and flippers, jumped into the Pacific and swam about 100 yards to a coral reef. There, the captain threw out some food and we watched tons and tons of different tropical fish swim all among us. It was awesome.

After about a half hour of that, we all got back on board and the sun was getting a little low. More songs and sailing as the crew prepared dinner below decks. Soon, we could smell fresh fish being fried. They were filleting and frying Mahi Mahi that they had caught that morning. It was delicious. Not long after dinner, it was a little after five and we were ready for the show. We dropped anchor with our port side to the sun and out there on the open water were treated to the best sunset ever. As soon as the sun was down, we came back in and we were back at the hotel within the hour.

The next day, Sunday, it was time to make our way back to San Jose. We determined we couldn't make either Arenal or Poaz that day (each of them being active volcanoes), so we decided to improvise. We were on the road back to San Jose when we came to a pathetic looking hand painted sign that boasted a crocodile tour. It looked very amateurish and we may have dismissed it but Kim wanted to look into it. Across the highway from this entrance was an entrance to a botanical garden and waterfall. Ray had heard it was good. Well, we looked in the croc tour and discovered it didn't start for three hours. So we went and did the garden first. It was fantastic. It featured lots of exotic flowers as well as the most amazing view you will ever see. We could look out over a lush, rainforest valley, to the bay coast way below us. The coast disappeared off to our right into haze, but in the far distance across the water we could make more mountains, they towered over the water and had clouds clung to its peaks. The best part of the garden though was the two parrots and the toucan. The parrots cold talk, but we couldn't understand them because they were speaking Spanish! We all posed with them sitting on our shoulders. Kim loved the parrots. Then there was this toucan hopping around. He was hilarious looking. All nose. I fed him pieces of papaya right out of my hand.

Finally, it was time for the crocodile tour. We got on this little barge that held about 30 people and the captain took us out into the marshy river area that eventually led to the ocean. We saw all sorts of birds like herons and pelicans and other more exotic species. I have the little guide book that I circled as we spotted them. The coolest ones were the osprey, the peregrine falcon, and the yellow-headed caracara hawk. There was the chance of seeing a scarlet macaw but we didn't. And on this croc tour, we saw about seven wild crocodiles at different times near our boat. At one point, our captain grabbed a skinned chicken and got into the water and began slapping the chicken on the surface to imitate a large fish. Next thing you know, here comes this croc creeping up to him, just six feet or so from our boat. The croc keeps approaching, just the top half of head and back visible. We kept expecting it to quickly snap at the chicken in the captain's hand, but instead never changes his pace. When he gets to the chicken, the captain holds it up and forces the croc to come way out of the water, vertically, to grab it. We watch it snap the chicken out of the captain's hands and splash back down and chew it up and within seconds it's gone. Wow. It was impressive and scary. (I thought it was funny that during this time was when the caracara hawk showed up... he must have also thought he heard a big fish)
After the croc tour, the sun was setting and we were several hours from San Jose so we got moving and got in around 10 that night. Monday morning, Ray and Tanya had to go to class. So Kim and I hailed a taxi, gave directions in Spanish thanks to written instructions from Tanya, and headed downtown to buy our souvenirs. Among other things, I got a replica of the Costa Rican national soccer team jersey. We spent an hour or so shopping then took another taxi back to the Casa, where Ray was waiting for us to take us to the airport.

We made it back to Atlanta around 8:30 CT, and after a detour to Waffle House, finally got back home around 11pm or so.

Great trip. Great friends, luxury hotels, sloths, dolphins, toucans, crocodiles, Spanish-speaking parrots, soccer jerseys and coconut-throwing wild monkeys. I recommend it to all.

PURA VIDA!!

Our Vacation to Virginia

2006-02-21T08:22:00.000-08:00

August 17, 2003

This afternoon I returned from a 10-day vacation to Virginia and West Virginia. The Def Girl, Kim, and I had an absolute blast. In one week we enjoyed mountain biking, beautiful Virginia scenery, historic Lexington and whitewater rafting.

For the first two nights we stayed in Abingdon, VA (near theTennessee line). While there, we traveled to nearby Damascus and took a shuttle ride to the top of a mountain (Whitetop) and proceeded to ride rented bicycles 17 miles down a trail back into town, criss-crossing the Appalachian Trail several times.

On Monday, we spent the whole day traveling to Lexington, doing our best to stay off the interstate and enjoy the astounding scenery the small, rural back rounds had to offer. This has to be some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.

We spent two days in Lexington and had a blast there. While there we toured the only home Stonewall Jackson ever owned, as well as his final resting place. There's a statue in his honor (as well as the original family plot that he bought) in the town's cemetery (that happens to be one of the oldest in the country). Buried in this same cemetery are over a hundred confederates and some veterans of theRevolutionary War.

