Hero Complex

One person can make a difference.

Right?

I mean, that isn't just one of those cliches that litters every movie, every comic book, every novel written and story told. 

Is it?

The world is on the brink of destruction. A nuclear bomb is about to blow. A meteor is heading for earth. A monster is attacking the city. A villain is about to obtain unmatchable power. 

BUT THEN ....

That one special person does the one thing no one else could do. 

However, then there are the "real" stories. 

A fighter rises to the occasion. A teacher inspires a small group of students. One person helps another person through an exceptionally difficult time. 

Am I crazy to say that I have a hero complex. I love the everyday heros. I love people who do greater than they ever thought they could through grit and dedication. But I dream of heroics. 

Flying over rooftops.

Lifting immovable objects. 

Outrunning cars.

Staring down the barrel of a gun, invulnerable. 

I wonder how many of our dreams, the grandeur and hype of them, are really gifts. What if God put in my heart, your heart the heart of a hero. We are made in the image of an unlimited, all-powerful, perfect God. 

What if my dream of being a superhero, of having unmatched powers, of saving the world and making everything better is really a veiled dream of being like my God? 

I could play point-counterpoint here, but why bother? 

We are the image of the invisible God.

... and He is the author of my dreams. 

37 Reasons Zombies are Awesome

Home sick today. Conveniently enough it came on a day off. I've spent most of the day laying around, pretending to sleep. Though I've done some research on TVs so that I can buy one that is super-awesome in the next few days. 

I did one other thing today as well. I watched the new AMC show, "The Walking Dead," which is based on a graphic novel by the same name. I generally am busy when it airs, but God in His loving kindness and provision has blessed me with the brilliant gift of DVR. Hallelujah. 

Back to zombies. I really dig zombie related stuff, but only on certain levels. There appears to be more zombie obsession worldwide right now than at any time before. Just look around. Not only is the Walking Dead a new huge breakout hit on TV, but look at every other medium. In movies 28 Days Later spawned 28 weeks later which led to a pile of serious zombie-and-zombie-inspired chaos. But Zombies haven't been limited to horror in this latest zombie obsession. Comedies like Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead bring smiles and laughs to a genre necessarily ridden with decapitation. Graphic novels now feature my favorite childhood heroes as Marvel Zombies; and need I remind you of the Walking Dead's graphic novel origins? I am tempted to list Xbox live Zombie themed games, for brevity's sake, I refrain. 

Here's really the point - I love zombies. I love zombies like MacGyver loves paperclips. There are mountains of fun to be had at the expense of zombies and their brain-craving, decaying bodies.

So, without further ado, here are 37 reasons I think zombies are awesome fodder for movies, tv, books and everything else.

1. Consequence free victims - When angry, who can blame you for taking it out on the undead? They want to eat you anyway.

2. Social parody - Let's just get this one out of the way. Who didn't, at one time or another, look at a crowd of high school kids and think "What a pack of zombies."

3. Bodily humor - Fart jokes are funny. Don't argue with me, they are totally hilarious. The opportunities for lowest-common-denominator humor multiplies when your taking a mindless victim apart piece by piece.

4. Zombies are stupid - Insulting the intelligence of a normal person is generally offensive. However, a brain-sucking, mind-free zombie is easy pickens.

5. Disguises - Fooling zombies by acting like one proved awesome in Zombieland and the Waking Dead.

6. The Scare factor - whether they run, limp, are infected, use weapons or do nothing a cadre of countless killers wanting to have you for dinner (not in the Jan Brady kind of way) is scary.

7. They used to be normal people - This is the plot device I have seen used plenty of times but rarely for all it is worth. Come on people!

8. "What if ..." - I have had numerous conversations about what to do to survive a zombie outbreak and/or apocalypse. Because of those conversations I have a plan. For something that will probably never happen.

9. Zombie fashion - Seeing people walk city streets dressed as zombies is kind of a brilliant trend.

10. Accusations - There are already some zombies out there. I'm not naming names, but one of them does have a name ending in "atner."

11. Bullets - Shooting stuff is an easy way out of your problems. But when the noise of your gun attracts hordes of hungry flesheaters, maybe you have to find a better way.

12. Chainsaws - Not much better than bullets. But it does come with style points.

13. Blunt objects - Protect yourself without alerting the nearby undead. Some of the best include farming tools, bats, guitars, and nightsticks.

37. Zombies can't count.

Greyden Vacation 2010

Music

As it has been a bit since I've blogged, I decided to pick it back up.

Since my last blog I've left vocational ministry for a role as a church planter (on a team) and a musical instrument salesman. Working so much with music and watching Vh1's most arbitrary list of musicians ever, I decided to throw out a few albums that greatly effected my life over the years. Rather than going from best to worst, I figured I could mention an album, where and when it became significant in my life, and let you have a brief taste.

So, here's a few classics that have shaped me over the years.

1. Goo Goo Dolls: A Boy Named Goo

I'm not saying this is the greatest album ever, but it was the first rock record I ever picked up and it was a quick trip to chaos from there.

You can watch an old favorite tune, "Long Way Down" Here

2. ReeL BiG FisH: Everything Sucks

When I was 14 I first discovered independent music with these guys leading the charge. Their sarcastic, upbeat-yet-sad, hilarious, music turned me onto the idea of going out and finding bands that nobody had ever heard of. To this day I still enjoy rocking a little RBF if the opportunity affords me.

3. Rancid - Let's Go

The album that took me from casual punk fan to lover of all punk rock. My sophomore year of high school I decided to learn everything Rancid ever did and I would put this album in right when I got home from school and play every single song. There was a good six month period in my life where I could note-for-note play every song on this cd on my guitar from memory. I loved it.

4. Jason Upton - Faith

There is no musician who has personally affected my life like Jason Upton. There is only one reason for it - Spirit. He's a guy who is all about God and trying to know him better. Simply listening to his music usually opens my heart to hearing God's voice and repenting of those things I've been clinging to. I've listened to a lot of the coolest and most stylistically awesome worship bands out there. But if I could be a worship leader, I would probably most emulate Upton of anyone.

5. U2 - The Joshua Tree

I'll confess, I'm probably the last person to have discovered this band and this album. But U2 entered my life at a really profound time, where Jesus had become my first priority, but I still was confused. It seemed evident that my deepening focus on Jesus was actually not helping me serve him. Finding myself in a "holy huddle" surrounded by Christ-followers but not actually connecting with the preChristians around me, I found U2 as a source of inspiration. While they would often sing songs fully and wholeheartedly to God, they would do it in a way that was winsome to everyone and still unashamedly spiritual. I have spent many nights with my Bible, this album and the Holy Spirit.

Thrice: The Alchemy Index

I love Thrice for a lot of the same reasons I love U2, but Thrice embraces a new kind of experimentation that resonates with my stylistic and heart preferences. They have songs that make my heart beat double-time and songs that make me quiver down to the bones. They have songs that I cannot compare to anything that anyone else has ever written. I really enjoy this band.

I could go on, but I'm really tired.

It's been a year, I was due for another post. Maybe I'll start blogging again. Maybe.