Also in Lexington hosts the campus of Washington & Lee University, featuring the President's House (which Robert E. Lee occupied as the President during the final years of his life. 1865-1870), Lee Chapel(final resting place for Lee, all his family and his horse,Traveller), and the Episcopal Church that Lee founded.

The museum in the basement of Lee Chapel was fascinating. On display were pistols owned by George Washington, as well as photographs of the crowds in Lexington on the day of Lee's funeral).

Kim and I also took a walking tour at night, hosted by a gothic-looking fellow who led our group by lantern-light around town to the various haunted places.

The Virginia Military Institute is also in Lexington, where they have stuffed and on display Little Sorrel, the horse Stonewall rode during the battle. Little Sorrel survived Jackson by 23 years and became the unofficial mascot of the school, hanging out on the parade ground grazing.

Kim and I came away with two gorgeous, matching portraits of Lee andJackson, a group shot of all the Confederate generals and a print of "The Last Meeting", which depicts Lee and Jackson conferring on horseback on the morning prior to Jackson's death at Chancellorsville.

After that, we drove to Fayetteville, West Virginia for some whitewater rafting in the New River Gorge. An all-day trip, featuring over 70 rapids, four of which were Class V. (I had only done as much as Class IV previously)

We were in a raft with a guide and seven passengers, most of which had never rafted before. (I wouldn't start with Class Fives!) Three of the folks were a family (the kid was about 11), there was a young couple (Elliot and Cara, students at Clemson), and Kim and I.

At the end of the day, we approached Greyhound Busstopper, the longest, most intense series of rapids of the day. It started with a Class III, had a Class IV in the middle, then a Class V and finally a Class III again. The Class V was a pretty good little drop by the name of Bonzai. The river was running very high and very strong. I was in the front with Elliot. Kim was behind me on my side, Cara behind Elliot on the other. The family was behind us.

We take Bonzai backwards. What follows exists in my memory as only a series of still images. My side of the boat shoots up. Then...up again. We were vertical on edge. I see Elliot and Cara get swallowed by the water. I hug my edge of the boat. It lands with a flop, right side up (luckily). I look around and... it's just me and the guide! We lost SIX people in the blink of an eye, right in the middle of Greyhound Busstopper. I register the surprise of being the only passenger left in the raft in an instant, in the next I realize my girlfriend is swimming the worst rapid on the river.

I crawl to the back of the raft to where the guide is leaning out stretcthing his paddle to Kim, hoping to pull her in. I join in, sticking my paddle out next to his, while the raft is essentially knocking around the rest of the rapid unmanned.

Kim takes hold of the guide's paddle and he gets her to the side of the boat. I then extend my paddle out to Elliot and Cara (they had managed to stay together, despite a trip to the bottom of the riverbed by Cara). There is no sign of the family of three, having either been shot down river quickly in the heart of the current or possibly caught in the hydraulic of Bonzai and mercilessly pounded by the water.

I pull Cara to the side of the boat (Elliot tagged along). They are both hanging on, still in the chaotic waters. We are in the midst of a Class III rapid, with complete disregard for control as the guide and I focus on the rescue. I'm holding onto Cara by the shoulder holes of the life vest. I register that the guide is having trouble getting Kim in the boat. My first two attempts at bringing in Cara fail. Proper technique is to grab the vest and just fall backwards, using your entire body to bring in the person. But the river was too wild to allow for proper footing and balance.

Things are going very quickly, the river is very loud, and the danger is very real. I'm distracted over concern for Kim and just hold Cara by the vest for a while. Finally, I see Kim brought safely in. I try again to bring Cara in but the guide's cooler that he brought for our lunch is in my way and I can't pull her into the boat. Elliot starts making his way towards the guide.

The guide yells "GET HER IN! GET HER IN NOW!!!!!" I look up and we are rushing broadside towards a gigantic rock. If Elliot and Cara are still hanging onto the side of the boat when we hit, severe injuries are a certainty and death is a possibility.

It's a race against the clock to get them in before we hit. I don't know exactly what I did, I don't know if I moved the cooler, found another space or just tapped into a deeper place for more armstrength but mostly through sheer willpower I pulled Cara into the boat literally two or three seconds before ramming into the rock. On my back, with Cara scrambling off of me, I turn and see the guide with no time left to pull in Elliot. But he manages to swing Elliot around the corner to the rear end of the boast, LITERALLY at the last possible instant. (Think of Indiana Jones reaching for his hat at the stone wall drops)

Finally, we're all in. There are only two paddles in the boat. Elliot and I take them and start looking around for the family of three. They had indeed been shot very swiftly downriver and picked up by another raft. They were safe but scared to death.It scared most folks, but I was left exhilarated. I thought it was awesome. Coolest thing? That rock that presented such a threat? A videographer from another company was perched on top of it and caught a lot of the drama on tape! He didn't get us going over Bonzai and losing everyone, but he got the the rescue on tape. If you'd like to watch it, click here, it is 7MB so you may wish to download it first.